154 
SEC. 415. HAVING OPEN ACCESS TO RELEVANT DATA. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 
‘‘Having Open Access to Relevant Data Act’’ or the 
‘‘HOARD Act’’. 
(b) REPORT ON APDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1 of 
each year, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit 
to Congress a report on the following statistics: 
(A) The number of APDs approved by the 
BLM during the previous fiscal year for which 
the applicant has not begun drilling by the end 
of such year. 
(B) The number of APDs approved by the 
BLM during any fiscal year for which the appli-
cant has not begun drilling by the end of the 
previous fiscal year. 
(C) With respect to APDs approved by the 
BLM during the previous fiscal year, the aver-
age number of days between receipt of an APD 
by the BLM and the approval of such APD, 
disaggregated by the average number of such 
days— 
(i) the APD was being processed by 
BLM; and 
(ii) the BLM was waiting on addi-
tional information from the applicant. 
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(D) With respect to APDs approved by the 
BLM during the previous fiscal year, the aver-
age cost of approving an APD. 
(2) DISAGGREGATION.—The Secretary of the 
Interior shall disaggregate each statistic required 
under paragraph (1) by the location of the site for 
which the APD was requested, including by— 
(A) the State in which such site is located; 
(B) the BLM field office that administers 
the land upon which such site is located; 
(C) whether or not the site is located on 
Federal land; and 
(D) whether or not the site is located on 
Indian land. 
(c) DISCOURAGING HOARDING AND SPECULATION.— 
(1) LIMITATION ON FEDERAL FUNDS USED FOR 
STREAMLINING PROCESSING OF APDS.—No Federal 
funds may be used to streamline BLM processing of 
APDs during a fiscal year if, on the last day of the 
previous fiscal year, the number of APDs approved 
by the BLM during any fiscal year, but for which 
the applicant has not begun drilling, is greater than 
twice the number of APDs received by the BLM 
during any fiscal year for which the BLM has nei-
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ther approved nor requested more information from 
the applicant. 
(2) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF OUTSTANDING 
APDS PER APPLICANT.—If any applicant, including 
its affiliates, has received greater than 100 approved 
APDs from the BLM for which such applicant, in-
cluding its affiliates, has not begun drilling, then 
such applicant, including its affiliates, shall not be 
eligible to participate in the competitive and non-
competitive bidding processes for oil and gas explo-
ration and production under the Minerals Leasing 
Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) during the 5-year period 
beginning on the first day of the next fiscal year. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) AFFILIATE.—With respect to an applicant, 
the term ‘‘affiliate’’ means any person that controls, 
is controlled by, or is under common control with the 
applicant. 
(2) APD.—The term ‘‘APD’’ means an applica-
tion received by the BLM for a permit to drill an 
oil or gas well. 
(3) BLM.—The term ‘‘BLM’’ means the Bu-
reau of Land Management. 
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157 
Subtitle C—Operational Reforms 
SEC. 421. BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall promulgate 
final regulations that require oil and gas operators to use 
best management practices that ensure the sound, effi-
cient, and environmentally responsible development of oil 
and gas on Federal lands in a manner that avoids where 
practical, minimizes, and mitigates actual and anticipated 
impacts to environmental habitat functions resulting from 
oil and gas development. Such regulations may allow the 
Secretary to approve site-specific adjustments to address 
unique issues and circumstances, on a case-by-case basis. 
All such regulations shall be consistent with the United 
States trust responsibility to Indian Tribes. 
SEC. 422. INSPECTION FEE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 108 of the Federal Oil 
and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 
1718) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) INSPECTION FEE.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The designated operator 
under each oil and gas lease on Federal or Indian 
lands, or each unit and communitization agreement 
that includes one or more such Federal or Indian 
leases, that is subject to inspection under subsection 
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(b) and that is in force at the start of fiscal year 
2017, shall pay a nonrefundable inspection fee in an 
amount that, except as provided in paragraph (2), is 
established by the Secretary by regulation and is 
sufficient to recover the full costs incurred by the 
United States for inspection and enforcement with 
respect to such leases. 
‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—Until the effective date of reg-
ulations under paragraph (1), the amount of the fee 
shall be— 
‘‘(A) $700 for each lease or unit or 
communitization agreement with no active or 
inactive wells, but with surface use, disturbance 
or reclamation; 
‘‘(B) $1,225 for each lease or unit or 
communitization agreement with 1 to 10 wells, 
with any combination of active or inactive wells; 
‘‘(C) $4,900 for each lease or unit or 
communitization agreement with 11 to 50 wells, 
with any combination of active or inactive wells; 
and 
‘‘(D) $9,800 for each lease or unit or 
communitization agreement with more than 50 
wells, with any combination of active or inactive 
wells. 
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‘‘(3) DUE DATE.—Payment of the fee under 
this section shall be due not later than 30 days after 
the Secretary provides notice of the assessment of 
the fee. 
‘‘(4) PENALTY.—If the designated operator 
fails to pay the full amount of the fee as prescribed 
in this section, the Secretary may, in addition to uti-
lizing any other applicable enforcement authority, 
assess civil penalties against the operator under sec-
tion 109 in the same manner as if this section were 
a mineral leasing law.’’. 
(b) ASSESSMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018.—The Sec-
retary of the Interior shall assess the fee under the amend-
ment made by subsection (a) for fiscal year 2018, and pro-
vide notice of such assessment to each designated operator 
who is liable for such fee, by not later than 60 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 423. PROTECTION OF WATER RESOURCES. 
(a) MINERAL LEASING ACT REQUIREMENTS.—Sec-
tion 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(r) WATER REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) An operator producing oil or gas (includ-
ing coalbed methane) under a lease issued under this 
Act shall— 
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‘‘(A) replace the water supply of a water 
user who obtains all or part of such user’s sup-
ply of water for domestic, agricultural, or other 
purposes from an underground or surface 
source that has been affected by contamination, 
diminution, or interruption proximately result-
ing from drilling operations for such produc-
tion; and 
‘‘(B) comply with all applicable require-
ments of Federal and State law for discharge of 
any water produced under the lease. 
‘‘(2) An application for a permit to drill under 
a lease under this Act shall be accompanied by a 
proposed water management plan including provi-
sions to— 
‘‘(A) protect the quantity and quality of 
surface and ground water systems, both on-site 
and off-site, from adverse effects of the explo-
ration, development, and reclamation processes 
or to provide alternative sources of water if 
such protection cannot be assured; 
‘‘(B) protect the rights of present users of 
water that would be affected by operations 
under the lease, including the discharge of any 
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161 
water produced in connection with such oper-
ations that is not reinjected; and 
‘‘(C) identify any agreements with other 
parties for the beneficial use of produced waters 
and the steps that will be taken to comply with 
State and Federal laws related to such use.’’. 
(b) RELATION TO STATE LAW.—Nothing in this sec-
tion or any amendment made by this section shall— 
(1) be construed as impairing or in any manner 
affecting any right or jurisdiction of any State with 
respect to the waters of such State; or 
(2) be construed as limiting, altering, modi-
fying, or amending any of the interstate compacts or 
equitable apportionment decrees that apportion 
water among and between States. 
SEC. 424. METHANE EMISSIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Federal Oil and Gas 
Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1711 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 118. GAS WASTE REDUCTION AND ENHANCEMENT OF 
GAS MEASURING AND REPORTING. 
‘‘(a) RULES
FOR
PREVENTING
AND
REDUCING 
WASTE OF GAS VIA VENTING, FLARING, AND FUGITIVE 
RELEASES.— 
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162 
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT
TO
ISSUE
RULES.—The 
Secretary shall issue rules that establish require-
ments for reducing and preventing the waste of gas, 
including by venting, flaring, and fugitive releases, 
from covered operations. 
