I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2986 

To discourage speculative oil and gas leasing and to promote enhanced multiple use management of public land and National Forest System land, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 4, 2021 

Mrs. LEE of Nevada introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To discourage speculative oil and gas leasing and to promote 

enhanced multiple use management of public land and 

National Forest System 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 ‘‘End Speculative Oil 

5 and Gas Leasing Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) Federal land should be managed for mul9 tiple uses, resources, and values, including recreation 


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1 use, grazing use, timber resources, mineral re2 sources, watershed management, wildlife and fish 

3 habitat, and natural, scenic, scientific, and historic 

4 values; 

5 (2) section 17(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act 

6 (30 U.S.C. 226(a)) authorizes the Secretary of the 

7 Interior to offer for lease only land that is ‘‘known 

8 or believed to contain oil or gas deposits’’; 

9 (3)(A) in determining whether a parcel of Fed10 eral land should be made available for oil and gas 

11 leasing and development, and in offering such a par12 cel for sale, the Secretary does not meaningfully 

13 take into consideration the oil and gas development 

14 potential of that parcel; and 

15 (B) as a result, the Secretary regularly offers 

16 and leases for oil and gas development Federal land 

17 that has no or low potential for the development of 

18 oil and gas resources (referred to in this section as 

19 ‘‘no- or low-potential Federal land’’); 

20 (4)(A) no- or low-potential Federal land is fre21 quently leased for or near the minimum lease bid, or 

22 noncompetitively, and rarely produce oil or gas re23 sources; and 


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1 (B) as a result, taxpayers in the United States 

2 receive minimal revenue from the leasing of no- or 

3 low-potential Federal land; 

4 (5) making no- or low-potential Federal land 

5 available for oil and gas leasing can result in leases 

6 being obtained for speculative purposes; 

7 (6) the Secretary wastes taxpayer resources in 

8 issuing and managing leases on no- or low-potential 

9 Federal land; 

10 (7) no- or low-potential Federal land frequently 

11 supports other economically important uses, re12 sources, and values including the uses, resources, 

13 and values described in paragraph (1); 

14 (8) the existence of leases on no- and low-poten15 tial Federal land can and does limit the ability of 

16 the Secretary to support and enhance the uses, re17 sources, and values described in paragraph (1); and 

18 (9) meaningful public participation in leasing 

19 decisions is essential and can help to ensure that the 

20 decisions of the Secretary are well-informed and 

21 based on current and reliable information and data. 

22 SEC. 3. POLICY. 

23 In accordance with Federal multiple use land man24 agement goals, it is the policy of the United States that— 

25 (1) the Secretary— 


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1 (A) shall not, absent exceptional cir2 cumstances, offer for lease any Federal land 

3 that has low or no potential for the development 

4 of oil and gas resources; 

5 (B) shall discourage speculation in the 

6 Federal onshore oil and gas leasing program; 

7 and 

8 (C) by not offering for lease Federal land 

9 described in subparagraph (A), shall conserve 

10 limited Federal resources that can be better ap11 plied elsewhere; and 

12 (2) the policies described in paragraph (1) are 

13 in keeping with, and are not detrimental to, the en14 ergy security of the United States. 

15 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) DRAINAGE.—The term ‘‘drainage’’ means 

18 the migration of hydrocarbons, inert gases (other 

19 than helium), or associated resources from a well 

20 caused by production from another well. 

21 (2) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

22 means— 

23 (A) public land; and 

24 (B) National Forest System land. 


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1 (3) LAND USE PLAN.—The term ‘‘land use 

2 plan’’ means— 

3 (A) a land use plan required under sec4 tions 201 and 202 of the Federal Land Policy 

5 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1711, 

6 1712), including any resource management plan 

7 (as defined in section 1601.0–5 of title 43, 

8 Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regu9 lations)); and 

10 (B) a land and resource management plan 

11 developed by the Secretary of Agriculture pur12 suant to section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland 

13 Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

14 U.S.C. 1604). 

15 (4) PUBLIC LAND.—The term ‘‘public land’’ 

16 has the meaning given the term ‘‘public lands’’ in 

17 section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage18 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702). 

