SEC. 2. SPLIT ESTATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing 
Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(q) SPLIT ESTATES.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘covered 
land’ means land with respect to which— 
‘‘(i) title to oil and gas resources is 
held by the United States; but 
‘‘(ii) title to the surface estate is not 
held by the United States. 
‘‘(B) LEASE.—The term ‘lease’ means a 
lease issued by the Secretary under this Act 
that provides for the development of oil and gas 
resources (including coalbed methane) on cov-
ered land. 
‘‘(C) LESSEE.—The term ‘lessee’ means 
the holder of a lease for the development of oil 
and gas resources on covered land. 
‘‘(D) OIL
AND
GAS
OPERATIONS.—The 
term ‘oil and gas operations’ means all activi-
ties affecting the interest of a surface owner in 
covered land that are associated with explo-
ration, drilling, or production of oil and gas, 
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through final reclamation of the affected sur-
face. 
‘‘(E) OPERATOR.—The term ‘operator’ 
means a person with the legal right to conduct 
oil and gas operations on covered land. 
‘‘(F) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 
means the Secretary of the Interior. 
‘‘(G) SURFACE
OWNER.—The term ‘sur-
face owner’ means a person who holds legal or 
equitable title, as demonstrated in the records 
of the applicable county clerk or other local gov-
ernment official, to the surface of the covered 
land on which the operator has the right to con-
duct oil and gas operations. 
‘‘(2) COMPENSATION AND RECLAMATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—An operator shall 
compensate the surface owner for damages re-
sulting from the oil and gas operations of the 
operator on land affected by the operations 
from— 
‘‘(i) loss of agricultural production 
and income; 
‘‘(ii) lost land value; 
‘‘(iii) lost use of and lost access to the 
land of the surface owner; and 
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‘‘(iv) the lost value of improvements. 
‘‘(B) RECLAMATION.—An operator shall 
reclaim the surface affected by the oil and gas 
operations of the operator. 
‘‘(3) NOTICE OF OPERATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) PRIOR TO INITIAL ENTRY.—Prior to 
initial entry for activities that do not disturb 
the surface, the operator shall provide at least 
five days notice by certified mail or hand deliv-
ery to the surface owner. 
‘‘(B) OPERATIONS.—Prior to commencing 
oil and gas operations, the operator shall pro-
vide not less than 30 days notice by certified 
mail or hand delivery to the surface owner with 
sufficient disclosure of the planned operations 
to enable the surface owner to evaluate the ef-
fect of the operations. 
‘‘(C) PLACE OF NOTICE DELIVERY.—The 
notices required by this section shall be given to 
the surface owner at the address shown by the 
records of the county clerk at the time the no-
tice is given. 
‘‘(D) NOTICE
DEEMED
RECEIVED.—No-
tices required by this section shall be deemed to 
have been received five days after mailing by 
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certified mail or immediately upon hand deliv-
ery. 
‘‘(4) SURFACE USE AGREEMENT.— 
‘‘(A) SURFACE USE AGREEMENT.—At the 
time of providing notice of operations under 
paragraph (3)(B), the operator shall provide to 
the surface owner a proposed surface use agree-
ment that— 
‘‘(i) to the extent known, specifies suf-
ficient disclosure of the planned oil and gas 
operations to enable the surface owner to 
evaluate the effect of the operations on the 
property, including— 
‘‘(I) 
placement, 
specifications, 
maintenance and design of facilities, 
equipment and roads; 
‘‘(II) terms of ingress and egress; 
‘‘(III) water protection (quality 
and quantity); 
‘‘(IV) proposed reclamation; and 
‘‘(V) actions to minimize surface 
damages to the land including runoff 
and erosion; and 
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‘‘(ii) includes an offer of compensation 
for damages to the surface affected by oil 
and gas operations. 
‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 
days after the date of receipt of the pro-
posed surface use agreement, the surface 
owner may accept or reject the agreement. 
‘‘(ii) FAILURE
TO
ACCEPT.—Failure 
to accept the agreement during the 30-day 
period described in clause (i) may be con-
sidered a rejection of the agreement. 
‘‘(C) NEGOTIATIONS.—The surface owner 
and operator may enter into negotiations re-
garding the surface use agreement. 
‘‘(D) AGREEMENT.—The operator and the 
surface owner may enter into a mutually ac-
ceptable agreement that specifies the rights and 
obligations of the parties with respect to the 
surface activities conducted by the operator. 
‘‘(5) ENTRY WITHOUT AGREEMENT; BOND.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In lieu of executing a 
surface use agreement under paragraph (4)(A), 
the operator may enter the property of the sur-
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face owner and conduct oil and gas operations 
as provided in this section. 
‘‘(B) FINANCIAL ASSURANCE.—The oper-
ator shall provide an appropriate financial as-
surance for the benefit of the surface owner, as 
determined by the Secretary, prior to com-
mencing operations under this paragraph. 
‘‘(C) RELEASE
OF
FINANCIAL
ASSUR-
ANCE.—The Secretary shall provide for the ap-
propriate release of the financial assurance on 
a determination that— 
‘‘(i) the reclamation is complete; and 
‘‘(ii) the surface owner has been com-
pensated for any damages. 
‘‘(6) NOTICE
OF
SECRETARIAL
ACTION
WITH 
RESPECT
TO
FEDERAL
LEASES.—The Secretary 
shall make reasonable efforts to provide to each sur-
face owner of affected covered land, and to each per-
mittee or right-of-way holder with the right to use 
the surface of affected Federal land, written notice 
of— 
‘‘(A) any lease sale for an oil or gas lease 
under this Act by not later than 30 days before 
the date of the lease sale; and 
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