shall include an Interim and Final Reclamation 
Plan. 
‘‘(C) SECRETARIAL
REVIEW.—The Sec-
retary concerned shall review each Interim Rec-
lamation Plan at regular intervals and shall re-
quire such plans to be amended as warranted, 
subject to the approval of such Secretary. 
‘‘(4) BONDING.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(i) REGULATION.—Not later than 
180 days after the date of enactment of 
the Bonding Reform and Taxpayer Protec-
tion Act of 2023, the Secretary concerned 
shall, by regulation, require that an ade-
quate bond, surety, or other financial ar-
rangement be established prior to the com-
mencement of surface-disturbing activities 
on any lease under this Act. 
‘‘(ii) AMOUNT
OF
BOND.—In deter-
mining the adequacy of a bond, surety, or 
other financial instrument required by reg-
ulation under clause (i), the Secretary shall 
find that such arrangement is adequate if 
it is not less than the greater of— 
‘‘(I) the amount necessary for— 
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‘‘(aa) the complete and time-
ly reclamation of the lease tract; 
‘‘(bb) the restoration of any 
lands or surface waters adversely 
affected by lease operations after 
the abandonment or cessation of 
oil and gas operations on the 
lease; or 
‘‘(cc) in the case of an idled 
well, the total plugging and rec-
lamation costs for each idled well 
controlled by the same operator; 
‘‘(II) $150,000 in the case of an 
arrangement for an individual sur-
face-disturbing activity of each entity 
on an oil or gas lease; or 
‘‘(III) $500,000 in the case of an 
arrangement for all surface-disturbing 
activities of each entity in a State. 
‘‘(iii) 
ADJUSTMENT
FOR
INFLA-
TION.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In the appli-
cation of clause (ii), the Secretaries 
concerned shall jointly at least once 
every three years, at the beginning of 
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the fiscal year, adjust the dollar 
amounts in clause (ii) to account for 
inflation based on the Consumer Price 
Index for all urban consumer pub-
lished by the Department of Labor. 
‘‘(II) 
ROUNDING.—If 
any 
amount as adjusted under subclause 
(I) is not a multiple of $1,000, such 
amount shall be rounded to the next 
higher multiple of $1000. 
‘‘(B) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary con-
cerned shall not issue or approve the assign-
ment of any lease under the terms of this sec-
tion to any person, association, corporation, or 
any subsidiary, affiliate, or person controlled by 
or under common control with such person, as-
sociation, or corporation, during any period in 
which, as determined by the relevant Secretary, 
such entity has failed or refused to comply in 
any material respect with the reclamation re-
quirements and other standards established 
under this section for any prior lease to which 
such requirements and standards applied. 
‘‘(C) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR COM-
PLIANCE.—Prior to making a determination not 
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to issue or approve the assignment of a lease 
under subparagraph (B) with respect to an en-
tity the Secretary concerned shall provide such 
entity with adequate notification and an oppor-
tunity to comply with such reclamation require-
ments and other standards and shall consider 
whether any administrative or judicial appeal is 
pending. Once the entity has complied with the 
reclamation requirement or other standard con-
cerned each oil or gas lease may be issued to 
such entity under this Act. 
‘‘(D) REVIEW UPON TRANSFER.—The Sec-
retary concerned shall review the adequacy of a 
bond, surety, or other financial instrument any-
time a lease or well under this Act is trans-
ferred. The Secretary shall find such bond, sur-
ety, or other financial instrument adequate if 
such arrangement— 
‘‘(i) meets the requirement described 
in subparagraph (A)(ii); and 
‘‘(ii) is not for a lesser amount than 
the amount maintained by the current op-
erator. 
‘‘(E) 
REQUIRING
HIGHER
BOND 
AMOUNTS.—The Secretary concerned shall, at 
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any time that such Secretary determines that a 
bond, surety, or other financial instrument re-
quired by a regulation issued pursuant to sub-
paragraph (A) no longer meets the require-
ments of clause (ii) of such subparagraph, in-
crease the required amount of such financial ar-
rangement to the level required by subpara-
graph (A). 
‘‘(F) PHASING-IN BOND INCREASES.—With 
respect to a bond increased under subparagraph 
(E), the Secretary concerned shall require the 
operator to meet the following deadlines in 
posting the amount of the increase that results 
from the operation of such paragraph: 
‘‘(i) 25 percent of the increase by not 
later than 1 year after the date on which 
the determination was made under sub-
paragraph (D). 
‘‘(ii) 75 percent of the increase by not 
later than 2 years after such date. 
‘‘(iii) 100 percent of the increase by 
not later than 3 years after such date. 
‘‘(5) STANDARDS.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of the Bonding Reform 
and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2023, the Secretary 
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of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture 
shall, by regulation, establish uniform standards for 
all Interim and Final Reclamation Plans. The goal 
of such plans shall be the restoration of the affected 
ecosystem to a condition approximating or equal to 
that which existed prior to the surface disturbance. 
