H. R. 6—131
(b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall enter into a memo-
randum of understanding for purposes of this section with— 
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture; 
(B) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency; and 
(C) the Chief of Engineers. 
(2) STATE PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary may request that 
the Governors of Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah, and New 
Mexico be signatories to the memorandum of understanding. 
(c) DESIGNATION OF QUALIFIED STAFF.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the date 
of the signing of the memorandum of understanding under 
subsection (b), all Federal signatory parties shall, if appropriate, 
assign to each of the field offices identified in subsection (d) 
an employee who has expertise in the regulatory issues relating 
to the office in which the employee is employed, including, 
as applicable, particular expertise in— 
(A) the consultations and the preparation of biological 
opinions under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act 
of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536); 
(B) permits under section 404 of Federal Water Pollu-
tion Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344); 
(C) regulatory matters under the Clean Air Act (42 
U.S.C. 7401 et seq.); 
(D) planning under the National Forest Management 
Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et seq.); and 
(E) the preparation of analyses under the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 
(2) DUTIES.—Each employee assigned under paragraph (1) 
shall— 
(A) not later than 90 days after the date of assignment, 
report to the Bureau of Land Management Field Managers 
in the office to which the employee is assigned; 
(B) be responsible for all issues relating to the jurisdic-
tion of the home office or agency of the employee; and 
(C) participate as part of the team of personnel working 
on proposed energy projects, planning, and environmental 
analyses. 
(d) FIELD OFFICES.—The following Bureau of Land Management 
Field Offices shall serve as the Pilot Project offices: 
(1) Rawlins, Wyoming. 
(2) Buffalo, Wyoming. 
(3) Miles City, Montana. 
(4) Farmington, New Mexico. 
(5) Carlsbad, New Mexico. 
(6) Grand Junction/Glenwood Springs, Colorado. 
(7) Vernal, Utah. 
(e) REPORTS.—Not later than 3 years after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 
that— 
(1) outlines the results of the Pilot Project to date; and 
(2) makes a recommendation to the President regarding 
whether the Pilot Project should be implemented throughout 
the United States.
H. R. 6—132
(f) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Secretary shall assign to each 
field office identified in subsection (d) any additional personnel 
that are necessary to ensure the effective implementation of— 
(1) the Pilot Project; and 
(2) other programs administered by the field offices, 
including inspection and enforcement relating to energy 
development on Federal land, in accordance with the multiple 
use mandate of the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 
(g) PERMIT PROCESSING IMPROVEMENT FUND.—Section 35 of 
the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(c)(1) Notwithstanding the first sentence of subsection (a), 
any rentals received from leases in any State (other than the 
State of Alaska) on or after the date of enactment of this subsection 
shall be deposited in the Treasury, to be allocated in accordance 
with paragraph (2). 
‘‘(2) Of the amounts deposited in the Treasury under paragraph 
(1)— 
‘‘(A) 50 percent shall be paid by the Secretary of the 
Treasury to the State within the boundaries of which the leased 
land is located or the deposits were derived; and 
‘‘(B) 50 percent shall be deposited in a special fund in 
the Treasury, to be known as the ‘BLM Permit Processing 
Improvement Fund’ (referred to in this subsection as the 
‘Fund’). 
‘‘(3) For each of fiscal years 2006 through 2015, the Fund 
shall be available to the Secretary of the Interior for expenditure, 
without further appropriation and without fiscal year limitation, 
for the coordination and processing of oil and gas use authorizations 
on onshore Federal land under the jurisdiction of the Pilot Project 
offices identified in section 365(d) of the Energy Policy Act of 
2005.’’. 
(h) TRANSFER
OF FUNDS.—For the purposes of coordination 
and processing of oil and gas use authorizations on Federal land 
under the administration of the Pilot Project offices identified in 
subsection (d), the Secretary may authorize the expenditure or 
transfer of such funds as are necessary to— 
(1) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; 
(2) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; 
(3) the Forest Service; 
(4) the Environmental Protection Agency; 
(5) the Corps of Engineers; and 
(6) the States of Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah, and 
New Mexico. 
(i) FEES.—During the period in which the Pilot Project is 
authorized, the Secretary shall not implement a rulemaking that 
would enable an increase in fees to recover additional costs related 
to processing drilling-related permit applications and use authoriza-
tions. 
(j) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section affects— 
(1) the operation of any Federal or State law; or 
(2) any delegation of authority made by the head of a 
Federal agency whose employees are participating in the Pilot 
Project.