Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act

Subjects: Energy


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1205 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1205

    To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to streamline the oil and gas 
 permitting process and to recognize fee ownership for certain oil and 
         gas drilling or spacing units, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 27, 2023

  Mrs. Bice introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to streamline the oil and gas 
 permitting process and to recognize fee ownership for certain oil and 
         gas drilling or spacing units, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bureau of Land Management Mineral 
Spacing Act''.

SEC. 2. ACCESS TO FEDERAL ENERGY RESOURCES FROM NON-FEDERAL SURFACE 
              ESTATE.

    Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(r) No Federal Permit Required for Oil and Gas Activities on 
Certain Land.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall not require an 
        operator to obtain a Federal drilling permit for oil and gas 
        exploration and production activities conducted on non-Federal 
        surface estate, provided that--
                    ``(A) the United States holds an ownership interest 
                of less than 50 percent of the subsurface mineral 
                estate to be accessed by the proposed action; and
                    ``(B) the operator submits to the Secretary a State 
                permit to conduct oil and gas exploration and 
                production activities on the non-Federal surface 
                estate.
            ``(2) No federal action.--An oil and gas exploration and 
        production activity carried out under paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) shall not be considered a major Federal 
                action for the purposes of section 102(2)(C) of the 
                National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
                4332);
                    ``(B) shall require no additional Federal action;
                    ``(C) may commence 30 days after submission of the 
                State permit to the Secretary; and
                    ``(D) shall not be subject to--
                            ``(i) section 306108 of title 54, United 
                        States Code (commonly known as the National 
                        Historic Preservation Act of 1966); and
                            ``(ii) section 7 of the Endangered Species 
                        Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536).
            ``(3) Royalties and production accountability.--(A) Nothing 
        in this subsection shall affect the amount of royalties due to 
        the United States under this Act from the production of oil and 
        gas, or alter the Secretary's authority to conduct audits and 
        collect civil penalties pursuant to the Federal Oil and Gas 
        Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).
            ``(B) The Secretary may conduct onsite reviews and 
        inspections to ensure proper accountability, measurement, and 
        reporting of production of Federal oil and gas, and payment of 
        royalties.
            ``(4) Nonapplicability to indian lands.--This subsection 
        shall not apply to Indian lands.
            ``(5) Indian land.--In this subsection, the term `Indian 
        land' means--
                    ``(A) any land located within the boundaries of an 
                Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria; and
                    ``(B) any land not located within the boundaries of 
                an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria, the title 
                to which is held--
                            ``(i) in trust by the United States for the 
                        benefit of an Indian tribe or an individual 
                        Indian;
                            ``(ii) by an Indian tribe or an individual 
                        Indian, subject to restriction against 
                        alienation under laws of the United States; or
                            ``(iii) by a dependent Indian community.''.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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