IB 
Union Calendar No. 714 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6088 
[Report No. 115–921] 
To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to authorize notifications of permit to 
drill, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 13, 2018 
Mr. CURTIS (for himself, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. GIANFORTE, 
Mr. WESTERMAN, and Mr. GOHMERT) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 
Additional sponsors: Mr. LAMALFA and Mr. CRAMER 
SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 13, 2018] 
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A BILL 
To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to authorize notifications 
of permit to drill, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Streamlining Permit-
ting Efficiencies in Energy Development Act’’ or the 
‘‘SPEED Act’’. 
SEC. 2. NOTIFICATIONS OF PERMIT TO DRILL. 
The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is 
amended by— 
(1) redesignating section 44 as section 45; and 
(2) inserting after section 43 the following: 
‘‘SEC. 44. NOTIFICATIONS OF PERMIT TO DRILL. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 
establish procedures by which an operator may conduct 
drilling and production activities on available Federal land 
and non-Federal land after sending to the Secretary a noti-
fication of permit to drill under this section in lieu of ob-
taining an APD. 
‘‘(b) CONTENT OF NOTIFICATION.—To be considered a 
complete notification of permit to drill under this section, 
an operator shall include in the notification of permit to 
drill submitted under this section— 
‘‘(1) a notification of permit to drill form; 
‘‘(2) a surface use plan of operations; 
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‘‘(3) a drilling plan; 
‘‘(4) a well plat certified by a registered sur-
veyor; 
‘‘(5) an operator certification; 
‘‘(6) evidence of bond coverage; and 
‘‘(7) a notification of permit to drill fee in an 
amount to be determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(c) JUSTIFICATIONS FOR OBJECTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided 
in this subsection, the Secretary may not object to a 
notification of permit to drill under this section if the 
notification— 
‘‘(A) demonstrates that the drilling oper-
ations described in the notification of permit to 
drill will be located in— 
‘‘(i) a developed field, where there are 
existing oil and gas wells within a 5-mile 
radius and for which an approved land use 
plan or environmental review was prepared 
within the last 10 years under the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) that analyzed such 
drilling operations as a reasonably foresee-
able activity; 
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‘‘(ii) a location or well pad site at 
which drilling has occurred within 10 years 
before the date of spudding the well and the 
proposed operations do not increase the sur-
face disturbance on the location or well pad 
site; 
‘‘(iii) an area consisting of individual 
surface disturbances of less than 10 acres 
and the total surface disturbance on the 
lease is not greater than 150 acres and for 
which an approved land use plan or envi-
ronmental review was prepared within the 
last 10 years under the National Environ-
mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 
et seq.) that analyzed such drilling oper-
ations as a reasonably foreseeable activity; 
‘‘(iv) an area consisting of Federal 
mineral interests that is located within the 
boundaries of a communitization agreement 
or unit agreement which contains minerals 
leased by a State or private mineral owner 
for which a drilling permit has been ap-
proved by a State regulatory agency; or 
‘‘(v) an area in which a categorical ex-
clusion under the National Environmental 
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Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 
applies for oil and gas drilling or re-entry 
activities; or 
‘‘(B) includes— 
‘‘(i) an environmental review that con-
cludes that actions described in the notifica-
tion of permit to drill pose no significant 
effects on the human environment or threat-
ened or endangered species; and 
‘‘(ii) an archeological review that con-
cludes that actions described in the notifica-
tion of permit to drill pose no significant 
effects on cultural or historic properties or 
resources. 
‘‘(2) ENDANGERED SPECIES PROTECTION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para-
graph (1), the Secretary shall object to a notifi-
cation of permit to drill if the activity described 
in such notification of permit to drill is likely to 
jeopardize the continued existence of a species 
that is a threatened species or endangered species 
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) or result in the destruction 
or adverse modification of critical habitat of 
such species. 
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‘‘(B) WITHDRAWAL
OF
OBJECTION.—The 
Secretary may withdraw an objection under sub-
paragraph (A) if the operator consults with the 
Secretary on such objection and places condi-
tions on the notification of permit to drill suffi-
cient to comply with the Endangered Species Act 
of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 
‘‘(3) NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para-
graph (1), the Secretary shall object to a notifi-
cation of permit to drill if the activity described 
in such notification of permit to drill is likely to 
affect properties listed, or eligible for listing, in 
the National Register of Historic Places under 
section 306108 of title 54, United States Code 
(commonly known as the National Historic Pres-
ervation Act of 1966). 
‘‘(B) WITHDRAWAL
OF
OBJECTION.—The 
Secretary may withdraw an objection under sub-
paragraph (A) if the operator consults with the 
Secretary on such objection and places condi-
tions on the notification of permit to drill suffi-
cient to comply with section 306108 of title 54, 
United States Code (commonly known as the Na-
tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966). 
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‘‘(d) OBJECTION OR NO ACTION.— 
‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION
OF
INCOMPLETE
NOTIFICA-
TION.—Not later than 15 days after receipt of a noti-
fication of permit to drill, or a revised notification of 
permit to drill, from an operator under this section, 
the Secretary shall notify the operator in writing if 
the notification of permit to drill is not complete. 
‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION OF OBJECTIONS.—Not later 
than 45 days after receipt of a complete notification 
of permit to drill from an operator under this section, 
the Secretary shall review the notification of permit 
to drill and— 
‘‘(A) notify the operator in writing of any 
objections to the notification of permit to drill; 
or 
‘‘(B) take no action. 
‘‘(3) NO
ACTION
REQUIRED.—If the Secretary 
has not notified an operator under either paragraph 
(1) or paragraph (2) within 45 days after receipt of 
a notification of permit to drill from the operator 
under this section, the operator may, without further 
action from the Secretary, conduct the drilling and 
production activities for which the notification of per-
mit to drill was submitted. 
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‘‘(4) OPPORTUNITY
TO
RESUBMIT
NOTIFICA-
TION.—If the Secretary notifies an operator under 
paragraph (1) of an incomplete notification or para-
graph (2) of an objection, the Secretary shall allow 
the operator to address such incomplete notification 
or objection and revise and resubmit the notification 
of permit to drill. 
‘‘(5) OPPORTUNITY TO RESUBMIT NOTIFICATION 
AS APD.—If the Secretary notifies an operator under 
paragraph (2) of an objection, the Secretary shall 
allow the operator to resubmit such information in 
the form of an APD. 
‘‘(e) NOTIFICATION FEE.—The Secretary may not 
charge an operator under this section a fee for submitting 
a notification of permit to drill greater than the fee the Sec-
retary charges an applicant for an APD. 
‘‘(f) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An environmental review or 
archeological review described in subsection (c)(1)(B) 
may be completed by a third-party contractor ap-
proved by the Secretary or pursuant to a memo-
randum of understanding between the operator and 
the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) FIELD
WORK
AUTHORIZATION.—The Sec-
retary shall issue a field work authorization to a 
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third-party contractor for the purposes of paragraph 
(1) within a reasonable time. 
‘‘(3) REQUEST
FOR
CONCURRENCE.—The Sec-
retary shall allow a third-party contractor to submit 
a request to the State Historic Preservation Office on 
behalf of the Secretary. 
‘‘(g) ADDITIONAL SURFACE USE PERMITS.—The Sec-
retary may not require an operator that has submitted a 
notification of permit to drill for which the Secretary did 
not object to obtain a surface use permit for an action in-
cluded in the notification of permit to drill. 
‘‘(h) SITE INSPECTION.—The Secretary may not re-
quire an operator that has submitted a notification of per-
mit to drill for which the Secretary did not object to submit 
to a site inspection before commencement of the activities 
described in the notification of permit to drill. 
‘‘(i) FEDERAL ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary may 
conduct inspections of and evaluate activities described in 
a notification of permit to drill for purposes of bringing 
an enforcement action. The Secretary may suspend enforce-
ment proceedings if the operator modifies its activities to 
comply with the notification of permit to drill or obtains 
an APD for such activities. 
‘‘(j) APPLICATION OF NEPA.— 
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‘‘(1) NO ACTION BY SECRETARY.—The decision 
by the Secretary to take no action under subsection 
(c)(1)(B)(2) shall not constitute a major Federal ac-
tion under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environ-
mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). 
‘‘(2) DEVELOPMENT OF REGULATIONS.—The de-
velopment of any regulation pursuant to this section 
shall constitute a major Federal action under section 
102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). 
‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) APD.—The term ‘APD’ means an applica-
tion to drill or re-enter a well. 
‘‘(2) AVAILABLE
FEDERAL
LAND.—The term 
‘available Federal land’ means Federal land that— 
‘‘(A) is located within the boundaries of a 
State; 
‘‘(B) is not held by the United States in 
trust for the benefit of a federally recognized In-
dian Tribe; 
‘‘(C) is not a unit of the National Park 
System; 
‘‘(D) is not a unit of the National Wildlife 
Refuge System; 
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‘‘(E) is not a Congressionally-approved wil-
derness area under the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 
1131 et seq.); and 
‘‘(F) is managed by the Director of the Bu-
reau of Land Management or the Chief of the 
U.S. Forest Service. 
‘‘(3) DRILLING OPERATIONS.—The term ‘drilling 
operations’ means the drilling or re-entry of a well. 
‘‘(4) DRILLING PLAN.—The term ‘drilling plan’ 
means a plan containing— 
‘‘(A) a description of the drilling program; 
‘‘(B) the surface and projected completion 
zone location; 
‘‘(C) pertinent geologic data; 
‘‘(D) expected hazards; 
‘‘(E) proposed mitigation measures to ad-
dress such hazards; 
‘‘(F) any other information specified in ap-
plicable notices or orders; and 
‘‘(G) any other pertinent data as the Sec-
retary may require. 
‘‘(5) SURFACE USE PLAN OF OPERATION.—The 
term ‘surface use plan of operation’ means a plan 
containing— 
‘‘(A) the road and drill pad location; 
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‘‘(B) details of pad construction; 
‘‘(C) methods for containment and disposal 
of waste material; 
‘‘(D) plans for reclamation of the surface; 
‘‘(E) any other information specified in ap-
plicable orders or notices; and 
‘‘(F) any other pertinent data as the Sec-
retary may require.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 714 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6088 
[Report No. 115–921] 
A BILL 
To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to authorize no-
tifications of permit to drill, and for other pur-
poses. 
SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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