II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4229 

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 

MAY 17, 2022 

Mr. BARRASSO (for himself, Ms. LUMMIS, Mr. RISCH, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. 

HOEVEN, and Mr. CRUZ) 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’’. 

7 SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF AUTHORITY. 

8 Section 17(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

9 226(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘may be leased by the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 May 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4229.IS S4229

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1 retary.’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘shall be leased by 

2 the Secretary of the Interior, or for National Forest Sys3 tem land, the Secretary of Agriculture, unless— 

4 ‘‘(1) otherwise excluded under this Act; or 

5 ‘‘(2) the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary 

6 of Agriculture, as applicable, shows good cause for why 

7 such land should not be leased.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM IN OIL AND GAS PER9 MITTING ON AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND. 

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

11 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended— 

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

13 and 

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

15 ‘‘SEC. 44. COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM IN OIL AND GAS PER16 MITTING ON AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND. 

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

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

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

20 and gas; and 

21 ‘‘(B) for which an application has been re22 ceived that includes— 

23 ‘‘(i) a drilling plan; 

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

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


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1 Code of Federal Regulations (or a suc2 cessor regulation); and 

3 ‘‘(iii) evidence of bond coverage. 

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

5 ‘available Federal land’ means any Federal land 

6 that— 

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

8 State; 

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

10 trust for the benefit of a federally recognized 

11 Indian Tribe or a member of a federally recog12 nized Indian Tribe; 

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

14 System; 

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

16 Refuge System, other than a unit of the Na17 tional Wildlife Refuge System for which oil and 

18 gas drilling is allowed under law; 

19 ‘‘(E) is not a congressionally approved wil20 derness area under the Wilderness Act (16 

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

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

23 for lease, or has been leased, for the explo24 ration, development, and production of oil and 

25 gas— 


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1 ‘‘(i) by the Bureau of Land Manage2 ment under— 

3 ‘‘(I) a resource management plan 

4 under the Federal Land Policy and 

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

6 1701 et seq.); or 

7 ‘‘(II) an integrated activity plan 

8 with respect to the National Petro9 leum Reserve–Alaska; or 

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

11 National Forest management plan under 

12 the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re13 sources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 

14 1600 et seq.). 

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

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

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

18 regulation). 

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

20 the Secretary of the Interior. 

21 ‘‘(5) STATE APPLICANT.—The term ‘State ap22 plicant’ means a State that submits an application 

23 under subsection (c). 


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1 ‘‘(6) STATE PROGRAM.—The term ‘State pro2 gram’ means a program in a State under which the 

3 State may— 

4 ‘‘(A) issue APDs, approve drilling plans, 

5 approve sundry notices, approve suspensions of 

6 operations or production, or grant rights-of-way 

7 on available Federal land; and 

8 ‘‘(B) impose sanctions for violations of 

9 State laws, regulations, or any condition of an 

10 issued APD or approved drilling plan, as appli11 cable. 

12 ‘‘(7) SUNDRY NOTICE.—The term ‘sundry no13 tice’ means a written request— 

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

15 APD or drilling plan; or 

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

17 under an APD or drilling plan. 

18 ‘‘(8) SUSPENSION OF OPERATIONS OR PRODUC19 TION.—The term ‘suspension of operations or pro20 duction’ means a suspension of operations or pro21 duction described in section 3103.4–4 of title 43, 

22 Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regula23 tions). 

24 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of an applica2 tion under subsection (c), the Secretary may dele3 gate to a State exclusive authority— 

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

5 land; 

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

7 Federal land; 

8 ‘‘(C) to approve sundry notices relating to 

9 work performed on available Federal land; 

10 ‘‘(D) to approve suspensions of operations 

11 or production; and 

12 ‘‘(E) to grant rights-of-way in accordance 

13 with paragraph (3). 

14 ‘‘(2) INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT.—On re15 quest of a State for which authority is delegated 

16 under paragraph (1), the authority delegated may 

17 include the authority to inspect and enforce an 

18 APD, drilling plan, or right-of-way, as applicable. 

19 ‘‘(3) RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—The authority to grant 

20 a right-of-way delegated to a State under paragraph 

21 (1)(E) shall be the authority of the Secretary of the 

22 Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as applica23 ble, under section 501 of the Federal Land Policy 

24 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761), to 

25 grant, issue, or renew rights-of-way over, upon, 


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1 under, or through available Federal land for the pur2 pose of mineral development. 

3 ‘‘(4) EFFECT OF FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL

4 REVIEWS.—A State for which authority is delegated 

5 under paragraph (1) shall continue processing appli6 cations for an APD, applications for approval of a 

7 drilling plan, applications for approval of a sundry 

8 notice, and applications to grant a right-of-way, re9 gardless of whether the Federal Government is car10 rying out any review related to the APD, drilling 

11 plan, sundry notice, or right-of-way under the Na12 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

13 4321 et seq.) or the Endangered Species Act of 

14 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

15 ‘‘(c) STATE APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

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

17 seeking a delegation of authority under subpara18 graph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E) of subsection (b)(1) 

19 shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 

20 time, in such manner, and containing such informa21 tion as the Secretary may require, including— 

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

23 that the State proposes to administer under 

24 State law; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) a statement from the Governor or at2 torney general of the State that demonstrates 

3 that the laws of the State provide adequate au4 thority to carry out the State program. 

