II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 218 

To empower States to manage the development and production of oil and 

gas on available Federal land, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 24, 2019 

Mr. BARRASSO (for himself, Mr. ENZI, Mr. CRAMER, and Mr. HOEVEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To empower States to manage the development and production of oil and gas on available Federal land, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Opportunities for the 

5 Nation and States to Harness Onshore Resources for En6 ergy Act’’ or the ‘‘ONSHORE Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM IN OIL AND GAS PER2 MITTING ON AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Mineral Leasing Act (30 

4 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating section 44 as section 47; 

6 and 

7 (2) by adding after section 43 the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 44. COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM IN OIL AND GAS PER9 MITTING ON AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND. 

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) APD.—The term ‘APD’ means a permit— 

12 ‘‘(A) that grants authority to drill for oil 

13 and gas; and 

14 ‘‘(B) for which an application has been re15 ceived that includes— 

16 ‘‘(i) a drilling plan; 

17 ‘‘(ii) a surface use plan of operations 

18 described in section 3162.3–1(f) of title 43, 

19 Code of Federal Regulations (or a suc20 cessor regulation); 

21 ‘‘(iii) evidence of bond coverage; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) such other information as may 

23 be required by applicable orders and no24 tices. 


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1 ‘‘(2) AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND.—The term 

2 ‘available Federal land’ means any Federal land 

3 that— 

4 ‘‘(A) is located within the boundaries of a 

5 State; 

6 ‘‘(B) is not held by the United States in 

7 trust for the benefit of a federally recognized 

8 Indian Tribe or a member of a federally recog9 nized Indian Tribe; 

10 ‘‘(C) is not a unit of the National Park 

11 System; 

12 ‘‘(D) is not a unit of the National Wildlife 

13 Refuge System, other than a unit of the Na14 tional Wildlife Refuge System for which oil and 

15 gas drilling is allowed under law; 

16 ‘‘(E) is not a congressionally approved wil17 derness area under the Wilderness Act (16 

18 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.); and 

19 ‘‘(F) has been identified as land available 

20 for lease, or has been leased, for the explo21 ration, development, and production of oil and 

22 gas— 

23 ‘‘(i) by the Bureau of Land Manage24 ment under— 


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1 ‘‘(I) a resource management plan 

2 under the Federal Land Policy and 

3 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

4 1701 et seq.); or 

5 ‘‘(II) an integrated activity plan 

6 with respect to the National Petro7 leum Reserve–Alaska; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) by the Forest Service under a 

9 National Forest management plan under 

10 the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re11 sources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 

12 1600 et seq.). 

13 ‘‘(3) DRILLING PLAN.—The term ‘drilling plan’ 

14 means a plan described in section 3162.3–1(e) of 

15 title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 

16 regulation). 

17 ‘‘(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

18 the Secretary of the Interior. 

19 ‘‘(5) STATE APPLICANT.—The term ‘State ap20 plicant’ means a State that submits an application 

21 under subsection (c). 

22 ‘‘(6) STATE PROGRAM.—The term ‘State pro23 gram’ means a program in a State under which the 

24 State may— 


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1 ‘‘(A) issue APDs or approve drilling plans, 

2 as applicable, on available Federal land; and 

3 ‘‘(B) impose sanctions for violations of 

4 State laws, regulations, or any condition of an 

5 issued APD or approved drilling plan, as appli6 cable. 

7 ‘‘(7) SUNDRY NOTICE.—The term ‘sundry no8 tice’ means a written request— 

9 ‘‘(A) to perform work not covered under an 

10 APD or drilling plan; or 

11 ‘‘(B) for a change to operations covered 

12 under an APD or drilling plan. 

