I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1710
To ensure the orderly development of coal, coalbed methane, natural gas,
and oil in common areas of the Powder River Basin, Wyoming and
Montana, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 3, 2001
Mrs. CUBIN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Resources
A BILL
To ensure the orderly development of coal, coalbed methane,
natural gas, and oil in common areas of the Powder
River Basin, Wyoming and Montana, and for other pur-
poses.
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 ‘‘Powder River Basin
Resource Development Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) The Powder River Basin in Wyoming and
Montana is one of the world’s richest energy re-
source regions, possessing the largest reserves of
coal in the United States and significant deposits of
oil and natural gas, including coalbed methane.
(2) The coal is predominantly federally owned,
either as part of the public lands or reserved from
public lands that were sold under homestead laws
enacted in 1909, 1910, and 1916, and may be leased
to coal producers by the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment, Department of the Interior, under the Mineral
Leasing Act.
(3) The gas and oil are owned by the Federal
Government, the States, and private parties.
(4) The federally owned gas and oil, like the
coal, are part of the public lands and may be leased
to oil and gas producers by the Bureau of Land
Management under the Mineral Leasing Act.
(5) The privately owned gas and oil were con-
veyed with the public lands purchased under the
three homestead laws and may have been sold or
leased to oil and gas producers by the successors to
those original purchasers.
(6) Development of these valuable energy re-
sources is of critical importance to the American
public.
(7) These energy resources provide fuel to heat
and light our homes and power our industries.
(8) Extraction of these energy resources pro-
vides royalties, taxes, and wages that contribute to
national, State, and local treasuries and economies.
(9) Development of both the coal and the gas
and oil is occurring in the Powder River Basin.
(10) In many locations the coal and the gas and
oil have been leased or sold to different parties.
These resources are frequently extracted sequen-
tially, but for safety and operational reasons typi-
cally cannot be extracted simultaneously, in the
same location. Where concurrent development is im-
possible and even where it may be possible, in cer-
tain of these locations disputes have arisen among
the different parties concerning plans for, and the
course of, development of these resources.
(11) The development of any one of these re-
sources can result in loss of another, either by mak-
ing recovery impossible in the case of coalbed meth-
ane or uneconomic in the case of coal, oil, or deep
gas.
(12) The nature, extent, and value of any loss
or delay in development of the gas, oil, or coal re-
source due to development of another of these re-
sources in the common areas within the Powder
River Basin in which disputes between the resources
developers arise should be ascertained and fair mar-
ket value for the loss or delay should be provided by
agreement between the developers or by an expedi-
tious adjudication procedure.
(13) Federal law should provide a procedure
that will assure the orderly development of the en-
ergy resources, and fair treatment to the resources
developers, in the common areas within the Powder
River Basin in which disputes between the devel-
opers arise.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to—
(1) provide a consistent procedure to resolve
disputes between developers of coal and developers
of natural gas and oil in the common areas within
the Powder River Basin to which this Act applies
concerning the sequence of development of those re-
sources in the same location, regardless of who owns
the resources;
(2) encourage maximum recovery of the re-
sources prior to the time at which such disputes are
likely to occur or thereafter until the procedure pro-
vided by this Act is implemented;
(3) ensure that the procedure provided by this
Act is employed as a last resort if the disputes are
not fully resolved by voluntary agreements between
the resources developers or administrative policies
and actions;
(4) determine fair and just compensation owed
for the loss of, or delay in, the opportunity to de-
velop a resource resulting from implementation of
the procedure provided by this Act; and
(5) provide expressly that the procedure pro-
vided by this Act will neither apply to nor set any
precedent for resolution of disputes between or
among resource developers outside of the common
areas within the Powder River Basin to which this
Act applies.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act:
(1) APPROVED OR PROPOSED MINING PLAN.—
The term ‘‘approved or proposed mining plan’’
means a mining plan that is approved by, or has
been submitted for the approval of, the Secretary.
(2) COALBED METHANE.—The term ‘‘coalbed
methane’’ shall have the meaning given that term in
section 1339(p)(2) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992
(106 Stat. 2992, 42 U.S.C. 13368(p)(2)).
