II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1950

To amend the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 to ensure the orderly development

of coal, coalbed methane, natural gas, and oil in the Powder River

Basin, Wyoming and Montana, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 17, 1999

Mr. ENZI (for himself and Mr. THOMAS) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources

A BILL

To amend the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 to ensure the

orderly development of coal, coalbed methane, natural

gas, and oil in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming and

Montana, 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 ‘‘Powder River Basin

5 Resource Development Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) The Powder River Basin in Wyoming and

2 Montana is one of the world’s richest energy re3 source regions, possessing the largest reserves of

4 coal in the United States and significant deposits of

5 oil and natural gas, including coalbed methane.

6 (2) The coal is predominantly federally-owned—

7 either as part of the public lands or reserved from

8 public lands that were sold under homestead laws

9 enacted in 1909, 1910, and 1916—and is leased to

10 coal producers by the Bureau of Land Management,

11 Department of the Interior, under the Mineral Leas12 ing Act.

13 (3) The gas and oil are owned by the Federal

14 Government, the States, and private parties.

15 (4) The federally-owned gas and oil, like the

16 coal, are part of the public lands and leased to oil

17 and gas lessees by the Bureau of Land Management

18 under the Mineral Leasing Act.

19 (5) The privately-owned gas and oil were con20 veyed with the public lands purchased under the

21 three homestead laws and may have been sold or

22 leased to oil and gas producers by the successors to

23 those original purchasers.
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1 (6) Development of these valuable energy re2 sources is of critical importance to the American

3 public.

4 (7) These energy resources provide fuel to heat

5 and light our homes and power our industries.

6 (8) Extraction of these energy resources pro7 vides royalties, taxes, and wages that contribute to

8 national, State, and local treasuries and economies.

9 (9) Development of both the coal and the gas

10 and oil is occurring in the Powder River Basin.

11 These resources are frequently extracted sequen12 tially, but for safety and operational reasons typi13 cally cannot be extracted simultaneously, in the

14 same location. Even if concurrent development may

15 be possible, disputes often occur.

16 (10) In many locations both the coal and the

17 gas and oil have been leased or sold to different par18 ties, and disputes have arisen among those parties

19 concerning plans for, and the course of, development

20 of those resources.

21 (11) The development of any one of those re22 sources can result in loss of another, either by mak23 ing recovery impossible in the case of coalbed meth24 ane or uneconomic in the case of deep natural gas,

25 oil, or coal.
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1 (12) The nature, extent, and value of any loss

2 or delay in development of the gas, oil, or coal re3 source due to development of another of these re4 sources should be ascertained and fair market value

5 for the loss or delay provided either by agreement

6 between the resources’ producers or by an expedi7 tious adjudication procedure.

8 (13) The Federal law under which most of the

9 coal and much of the gas and oil in the Powder

10 River Basin are made available for development

11 should be amended to provide a procedure that will

12 assure the orderly development of the Powder River

13 Basin’s energy resources and fair treatment to the

14 resources’ producers.

15 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to amend

16 the Mineral Leasing Act to provide a procedure to resolve

17 disputes between producers of coal and producers of nat18 ural gas and oil in the Powder River Basin regarding the

19 sequence of development of those resources in the same

20 location and to determine fair and just compensation owed

21 for the postponement, or loss, of the opportunity to de22 velop a resource resulting from implementation of the pro23 cedure.
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1 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO THE MINERAL LEASING ACT.

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

3 amended by renumbering section 44 as section 45 and in4 serting the following new section:

5 ‘‘SEC. 44. DEVELOPMENT OF COAL, NATURAL GAS, AND OIL

6 IN THE POWDER RIVER BASIN.

7 ‘‘(a) MULTIPLE USE.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Insofar as it is operation9 ally and economically practicable, all operations for

10 the development of coal and all operations for the

11 production of oil or natural gas, including coalbed

12 methane, in the Powder River Basin, as depicted on

13 a map entitled ‘MLA Section 44 Powder River

14 Basin Area’, dated July 1, 1999, and on file in the

15 Wyoming and Montana State Offices of the Bureau

16 of Land Management (hereafter referred to in this

17 section as the ‘Basin’), shall be conducted under ap18 plicable Federal and State law so as not to unduly

19 interfere with each other and in a manner compat20 ible with such multiple use.

