I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3229 

To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the Mineral Leasing 

Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to issue regulations to 

prevent or minimize the venting and flaring of gas in oil and gas 

production operations in the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 14, 2011 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself and Mr. HOLT) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the 

Mineral Leasing Act to require the Secretary of the 

Interior to issue regulations to prevent or minimize the 

venting and flaring of gas in oil and gas production 

operations in the United States, 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 ‘‘Fuel Loss Abatement 

5 and Royalty Enhancement Act’’ or the ‘‘FLARE Act’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. REGULATIONS TO PREVENT OR MINIMIZE THE 

2 VENTING AND FLARING OF GAS. 

3 (a) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT.—The 

4 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et 

5 seq.) is amended by inserting after section 9 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 10. REGULATIONS TO PREVENT OR MINIMIZE THE 

7 VENTING AND FLARING OF GAS. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall issue regula9 tions under this Act to prevent or minimize the venting 

10 and flaring of gas in oil and gas production operations 

11 in the United States and to promote the capture and bene12 ficial use or reinjection of gas in such operations. 

13 ‘‘(b) ROYALTIES.—Regulations issued under this sec14 tion shall include provisions that treat gas that is flared 

15 or vented in operations under a lease under this Act as 

16 production for which royalty is required to be paid to the 

17 United States.’’. 

18 (b) MINERAL LEASING ACT.—The Mineral Leasing 

19 Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by redesignating 

20 section 44 as section 45, and by inserting after section 

21 43 the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 44. REGULATIONS TO PREVENT OR MINIMIZE THE 

23 VENTING AND FLARING OF GAS. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall issue regula25 tions under this Act to prevent or minimize the venting 

26 and flaring of gas in oil and gas production operations 

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1 in the United States and to promote the capture and bene2 ficial use or reinjection of gas in such operations. 

3 ‘‘(b) ROYALTIES.—Regulations issued under this sec4 tion shall include provisions that treat gas that is flared 

5 or vented in operations under a lease under this Act as 

6 production for which royalty is required to be paid to the 

7 United States.’’. 

8 (c) LIMITATION ON APPLICATION TO EXISTING

9 LEASES.—Regulations issued under section 10(b) of the 

10 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, as amended by this 

11 Act, and regulations issued under section 43(b) of the 

12 Mineral Leasing Act, as amended by this Act, shall not 

13 apply with respect to production under a lease in effect 

14 on the date of enactment of this Act to the extent such 

15 application would constitute a breach of the terms of the 

16 lease by the United States. 

17 SEC. 3. ASSESSMENT OF VENTING AND FLARING OF GAS IN 

18 PRODUCTION OPERATIONS IN THE UNITED 

19 STATES. 

20 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

21 of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall assess and 

22 report to the Congress on the venting and flaring of gas 

23 in oil and gas production operations in the United States. 

24 The report shall include an estimate of the volume of gas 

25 that is vented or flared in such operations each year. 

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1 SEC. 4. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF VENTING AND FLAR2 ING OF GAS IN PRODUCTION OPERATIONS IN 

3 THE UNITED STATES. 

4 Any finding or permit issued by a Federal agency 

5 that will authorize flaring or venting of gas in oil and gas 

6 production operations in the United States is a major Fed7 eral action significantly affecting the quality of the human 

8 environment for purposes of section 102 of the National 

9 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332). 

10 SEC. 5. REGULATIONS. 

11 The Secretary of the Interior shall issue regulations 

12 that define the terms ‘‘vent’’, ‘‘venting’’, ‘‘flare’’, and 

13 ‘‘flaring’’ for purposes of this Act and the amendments 

14 made by this Act. 

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