(3) COMMON AREA.—The term ‘‘common area’’
means an area in the Basin in which all or a portion
of a Federal coal lease (including any area of State
or private coal within a logical mining unit with the
Federal coal lease) overlaps all or a portion of an oil
and gas property.
(4) DEVELOP
OR
DEVELOPMENT.—The term
‘‘develop’’ or ‘‘development’’ means to develop or to
produce, or both, or the development or production,
or both, respectively, including all incidental oper-
ations.
(5) FEDERAL COAL LEASE.—The term ‘‘Fed-
eral coal lease’’ means a lease of Federal coal in the
Basin issued pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act.
(6) FEDERAL COAL LESSEE.—The term ‘‘Fed-
eral coal lessee’’ means the holder of a Federal coal
lease.
(7) FEDERAL OIL AND GAS LEASE.—The term
‘‘Federal oil and gas lease’’ means a lease of Federal
oil and gas in the Basin issued pursuant to the Min-
eral Leasing Act.
(8) MINERAL LEASING ACT.—The term ‘‘Min-
eral Leasing Act’’ means the Act of February 25,
1920 (41 Stat. 437), as amended (30 U.S.C. 181 et
seq.).
(9) NON-FEDERAL
OIL
AND
GAS
LEASE
OR
RIGHT
TO
DEVELOP.—The term ‘‘non-Federal oil
and gas lease or right to develop’’ means a lease for
or right to develop oil and gas in the Basin provided
by a State or private owner of the resources.
(10) OIL AND GAS DEVELOPER.—The term ‘‘oil
and gas developer’’ means the holder of an oil and
gas lease or right to develop.
(11) OIL AND GAS LEASE OR RIGHT TO DE-
VELOP.—The term ‘‘oil and gas lease or right to de-
velop’’ means a Federal oil and gas lease or a lease
for or right to develop oil and gas in the Basin pro-
vided by a State or private owner of the resources.
(12) OIL AND GAS PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘oil
and gas property’’ means an area in the Basin which
is subject to an oil and gas lease or right to develop
held by an oil and gas developer.
(13) OWNERS OF ANY INTEREST IN THE OIL
AND GAS PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘owners of any in-
terest in the oil and gas property’’ means persons
who own the working interest, lease interest, oper-
ating interest, mineral interest, royalty interest, or
any other interest in the oil and gas property, and
any other persons who might receive compensation
for unavoidable fixed expenses under an order con-
cerning the oil and gas property issued pursuant to
section 11(d).
(14) OWNERS OF ANY NON-FEDERAL INTEREST
IN THE OIL AND GAS PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘own-
ers of any non-Federal interest in the oil and gas
property’’ means all owners of any interest in the oil
and gas property except the Federal Government or
any agency or department thereof.
(15) POWDER
RIVER
BASIN
OR
BASIN.—The
term ‘‘Powder River Basin’’ or ‘‘Basin’’ means the
area designated as Powder River Basin on a map
entitled MLA Section 44 Powder River Basin Area,
dated July 1, 1999, and on file in the Wyoming and
Montana State Offices of the Bureau of Land Man-
agement, Department of the Interior.
(16) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’
means the Secretary of the Interior.
(17) SECTION 21 LANDS.—The term ‘‘Section
21 Lands’’ means the area designated as Section 21
Lands on the map described in paragraph (1).
SEC. 4. PARTIES ENCOURAGED TO ENTER INTO WRITTEN
AGREEMENT.
In any common area, the Federal coal lessee and oil
and gas developer, subject to applicable Federal and State
laws, regulations, and lease terms, may and are encour-
aged to enter into a written agreement that details oper-
ations and assigns or assesses costs or compensation for
the concurrent or sequential development of those re-
sources.
SEC. 5. MINERAL CONSERVATION.
The Secretary shall employ any authority the Sec-
retary possesses to encourage expedited development of
any oil or gas resource and any coal resource that—
(1) are leased pursuant to the Mineral Leasing
Act;
(2) are within common areas; and
(3) otherwise may be lost or bypassed due to
the development of another of the resources.