21 ‘‘(2) PARTIES ENCOURAGED TO ENTER INTO

22 WRITTEN AGREEMENT.—On any land in the Basin

23 which is both leased under this Act for the develop24 ment of Federal coal and leased under this Act or

25 otherwise made available by the owner thereof for

26 the production of Federal, State, or private gas or
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1 oil, the Federal coal lessee and the holder of the

2 lease for, or the right to develop, the Federal, State,

3 or private gas or oil (hereafter referred to in this

4 section as the ‘oil and gas lessee’), subject to appli5 cable Federal and State law, may and are encour6 aged to enter into a written agreement that details

7 operations and assigns or assesses costs for the con8 current or sequential development of those resources.

9 ‘‘(b) EXPLORATION.—Unless otherwise provided by

10 law, on any land described in subsection (a)(2) where no

11 coal, gas, or oil development operations have commenced,

12 the Federal coal lessee and the oil and gas lessee shall

13 each—

14 ‘‘(1) have access to conduct exploration activi15 ties; and

16 ‘‘(2) conduct such activities in a manner that

17 will avoid undue interference with the other’s activi18 ties.

19 ‘‘(c) NEGOTIATIONS CONCERNING DEVELOPMENT

20 PRIORITY FOR CERTAIN OPERATIONS IN THE BASIN.—

21 ‘‘(1) OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE WRITTEN NO22 TICE OF CONFLICT.—Whenever a holder of a lease

23 issued under this Act for coal in the Basin or an oil

24 and gas lessee of Federal, State, or private gas or

25 oil in the Basin (hereafter referred to in this section
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1 as the ‘oil and gas property’) determines that the

2 Federal coal lease or the area to which applies the

3 Federal or State permit issued to the Federal coal

4 lessee pursuant to the Surface Mining Control and

5 Reclamation Act (Public Law 95–87, 91 Stat. 445)

6 within or including the Federal coal lease, whichever

7 is larger, and the oil and gas property overlap in

8 whole or in part (hereafter referred to in this section

9 as the ‘common area’) and, pursuant to a mining

10 plan that is approved or proposed (whether or not

11 submitted for approval) (hereafter referred to in this

12 section as an ‘approved or proposed mining plan’),

13 mining operations or facilities in support of mining

14 for coal on the leasehold or for State or private coal

15 within a logical mining unit with the lease will be

16 located within the common area, the Federal coal

17 lessee or the oil and gas lessee shall provide written

18 notice of the determination to the other party no

19 later than 210 days prior to the date on which the

20 mining operations or construction of the mine sup21 port facilities is expected to commence in the com22 mon area.

23 ‘‘(2) OBLIGATION TO NEGOTIATE.—Promptly

24 after providing the notice referred to in paragraph

25 (1), the Federal coal lessee or oil or gas lessee shall
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1 seek to negotiate a written agreement with the other

2 party that resolves any conflict between the produc3 tion of gas or oil and development of coal in the

4 common area.

5 ‘‘(d) COMPENSATION PROCEDURES FOR ASSIGNMENT

6 OF DEVELOPMENT PRIORITY.—

7 ‘‘(1) PETITION FOR RELIEF.—

8 ‘‘(A) If the Federal coal lessee and the oil

9 and gas lessee engage in negotiations, but do

10 not reach agreement, pursuant to subsection

11 (c)(2), the Federal coal lessee or the oil and gas

12 lessee may file a petition for relief as described

13 in subparagraph (C) in the United States dis14 trict court for the district in which the common

15 area is located on any date which is not more

16 than one year or less than 150 days prior to the

17 date on which the mining operations or con18 struction of the mine support facilities is ex19 pected to commence in the common area.

20 ‘‘(B) The petitioner shall serve the oil and

21 gas lessee or the Federal coal lessee, as the case

22 may be, with a copy of the petition for relief.

23 ‘‘(C) The petition for relief shall include

24 the following:
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1 ‘‘(i) A description and map of the

2 Federal coal lease, the oil and gas prop3 erty, and the common area.

4 ‘‘(ii) A list containing the names and

5 addresses of all owners of any non-Federal

6 interest in the oil and gas property, includ7 ing working interests, mineral interests,

8 and royalty interests, and all owners of any

9 non-Federal interest in the Federal coal

10 lease or logical mining unit. The petitioner

11 shall list those owners of any non-Federal

12 interest in the oil and gas property and of

13 the Federal coal lease or logical mining

14 unit whom the petitioner is able to ascer15 tain from the properly indexed records of

16 the county recorder of the county or coun17 ties in which the oil and gas property and

18 Federal coal lease or logical mining unit

19 are located, and the respondent shall file

20 with the court and serve on the petitioner

21 any corrections or additions to the list

22 within 10 days of service of the petition for

23 relief pursuant to subparagraph (A).

