I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1180 

To assure that development of certain Federal oil and gas resources will 

occur in ways that protect water resources and respect the rights of 

the surface owners, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2007 

Mr. UDALL of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To assure that development of certain Federal oil and gas 

resources will occur in ways that protect water resources 

and respect the rights of the surface owners, 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; FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Western Waters and Farm Lands Protection Act’’. 

6 (b) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) Domestic oil and gas resources, including 

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1 tion’s energy supply portfolio and their development 

2 in appropriate locations and in appropriate ways can 

3 help reduce dependence on imported energy supplies. 

4 (2) In many areas of the Western United 

5 States, federally owned minerals, including oil and 

6 gas, are in lands where the surface estate belongs to 

7 non-Federal parties whose interests can be adversely 

8 affected if the development of the minerals is not 

9 done in an appropriate manner. 

10 (3) Development of oil and gas—and especially 

11 coalbed methane—often involves removal of a sig12 nificant volume of groundwater. 

13 (4) Some of the water extracted in connection 

14 with this development is reinjected into the ground, 

15 while some is retained in surface holding ponds or 

16 released on the surface and allowed to flow into 

17 streams or other waterbodies, including ditches used 

18 for irrigation. 

19 (5) The quality of these extracted waters varies 

20 from one location to another. Some of these waters 

21 are of good quality, but they often contain dissolved 

22 minerals (such as sodium, magnesium, arsenic, or 

23 selenium) that can contaminate other waters as a re24 sult of leaks or leaching from holding ponds or dis25 charge of extracted waters. In addition, extracted 


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1 waters often have other characteristics, such as high 

2 acidity and temperature, that can adversely affect 

3 agricultural uses of land or the quality of the envi4 ronment. 

5 (6) Clearer requirements for proper disposal of 

6 these extracted waters is necessary in order to avoid 

7 adverse effects on the quality of ground and surface 

8 waters as well as the productivity of surrounding ag9 ricultural lands. 

10 (7) To reduce the chance of potential harm to 

11 water supplies, agricultural production, and the envi12 ronment that otherwise could result from disposal of 

13 water extracted in connection with coalbed methane 

14 development or the development of other oil or gas 

15 resources, the Congress should act to ensure that 

16 such disposal is subject to regulation under the Fed17 eral Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et 

18 seq.) and the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 

19 et seq.). 

20 (8) Under the Stock-Raising Homestead Act 

21 (43 U.S.C. 291 et seq.) and other laws, the Federal 

22 Government has transferred to other parties the sur23 face estate in millions of acres in Western States 

24 where ownership of coal, oil, gas, and other minerals 

25 has been retained by the Federal Government. 


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1 (9) Under current Federal law, the leasing of 

2 federally owned coal on lands where the surface es3 tate is not owned by the United States is subject to 

4 the consent of the surface estate owners, but neither 

5 this consent requirement nor the operating and 

6 bonding requirements applicable to development of 

7 federally owned locatable minerals applies to the 

8 leasing or development of oil or gas in similar split9 estate situations. 

10 (10) To better balance the need for develop11 ment of oil and gas resources (including coalbed 

12 methane) with the rights and interests of the owners 

13 of the surface estate of affected lands, current law 

14 should be revised so as to increase the involvement 

15 of the surface estate owners in developing and imple16 menting plans for such development and to provide 

17 clearer and more adequate standards for such devel18 opment. 

19 (c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 

20 for the protection of water resources and the rights of sur21 face estate owners in the development of oil and gas re22 sources, including coalbed methane. 


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1 TITLE I—PROTECTION OF 

2 WATER RESOURCES 

3 SEC. 101. MINERAL LEASING ACT REQUIREMENTS. 

4 Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

5 226) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(p) WATER REQUIREMENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) An operator producing oil or gas (includ8 ing coalbed methane) under a lease issued under this 

9 Act shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) replace the water supply of a water 

11 user who obtains all or part of such user’s sup12 ply of water for domestic, agricultural, or other 

13 purposes from an underground or surface 

14 source that has been affected by contamination, 

15 diminution, or interruption proximately result16 ing from drilling operations for such produc17 tion; and 

18 ‘‘(B) comply with all applicable require19 ments of Federal and State law for discharge of 

20 any water produced under the lease. 