SEC. 6. NEGOTIATIONS CONCERNING DEVELOPMENT PRI-
ORITY FOR CERTAIN OPERATIONS IN THE
BASIN.
(a) OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE WRITTEN NOTICE OF
CONFLICT.—Whenever a Federal coal lessee or an oil and
gas developer determines that its Federal coal lease (or
a logical mining unit including the Federal coal lease) or
its oil and gas property is located in a common area, and,
pursuant to an approved or proposed mining plan, mining
operations or facilities in support of mining for coal on
the Federal coal lease or the logical mining unit will be
located within the common area, the Federal coal lessee
or the oil and gas developer shall deliver written notice
of the determination to the other party and the Secretary
no later than 240 days prior to the date on which the
mining operations or construction of the mine support fa-
cilities is projected by the approved or proposed mining
plan to commence in the common area.
(b) OBLIGATION TO NEGOTIATE.—Promptly after
providing the notice referred to in subsection (a), the party
which provided the notice shall seek to negotiate a written
agreement with the other party that resolves any conflict
between the development of gas or oil and development
of coal in the common area.
SEC. 7. PETITION FOR RELIEF.
(a) SUBMISSION OF PETITION.—
(1) If notice is submitted timely pursuant to
section 6(a) and the Federal coal lessee and the oil
and gas developer engage in negotiations, but do not
reach agreement, pursuant to section 6(b), the Fed-
eral coal lessee or the oil and gas developer may file
a petition for relief as described in paragraph (3) in
the United States district court for the district in
which the common area is located on any date which
is not less than 180 days prior to the date on which
the mining operations or construction of the mine
support facilities is projected by the approved or
proposed mining plan to commence in the common
area.
(2) The petitioner shall serve the oil and gas
developer or the Federal coal lessee, as the case may
be, and the Secretary with a copy of the petition for
relief on the same date upon which the petition is
filed with the court pursuant to paragraph (1).
(3) The petition for relief shall include the fol-
lowing:
(A) A description and map of the Federal
coal lease, oil and gas property, and the com-
mon area.
(B) A list containing the names and ad-
dresses of all owners of any non-Federal inter-
est in the oil and gas property and all owners
of any non-Federal interest in the Federal coal
lease or logical mining unit. The petitioner shall
list those owners of any non-Federal interest in
the oil and gas property and of the Federal coal
lease or logical mining unit whom the petitioner
is able to ascertain from the properly indexed
records of the county recorder of the county or
counties in which the oil and gas property and
Federal coal lease or logical mining unit are lo-
cated, and the respondent shall file with the
court and serve on the petitioner and the Sec-
retary any corrections of, additions to, or dele-
tions from the list known to the respondent
within 10 days of the date of service of the peti-
tion for relief pursuant to paragraph (2).
Thereafter, whenever any correction of, addition
to, or deletion from the list becomes known to
either the petitioner or the respondent, that
party shall promptly file with the court and
serve on the other party and the Secretary the
addition, correction, or deletion. Any person
who believes he or she is an owner of any non-
Federal interest in the oil and gas property or
in the Federal coal lease or logical mining unit
and is omitted from the list may file a motion
in the court to be added to the list at any time
prior to the issuance of an order pursuant to
section 11(d) or section 12(d).
(C) A certified copy of the notice described
in section 6(a).
(D) A sworn statement by a senior officer
of the petitioner with authority to commit the
petitioner in any negotiation under section 6(b)
stating, and all documents demonstrating, that
the petitioner negotiated or attempted to nego-
tiate in good faith with the respondent a vol-
untary agreement, pursuant to section 6(b).
(4) The Federal coal lessee shall submit a copy
of the approved or proposed mining plan for the
mining operations or support facilities that are the
subject of the petition for relief—
(A) with the petition for relief if the Fed-
eral coal lessee is the petitioner; or
(B) within 5 days of the date of service of
the petition for relief pursuant to paragraph (2)
if the Federal coal lessee is the respondent.