13 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of an applica15 tion under subsection (c), the Secretary may dele16 gate to a State exclusive authority— 

17 ‘‘(A) to issue an APD on available Federal 

18 land; or 

19 ‘‘(B) to approve drilling plans on available 

20 Federal land. 

21 ‘‘(2) SUNDRY NOTICES.—On request of a State 

22 for which authority is delegated under paragraph 

23 (1), the authority delegated may include the author24 ity to approve sundry notices. 

25 ‘‘(3) INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On request of a State 

2 for which authority is delegated under para3 graph (1), the authority delegated may include 

4 the authority to inspect and enforce an APD or 

5 drilling plan, as applicable. 

6 ‘‘(B) EFFECT.—A delegation of authority 

7 under paragraph (1)(A) shall not affect the 

8 ability of the Secretary to collect inspection fees 

9 under subsection (d) of section 108 of the Fed10 eral Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 

11 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1718). 

12 ‘‘(c) STATE APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION.—A State 

14 seeking a delegation of authority under subpara15 graph (A) or (B) of subsection (b)(1) shall submit 

16 to the Secretary an application at such time, in such 

17 manner, and containing such information as the Sec18 retary may require, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) a description of the State program 

20 that the State proposes to administer under 

21 State law; and 

22 ‘‘(B) a statement from the Governor or at23 torney general of the State that demonstrates 

24 that the laws of the State provide adequate au25 thority to carry out the State program. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR APPROVAL OR DIS2 APPROVAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

3 on which an application under paragraph (1) is re4 ceived, the Secretary shall approve or disapprove the 

5 application. 

6 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR APPROVAL.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

8 approve an application received under para9 graph (1) only if the Secretary determines 

10 that— 

11 ‘‘(i) the State applicant would be at 

12 least as effective as the Secretary in 

13 issuing APDs or in approving drilling 

14 plans, as applicable; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the State program of the State 

16 applicant— 

17 ‘‘(I) complies with this Act; and 

18 ‘‘(II) provides for the termination 

19 or modification of an issued APD or 

20 approved drilling plan, as applicable, 

21 for cause, including for— 

22 ‘‘(aa) the violation of any 

23 condition of the issued APD or 

24 approved drilling plan; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) obtaining the issued 

2 APD or approved drilling plan by 

3 misrepresentation; or 

4 ‘‘(cc) failure to fully disclose 

5 in the application all relevant 

6 facts; 

7 ‘‘(iii) the State applicant has suffi8 cient administrative and technical per9 sonnel and sufficient funding to carry out 

10 the State program; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) approval of the application 

12 would not result in decreased royalty pay13 ments owed to the United States under 

14 section 35(a), except as provided in sub15 section (e) of that section. 

16 ‘‘(B) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

17 With respect to a State applicant seeking au18 thority under subsection (b)(3)(A) to inspect 

19 and enforce APDs or drilling plans, as applica20 ble, before approving the application of the 

21 State applicant, the Secretary shall enter into a 

22 memorandum of understanding with the State 

23 applicant under paragraph (6) that describes 

24 the Federal and State responsibilities with re25 spect to the inspection and enforcement. 


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1 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC NOTICE.—Before approving 

2 an application received under paragraph (1), 

3 the Secretary shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) provide public notice of the appli5 cation; 

6 ‘‘(ii) solicit public comment for the 

7 application; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) hold a public hearing for the ap9 plication in the State. 

10 ‘‘(4) DISAPPROVAL.—If the Secretary dis11 approves an application submitted under paragraph 

12 (1), the Secretary shall provide to the State appli13 cant written notification of— 

14 ‘‘(A) the reasons for the disapproval, in15 cluding any information, data, or analysis on 

16 which the disapproval is based; and 

17 ‘‘(B) any revisions or modifications nec18 essary to obtain approval. 

19 ‘‘(5) RESUBMITTAL OF APPLICATION.—A State 

20 may resubmit an application under paragraph (1) at 

21 any time. 

