313 
quests and receives refunds, or submits reports with 
respect to payments a lessee must make pursuant to 
section 102(a);’’; 
(5) in paragraph (25)(B), by striking ‘‘(subject 
to the provisions of section 102(a) of this Act)’’; and 
(6) in paragraph (26), by striking ‘‘(with notice 
to the lessee who designated the designee)’’. 
SEC. 7212. INTEREST. 
(a) ESTIMATED PAYMENTS; INTEREST ON AMOUNT 
OF UNDERPAYMENT.—Section 111(j) of the Federal Oil 
and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 
1721(j)) is amended by striking ‘‘If the estimated pay-
ment exceeds the actual royalties due, interest is owed on 
the overpayment.’’. 
(b) OVERPAYMENTS.—Section 111 of the Federal Oil 
and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 
1721) is amended by striking subsections (h) and (i). 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall be effective one year after the date of 
enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 7213. OBLIGATION PERIOD. 
Section 115(c) of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 
Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1724(c)) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
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314 
‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENTS.—In the case of an adjust-
ment under section 111A(a) (30 U.S.C. 1721a(a)) in 
which a recoupment by the lessee results in an un-
derpayment of an obligation, for purposes of this Act 
the obligation becomes due on the date the lessee or 
its designee makes the adjustment.’’. 
SEC. 7214. TOLLING AGREEMENTS AND SUBPOENAS. 
(a) TOLLING AGREEMENTS.—Section 115(d)(1) of 
the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 
(30 U.S.C. 1724(d)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘(with no-
tice to the lessee who designated the designee)’’. 
(b) SUBPOENAS.—Section 115(d)(2)(A) of the Fed-
eral Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 
U.S.C. 1724(d)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘(with no-
tice to the lessee who designated the designee, which notice 
shall not constitute a subpoena to the lessee)’’. 
SEC. 7215. LIABILITY FOR ROYALTY PAYMENTS. 
Section 102(a) of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 
Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1712(a)) is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) In order to increase receipts and achieve effec-
tive collections of royalty and other payments, a lessee who 
is required to make any royalty or other payment under 
a lease or under the mineral leasing laws, shall make such 
payments in the time and manner as may be specified by 
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315 
the Secretary or the applicable delegated State. Any per-
son who pays, offsets or credits monies, makes adjust-
ments, requests and receives refunds, or submits reports 
with respect to payments the lessee must make is the les-
see’s designee under this Act. Notwithstanding any other 
provision of this Act to the contrary, a designee shall be 
liable for any payment obligation of any lessee on whose 
behalf the designee pays royalty under the lease. The per-
son owning operating rights in a lease and a person own-
ing legal record title in a lease shall be liable for that per-
son’s pro rata share of payment obligations under the 
lease.’’. 
CHAPTER 3—PUBLIC INTEREST IN THE 
FEDERAL ENERGY PROGRAM 
SEC. 7221. SURFACE OWNER PROTECTION. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of the Interior; 
(2) the term ‘‘lease’’ means a lease issued by 
the Secretary under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 
U.S.C. 181 et seq.); 
(3) the term ‘‘lessee’’ means the holder of a 
lease; and 
(4) the term ‘‘operator’’ means any person that 
is responsible under the terms and conditions of a 
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316 
lease for the operations conducted on leased lands or 
any portion thereof. 
(b) POST-LEASE SURFACE USE AGREEMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub-
section (c), the Secretary may not authorize any op-
erator to conduct exploration and drilling operations 
on lands with respect to which title to oil and gas 
resources is held by the United States but title to 
the surface estate is not held by the United States, 
until the operator has filed with the Secretary a doc-
ument, signed by the operator and the surface owner 
or owners, showing that the operator has secured a 
written surface use agreement between the operator 
and the surface owner or owners that meets the re-
quirements of paragraph (2). 
(2) CONTENTS.—The surface use agreement 
shall provide for— 
(A) the use of only such portion of the sur-
face estate as is reasonably necessary for explo-
ration and drilling operations based on site-spe-
cific conditions; 
(B) the accommodation of the surface es-
tate owner to the maximum extent practicable, 
including the location, use, timing, and type of 
exploration and drilling operations, consistent 
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317 
with the operator’s right to develop the oil and 
gas estate; 
(C) the reclamation of the site to a condi-
tion capable of supporting the uses which such 
lands were capable of supporting prior to explo-
ration and drilling operations or other uses as 
agreed to by the operator and the surface 
owner; and 
(D) compensation for damages as a result 
of exploration and drilling operations, including 
but not limited to— 
(i) loss of income and increased costs 
incurred; 
(ii) damage to or destruction of per-
sonal property, including crops, forage, and 
livestock; and 
(iii) failure to reclaim the site in ac-
cordance with this subparagraph (C). 
(3) PROCEDURE.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—An operator shall no-
tify the surface estate owner or owners of the 
operator’s desire to conclude an agreement 
under this section. If the surface estate owner 
and the operator do not reach an agreement 
within 90 days after the operator has provided 
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