(b) JOINDER OF PARTIES.—The Secretary and all
owners of any non-Federal interest in the oil and gas prop-
erty and in the Federal coal lease or logical mining unit
identified pursuant to subsection (a)(3)(B) shall be joined
in the proceedings established pursuant to this Act.
(c) PARTIES’ RESPONSE TO PETITION.—The non-
Federal respondent or respondents may provide to the
Secretary a response to the petition within 30 days from
the date of filing of the petition for relief pursuant to sub-
section (a)(1). The Secretary may require the petitioner
and the respondent or respondents to submit such docu-
ments and/or provide such testimony as the Secretary
deems appropriate within 60 days of such date of filing.
SEC. 8. SECRETARY’S RESPONSE TO PETITION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 90 days of the date of fil-
ing of the petition for relief pursuant to section 7(a)(1)
the Secretary shall take the actions required by this sec-
tion.
(b) INITIAL DETERMINATIONS.—The Secretary shall
determine, with petitioner having the burden of proof—
(1) whether a common area exists; and
(2) whether the approved or proposed mining
plan submitted pursuant to section 7(a)(4) provides
for the mining operations to intersect, or the mine
support facilities to be constructed in, any portion of
the common area.
(c) PUBLIC INTEREST DETERMINATION.—
(1) If existence of the common area and inter-
section of, or construction in, the common area are
determined pursuant to subsection (b), the Secretary
shall determine whether the public interest is best
realized by delaying or forgoing development of
either—
(A) the oil or gas resource to permit the
mining operations to intersect, or the mine sup-
port facilities to be constructed in, the common
area in accordance with the approved or pro-
posed mining plan; or
(B) the coal resource to permit commence-
ment or continuation of the development of the
oil or gas resource in the common area after
the date on which the mining operations or con-
struction of the mine support facilities is pro-
jected by the approved or proposed mining plan
to commence in the common area.
(2) The Secretary shall make the public interest
determination described in paragraph (1) solely by
the calculation of the greater economic benefit to be
realized by comparison, on a net present value basis,
of the Federal and State revenues from royalties and
severance taxes likely to be generated from each re-
source underlying the common area to which the pe-
tition for relief applies.
(d) LEASE SUSPENSION.—If any portion of the re-
source for which delayed or forgone development is deter-
mined to be in the public interest pursuant to subsection
(c) is subject to a lease issued pursuant to the Mineral
Leasing Act, the Secretary shall suspend all or any portion
of, including any geographical area of or zone or reservoir
subject to, the lease to accommodate development of the
other resource in the common area during the period be-
ginning on a date no later than the commencement date
referred to in section 7(a)(1) and provided in the notice
submitted pursuant to section 7(a)(3)(C) and ending on
the date on which an order is issued pursuant to section
11(d) or section 12(d).
(e) EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary may refrain from
either making the determinations required by subsections
(b) and (c) or suspending all or any portion of a lease
issued pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act as required
by subsection (d) if the Secretary determines that—
(1) no common area exists; or
(2) the approved or proposed mining plan does
not provide for the mining operations to intersect, or
the mine support facilities to be constructed in, the
common area.
(f) SECRETARIAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall—
(1) not delegate the determinations made pur-
suant to this section;
(2) report the determinations made pursuant to
subsections (b) and (c) or subsection (e) and any
suspension made pursuant to subsection (d), includ-
ing the administrative record therefor, with the
court in which the petition for relief is filed pursuant
to section 7(a)(1); and
(3) provide the petitioner and respondent or re-
spondents with copies of the report and record.
SEC. 9. COURT’S INITIAL RESPONSE TO PETITION.
(a) RECEIPT OF SECRETARIAL REPORT.—The court
in which the petition is filed pursuant to section 7(a)(1)
shall have exclusive jurisdiction to receive and review the
report of the Secretary required by section 8(f), and the
determinations made and any action taken by the Sec-
retary pursuant to section 8.