22 ‘‘(6) STATE MEMORANDA OF UNDER23 STANDING.—Before a State submits an application 

24 under paragraph (1), the Secretary, on request of a 

25 State, may enter into a memorandum of underVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S218.IS S218

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1 standing with the State regarding the proposed 

2 State program— 

3 ‘‘(A) to describe the Federal and State re4 sponsibilities for oil and gas regulations; 

5 ‘‘(B) to provide technical assistance; and 

6 ‘‘(C) to share best management practices. 

7 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE FEES FOR APDS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State for which authority 

9 has been delegated under subsection (b)(1)(A) may 

10 collect a fee for each application for an APD that 

11 is submitted to the State. 

12 ‘‘(2) NO COLLECTION OF FEE BY SEC13 RETARY.—The Secretary may not collect a fee from 

14 the applicant or from the State for an application 

15 for an APD that is submitted to a State for which 

16 authority has been delegated under subsection 

17 (b)(1)(A). 

18 ‘‘(3) FEE AMOUNT.—The fee collected under 

19 paragraph (1) shall be less than or equal to the 

20 amount of the fee collected by the Secretary under 

21 section 35(d)(2) from States for which authority has 

22 not been delegated under subsection (b)(1)(A). 

23 ‘‘(4) USE.—A State shall use 100 percent of 

24 the fees collected under this subsection for the adVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S218.IS S218

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1 ministration of the approved State program of the 

2 State. 

3 ‘‘(e) VOLUNTARY TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After providing written no5 tice to the Secretary, a State may voluntarily termi6 nate any authority delegated to the State under sub7 section (b)(1) on expiration of the 60-day period be8 ginning on the date on which the Secretary receives 

9 the written notice. 

10 ‘‘(2) RESUMPTION BY SECRETARY.—On termi11 nation of the authority delegated to a State under 

12 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall resume any ac13 tivities for which authority was delegated to the 

14 State under subsection (b)(1). 

15 ‘‘(f) APPEAL OF DENIAL OF APPLICATION FOR APD 

16 OR APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF DRILLING PLAN.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a State for which the 

18 Secretary has delegated authority under subsection 

19 (b)(1) denies an application for an APD or an appli20 cation for approval of a drilling plan, the applicant 

21 may appeal the decision to the Office of Hearings 

22 and Appeals of the Department of the Interior. 

23 ‘‘(2) FEE ALLOWED.—The Secretary may 

24 charge an applicant a fee for an appeal under para25 graph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(g) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION OF STATE PRO2 GRAM.— 

3 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary has rea4 son to believe that a State is not administering or 

5 enforcing an approved State program, the Secretary 

6 shall notify the relevant State regulatory authority 

7 of any possible deficiencies. 

8 ‘‘(2) STATE RESPONSE.—Not later than 30 

9 days after the date on which a State receives notifi10 cation of a possible deficiency under paragraph (1), 

11 the State shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) take appropriate action to correct the 

13 possible deficiency; and 

14 ‘‘(B) notify the Secretary of the action in 

15 writing. 

16 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On expiration of the 

18 30-day period described in paragraph (2), the 

19 Secretary shall issue public notice of any deter20 mination of the Secretary that— 

21 ‘‘(i) a violation of all or any part of an 

22 approved State program has resulted from 

23 a failure of the State to administer or en24 force the approved State program of the 

25 State; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the State has not demonstrated 

2 the capability and intent of the State to 

3 administer or enforce the State program of 

4 the State. 

5 ‘‘(B) APPEAL.—A State may appeal the 

6 determination of the Secretary under subpara7 graph (A) in the applicable United States Dis8 trict Court. 

9 ‘‘(C) RESUMPTION BY SECRETARY PEND10 ING APPEAL.—The Secretary may not resume 

11 activities under paragraph (4) if an appeal 

12 under subparagraph (B) is pending. 