24 ‘‘(iii) A certified copy of the notice de25 scribed in subsection (c)(1).
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1 ‘‘(iv) A statement that, pursuant to

2 subsection (c)(2), the petitioner and the re3 spondent attempted to negotiate a coopera4 tive agreement for development of the coal

5 and gas or oil resources or an agreement

6 to compensate the oil and gas lessee and

7 all other owners of any non-Federal inter8 est in the oil and gas property for any loss

9 of, or delay in production of, the oil or gas

10 resource, or the Federal coal lessee and all

11 other owners of any non-Federal interest

12 in the Federal coal lease or logical mining

13 unit for any loss of, or delay in develop14 ment of, the coal resource, resulting from

15 the conflict between production of gas or

16 oil and development of coal in the common

17 area.

18 ‘‘(D) The Federal coal lessee shall submit

19 a copy of the approved or proposed mining plan

20 for the mining operations or support facilities

21 that are the subject of the petition for relief—

22 ‘‘(i) with the petition for relief if the

23 Federal coal lessee is the petitioner; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) within 5 days of the date of serv2 ice of the petition for relief if the Federal

3 coal lessee is the respondent.

4 ‘‘(2) JOINDER OF PARTIES.—The petitioner

5 shall join in the proceedings the Secretary of the In6 terior and the interest owners identified pursuant to

7 paragraph (1)(C)(ii).

8 ‘‘(3) PARTIES’ RESPONSE TO PETITION.—The

9 non-Federal respondent or respondents shall have 30

10 days from the date of service of the petition for re11 lief in which to respond to the petition. The Sec12 retary of the Interior shall have 60 days from the

13 date of service of the petition for relief in which to

14 respond to the petition.

15 ‘‘(4) COURT’S INITIAL RESPONSE TO PETITION:

16 PUBLIC INTEREST DETERMINATION AND ORDER

17 CONCERNING SEQUENCE OF DEVELOPMENT.—With18 in 120 days of the filing of the petition for relief

19 pursuant to paragraph (1)(A), the court shall take

20 the following actions:

21 ‘‘(A) The court shall determine—

22 ‘‘(i) whether a common area exists;

23 and

24 ‘‘(ii) whether the approved or pro25 posed mining plan provides for the mining
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1 operations to intersect, or the mine sup2 port facilities to be constructed in, any

3 portion of the common area.

4 ‘‘(B)(i) If existence of the common area

5 and intersection of, or construction in, the com6 mon area are determined pursuant to subpara7 graph (A), the court shall determine whether

8 the public interest is best realized either by sus9 pension or termination of all or any part of the

10 oil and gas lease or right to develop to accom11 modate coal development, or by suspension of

12 the Federal coal lease to accommodate gas or

13 oil production, in any existing or proposed pro14 duction segments of the common area.

15 ‘‘(ii) Notwithstanding the obligations of

16 Federal and State officials to maximize the eco17 nomic benefit to be received from mineral re18 sources, the public interest determination de19 scribed in clause (i) shall be made solely by the

20 calculation of the greater economic benefit to be

21 realized by comparison, on a net present value

22 basis, of the Federal and State revenues from

23 royalties and severance taxes likely to be gen24 erated from each mineral underlying the com-
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1 mon area to which the petition for relief ap2 plies.

3 ‘‘(C)(i) If the determination made pursu4 ant to subparagraph (B) is that the public in5 terest is best realized by suspension of all or

6 part of the oil and gas lease or right to develop,

7 the court shall issue an order fixing the date

8 upon which the Federal coal lessee may com9 mence mining operations or construction of

10 support facilities in the common area.

11 ‘‘(ii) The date fixed by the court pursuant

12 to clause (i) may not be later than the com13 mencement date referred to in subsection (c)(1)

14 and provided in the notice submitted pursuant

15 to paragraph (1)(C)(iii), except for good cause

16 shown.

17 ‘‘(D)(i) If the determination made pursu18 ant to subparagraph (B) is that the public in19 terest is best realized by requiring suspension of

20 the Federal coal lease, the court shall issue an

21 order prohibiting the mining operations from

22 intersecting, or the support facilities from being

23 constructed in, the common area.
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1 ‘‘(ii) The order issued pursuant to clause

2 (i) shall expire upon the issuance of an order

3 pursuant to paragraph (11)(C).