19 (5) REASONABLY FORESEEABLE DEVELOPMENT

20 SCENARIO.—The term ‘‘reasonably foreseeable devel21 opment scenario’’ has the meaning given the term in 

22 the handbook of the Bureau of Land Management 

23 entitled ‘‘H—1624–1—Planning for Fluid Mineral 

24 Resources’’ (as in effect on the date of enactment of 

25 this Act) and issued pursuant to the Federal Land 


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1 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

2 1701 et seq.). 

3 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di5 rector of the Bureau of Land Management. 

6 SEC. 5. FEDERAL LAND COVERED BY REASONABLY FORE7 SEEABLE DEVELOPMENT SCENARIO ISSUED 

8 BEFORE DATE OF ENACTMENT. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to Federal land oth10 erwise available for leasing of oil and gas resources pursu11 ant to the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) 

12 or the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 

13 351 et seq.) that is covered by a reasonably foreseeable 

14 development scenario issued before the date of enactment 

15 of this Act, except as provided in subsection (b), the Sec16 retary shall not offer the Federal land for lease unless the 

17 reasonably foreseeable development scenario for that land 

18 includes an assessment of the oil and gas development po19 tential of that land that specifically identifies the potential 

20 for all acres subject to decisions on availability for leasing. 

21 (b) EXCEPTION FOR DRAINAGE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may offer for 

23 lease any Federal land described in subsection (a) 

24 without meeting the requirements of that subsection 

25 if— 


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1 (A)(i) the Federal land is adjacent to land 

2 currently producing oil or gas; and 

3 (ii) the lease is issued for the purpose of 

4 preventing drainage from the adjacent land; or 

5 (B) the Federal land— 

6 (i) does not exceed 640 acres; and 

7 (ii) is located within 1 mile of a well 

8 producing oil or gas in paying quantities 

9 on the date on which the Federal land is 

10 offered for leasing. 

11 (2) REQUIREMENT.—A lease issued under para12 graph (1) shall be consistent with the applicable 

13 land use plan and all other applicable law. 

14 SEC. 6. FEDERAL LAND NOT COVERED BY CURRENT REA15 SONABLY FORESEEABLE DEVELOPMENT SCE16 NARIO. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub19 section (c), if the Secretary determines that Federal 

20 land otherwise available for leasing of oil and gas re21 sources pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

22 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or the Mineral Leasing Act for 

23 Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.) is not cov24 ered by a reasonably foreseeable development sce25 nario issued in accordance with this subsection or 


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1 section 5(a), the Secretary, in cooperation with the 

2 Secretary of Agriculture with respect to National 

3 Forest System land, shall complete such a reason4 ably foreseeable development scenario. 

5 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—Any reasonably foresee6 able development scenario issued on or after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act shall, at a minimum— 

8 (A) assess and designate all Federal land 

9 covered by the reasonably foreseeable develop10 ment scenario as having high, moderate, low, or 

11 no potential for development of oil and gas re12 sources; and 

13 (B) publish a map depicting the covered 

14 Federal land and the development potential for 

15 that Federal land designated under subpara16 graph (A). 

17 (3) FACTORS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—In completing a reason19 ably foreseeable development scenario for Fed20 eral land, the Secretary shall take into consider21 ation— 

22 (i) past and present exploration and 

23 development activity in the vicinity, includ24 ing historic trends; 


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1 (ii) for each lease in the vicinity, the 

2 number, location, and types of wells 

3 drilled, the representative depth of wells 

4 drilled, the number and location of dry 

5 holes, the success ratio for wells drilled, 

6 and the location, production history, and 

7 life expectancy of producing fields; 

8 (iii) geological, geophysical, and geo9 chemical information for the Federal land, 

10 including data and information from the 

11 United States Geological Survey, the De12 partment of Energy, State agencies, indus13 try, professional societies, academic 

14 sources, and the public; 

15 (iv) structural and stratigraphic data 

16 and information relating to basins, fields, 

17 and plays on the Federal land; and 

18 (v) data and information on the likeli19 hood that economically recoverable oil and 

20 gas resources are present in a given area, 

21 including information submitted by experts 

22 and the public. 

23 (B) EXPLANATION OF FACTORS.—The 

24 Secretary shall document how each factor de25 scribed in subparagraph (A) and any other facVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2986.IH H2986

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1 tors considered by the Secretary support the 

2 designation of the potential for development of 

3 oil and gas resources on the Federal land. 