(b) PARTIES’ OBJECTIONS TO REPORT.—
(1) The petitioner and respondent or respond-
ents shall have 30 days from the date upon which
the report of the Secretary is filed with the court
pursuant to section 8(f) in which to file with the
court any objection to any determination of the Sec-
retary required by section 8.
(2) If any objection is filed pursuant to para-
graph (1), the court shall, within 60 days of receipt
of the report of the Secretary pursuant to section
8(f), make the determination that is the subject of
the objection on the basis of the administrative
record filed with the report and in accordance with
the applicable requirements or standards of sub-
section (b) or subsection (c) of section 8.
(3) Any determination made by the court pur-
suant to paragraph (3) shall be an independent judi-
cial determination that is de novo, without regard to
the prior determination of the Secretary.
(4) If no objection is filed pursuant to para-
graph (1), the determinations of the Secretary re-
quired by section 8 shall be final and approved by
the court in the order issued pursuant to subsection
(c) or subsection (f).
(c) COURT ORDER.—Within 90 days of the date of
receipt of the report of the Secretary pursuant to section
8(f), the court, except as provided in subsection (f), shall
issue an order that—
(1) suspends all or any part of, including any
geographical area of or reservoir subject to, any non-
Federal oil and gas lease or right to develop, or any
non-Federal interest in any logical mining unit that
includes the Federal coal lease, in the common area
in accordance with the determination of the Sec-
retary pursuant to subparagraph (A) or subpara-
graph (B), respectively, of section 8(c)(1) or in ac-
cordance with the determination of the court pursu-
ant to subsection (b)(2);
(2) if required by a determination of the court
pursuant to subsection (b)(2), terminates a suspen-
sion of a lease issued pursuant to the Mineral Leas-
ing Act imposed by the Secretary pursuant to sec-
tion 8(d), or imposes a suspension of a lease issued
pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act, or both, in ac-
cordance with the determination;
(3) if all or any part of the oil and gas lease
or right to develop is suspended pursuant to section
8(d) or this subsection, fixes the date upon which
the Federal coal lessee may commence mining oper-
ations or construction of mine support facilities in
the common area, which may be no later than the
commencement date referred to in section 7(a)(1)
and provided in the notice submitted pursuant to
section 7(a)(3)(C), except for good cause shown; and
(4) if all or any part of the Federal coal lease
and/or any non-Federal interest in the logical mining
unit that includes the Federal coal lease is sus-
pended pursuant to section 8(d) or this subsection,
prohibits the mining operations from intersecting, or
the support facilities from being constructed in, all
or a portion of the common area.
(d) EXPIRATION OF ORDER.—The order of the court
issued pursuant to subsection (c) shall expire upon the
issuance of an order pursuant to section 11(d), or section
12(d).
(e) EXCEPTIONS.—The court may refrain from
issuing the order required by subsection (c), only if—
(1) the Secretary makes a determination de-
scribed in section 8(e); or
(2) the court, acting on an objection filed pur-
suant to subsection (b), concurs in a determination
made by the Secretary pursuant to section 8(e), or
determines that—
(A) no common area exists; or
(B) the approved or proposed mining plan
submitted pursuant to section 7(a)(4) does not
provide for the mining operations to intersect,
or the mine support facilities to be constructed
in, the common area.
(f) TERMINATION OF PROCEEDING.—If the Secretary
makes a determination described in section 8(e) or the
court makes a determination described in subsection
(e)(2), the court shall issue an order terminating the pro-
ceeding under this Act.
SEC. 10. APPOINTMENT OF EXPERTS.
(a) APPOINTMENT PROCEDURE.—Within 30 days of
the date of issuance of an order pursuant to section 9(c),
to assist the court in making the determinations pursuant
to section 11 or section 12, the Federal coal lessee and
the oil and gas developer shall each appoint a person who
is an expert in appraising the value of, and right to de-
velop, gas or oil if all or any part of the oil and gas lease
or right to develop is suspended, or coal if all or any part
of the Federal coal lease and/or any non-Federal interest
in the logical mining unit that includes the Federal coal
lease is suspended, pursuant to section 8(d) and/or section
9(c), and these persons shall agree upon and appoint a
third person with such expertise. If no agreement is
reached on the date of appointment of a third person, the
court shall make the appointment.
