IB 
Union Calendar No. 453 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 1505 
[Report No. 117–629] 
To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to make certain adjustments to the 
regulation of surface-disturbing activities and to protect taxpayers from 
unduly bearing the reclamation costs of oil and gas development, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 2, 2021 
Mr. LOWENTHAL (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. 
CARTWRIGHT, Ms. LEE
of California, Ms. BARRAGA´N, and Mr. 
HUFFMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources 
DECEMBER 14, 2022 
Additional sponsors: Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. 
COHEN, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. PORTER, Ms. LEGER 
FERNANDEZ, and Mr. CASTEN 
DECEMBER 14, 2022 
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 March 2, 2021] 
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A BILL 
To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to make certain adjust-
ments to the regulation of surface-disturbing activities 
and to protect taxpayers from unduly bearing the rec-
lamation costs of oil and gas development, 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 referred to as the ‘‘Bonding Reform 
and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. SURFACE DISTURBANCE AND RECLAMATION. 
Section 17(g) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 
226(g)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(g) BONDING REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) INTERIM
RECLAMATION
PLAN.—The 
term ‘Interim Reclamation Plan’ means an on-
going plan specifying reclamation steps to be 
taken on all disturbed areas covered by any lease 
issued under this Act that are not needed for ac-
tive operations. 
‘‘(B) FINAL RECLAMATION PLAN.—The term 
‘Final Reclamation Plan’ means a plan describ-
ing all reclamation activity to be conducted for 
all disturbed areas, including locations, facili-
ties, trenches, rights-of-way, roads, and any 
other surface disturbance covered by a lease 
issued under this Act prior to final abandon-
ment. 
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‘‘(C) 
OPERATOR.—The 
term 
‘operator’ 
means, with respect to an oil or gas operation, 
any entity, including the lessee or operating 
rights owner, that has stated in writing to a rel-
evant authority that such entity is responsible 
for any portion of such operation. 
‘‘(D) SECRETARY
CONCERNED.—The term 
‘Secretary concerned’ means— 
‘‘(i) the Secretary of the Interior for 
public lands administered by such Sec-
retary; 
‘‘(ii) the Secretary of Agriculture for 
forest service lands. 
‘‘(2) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 
shall regulate all surface-disturbing activities con-
ducted pursuant to any lease issued under this Act, 
and shall determine reclamation and other actions as 
required in the interest of conservation of surface re-
sources. 
‘‘(3) RECLAMATION PLANS REQUIRED.— 
‘‘(A) 
ANALYSIS
AND
APPROVAL
RE-
QUIRED.—No permit to drill on an oil and gas 
lease issued under this Act may be granted with-
out the analysis and approval by the Secretary 
concerned of both an interim reclamation plan 
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and a final reclamation plan covering proposed 
surface-disturbing activities within the lease 
area. 
‘‘(B) PLANS OF OPERATIONS.—All Federal 
plans or permits submitted pursuant to this Act 
with the potential to create surface disturbance 
shall include an Interim and Final Reclamation 
Plan. 
‘‘(C) SECRETARIAL REVIEW.—The Secretary 
concerned shall review each Interim Reclamation 
Plan at regular intervals and shall require 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 Protection 
Act of 2021, the Secretary concerned shall, 
by regulation, require that an adequate 
bond, surety, or other financial arrange-
ment be established prior to the commence-
ment of surface-disturbing activities on any 
lease under this Act. 
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‘‘(III) $500,000 in the case of an 
arrangement for all surface-disturbing 
activities of each entity in a State. 
‘‘(iii) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.— 
‘‘(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 
the fiscal year, adjust the dollar 
amounts in clause (ii) to account for 
inflation based on the Consumer Price 
Index for all urban consumer published 
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 assignment 
of any lease under the terms of this section to 
any person, association, corporation, or any sub-
sidiary, affiliate, or person controlled by or 
under common control with such person, associa-
tion, or corporation, during any period in 
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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 
to issue or approve the assignment of a lease 
under subparagraph (B) with respect to an enti-
ty the Secretary concerned shall provide such en-
tity 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 transferred. 
The Secretary shall find such bond, surety, or 
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other financial instrument adequate if such ar-
rangement— 
‘‘(i) meets the requirement described in 
subparagraph (A)(ii); and 
‘‘(ii) is not for a lesser amount than 
the amount maintained by the current oper-
ator. 
‘‘(E) 
REQUIRING
HIGHER
BOND 
AMOUNTS.—The Secretary concerned shall, at 
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 requirements 
of clause (ii) of such subparagraph, increase the 
required amount of such financial arrangement 
to the level required by subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(F) PHASING-IN BOND INCREASES.—With 
respect to a bond increased under subparagraph 
(E), the Secretary concerned shall require the op-
erator 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 
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the determination was made under subpara-
graph (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 2021, the Secretary of the 
Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall, by 
regulation, establish uniform standards for all In-
terim 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 stand-
ards shall include restoration of natural vegetation 
and hydrology, habitat restoration, salvage, 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 stand-
ards and requirement for final reclamation estab-
lished pursuant to this Act have been met. 
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‘‘(7) FINANCIAL
ASSURANCES.—The Secretary 
concerned shall not release the financial assurance es-
tablished 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 
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 Min-
eral 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 
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