13 ‘‘(4) RESUMPTION BY SECRETARY.—Except as 

14 provided in paragraph (3)(C), if the Secretary has 

15 made a determination under paragraph (3)(A), the 

16 Secretary shall resume any activities for which au17 thority was delegated to the State during the pe18 riod— 

19 ‘‘(A) beginning on the date on which the 

20 Secretary issues the public notice under para21 graph (3)(A); and 

22 ‘‘(B) ending on the date on which the Sec23 retary determines that the State may admin24 ister or enforce, as applicable, the approved 

25 State program of the State. 


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1 ‘‘(5) STANDING.—A State with an approved 

2 regulatory program shall have standing to sue the 

3 Secretary for any action taken under this sub4 section.’’. 

5 (b) INSPECTION FEES.—Section 108 of the Federal 

6 Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 

7 1718) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(d) INSPECTION FEES FOR CERTAIN STATES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) COLLECTION OF FEES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

11 collect annual nonrefundable inspection fees in 

12 the amount specified in subparagraph (B), from 

13 each designated operator under each lease on 

14 Federal or Indian lands that is— 

15 ‘‘(i) subject to inspection under sub16 section (b); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) located in a State for which the 

18 Secretary has delegated authority under 

19 section 44(b)(1)(A) of the Mineral Leasing 

20 Act. 

21 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—The amount of the fees 

22 collected under subparagraph (A) shall be— 

23 ‘‘(i) $700 for each lease or unit or 

24 communitization agreement with no active 


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1 or inactive wells, but with surface use, dis2 turbance or reclamation; 

3 ‘‘(ii) $1,225 for each lease or unit or 

4 communitization agreement with 1 to 10 

5 wells, with any combination of active or in6 active wells; 

7 ‘‘(iii) $4,900 for each lease or unit or 

8 communitization agreement with 11 to 50 

9 wells, with any combination of active or in10 active wells; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) $9,800 for each lease or unit or 

12 communitization agreement with more 

13 than 50 wells, with any combination of ac14 tive or inactive wells. 

15 ‘‘(2) ONSHORE ENERGY SAFETY FUND.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is established in 

17 the Treasury of the United States a fund to be 

18 known as the ‘Onshore Energy Safety Fund’ 

19 (referred to in this subsection as the ‘Fund’). 

20 ‘‘(B) DEPOSITS.—An amount equal to the 

21 amounts collected as fees under paragraph (1) 

22 shall be deposited in the Fund. 

23 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts in the 

24 Fund shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) only be available to the extent 

2 and in the amount provided in advance in 

3 appropriations Acts; 

4 ‘‘(ii) be used only for purposes de5 scribed in subparagraph (D); 

6 ‘‘(iii) remain available until expended; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(iv) be credited as offsetting collec9 tions. 

10 ‘‘(D) USE OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding 

11 section 3302 of title 31, United States Code, 

12 amounts deposited in the Fund shall only be 

13 available for expenditure for purposes of car14 rying out inspections under subsection (b) in 

15 those States for which the Secretary has dele16 gated authority under section 44(b)(1)(A) of 

17 the Mineral Leasing Act. 

18 ‘‘(3) PAYMENT DUE DATE.—The Secretary 

19 shall require payment of any fee assessed under 

20 paragraph (1) not later than 30 days after the date 

21 on which the Secretary provides notice of the assess22 ment of the fee after the completion of an inspec23 tion. 

24 ‘‘(4) PENALTY.—If a designated operator as25 sessed a fee under paragraph (1) fails to pay the full 


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1 amount of the fee required under this subsection, 

2 the Secretary may, in addition to using any other 

3 applicable enforcement authority, assess civil pen4 alties against the operator under section 109 in the 

5 same manner as if this section were a mineral leas6 ing law. 

7 ‘‘(5) NOTIFICATION TO STATE OF NONCOMPLI8 ANCE.—If, on the basis of any inspection under sub9 section (b), the Secretary determines that an oper10 ator is failing to comply with the requirements of 

11 mineral leasing laws or this Act, the Secretary shall 

12 notify the State of the failure to comply imme13 diately.’’. 