21 ‘‘(2) An application for a lease under this sub22 section shall be accompanied by a proposed water 

23 management plan including provisions to— 

24 ‘‘(A) protect the quantity and quality of 

25 surface and ground water systems, both on-site 


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1 and off-site, from adverse effects of the explo2 ration, development, and reclamation processes 

3 or to provide alternative sources of water if 

4 such protection cannot be assured; 

5 ‘‘(B) protect the rights of present users of 

6 water that would be affected by operations 

7 under the lease, including the discharge of any 

8 water produced in connection with such oper9 ations that is not reinjected; and 

10 ‘‘(C) identify any agreements with other 

11 parties for the beneficial use of produced waters 

12 and the steps that will be taken to comply with 

13 State and Federal laws related to such use.’’. 

14 SEC. 102. RELATION TO STATE LAW. 

15 Nothing in this Act or any amendment made by this 

16 Act shall— 

17 (1) be construed as impairing or in any manner 

18 affecting any right or jurisdiction of any State with 

19 respect to the waters of such State; or 

20 (2) be construed as limiting, altering, modi21 fying, or amending any of the interstate compacts or 

22 equitable apportionment decrees that apportion 

23 water among and between States. 


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1 TITLE II—SURFACE OWNER 

2 PROTECTION 

3 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

4 As used in this title— 

5 (1) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

6 of the Interior; 

7 (2) the term ‘‘lease’’ means a lease issued by 

8 the Secretary under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

9 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or any other law, providing for 

10 development of oil and gas resources (including coal11 bed methane) owned by the United States; 

12 (3) the term ‘‘lessee’’ means the holder of a 

13 lease; and 

14 (4) the term ‘‘operator’’ means any person that 

15 is responsible under the terms and conditions of a 

16 lease for the operations conducted on leased lands or 

17 any portion thereof. 

18 SEC. 202. POST-LEASE SURFACE USE AGREEMENT. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in section 203, 

20 the Secretary may not authorize any operator to conduct 

21 exploration and drilling operations on lands with respect 

22 to which title to oil and gas resources is held by the United 

23 States but title to the surface estate is not held by the 

24 United States, until the operator has filed with the Sec25 retary a document, signed by the operator and the surface 


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1 owner or owners, showing that the operator has secured 

2 a written surface use agreement between the operator and 

3 the surface owner or owners that meets the requirements 

4 of subsection (b). 

5 (b) CONTENTS.—The surface use agreement shall 

6 provide for— 

7 (1) the use of only such portion of the surface 

8 estate as is reasonably necessary for exploration and 

9 drilling operations based on site-specific conditions; 

10 (2) the accommodation of the surface estate 

11 owner to the maximum extent practicable, including 

12 the location, use, timing, and type of exploration and 

13 drilling operations, consistent with the operator’s 

14 right to develop the oil and gas estate; 

15 (3) the reclamation of the site to a condition ca16 pable of supporting the uses which such lands were 

17 capable of supporting prior to exploration and drill18 ing operations; and 

19 (4) compensation for damages as a result of ex20 ploration and drilling operations, including but not 

21 limited to— 

22 (A) loss of income and increased costs in23 curred; 


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1 (B) damage to or destruction of personal 

2 property, including crops, forage, and livestock; 

3 and 

4 (C) failure to reclaim the site in accord5 ance with this paragraph (3). 

6 (c) PROCEDURE.—(1) An operator shall notify the 

7 surface estate owner or owners of the operator’s desire to 

8 conclude an agreement under this section. If the surface 

9 estate owner and the operator do not reach an agreement 

10 within 90 days after the operator has provided such notice, 

11 the matter shall be referred to third party arbitration for 

12 resolution within a period of 90 days. The cost of such 

13 arbitration shall be the responsibility of the operator. 