(b) COMPENSATION.—The Federal coal lessee shall
be responsible for compensation of the expert appointed
by it; the oil and gas developer shall be responsible for
compensation of the expert appointed by it; and the Fed-
eral coal lessee and oil and gas developer shall each pay
one-half of the compensation for the third expert.
(c) INFORMATION AND DATA.—
(1) The Federal coal lessee, oil and gas devel-
oper, and Secretary shall each submit to the panel
of experts within 30 days of the date of appointment
of the panel pursuant to subsection (a) all informa-
tion and data in the possession of such party that
is pertinent to the determinations to be made pursu-
ant to section 11 or section 12, and shall each sub-
mit to the panel of experts thereafter any additional
pertinent information and data in the possession of
such party that the panel requests of such party in
writing.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), the
court shall ensure that any information and data
submitted to the panel of experts pursuant to para-
graphs (1) and (4) shall have the protection of con-
fidentiality that is applicable, and may be accorded,
to them by law and the Federal rules of civil proce-
dure and evidence.
(3) All information and data submitted to the
panel of experts pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (4)
shall be available for review by all parties unless an
ex parte order is issued by the court.
(4)(A) The Federal coal lessee may drill for and
otherwise collect data or information on coalbed
methane at any site or sites within the common area
that are not within a spacing unit containing a well
that is producing or capable of producing coalbed
methane under the conditions set forth in subpara-
graph (B).
(B) The drilling or collection of data or infor-
mation authorized by subparagraph (A) shall be for
the sole purpose of submission of information and
data pursuant to this paragraph.
(C) The Federal coal lessee shall not produce
any coalbed methane as a result of any drilling au-
thorized by subparagraph (A) and shall comply with
any Federal or State requirements applicable to such
activity.
(D) The Federal coal lessee shall submit to the
Secretary an exploration plan to conduct any drilling
pursuant to subparagraph (A). The Secretary shall
approve, approve as modified, or reject the plan,
within 15 days of the date of its submission. The
Secretary may modify or reject the plan only for
good cause fully set forth in writing and provided to
the Federal coal lessee. The Federal coal lessee shall
adhere to the plan, as approved by the Secretary.
(d) SUBMISSION OF BRIEFS AND HEARING.—
(1) Within 45 days of the date of appointment
of the panel of experts pursuant to subsection (a),
all parties may submit briefs concerning the deter-
minations to be made pursuant to section 11 or sec-
tion 12.
(2) Within 60 days of the date of appointment
of the panel of experts pursuant to subsection (a),
the panel may, or if requested by the petitioner or
a respondent shall, receive testimony from all parties
concerning the determinations to be made pursuant
to section 11 or section 12.
(e) EXPERTS’ REPORT.—Within 120 days of the date
of appointment of the panel of experts pursuant to sub-
section (a), the panel shall submit a written report to the
court providing in detail the panel’s recommendations on
the determinations to be made pursuant to section 11 or
section 12.
SEC. 11. COURT’S FINAL RESPONSE TO PETITION: VALU-
ATION CONCERNING ECONOMICALLY RECOV-
ERABLE OIL OR GAS RESOURCES LOST OR
DELAYED, SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION,
AND PAYMENT ORDER.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 210 days of the date of
issuance of an order pursuant to section 9(c), by which,
or by any action of the Secretary pursuant to section 8(d),
all or any part of the oil and gas lease or right to develop
is suspended, the court shall take the actions required by
this section.
(b) SUSPENSION
OR
TERMINATION
DETERMINA-
TION.—
(1) The court shall determine whether, as a re-
sult of the order or any action of the Secretary, all
or any part of, including any geographical area of or
zone or reservoir subject to, the oil and gas lease or
right to develop should be suspended during any re-
maining period in which the mining operations or
support facilities occupy the common area or wheth-
er the oil and gas lease or right to develop should
be terminated.