4 ‘‘(5) CONDITIONS IN WHICH COURT MAY RE5 FRAIN FROM ISSUING ORDER.—

6 ‘‘(A) The court may receive such briefs

7 and/or testimony as it deems appropriate within

8 90 days of the filing of the petition for relief

9 pursuant to paragraph (1)(A), but may refrain

10 from issuing the order required by paragraph

11 (4)(C) or paragraph (4)(D) only if the court de12 termines, pursuant to paragraph (4)(A), that—

13 ‘‘(i) no common area exists; or

14 ‘‘(ii) the approved or proposed mining

15 plan does not provide for the mining oper16 ations to intersect, or the support facilities

17 to be constructed in, the common area.

18 ‘‘(B) If the court makes either determina19 tion described in subparagraph (A), the court

20 shall issue an order terminatingthe proceeding.

21 ‘‘(6) VALUATION PROCEDURE: APPOINTMENT

22 OF EXPERTS.—

23 ‘‘(A) Within 30 days of the issuance of an

24 order pursuant to paragraph (4)(C) or para25 graph (4)(D), the petitioner, the respondent,
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1 and the Secretary of the Interior shall each ap2 point an expert in appraising the value of, and

3 right to develop, gas or oil if the order is issued

4 under paragraph (4)(C), or coal if the order is

5 issued under paragraph (4)(D), to assist the

6 court in making the determinations required by

7 paragraph (10) or paragraph (11).

8 ‘‘(B) The petitioner shall be responsible for

9 compensation of the expert appointed by it and

10 reimbursement of the Secretary for the reason11 able and customary costs of the expert ap12 pointed by the Secretary. The respondent shall

13 be responsible for compensation of the expert

14 appointed by it.

15 ‘‘(7) SUBMISSION OF BRIEFS.—Within 30 days

16 of the appointment of the panel of experts pursuant

17 to paragraph (6), the petitioner and the respondents

18 may submit briefs concerning the determinations to

19 be made pursuant to paragraph (10) or paragraph

20 (11).

21 ‘‘(8) HEARING.—Within 45 days of the ap22 pointment of the panel of experts pursuant to para23 graph (6), the panel may, or if requested by the pe24 titioner or a respondent shall, receive testimony from

25 petitioners and respondents concerning the deter-
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1 minations to be made pursuant to paragraph (10) or

2 paragraph (11).

3 ‘‘(9) EXPERTS’ REPORT.—Within 90 days of

4 the appointment of the panel of experts pursuant to

5 paragraph (6), the panel shall submit a written re6 port to the court providing in detail the panel’s rec7 ommendations on the determinations to be made

8 pursuant to paragraph (10) or paragraph (11).

9 ‘‘(10) COURT’S FINAL RESPONSE TO PETITION:

10 VALUATION CONCERNING OIL OR GAS RESERVES

11 LOST OR DELAYED, SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION

12 AND PAYMENT ORDER.—Within 180 days of the

13 issuance of an order pursuant to paragraph (4)(C),

14 the court shall take the following actions:

15 ‘‘(A) The court shall determine whether, as

16 a result of the rder issued pursuant to para17 graph (4)(C), all or any part of the oil and gas

18 lease or right to develop should be terminated

19 at the end of the court’s proceeding or sus20 pended during the period in which the mining

21 operations or support facilities occupy the com22 mon area.

23 ‘‘(B)(i) If the court makes a determination

24 to suspend pursuant to subparagraph (A), the

25 court shall determine theamount of any net in-
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1 come that will not be realized due to loss or

2 delay in production of economically recoverable

3 reserves of oil or gas from the area underlying

4 the proposed mining operations or support fa5 cilities within the common area, and any un6 avoidable fixed expenses (including, but not lim7 ited to, the expenses of shutting in production,

8 maintenance, testing, redrilling or reconnecting

9 an existing well, relaying pipeline, all other ex10 penses reasonably related to reestablishing any

11 existing oil or gas production, and any royalties

12 on oil or gas not produced) that will be in13 curred, by the oil and gas lessee as a con14 sequence of the suspension.