‘‘(2) CONTENT OF RULES.—The rules shall— 
‘‘(A) require that 99 percent of all gas pro-
duced that is subject to a mineral leasing law 
be captured annually within 5 years after the 
enactment of the Sustainable Energy Develop-
ment Reform Act; 
‘‘(B) require flaring of gas, rather than 
venting, in all instances in which gas capture is 
not viable; 
‘‘(C) require that every application for a 
permit to drill a production well— 
‘‘(i) demonstrate sufficient infrastruc-
ture is in place to capture produced gas; 
and 
‘‘(ii) be subject to public comments 
for a period of 30 days; 
‘‘(D) prohibit all new wells from flaring, 
within 2 years after the date of the enactment 
of the Sustainable Energy Development Reform 
Act; 
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‘‘(E) require the operator of any covered 
operation that routinely flares gas before the ef-
fective date of the prohibition under subpara-
graph (D) to submit a gas capture plan to the 
Secretary no later than 6 months after such ef-
fective date that ensures the requirement in 
subparagraph (A) will be met; 
‘‘(F) require the operator of any covered 
operation that routinely flares gas before the ef-
fective date of the prohibition under subpara-
graph (D) to demonstrate a yearly decrease in 
the amount of gas flared, as a fraction of gas 
produced, to meet the requirement under sub-
paragraph (A); 
‘‘(G) set performance standards based on 
modern equipment, to be updated every 5 years, 
that minimize gas loss from— 
‘‘(i) storage tanks; 
‘‘(ii) dehydrators; 
‘‘(iii) compressors; 
‘‘(iv) open-ended valves or lines; 
‘‘(v) pumps; and 
‘‘(vi) other equipment for which the 
Secretary considers such standards are 
necessary; 
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‘‘(H) require the replacement of all high- 
bleed gas-actuated pneumatic devices with low- 
bleed or no-bleed devices; 
‘‘(I) set performance standards based on 
modern procedures and equipment, to be up-
dated every 5 years, that minimize gas loss 
from— 
‘‘(i) downhole maintenance; 
‘‘(ii) liquids unloading; 
‘‘(iii) well completion; and 
‘‘(iv) other procedures for which the 
Secretary considers such standards are 
necessary; 
‘‘(J) require all operators to have regularly 
scheduled leak detection programs that assess 
the entire covered operation using an infrared 
camera or other equipment with equivalent sen-
sitivity and the ability to survey similarly large 
areas; 
‘‘(K) require any leaks found during leak 
detection programs required under subpara-
graph (J), or otherwise, to be repaired within 2 
weeks; and 
‘‘(L) require recordkeeping for— 
‘‘(i) equipment maintenance; 
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165 
‘‘(ii) leak detection and repair; 
‘‘(iii) venting events; 
‘‘(iv) flaring events; and 
‘‘(v) other operations for which the 
Secretary considers such requirements are 
necessary. 
‘‘(b) GAS MEASURING, REPORTING, AND TRANS-
PARENCY REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, in ac-
cordance with this subsection, establish new require-
ments for measuring and reporting the production 
and disposition of all gas subject to the mineral leas-
ing laws to allow for more accurate accounting of all 
such gas that is consumed or lost by venting and 
flaring, and of fugitive releases of such gas. 
‘‘(2) MEASURING
AND
REPORTING
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—To account for all gas referred to in para-
graph (1), the Secretary shall issue rules requiring 
oil or gas operators to— 
‘‘(A) measure all production and disposi-
tion of gas with such accuracy that fugitive gas 
releases can be calculated; 
‘‘(B) install metering devices to measure 
all vented and flared gas; and 
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‘‘(B) civil penalties that apply to non-
compliance with other new or existing proce-
dures, which shall— 
‘‘(i) apply in addition to or in lieu of 
the penalties under section 109; 
‘‘(ii) include production restrictions or 
monetary penalties, or both; and 
‘‘(iii) in the case of monetary pen-
alties, be proportional to market condi-
tions. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) COVERED OPERATIONS.—The term ‘cov-
ered operations’ means all oil and gas operations 
that are subject to mineral leasing law or title V of 
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976 (30 U.S.C. 1761 et seq.), regardless of size, in-
cluding production, storage, gathering, processing, 
and handling operations. 
‘‘(2) FLARE AND FLARING.—The term ‘flaring’ 
means the intentional and controlled burning of gas 
that occurs in the course of oil and gas operations 
to limit release of gas to the atmosphere. 
‘‘(3) FUGITIVE RELEASE.—The term ‘fugitive 
release’ means the unintentional and uncontrolled 
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release of gas into the atmosphere in the course of 
oil and gas operations. 