14 (2) The Secretary shall identify persons with experi15 ence in conducting arbitrations and shall make this infor16 mation available to operators. 

17 (3) Referral of a matter for arbitration by a person 

18 identified by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (2) 

19 shall be sufficient to constitute compliance with paragraph 

20 (1). 

21 (d) ATTORNEYS FEES.—If action is taken to enforce 

22 or interpret any of the terms and conditions contained in 

23 a surface use agreement, the prevailing party shall be re24 imbursed by the other party for reasonable attorneys fees 


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1 and actual costs incurred, in addition to any other relief 

2 which a court or arbitration panel may grant. 

3 SEC. 203. AUTHORIZED EXPLORATION AND DRILLING OP4 ERATIONS. 

5 (a) AUTHORIZATION WITHOUT SURFACE USE

6 AGREEMENT.—The Secretary may authorize an operator 

7 to conduct exploration and drilling operations on lands 

8 covered by section 202 in the absence of an agreement 

9 with the surface estate owner or owners, if— 

10 (1) the Secretary makes a determination in 

11 writing that the operator made a good faith attempt 

12 to conclude such an agreement, including referral of 

13 the matter to arbitration pursuant to section 202(c), 

14 but that no agreement was concluded within 90 days 

15 after the referral to arbitration; 

16 (2) the operator submits a plan of operations 

17 that provides for the matters specified in section 

18 202(b) and for compliance with all other applicable 

19 requirements of Federal and State law; and 

20 (3) the operator posts a bond or other financial 

21 assurance in an amount the Secretary determines to 

22 be adequate to ensure compensation to the surface 

23 estate owner for any damages to the site, in the 

24 form of a surety bond, trust fund, letter of credit, 


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1 government security, certificate of deposit, cash, or 

2 equivalent. 

3 (b) SURFACE OWNER PARTICIPATION.—The Sec4 retary shall provide surface estate owners with an oppor5 tunity to— 

6 (1) comment on plans of operations in advance 

7 of a determination of compliance with this title; 

8 (2) participate in bond level determinations and 

9 bond release proceedings under this section; 

10 (3) attend an on-site inspection during such de11 terminations and proceedings; 

12 (4) file written objections to a proposed bond 

13 release; and 

14 (5) request and participate in an on-site inspec15 tion when they have reason to believe there is a vio16 lation of the terms and conditions of a plan of oper17 ations. 

18 (c) PAYMENT OF FINANCIAL GUARANTEE.—A sur19 face estate owner with respect to any land subject to a 

20 lease may petition the Secretary for payment of all or any 

21 portion of a bond or other financial assurance required 

22 under this section as compensation for any damages as 

23 a result of exploration and drilling operations. Pursuant 

24 to such a petition, the Secretary may use such bond or 


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1 other guarantee to provide compensation to the surface 

2 estate owner for such damages. 

3 (d) BOND RELEASE.—Upon request and after inspec4 tion and opportunity for surface estate owner review, the 

5 Secretary may release the financial assurance required 

6 under this section if the Secretary determines that explo7 ration and drilling operations are ended and all damages 

8 have been fully compensated. 

9 SEC. 204. SURFACE OWNER NOTIFICATION. 

10 The Secretary shall— 

11 (1) notify surface estate owners in writing at 

12 least 45 days in advance of lease sales; 

13 (2) within ten working days after a lease is 

14 issued, notify surface estate owners of regarding the 

15 identity of the lessee; 

16 (3) notify surface estate owners in writing con17 cerning any subsequent decisions regarding a lease, 

18 such as modifying or waiving stipulations and ap19 proving rights of way; and 

20 (4) notify surface estate owners within five 

21 business days after issuance of a drilling permit 

22 under a lease. 