5 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR APPROVAL OR DIS6 APPROVAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

7 on which an application under paragraph (1) is re8 ceived, the Secretary shall approve or disapprove the 

9 application. 

10 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR APPROVAL.— 

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

12 approve an application received under para13 graph (1) only if the Secretary determines 

14 that— 

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

16 least as effective as the Secretary in 

17 issuing APDs, approving drilling plans, ap18 proving sundry notices, approving suspen19 sions of operations or production, or grant20 ing rights-of-way, as applicable; 

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

22 applicant— 

23 ‘‘(I) complies with this Act; and 

24 ‘‘(II) provides for the termination 

25 or modification of an issued APD, apVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 May 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4229.IS S4229

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1 proved drilling plan, approved sundry 

2 notice, approved suspension of oper3 ations or production, or granted right4 of-way, as applicable, for cause, in5 cluding for— 

6 ‘‘(aa) the violation of any 

7 condition of the issued APD, ap8 proved drilling plan, approved 

9 sundry notice, approved suspen10 sion of operations or production, 

11 or granted right-of-way; 

12 ‘‘(bb) obtaining the issued 

13 APD, approved drilling plan, ap14 proved sundry notice, approved 

15 suspension of operations or pro16 duction, or granted right-of-way 

17 by misrepresentation; or 

18 ‘‘(cc) failure to fully disclose 

19 in the application all relevant 

20 facts; 

21 ‘‘(iii) the State applicant has suffi22 cient administrative and technical per23 sonnel and sufficient funding to carry out 

24 the State program; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) approval of the application 

2 would not result in decreased royalty pay3 ments owed to the United States under 

4 subsection (a) of section 35, except as pro5 vided in subsection (e) of that section. 

6 ‘‘(B) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

7 With respect to a State applicant seeking au8 thority under subsection (b)(2)(A) to inspect 

9 and enforce APDs, drilling plans, or rights-of10 way, as applicable, before approving the appli11 cation of the State applicant, the Secretary 

12 shall enter into a memorandum of under13 standing with the State applicant under para14 graph (6) that describes the Federal and State 

15 responsibilities with respect to the inspection 

16 and enforcement. 

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

18 an application received under paragraph (1), 

19 the Secretary shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) provide public notice of the appli21 cation; 

22 ‘‘(ii) solicit public comment for the 

23 application; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) hold a public hearing for the ap25 plication in the State. 


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1 ‘‘(4) DISAPPROVAL.—If the Secretary dis2 approves an application submitted under paragraph 

3 (1), the Secretary shall provide to the State appli4 cant written notification of— 

5 ‘‘(A) the reasons for the disapproval, in6 cluding any information, data, or analysis on 

7 which the disapproval is based; and 

8 ‘‘(B) any revisions or modifications nec9 essary to obtain approval. 

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

11 may resubmit an application under paragraph (1) at 

12 any time. 

13 ‘‘(6) STATE MEMORANDA OF UNDER14 STANDING.—Before a State submits an application 

15 under paragraph (1), the Secretary, on request of 

16 the State, may enter into a memorandum of under17 standing with the State regarding the proposed 

18 State program— 

19 ‘‘(A) to describe the Federal and State re20 sponsibilities for oil and gas regulations; 

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

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

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

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

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


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1 collect a fee for each application for an APD that 

2 is submitted to the State. 

3 ‘‘(2) NO COLLECTION OF FEE BY SEC4 RETARY.—The Secretary may not collect a fee from 

5 the applicant or from the State for an application 

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

7 authority has been delegated under subsection 

8 (b)(1)(A). 

9 ‘‘(3) USE.—A State shall use 100 percent of 

10 the fees collected under this subsection for the ad11 ministration of the approved State program of the 

12 State. 

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

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After providing written no15 tice to the Secretary, a State may voluntarily termi16 nate any authority delegated to the State under sub17 section (b)(1) on expiration of the 60-day period be18 ginning on the date on which the Secretary receives 

19 the written notice. 

20 ‘‘(2) RESUMPTION BY SECRETARY.—On termi21 nation of the authority delegated to a State under 

22 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall resume any ac23 tivities for which authority was delegated to the 

24 State under subsection (b)(1). 


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1 ‘‘(f) APPEAL OF DENIAL OF APPLICATION.—If a 

2 State for which the Secretary has delegated authority 

3 under subsection (b)(1) denies an application submitted 

4 under subsection (c)(1), the applicant may appeal the de5 cision to the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the De6 partment of the Interior. 

7 ‘‘(g) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION OF STATE PRO8 GRAM.— 

9 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary has rea10 son to believe that a State is not administering or 

11 enforcing an approved State program, the Secretary 

12 shall notify the relevant State regulatory authority 

13 of any possible deficiencies. 