‘‘(4) GAS CAPTURE PLAN.—The term ‘gas cap-
ture plan’ means a plan that includes specific goals, 
including equipment and timelines, for capturing, 
gathering, and processing gas produced under an oil 
or gas lease. 
‘‘(5) GAS RELEASE.—The term ‘gas release’ in-
cludes all gas that is discharged to the atmosphere 
via venting or fugitive release. 
‘‘(6) VENT AND VENTING.—The term ‘venting’ 
means the intentional and controlled release of gas 
into the atmosphere in the course of oil and gas op-
erations.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1 of that Act is amended by adding at the end 
of the items relating to title I the following: 
‘‘Sec. 118. Gas waste reduction and enhancement of gas measuring and report-
ing.’’. 
(c) DEADLINE.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 
issue rules required by the amendments made by this sec-
tion by not later than 1 year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. 
(d) INTERIM APPLICATION OF PRIOR RULE.—The 
final rule entitled ‘‘Waste Prevention, Production Subject 
to Royalties, and Resource Conservation’’, as published in 
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170 
the Federal Register November 18, 2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 
83008), shall apply until the date of the publication of 
a final rule under the amendment made by subsection (a). 
(e) ASSESSMENT OF VENTING, FLARING, AND FUGI-
TIVE RELEASES.—Not later than 6 months after the end 
of the 1-year period beginning on the date the Secretary 
of the Interior first receives data submitted under the re-
quirements established under subsection (b) of section 118 
of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 
1982, as amended by this section, the Secretary shall— 
(1) submit a report to Congress describing— 
(A) the volume of fugitive releases, and gas 
consumed or lost by venting and flaring, from 
covered operations (as those terms are used in 
such section); 
(B) additional rules the Secretary con-
siders necessary to further curtail venting, flar-
ing, and fugitive releases, or the rational basis 
for not issuing new rules if the Secretary con-
siders new rules are not necessary; and 
(C) recommendations for new statutory au-
thority necessary to limit venting, flaring, or fu-
gitive releases; and 
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(2) issue rules described in the report under 
paragraph (1)(B) within 1 year after the date of the 
submission of the report. 
SEC. 425. FRACKING REGULATION ON FEDERAL LANDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 
Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land Management, 
shall issue regulations governing the use of hydraulic frac-
turing under oil and gas leases for Federal lands. 
(b) INCLUDED PROVISIONS.—The regulations under 
this section shall include— 
(1) requirement of baseline water testing; and 
(2) full disclosure to the public of chemicals 
used for hydraulic fracturing, on an appropriate 
internet website. 
(c) INTERIM APPLICATION OF PRIOR RULE.—The 
final rule entitled ‘‘Oil and Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing on 
Federal and Indian Lands’’, as published in the Federal 
Register March 26, 2015 (80 Fed. Reg. 16128), and cor-
rected by the rule published March 30, 2015 (80 Fed. 
Reg. 16577), shall apply until the date of the publication 
of a final rule under subsection (a). 
SEC. 426. CLOSING LOOPHOLES. 
(a) SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT.— 
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172 
(1) 
HYDRAULIC
FRACTURING.—Section 
1421(d)(1) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 
U.S.C. 300h(d)(1)) is amended by striking subpara-
graph (B) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(B) includes the underground injection of 
fluids or propping agents pursuant to hydraulic frac-
turing operations related to oil, gas, or geothermal 
production activities; but 
‘‘(C) excludes the underground injection of nat-
ural gas for purposes of storage.’’. 
(2) DISCLOSURE OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURING 
CHEMICALS; MEDICAL EMERGENCIES; PROPRIETARY 
CHEMICAL FORMULAS.—Section 1421(b) of the Safe 
Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300H(b)) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4)(A) Regulations included under paragraph 
(1)(C) shall include the following requirements: 
‘‘(i) A person conducting hydraulic frac-
turing operations shall disclose to the State (or 
the Administrator if the Administrator has pri-
mary enforcement responsibility in the State)— 
‘‘(I) prior to the commencement of 
any hydraulic fracturing operations at any 
lease area or portion thereof, a list of 
chemicals intended for use in any under-
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