15 ‘‘(ii) If the court makes a determination to

16 terminate pursuant to subparagraph (A), the

17 court shall determine theamount of any net in18 come that will not be realized due to loss of eco19 nomically recoverable reserves of oil or gas from

20 the area described in clause (i) as a con21 sequence of the termination.

22 ‘‘(C) The court shall issue an order that—

23 ‘‘(i) either suspends or terminates all

24 or part of the oil and gas lease or right to

25 develop, including any payment or produc-
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1 tion obligations on the oil and gas lease or

2 right to develop for the period in which the

3 mining operations or mine support facili4 ties are expected to occupy the common

5 area in accordance with the approved or

6 proposed mining plan; and

7 ‘‘(ii) awards to the oil and gas lessee

8 and all other owners of any interest in the

9 oil and gas property, as their interests may

10 appear, a sum of money from the Federal

11 coal lessee equal to the net income amount

12 and unavoidable fixed expenses determined

13 pursuant to subparagraph (B)(i) or sub14 paragraph (B)(ii).

15 ‘‘(11) COURT’S FINAL RESPONSE TO PETITION:

16 VALUATION CONCERNING COAL RESERVES LOST OR

17 DELAYED, SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION AND PAY18 MENT ORDER.—Within 180 days of the issuance of

19 an order pursuant to paragraph (4)(D), the court—

20 ‘‘(A) shall determine whether the Federal

21 coal lease shall be suspended to accommodate

22 oil or gas production in the common area; and

23 ‘‘(B) shall determine the amount of any

24 net income that will not be realized from the

25 loss or postponement of development of eco-
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1 nomically recoverable reserves of coal, and the

2 unavoidable fixed expenses (including, but not

3 limited to, additional expensesassociated with

4 reclamation, expenses associated with stranded

5 costs of mining equipment and facilities, a pro6 portionate refund of the lease bonus, and any

7 royalties on coal not produced) that will be in8 curred, by the Federal coal lessee as a con9 sequence of the suspension; and

10 ‘‘(C) shall issue an order that—

11 (i) suspends the Federal coal lease, in12 cluding any payment or production obliga13 tions on the lease or logical mining unit,

14 for the period necessary for expeditious

15 production in the common area of the gas

16 or oil that is the subject of the petition for

17 relief as demonstrated to the court in a

18 production plan submitted by the oil and

19 gas lessee; and

20 ‘‘(ii) awards to the Federal coal lessee

21 and all other owners of any interest in the

22 Federal coal lease or logical mining unit,

23 as their interests may appear, a sum of

24 money equal to the net income amount and
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1 unavoidable fixed expenses determined pur2 suant to subparagraph (B).

3 ‘‘(12) REVIEW OF EXPERTS’ REPORT.—

4 ‘‘(A) The court shall make the determina5 tions required by paragraph (10) or paragraph

6 (11) after reviewing the report of the panel of

7 experts submitted pursuant to paragraph (9)

8 and the hearing required by subparagraph (B).

9 ‘‘(B) After submission of the report of the

10 panel of experts pursuant to paragraph (9) and

11 prior to making the determinations required by

12 paragraph (10) or paragraph (11), the court

13 shall hold a hearing in which the panel of ex14 perts shall present their report and the peti15 tioner and respondents shall have the oppor16 tunity to pose questions to the panel and pro17 vide to the court any evidence or arguments

18 they may have to support or contravene the rec19 ommendations of the report.

20 ‘‘(13) DISBURSEMENT OF PAYMENTS.—

21 ‘‘(A)(i) The sum of money awarded by the

22 court pursuant to paragraph (10)(C) shall be

23 divided into the number of tons of recoverable

24 coal in the common area andshall be paid in per

25 ton increments as the coal is mined.
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1 ‘‘(ii) The Federal coal lessee shall make

2 the payments required by clause (i) on a quar3 terly basis in advance based on the Federal coal

4 lessee’s estimate of the number of tons of coal

5 to be mined in the common area during the fol6 lowing quarter, and shall add or subtract an

7 amount to or from the advance payment for the

8 next quarter to reflect the coal actually sold or

9 transferred.

10 ‘‘(B)(i) The sum of money awarded by the

11 court pursuant to paragraph (11)(C) shall be

12 divided into the number of barrels of recover13 able oil or cubic feet of recoverable gas in the

14 common area and shall be paid in per barrel or

15 cubic feet increments as the oil or gas is pro16 duced.