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

15 days after the date on which a State receives notifi16 cation of a possible deficiency under paragraph (1), 

17 the State shall— 

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

19 possible deficiency; and 

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

21 writing. 

22 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION.— 

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

24 30-day period described in paragraph (2), the 


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1 Secretary shall issue public notice of any deter2 mination of the Secretary that— 

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

4 approved State program has resulted from 

5 a failure of the State to administer or en6 force the approved State program of the 

7 State; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) the State has not demonstrated 

9 the capability and intent of the State to 

10 administer or enforce the State program of 

11 the State. 

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

13 determination of the Secretary under subpara14 graph (A) in the applicable United States Dis15 trict Court. 

16 ‘‘(C) RESUMPTION BY SECRETARY PEND17 ING APPEAL.—The Secretary may not resume 

18 activities under paragraph (4) if an appeal 

19 under subparagraph (B) is pending. 

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

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

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

23 Secretary shall resume any activities for which au24 thority was delegated to the State during the pe25 riod— 


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

2 Secretary issues the public notice under para3 graph (3)(A); and 

4 ‘‘(B) ending on the date on which the Sec5 retary determines that the State may admin6 ister or enforce, as applicable, the approved 

7 State program of the State. 

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

9 regulatory program shall have standing to sue the 

10 Secretary for any action taken under this sub11 section.’’. 

12 (b) EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—Section 390(a) of the 

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

14 amended— 

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

16 inserting ‘‘The Secretary’’; 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘with respect to any of the ac18 tivities described in subsection (b) shall be subject to 

19 a rebuttable presumption that the use of’’ and in20 serting ‘‘shall apply’’; and 

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

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

23 if the action’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. PERMITTING ON A NON-FEDERAL SURFACE ESTATE. 

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

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

4 3(a)(2)) the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 45. PERMITTING ON A NON-FEDERAL SURFACE ES6 TATE. 

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

8 ‘‘(1) DRAINAGE.—The term ‘drainage’, with re9 spect to a non-Federal surface estate, means the mi10 gration of any hydrocarbon under the subsurface of 

11 the non-Federal surface estate. 

12 ‘‘(2) UNIT.—The term ‘unit’ means a State13 regulated drilling and spacing unit. 

14 ‘‘(b) PERMITS NOT REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN ACTIVI15 TIES ON A NON-FEDERAL SURFACE ESTATE.—The fol16 lowing activities conducted on a non-Federal surface es17 tate shall not require a permit from the Bureau of Land 

18 Management and shall not be considered a major Federal 

19 action under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

20 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.): 

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

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

23 a lease or unit or communitization agreement in 

24 which the United States holds a mineral ownership 

25 interest of 50 percent or less. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Oil and gas operations that may have po2 tential drainage impacts, as determined by the Bu3 reau of Land Management, on oil and gas in which 

4 the United States holds a mineral ownership inter5 est. 

6 ‘‘(c) DOI NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary of the Inte7 rior shall provide to each State a map or list indicating 

8 Federal mineral ownership within that State. 

9 ‘‘(d) STATE NOTIFICATION.—Each State with an ap10 proved permit to drill or drilling plan that would impact 

11 or extract oil and gas owned by the Federal Government 

12 shall notify the Secretary of the Interior of the approved 

13 permit to drill or drilling plan. 

14 ‘‘(e) ROYALTIES.—Nothing in this section affects the 

15 amount of royalties due to the United States under this 

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

17 SEC. 5. STATE AND TRIBAL AUTHORITY FOR HYDRAULIC 

18 FRACTURING REGULATION. 

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

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

21 4) the following: 

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

23 FRACTURING REGULATION. 

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


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1 ‘‘(1) HYDRAULIC FRACTURING.—The term ‘hy2 draulic fracturing’ means the process of creating 

3 small cracks or fractures in underground geological 

4 formations for well stimulation purposes of bringing 

5 hydrocarbons into the wellbore and to the surface 

6 for capture. 

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

8 the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

10 The Secretary shall not enforce any Federal regulation, 

11 guidance, or permit requirement regarding hydraulic frac12 turing relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activi13 ties on or under any land in any State that has regula14 tions, guidance, or permit requirements for that activity. 

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

16 to State regulations, guidance, and permit requirements 

17 for all activities regarding hydraulic fracturing relating to 

18 oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on Federal 

19 land. 

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

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

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1 ulations that require disclosure of chemicals used in 

2 hydraulic fracturing operations. 

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

4 available to the public on the website of the Sec5 retary the regulations submitted under paragraph 

6 (1). 

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

8 Secretary shall not enforce any Federal regulation, guid9 ance, or permit requirement with respect to hydraulic frac10 turing on any land held in trust or restricted status for 

11 the benefit of a federally recognized Indian Tribe or a 

12 member of a federally recognized Indian Tribe, except 

13 with the express consent of the beneficiary on whose behalf 

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

15 SEC. 6. PROTESTED LEASE SALES. 

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

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

18 seventh sentence the following: ‘‘The Secretary shall re19 solve any protest to a lease sale within 60 days following 

20 such payment.’’. 

Æ 


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