14 (c) EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—Section 390(a) of the 

15 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15942(a)) is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘Action by the Secretary’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘The Secretary’’; 

19 (2) by striking ‘‘with respect to any of the ac20 tivities described in subsection (b) shall be subject to 

21 a rebuttable presumption that the use of’’ and in22 serting ‘‘shall apply’’; and 

23 (3) by striking ‘‘would apply if the activity’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘for each action described in subsection (b) 

25 if the action’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE TO CERTAIN STATES OF PROPERTY 

2 INTEREST IN STATE SHARE OF ROYALTIES 

3 AND OTHER PAYMENTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 35 of the Mineral Leasing 

5 Act (30 U.S.C. 191) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a), in the first sentence, by 

7 striking ‘‘shall be paid into the Treasury’’ and in8 serting ‘‘shall, except as provided in subsection (e), 

9 be paid into the Treasury’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ‘‘and ex11 cept as provided in subsection (e)’’ before ‘‘, any 

12 rentals’’; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(e) CONVEYANCE TO CERTAIN STATES OF PROP15 ERTY INTEREST IN STATE SHARE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

17 provision of law, on request of a State and in lieu 

18 of any payments to the State under subsection (a), 

19 the Secretary of the Interior shall convey to the 

20 State all right, title, and interest in and to the per21 centage specified in that subsection for that State 

22 that would otherwise be required to be paid into the 

23 Treasury under that subsection. 

24 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—Notwithstanding any other 

25 provision of law, after a conveyance to a State under 

26 paragraph (1), any person shall pay directly to the 


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1 State any amount owed by the person for which the 

2 right, title, and interest has been conveyed to the 

3 State under this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(3) NOTICE.—The Secretary of the Interior 

5 shall promptly provide to each holder of a lease of 

6 public land to which subsection (a) applies that is lo7 cated in a State to which right, title, and interest is 

8 conveyed under this subsection notice that— 

9 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of the Interior has con10 veyed to the State all right, title, and interest 

11 in and to the amounts referred to in paragraph 

12 (1); and 

13 ‘‘(B) the leaseholder is required to pay the 

14 amounts directly to the State. 

15 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—A State that has received a 

16 conveyance under this subsection shall report month17 ly to the Office of Natural Resources Revenue of the 

18 Department of the Interior the amount paid to the 

19 State pursuant to this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION.—With respect to the inter21 est conveyed to a State under this subsection from 

22 sales, bonuses, royalties (including interest charges), 

23 and rentals collected under the Federal Oil and Gas 

24 Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 

25 et seq.), this subsection shall only apply with respect 


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1 to States for which the Secretary has delegated any 

2 authority under section 44(b)(1).’’. 

3 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Section 35(b) of the 

4 Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191(b)) is amended by 

5 striking ‘‘In determining’’ and inserting ‘‘Except with re6 spect to States for which the Secretary has delegated any 

7 authority under section 44(b)(1), in determining’’. 

8 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 205(f) of 

9 the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 

10 (30 U.S.C. 1735(f)) is amended in the seventh sentence 

11 by striking ‘‘All’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection (e) 

12 of section 35 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191), 

13 all’’. 

14 SEC. 4. PERMITTING ON NON-FEDERAL SURFACE ESTATE. 

15 The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is 

16 amended by inserting after section 44 (as added by section 

17 2(a)(2)) the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 45. PERMITTING ON NON-FEDERAL SURFACE ESTATE. 

19 ‘‘(a) PERMITS NOT REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN ACTIVI20 TIES ON NON-FEDERAL SURFACE ESTATE.—The fol21 lowing activities conducted on non-Federal surface estate 

22 shall not require a permit from the Bureau of Land Man23 agement and shall not be considered a major Federal ac24 tion under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

25 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.): 


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1 ‘‘(1) Oil and gas operations for the exploration 

2 for, or development or production of, oil and gas in 

3 a lease or unit or communitization agreement in 

4 which the United States holds a mineral ownership 

5 interest of 50 percent or less. 