Such standards shall include restoration of natural 
vegetation and hydrology, habitat restoration, sal-
vage, storage and reuse of topsoils, erosion control, 
control of invasive species and noxious weeds and 
natural contouring. 
‘‘(6) MONITORING.—The Secretary concerned 
shall not approve final abandonment and shall not 
release any bond required by this Act until the 
standards and requirement for final reclamation es-
tablished pursuant to this Act have been met. 
‘‘(7) FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.—The Secretary 
concerned shall not release the financial assurance 
established for a lease until the operator has paid 
the inspection fees required under section 4 for the 
lease covered by the financial assurance instrument. 
‘‘(8) BOND ADEQUACY REVIEW.—The Secretary 
shall conduct bond adequacy reviews as required 
under paragraph (4)(D) in accordance with Bureau 
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of Land Management Instruction Memorandum No. 
2019–014, dated November 15, 2018. 
‘‘(9) ORPHANED WELL FEE.—The Secretary of 
the Interior shall collect a per barrel of oil equivalent 
fee of not less than $0.10 on oil and gas produced 
from Federal lands for the use of plugging and rec-
lamation of orphaned wells.’’. 
SEC. 3. CHANGES TO THE BLM PERMIT PROCESSING IM-
PROVEMENT FUND. 
(a) NAME OF FUND.—Section 35(c)(2)(B) of the 
Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191(c)(2)(B)) is amended 
by striking ‘‘BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund’’ 
and inserting ‘‘BLM Administration and Accountability 
Fund’’. 
(b) ADDITIONAL USES.—Section 35(c)(3)(A) of such 
Act (30 191(c)(3)(A)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: ‘‘Such coordination and processing shall in-
clude— 
‘‘(i) the coordination and review proc-
ess for financial assurances for oil and gas 
leases and bond releases for oil and gas 
leases; 
‘‘(ii) the inventory of orphaned wells 
and coordinate the processing of requests 
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for delays in the permanent closure of in-
active wells; and 
‘‘(iii) coordination and processing re-
lated to environmental and cultural re-
sources reviews applicable to oil and gas 
activities.’’. 
SEC. 4. INSPECTION FEES. 
(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 FEES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (5), 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 (b) and that 
is in force at the start of the fiscal year 2023, shall 
pay a nonrefundable annual 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. 
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‘‘(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. 
‘‘(3) DUE DATE.—Payment of the fee under 
this section shall be due, annually, not later than 30 
days after the Secretary provides notice of the as-
sessment 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-
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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. 
‘‘(5) EXEMPTION FOR TRIBAL OPERATORS.—An 
operator that is a Tribe or is controlled by a Tribe 
is not subject to paragraph (1) with respect to a 
lease, unit, or communitization agreement that is lo-
cated entirely on the lands of such Tribe. 
‘‘(6) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—In the ap-
plication of paragraph (2), the Secretaries shall at 
least once every three years, at the beginning of the 
fiscal year, adjust the dollar amounts in paragraph 
(2) to account for inflation based on the Consumer 
Price Index for all urban consumer published by the 
Department of Labor.’’. 
(b) ASSESSMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024.—The Sec-
retary of the Interior shall assess the fee under the amend-
ment made by subsection (a) for fiscal year 2024, 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 enactment of this Act. 
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SEC. 5. BONDING EQUITY FOR NATIONAL WILDLIFE REF-
UGE SYSTEM LANDS. 
Section 4 of the National Wildlife Refuge System Ad-
ministration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsections (h) through 
(o), as subsections (i) through (p), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(h) RECLAMATION, DAMAGES, AND FINANCIAL AS-
SURANCE FOR OIL AND GAS OPERATIONS ON REFUGE 
LANDS.— 
‘‘(1) The Secretary, acting through the Direc-
tor, shall obtain adequate financial assurances from 
non-Federal entities to repair potential damages to 
refuge resources, prior to the commencement of sur-
face-disturbing activities as part of the development 
of non-Federal minerals below refuge surface estate, 
including— 
‘‘(A) to ensure the complete and timely 
reclamation of the land, and the restoration of 
any lands or surface waters adversely affected 
by operations after the abandonment or ces-
sation of oil and gas operations on the land; 
and 
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‘‘(B) to meet potential response and as-
sessment costs and other damages to refuge re-
sources as a result of oil and gas operations. 
‘‘(2) Financial assurances forfeited by a non- 
Federal entity under this subsection shall be re-
tained and available to the Secretary, without fur-
ther appropriation, and shall remain available until 
expended, for— 
‘‘(A) plugging and abandoning wells; 
‘‘(B) removing structures, equipment, ma-
terials, and other infrastructure; 
‘‘(C) response costs and damage assess-
ments conducted; 
‘‘(D) restoration, replacement, or acquisi-
tion of the equivalent refuge resources; and 
‘‘(E) monitoring and studying affected ref-
uge resources.’’. 
Æ 
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