4 (4) OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPA5 TION.—In carrying out a reasonably foreseeable de6 velopment scenario under this subsection, the Sec7 retary shall— 

8 (A) notify the public that the reasonably 

9 foreseeable development scenario is being initi10 ated; 

11 (B) publish a request for information for 

12 the reasonably foreseeable development sce13 nario; 

14 (C) release a draft version of the reason15 ably foreseeable development scenario for a 

16 public review and comment for a period of not 

17 less than 60 days; and 

18 (D) consider and respond to public com19 ments in the final version of the reasonably 

20 foreseeable development scenario. 

21 (b) REGULAR UPDATE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 years 

23 after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less 

24 frequently than every 15 years thereafter, the Sec25 retary, consistent with subsection (a) and in coVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2986.IH H2986

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1 operation with the Secretary of Agriculture with re2 spect to National Forest System land, shall review 

3 and update all reasonably foreseeable development 

4 scenarios covering Federal land. 

5 (2) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in sub6 section (c), the Secretary shall not offer for lease 

7 any Federal land otherwise available for leasing of 

8 oil and gas resources pursuant to the Mineral Leas9 ing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or the Mineral Leas10 ing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.) 

11 unless the Secretary has updated the reasonably 

12 foreseeable development scenario covering that Fed13 eral land in accordance with paragraph (1). 

14 (c) EXCEPTION FOR DRAINAGE.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may offer for 

16 lease any Federal land otherwise available for leas17 ing of oil and gas resources pursuant to the Mineral 

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

19 Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et 

20 seq.) without completing or updating a reasonably 

21 foreseeable development scenario for that land under 

22 subsection (a) or (b), as applicable, if— 

23 (A)(i) the Federal land is adjacent to land 

24 currently producing oil or gas; and 


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1 (ii) the lease is issued for the purpose of 

2 preventing drainage from the adjacent land; or 

3 (B) the Federal land— 

4 (i) does not exceed 640 acres; and 

5 (ii) is located within 1 mile of a well 

6 producing oil or gas in paying quantities 

7 on the date on which the Federal land is 

8 offered for leasing. 

9 (2) REQUIREMENT.—A lease issued under para10 graph (1) shall be consistent with the applicable 

11 land use plan and all other applicable law. 

12 SEC. 7. LAND HAVING NO OR LOW DEVELOPMENT POTEN13 TIAL UNDER A REASONABLY FORESEEABLE 

14 DEVELOPMENT SCENARIO. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsections 

16 (b) and (c), the Secretary shall not offer for lease any Fed17 eral land otherwise available for leasing of oil and gas re18 sources pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

19 181 et seq.) or the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired 

20 Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.) if the Federal land is des21 ignated in the applicable reasonably foreseeable develop22 ment scenario as having low or no potential for develop23 ment of oil or gas resources. 

24 (b) EXCEPTION FOR DRAINAGE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may offer for 

2 lease any Federal land described in subsection (a) 

3 if— 

4 (A)(i) the Federal land is adjacent to land 

5 currently producing oil or gas; and 

6 (ii) the lease is issued for the purpose of 

7 preventing drainage from the adjacent land; or 

8 (B) the Federal land— 

9 (i) does not exceed 640 acres; and 

10 (ii) is located within 1 mile of a well 

11 producing oil or gas in paying quantities 

12 on the date on which the Federal land is 

13 offered for leasing. 

14 (2) REQUIREMENT.—A lease issued under para15 graph (1) shall be consistent with the applicable 

16 land use plan and all other applicable law. 

17 (c) VARIANCE PROCESS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—An entity seeking to lease 

19 Federal land described in subsection (a) for pur20 poses other than the purpose described in subsection 

21 (b)(1)(A)(ii) may submit to the Secretary an appli22 cation for a variance under which the applicant shall 

23 bear the full burden of establishing and documenting 

24 that providing a variance for the Federal land 

25 would— 


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1 (A) be consistent with decisions contained 

2 in the land use plan in effect for the Federal 

3 land; 

4 (B) affect only areas— 

5 (i) with low wildlife, recreation, live6 stock, and other multiple-use resource val7 ues; and 

8 (ii) where impacts to those values 

9 arising from the variance can be resolved; 