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1 TITLE III—RECLAMATION AND 

2 BONDING 

3 SEC. 301. RECLAMATION STANDARD AND BOND. 

4 Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

5 226) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(p) RECLAMATION REQUIREMENTS.—An operator 

7 producing oil or gas (including coalbed methane) under 

8 a lease issued pursuant to this Act shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) at a minimum restore the land affected to 

10 a condition capable of supporting the uses that it 

11 was capable of supporting prior to any drilling, or 

12 higher or better uses of which there is reasonable 

13 likelihood, so long as such use or uses do not present 

14 any actual or probable hazard to public health or 

15 safety or pose any actual or probable threat of water 

16 diminution or pollution, and the permit applicants’ 

17 declared proposed land use following reclamation is 

18 not impractical or unreasonable, inconsistent with 

19 applicable land use policies and plans, or involve un20 reasonable delay in implementation, or is violative of 

21 Federal, State, or local law; 

22 ‘‘(2) ensure that all reclamation efforts proceed 

23 in an environmentally sound manner and as contem24 poraneously as practicable with the oil and gas drill25 ing operations; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) submit with the plan of operations a rec2 lamation plan that describes in detail the methods 

3 and practices that will be used to ensure complete 

4 and timely restoration of all lands affected by oil 

5 and gas operations. 

6 ‘‘(q) RECLAMATION BOND.—An operator producing 

7 oil or gas (including coalbed methane) under a lease issued 

8 under this Act shall post a bond that covers that area of 

9 land within the permit area upon which the operator will 

10 initiate and conduct oil and gas drilling and reclamation 

11 operations within the initial term of the permit. As suc12 ceeding increments of oil and gas drilling and reclamation 

13 operations are to be initiated and conducted within the 

14 permit area, the lessee shall file with the regulatory au15 thority an additional bond or bonds to cover such incre16 ments in accordance with this section. The amount of the 

17 bond required for each bonded area shall depend upon the 

18 reclamation requirements of the approved permit; shall re19 flect the probable difficulty of reclamation giving consider20 ation to such factors as topography, geology of the site, 

21 hydrology, and revegetation potential; and shall be deter22 mined by the Secretary. The amount of the bond shall be 

23 sufficient to assure the completion of the reclamation plan 

24 if the work had to be performed by the Secretary in the 

25 event of forfeiture. 


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1 ‘‘(r) REGULATIONS.—No later than one year after 

2 the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary 

3 shall promulgate regulations to implement the require4 ments of subsections (p) and (q). 

5 ‘‘(s) STUDY BY THE GENERAL ACCOUNTING OF6 FICE.—(1) The Comptroller General shall conduct a re7 view to assess the adequacy of the regulations issued by 

8 the Secretary pursuant to subsection (r) to ensure that 

9 operators will meet the requirements of subsection (p). 

10 ‘‘(2) A report of the results of the review required 

11 by paragraph (1) shall be transmitted to the Committee 

12 on Resources of the House of Representatives and the 

13 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen14 ate no later than 180 days after the date on which the 

15 Secretary promulgates regulations pursuant to subsection 

16 (r). 

17 ‘‘(3) The report required by paragraph (2) shall in18 clude findings and conclusions by the Comptroller General 

19 of the United States, and any recommendations the Comp20 troller General may make with respect to any legislation 

21 or administrative actions the Comptroller General deter22 mines would be appropriate to ensure compliance with the 

23 requirements of subsection (p).’’. 


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1 TITLE IV—ABANDONED WELLS 

2 SEC. 401. DEFINITION. 

3 As used in this title, the term ‘‘abandoned well’’ 

4 means any well drilled for the purpose of exploring for 

5 or developing oil or gas resources (including coalbed meth6 ane) that— 

7 (1) has not been in operation for a period of 12 

8 continuous months, unless the owner or operator has 

9 notified the Secretary of the Interior (for wells 

10 drilled to explore for or develop minerals owned by 

11 the United States) or the relevant State regulatory 

12 agency (for wells drilled to explore for or develop 

13 minerals not owned by the United States) that the 

14 well has been temporarily shut down; or 

15 (2) has not been operative for more than 60 

16 continuous months after the owner or operator has 

17 notified the Secretary of the Interior (for wells 

18 drilled to explore for or develop minerals owned by 

19 the United States) or the relevant State regulatory 

20 agency (for wells drilled to explore for or develop 

21 minerals not owned by the United States) that the 

22 well has been temporarily shut down. 