17 ‘‘(ii) The oil and gas lessee shall make the

18 payments required by clause (i) on a quarterly

19 basis in advance based on the oil and gas les20 see’s estimate of the number of barrels of oil or

21 cubic feet of gas to be produced in the common

22 area during the following quarter, and shall add

23 or subtract an amount to or from the advance

24 payment for the next quarter to reflect the oil

25 or gas actually produced.
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1 ‘‘(C) If the mining or production necessary

2 to make full payment of the sum of money

3 awarded by the court does not occur within 5

4 years of the date of issuance of the court order

5 pursuant to paragraph (10)(C) or paragraph

6 (11)(C), the unpaid balance shall be paid within

7 60 days thereafter.

8 ‘‘(14) TERMINATION OF OIL AND GAS LEASE

9 SUSPENSION.—

10 ‘‘(A) If the court issues an order to sus11 pend all or any part of the oil and gas lease or

12 right to develop pursuant to paragraph

13 (10)(C)—

14 ‘‘(i) the Federal coal lessee shall no15 tify the court and the oil and gas lessee

16 when the portion of the common area sub17 ject to the order issued pursuant to para18 graph (10)(C) is no longer required for

19 mining operations or support facilities; and

20 (ii) within 120 days of the date of re21 ceipt by the court of the notification pursu22 ant to clause (i) or within 60 days prior to

23 the date on which the period established by

24 the court in the order issued pursuant to

25 paragraph (10)(C) concludes, the oil and
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1 gas lessee may petition the court for an

2 order that terminates the suspension and

3 fixes the date and terms on which the oil

4 and gas lessee may resume operations

5 within the portion of the common area

6 subject to the order issued pursuant to

7 paragraph (10)(C).

8 ‘‘(B) The court shall issue the order

9 sought under subparagraph (A)(ii) within 30

10 days of receipt of the petition pursuant to sub11 paragraph (A)(ii).

12 ‘‘(C)(i) If the oil and gas lessee determines

13 that, as a consequence of the orders of the

14 court issued pursuant to paragraph (4)(C) and

15 paragraph (10)(C), further development of the

16 portion of the common area subject to the order

17 issued pursuant to paragraph (10)(C) is im18 practicable, the oil and gas lessee may petition

19 the court to terminate in whole or in part the

20 oil and gas lease or right to develop.

21 ‘‘(ii) The petition referred to in clause (i)

22 may be filed any time after issuance of the

23 order of the court pursuant to paragraph

24 (10)(C) but not later than 120 days after the
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1 date of receipt by the court of the notification

2 pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i).

3 ‘‘(iii) Upon receipt of a petition pursuant

4 to clause (i), the court shall make a determina5 tion whether to issue an order to terminate in

6 whole or in part the oil and gas lease or right

7 to develop and award an additional amount

8 from the Federal coal lessee to the oil or gas

9 lessee and all other owners of any non-Federal

10 interest in the oil and gas property, as their in11 terests may appear, in accordance with the pro12 cedures and deadlines established in paragraphs

13 (6) through (13).

14 ‘‘(15) TERMINATION OF COAL LEASE SUSPEN15 SION.—

16 ‘‘(A) If the court issues an order requiring

17 suspension of the Federal coal lease pursuant to

18 paragraph (11)(C)—

19 ‘‘(i) the oil and gas lessee shall notify

20 the court and the Federal coal lessee when

21 the portion of the common area subject to

22 the order issued pursuant to paragraph

23 (11)(C) is no longer required for gas or oil

24 production from such portion; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) within 120 days of the receipt by

2 the court of the notification pursuant to

3 clause (i) or within 60 days prior to the

4 date on which the period established by the

5 court in the order issued pursuant to para6 graph (11)(C) concludes, the Federal coal

7 lessee may petition the court for an order

8 that fixes the date and terms on which the

9 Federal coal lessee may commence mining

10 operations or construction of support facili11 ties in the portion of the common area

12 subject to the order issued pursuant to

13 paragraph (11)(C) and, if the Federal coal

14 lease is suspended, terminates the suspen15 sion.

16 ‘‘(B) The court shall issue the order

17 sought under subparagraph (A)(ii) within 30

18 days of receipt of the petition pursuant to sub19 paragraph (A)(ii).