10 (C) optimize the use of existing infrastruc11 ture and avoid duplication of infrastructure and 

12 disruption of public land; 

13 (D) minimize adverse impacts on fish and 

14 wildlife habitats and migration and movement 

15 corridors in nearby areas; 

16 (E) cause no significant effects on species 

17 listed as endangered species or threatened spe18 cies under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

19 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) or the habitats of 

20 those species; 

21 (F) cause no cumulative impacts on air or 

22 water resources of concern that cannot be 

23 avoided or minimized; 

24 (G) cause no adverse impacts on— 

25 (i) units of the National Park System; 


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1 (ii) units of the National Wildlife Ref2 uge System; 

3 (iii) areas of critical environmental 

4 concern; 

5 (iv) components of the National Wil6 derness Preservation System; or 

7 (v) other special status areas, includ8 ing State and local parks and wildlife and 

9 recreation areas; and 

10 (H) allow the Federal land to be developed 

11 in the public interest. 

12 (2) OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPA13 TION.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of an appli15 cation for a variance under paragraph (1), the 

16 Secretary shall— 

17 (i) promptly notify the public that the 

18 application has been received; and 

19 (ii) provide the public with an oppor20 tunity to review and comment on the appli21 cation, including any supporting docu22 ments, for a period of not less than 60 

23 days. 

24 (B) RESPONSE.—The Secretary shall con25 sider and respond in writing to any public comVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2986.IH H2986

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1 ments received under subparagraph (A)(ii) be2 fore making a determination under paragraph 

3 (3)(A). 

4 (3) GRANTING OF VARIANCE.—The Secretary 

5 may grant a variance for Federal land described in 

6 subsection (a) pursuant to an application submitted 

7 under paragraph (1), and offer that Federal land for 

8 lease, if— 

9 (A) the Secretary publishes in the Federal 

10 Register a determination that— 

11 (i) the applicant met the burden of es12 tablishing and documenting that the vari13 ance would meet the requirements de14 scribed in paragraph (1); 

15 (ii) offering the Federal land for 

16 lease— 

17 (I) would not preclude the use of 

18 the Federal land for other uses, in19 cluding grazing, fish and wildlife, and 

20 recreation uses; and 

21 (II) would be managed in accord22 ance with the principles of multiple 

23 use (as defined in section 103 of the 

24 Federal Land Policy and Management 

25 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)); and 


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1 (iii) the variance is in the public inter2 est; and 

3 (B) the Federal land— 

4 (i) is adjacent to land currently pro5 ducing oil or gas in commercial quantities 

6 on the date on which the variance is grant7 ed; and 

8 (ii) does not exceed 640 acres. 

9 (4) REQUIREMENT.—A lease issued under para10 graph (3) shall be consistent with the applicable 

11 land use plan and all other applicable law. 

12 (5) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not 

13 grant more than 1 variance under this subsection 

14 per 5-year period to an applicant or to an entity 

15 under common ownership or control with the appli16 cant. 

17 SEC. 8. EFFECT. 

18 (a) MULTIPLE USE CONSIDERATIONS.—Nothing in 

19 this Act, including a determination under a reasonably 

20 foreseeable development scenario issued pursuant to this 

21 Act that Federal land has high or moderate potential for 

22 development of oil and gas resources, alters— 

23 (1) the requirements under section 202(c) of 

24 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

25 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712(c)) that prior to offering for 


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1 lease any public land otherwise available for leasing 

2 of oil and gas resources pursuant to the Mineral 

3 Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or the Mineral 

4 Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et 

5 seq.), the Secretary shall consider and weigh the 

6 multiple use and sustained yield values of the public 

7 land; 

8 (2) the requirements of subsections (b) and (e) 

9 of section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 

10 Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604) 

11 that prior to offering for lease any National Forest 

12 System land otherwise available for leasing of oil 

13 and gas resources pursuant to the Mineral Leasing 

14 Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or the Mineral Leasing 

15 Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.), the 

16 Secretary of Agriculture shall consider and weigh 

17 the multiple use and sustained yield values of the 

18 National Forest System land; or 

19 (3) any other applicable requirements of law. 

20 (b) NEPA.—Nothing in this Act modifies, alters, or 

21 impacts the applicability of the National Environmental 

22 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to the leasing 

23 of Federal land by the Secretary. 

Æ 


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