6 ‘‘(2) Oil and gas operations that may have po7 tential drainage impacts, as determined by the Bu8 reau of Land Management, on oil and gas in which 

9 the United States holds a mineral ownership inter10 est. 

11 ‘‘(b) DOI NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary of the In12 terior shall provide to each State a map or list indicating 

13 Federal mineral ownership within that State. 

14 ‘‘(c) STATE NOTIFICATION.—Each State with an ap15 proved permit to drill or drilling plan that would impact 

16 or extract oil and gas owned by the Federal Government 

17 shall notify the Secretary of the Interior of the approved 

18 permit to drill or drilling plan. 

19 ‘‘(d) ROYALTIES.—Nothing in this section affects the 

20 amount of royalties due to the United States under this 

21 Act from the production of oil and gas.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. STATE AND TRIBAL AUTHORITY FOR HYDRAULIC 

2 FRACTURING REGULATION. 

3 The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is 

4 amended by inserting after section 45 (as added by section 

5 4) the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 46. STATE AND TRIBAL AUTHORITY FOR HYDRAULIC 

7 FRACTURING REGULATION. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) HYDRAULIC FRACTURING DEFINED.—The 

10 term ‘hydraulic fracturing’ means the process of cre11 ating small cracks or fractures in underground geo12 logical formations for well stimulation purposes of 

13 bringing hydrocarbons into the wellbore and to the 

14 surface for capture. 

15 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

16 the Secretary of the Interior. 

17 ‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS.— 

18 The Secretary shall not enforce any Federal regulation, 

19 guidance, or permit requirement regarding hydraulic frac20 turing relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activi21 ties on or under any land in any State that has regula22 tions, guidance, or permit requirements for that activity. 

23 ‘‘(c) STATE AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall defer 

24 to State regulations, guidance, and permit requirements 

25 for all activities regarding hydraulic fracturing relating to 


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1 oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on Federal 

2 land. 

3 ‘‘(d) TRANSPARENCY OF STATE REGULATIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall submit to 

5 the Bureau of Land Management a copy of the reg6 ulations of the State that apply to hydraulic frac7 turing operations on Federal land, including the reg8 ulations that require disclosure of chemicals used in 

9 hydraulic fracturing operations. 

10 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make 

11 available to the public on the website of the Sec12 retary the regulations submitted under paragraph 

13 (1). 

14 ‘‘(e) TRIBAL AUTHORITY ON TRUST LAND.—The 

15 Secretary shall not enforce any Federal regulation, guid16 ance, or permit requirement with respect to hydraulic frac17 turing on any land held in trust or restricted status for 

18 the benefit of a federally recognized Indian Tribe or a 

19 member of a federally recognized Indian Tribe, except 

20 with the express consent of the beneficiary on whose behalf 

21 the land is held in trust or restricted status.’’. 

22 SEC. 6. REVIEW OF INTEGRATED ACTIVITY PLAN FOR THE 

23 NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE–ALASKA. 

24 The Secretary of the Interior shall— 


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1 (1) conduct a review of the National Petroleum 

2 Reserve–Alaska Final Integrated Activity Plan/Envi3 ronmental Impact Statement, for which notice of 

4 availability was published in the Federal Register on 

5 December 28, 2012 (77 Fed. Reg. 76515), to deter6 mine which land within the National Petroleum Re7 serve–Alaska should be made available for oil and 

8 gas leasing; and 

9 (2) make available the land described in para10 graph (1) for oil and gas leasing. 

11 SEC. 7. PROTESTED LEASE SALES. 

12 Section 17(b)(1)(A) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

13 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting after the 

14 seventh sentence the following: ‘‘The Secretary shall re15 solve any protest to a lease sale within 60 days following 

16 such payment.’’. 

Æ 


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