20 ‘‘(C)(i) If the Federal coal lessee deter21 mines that, as a consequence of the orders of

22 the court issued pursuant to paragraph (4)(D)

23 and paragraph (11)(C), further development of

24 all or any part of the Federal coal lease is im25 practicable, the Federal coal lessee may petition
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1 the court to terminate all or any part of the

2 Federal coal lease.

3 ‘‘(ii) The petition referred to in clause (i)

4 may be filed any time after issuance of the

5 order of the court pursuant to paragraph

6 (11)(C) but not later than 120 days after the

7 date of receipt by the court of the notification

8 pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i).

9 ‘‘(iii) Upon receipt of a petition pursuant

10 to clause (i), the court shall make a determina11 tion whether to issue an order to terminate all

12 or any part of the Federal coal lease and award

13 an additional amount from the oil and gas les14 see to the Federal coal lessee and all other own15 ers of any interest in the Federal coal lease or

16 logical mining unit, as their interests may ap17 pear, in accordance with the procedures and

18 deadlines established in paragraphs (6) through

19 (13).

20 ‘‘(16) SUPPLEMENTAL PETITION FOR RE21 LIEF.—

22 ‘‘(A) If, at any time after the issuance of

23 an order pursuant to paragraph (10)(C) or

24 paragraph (11)(C), the mining plan that is the

25 basis of the order is altered in a manner that
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1 may warrant suspension or termination of an

2 additional part or all of the oil and gas lease or

3 right to develop or suspension or termination of

4 the Federal coal lease and/or an increase in the

5 sum of money that was awarded under the

6 order, either the Federal coal lessee or the oil

7 and gas lessee may file a supplemental petition

8 for relief with the court to amend the order.

9 ‘‘(B) The petitioner shall take such steps

10 as are required by subparagraphs (B) and (C)

11 of paragraph (1) and the supplementalpetition

12 for relief shall contain any information required

13 by subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) that was

14 not submitted with the petition for relief filed

15 with the court prior to the issuance of the order

16 pursuant to paragraph (10)(C) or paragraph

17 (11)(C).

18 ‘‘(C)(i) If any respondent disputes any in19 formation contained in the supplemental peti20 tion for relief, the respondent shall, within 10

21 days of the date of service of the petition, file

22 with the court a response setting forth the

23 grounds of dispute.

24 ‘‘(ii) The court may receive such briefs

25 and/or testimony it deems appropriate within
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1 30 days of the date of filing of the supple2 mental petition for relief, but may refrain from

3 issuing the order required by subparagraph

4 (D)(ii) only if the court makes either deter5 mination set forth in paragraph (5)(A).

6 ‘‘(D)(i) Based on the supplemental petition

7 for relief and any response, briefs, or testimony

8 received pursuant to paragraph (C), and after

9 review of the report of the panel of experts sub10 mitted pursuant to paragraph (9) prior to the

11 issuance of the order pursuant to paragraph

12 (10)(C) or paragraph (11)(C), the court shall

13 make a determination whether to suspend or

14 terminate an additional part or all of the oil

15 and gas lease or right to develop or to suspend

16 or terminate the Federal coal lease as described

17 in, and award an additional sum of money cal18 culated in accordance with, paragraph (10) or

19 paragraph (11).

20 ‘‘(ii) The court shall issue any order result21 ing from the determinations made pursuant to

22 clause(i) within 90 days of the date of filing of

23 the supplemental petition for relief.
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1 ‘‘(iii) Any award of an additional sum of

2 money shall be paid in accordance with para3 graph (13).

4 ‘‘(17) APPEAL OF COURT ORDERS.—

5 ‘‘(A) Any order issued pursuant to para6 graph (4)(C), paragraph (4)(D), paragraph

7 (5)(B), paragraph (14)(B), or paragraph

8 (15)(B) is final and may not be appealed.

9 ‘‘(B) Any order issued pursuant to para10 graph (10)(C), paragraph (11)(C), paragraph

11 (14)(C)(iii), paragraph (15)(C)(iii), or para12 graph (16)(D) may be appealed, but the appeal,

13 and any disposition thereof, may not disturb

14 any order referred to in subparagraph (A).