23 SEC. 402. FEDERAL REMEDIATION PROGRAM. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—(1) The Sec25 retary of the Interior, in cooperation with the Secretary 


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1 of Agriculture, shall establish a program to ensure to the 

2 maximum extent feasible the remediation, reclamation, 

3 and closure of abandoned wells that— 

4 (A) are located on lands administered by an 

5 agency of the Department of the Interior or the For6 est Service; or 

7 (B) were drilled to explore for or develop min8 erals owned by the United States located on lands 

9 with respect to which the surface estate is not owned 

10 by the United States. 

11 (2) In implementing the program, the Secretary of 

12 the Interior— 

13 (A) shall cooperate with the Secretary of Agri14 culture and the States with respect to the Federal 

15 lands covered by the program are located; and 

16 (B) shall consult with the Secretary of Energy 

17 and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commis18 sion. 

19 (3) The Secretary of the Interior shall establish the 

20 program by no later than 3 years after the date of enact21 ment of this section. 

22 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The program established 

23 under subsection (a) shall— 

24 (1) provide for identification of abandoned wells 

25 to be covered by the program; 


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1 (2) establish a means of ranking critical sites 

2 for priority in remediation based on potential envi3 ronmental harm, other land use priorities, and pub4 lic health and safety; and 

5 (3) provide as far as possible for identifying any 

6 lessees or other persons responsible for abandoned 

7 wells, and for recovering the costs of remediation to 

8 the maximum extent feasible. 

9 (c) PLAN.—Within 6 months after the date of enact10 ment of this section, the Secretary of the Interior, in co11 operation with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall prepare 

12 a plan for implementing the program established under 

13 subsection (a). A copy of the plan shall be transmitted 

14 to the Committee on Resources of the House of Represent15 atives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re16 sources of the Senate. 

17 (d) REVIEW AND REPORT.—(1) No later than 3 years 

18 after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

19 of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Agri20 culture, shall complete a review of the status of remedi21 ation, reclamation, and closure actions under the program. 

22 (2) Upon completion of the review required by para23 graph (1), the Secretary of the Interior shall provide to 

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1 tives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re2 sources of the Senate— 

3 (A) a report on the results of the review; 

4 (B) information regarding any wells on lands 

5 covered by the program that have been abandoned 

6 since the date of enactment of this section; and 

7 (C) any recommendations the Secretary may 

8 choose to make regarding legislative or administra9 tion steps to further the purposes for which the pro10 gram was established. 

11 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the 

13 Interior $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 

14 2009 to carry out this section. 

15 SEC. 403. ASSISTANCE TO STATES AND TRIBES. 

16 (a) STATE PROGRAM.—The Secretary of the Interior, 

17 in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall estab18 lish a program to provide technical assistance to facilitate 

19 State efforts to develop and implement practical and eco20 nomical remedies for environmental problems caused by 

21 abandoned wells on lands that are not owned by the 

22 United States. The Secretary shall work with the States, 

23 through the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, 

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1 mental risks of onshore abandoned wells on State and pri2 vate lands. 

3 (b) TRIBAL PROGRAM.—The Secretary of the Inte4 rior, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall 

5 establish a program to provide technical assistance to fa6 cilitate efforts by Indian tribes to develop and implement 

7 practical and economical remedies for environmental prob8 lems caused by abandoned wells on Indian lands, including 

9 lands held in trust by the United States. 

10 (c) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—So far as possible, the 

11 programs established under this section shall include— 

12 (1) mechanisms to facilitate identification of re13 sponsible parties; 

14 (2) criteria for ranking critical sites based on 

15 factors such as other land use priorities, potential 

16 environmental harm and public visibility; and 

17 (3) information and training programs regard18 ing best practices for remediation of different types 

19 of sites. 

20 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

21 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Inte22 rior for activities under this section $5,000,000 for each 

23 of fiscal years 2008 through 2009. 

Æ 


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