15 ‘‘(e) LIABILITY LIMITATION.—

16 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL COAL LESSEE.—Except as pro17 vided in a written agreement reached pursuant to

18 subsection (c)(2) or reached on or after September

19 1, 1999, and before the date of enactment of this

20 section, or as provided by an order of the court pur21 suant to subsection (d), the holder of a Federal coal

22 lease subject to the agreement or order shall not be

23 liable to the oil and gas lessee of, or any owner of

24 an interest in, any oil and gas property subject to

25 the agreement or order for any decrease in or deple-
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1 tion of, or any impairment of the ability to recover,

2 any gas or oil from the property that may result

3 from the mining of any coal on the Federal coal

4 leasehold or within a logical mining unit with the

5 Federal coal lease.

6 ‘‘(2) OIL AND GAS LESSEE.—Except as pro7 vided in a written agreement reached pursuant to

8 subsection (c)(2) or reached on or after September

9 1, 1999, and before the date of enactment of this

10 section, or as provided by an order of the court pur11 suant to subsection (d), the oil and gas lessee of an

12 oil and gas property subject to the agreement or

13 order shall not be liable to a holder of a Federal coal

14 lease subject to the agreement or order, the United

15 States, or any owner of an interest in private or

16 State coal within a logical mining unit with the Fed17 eral coal lease, for any impairment of the ability to

18 recover coal from the Federal coal leasehold or log19 ical mining unit that may result from the production

20 of gas or oil from the property.

21 ‘‘(f) APPLICABILITY LIMITATION.—Nothing in this

22 section shall be applicable to, or supersede any statutory

23 or common law otherwise applicable in, any proceeding in

24 any Federal or State court involving development of oil,
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1 gas, or coal outside of any common area as defined in sub2 section (c)(1).

3 ‘‘(g) CREDIT AGAINST ROYALTIES.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

5 ‘‘(A) Whenever a holder of a coal lease

6 issued under this Act is required by a written

7 agreement reached pursuant to subsection

8 (c)(2) and ratified by the Bureau of Land Man9 agement or reached prior to the date of enact10 ment of this section and ratified by the Bureau

11 of Land Management on or after September 1,

12 1999, or by a court order issued pursuant to

13 paragraph (10)(C), paragraph (14)(C)(iii), or

14 paragraph (16)(D) of subsection (d), to pay an

15 amount for termination or suspension of all or

16 part of an oil and gas lease of, or right to de17 velop, coalbed methane, as defined in section

18 1339(p)(2) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992

19 (106 Stat. 2992, 42 U.S.C. 13368(p)(2)), on

20 any oil and gas property located within the area

21 designated as ‘‘Subsection (g) Lands’’ on the

22 map described in subsection (a)(1), the amount

23 so paid shall be credited against any royalties

24 on production required by section 7(a) or any
32

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1 other provision of this Act from any Federal

2 coal lease of such holder or any affiliate thereof.

3 ‘‘(B) Whenever a holder of an oil and gas

4 lease issued under this Act is required by a

5 written agreement reached pursuant to sub6 section (c)(2) and ratified by the Bureau of

7 Land Management or reached prior to the date

8 of enactment of this section and ratified by the

9 Bureau of Land Management on or after Sep10 tember 1, 1999, or by a court order issued pur11 suant to paragraph (11)(C), paragraph

12 (15)(C)(iii), or paragraph (16)(D) of subsection

13 (d), to pay an amount for suspension or termi14 nation of a Federal coal lease located within the

15 area designated as ‘‘Subsection (g) Lands’’ on

16 the map described in subsection (a)(1), the

17 amount so paid shall be credited against any

18 royalties on production required by subsection

19 (b)(1)(A) or subsection (c)(1) of section 17 or

20 any other provision of this Act from any Fed21 eral oil and gas lease of such holder or any af22 filiate thereof.

23 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF ROYALTIES TO STATES.—

24 The Secretary shall pay to the State in which a lease
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1 is located 50 percent of the amount of any credit

2 against royalties provided under paragraph (1)—

3 ‘‘(A) in the same manner as if the credit

4 against royalties had been paid in money as

5 royalties and distributed under section 35(a) of

6 this Act; and

7 ‘‘(B) from amounts received as royalties,

8 rentals, or bonuses derived from leases issued

9 under this Act that otherwise would be depos10 ited to miscellaneous receipts under section

11 35(a) of this Act.

12 ‘‘(h) MINERAL CONSERVATION.—The Secretary shall

13 employ such authority as the Secretary may possess under

14 this Act to encourage expedited development of Federal

15 minerals that—

16 ‘‘(1) are leased pursuant to this Act;

17 ‘‘(2) are within common areas; and

18 ‘‘(3) otherwise may be lost or bypassed under

19 agreements entered into, or orders issued, pursuant

20 to this section.’’

21 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

22 This Act shall be effective upon the date of its enact23 ment.

Æ