(2) Any determination to suspend pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall, wherever possible or appro-
priate, limit the suspension or phase the suspension
to permit the optimum development of the oil or gas
prior to the time at which the mining operations
would reach the area within the common area that
is subject to the suspension or particular phase of
the suspension.
(3) Any determination to terminate pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall be made only if the court finds
that the economically recoverable oil and gas re-
sources subject to compensation pursuant to sub-
section (d) would be entirely lost or rendered im-
practicable to produce as a consequence of the min-
ing operations in the common area and that such re-
sources constitute all of the economically recoverable
resources within the oil and gas property.
(c) COMPENSATION DETERMINATION.—
(1) If the court makes a determination to sus-
pend pursuant to subsection (b), the court shall
determine—
(A) the amount of any net income that will
not be realized due to delay in development of
economically recoverable resources of oil or gas,
other than coalbed methane, from the common
area, whether or not such development has
commenced;
(B) the amount of any net income that will
not be realized, whether or not development of
coalbed methane has commenced, that is due
to—
(i) delay in development of economi-
cally recoverable resources of coalbed
methane in the common area; and
(ii) the loss of any economically recov-
erable resources of coalbed methane from
the coal to be extracted by the mining op-
erations in the common area; and
(iii) the loss of any economically re-
coverable resources of coalbed methane un-
derlying any area that is within the oil and
gas property associated with the common
area and that extends outward from each
exposed coal face of the mining operations
for a distance from which drainage of such
resources is established to the satisfaction
of the court; and
(C) any of the following damages that will
be incurred by the owners of any interest in the
oil and gas property as a consequence of the
suspension: any unavoidable fixed expenses (in-
cluding, but not limited to, the expenses of
shutting in production from, maintenance of,
testing of, and redrilling or reconnecting an ex-
isting well; relaying pipeline; and all other ex-
penses reasonably related to reestablishing any
existing oil or gas production); expenses associ-
ated with stranded costs of drilling equipment
and facilities; any lost royalties on oil or gas
not produced by the oil and gas developer; and
any lost income associated with temporarily
shutting in production from wells outside of the
common area as needed for reconnection to a
gathering system or pipeline to market. If the
court determines that the unavoidable fixed ex-
penses to achieve post-suspension recovery of all
or certain economically recoverable resources of
oil or gas in the common area will exceed the
net income to be derived from the resources, the
court shall determine the amount of the net in-
come and lost royalties in lieu of the unavoid-
able fixed expenses.
(2) The determinations made pursuant to para-
graph (1) shall not include any decrease in net in-
come or damages resulting from loss of any oil or
gas resources that occurred before the date of the
determinations and is caused by mining within or
outside of the common area on the Federal coal
lease or logical mining unit that is the subject of the
common area determination made pursuant to sec-
tion 8(b)(1) or section 9(b)(2).
(3) If the court makes a determination to ter-
minate pursuant to subsection (b), the court shall
determine the amount of any net income that will
not be realized and any damages due to the loss of,
or impracticability to produce, the economically re-
coverable resources of oil or gas in the oil and gas
property in the same manner as provided in para-
graph (1).
(4) In determining the amount of net income
that will not be realized pursuant to paragraph (1)
or paragraph (3) and the sum of money to be
awarded pursuant to subsection (d), the court shall
ensure to the best of its ability that the Federal coal
lessee is not required to pay for the same gas or oil
lost, delayed in development, or rendered impracti-
cable to develop to more than one oil and gas devel-
oper or the owners of any interest in more than one
oil and gas property.
(d) COURT ORDER.—The court shall issue an order
that—
(1) suspends all or any part of, suspends in
phases parts of, or terminates the oil and gas lease
or right to develop, including any applicable payment
or production obligations, in accordance with the de-
termination made pursuant to subsection (b); and
(2) awards to the oil and gas developer and all
other owners of any interest in the oil and gas prop-
erty, as their interests may appear, a sum of money
from the Federal coal lessee equal to the net income
amount and damages determined pursuant sub-
section (c).
pursuant to section 12(d) concludes, the Federal
coal lessee may petition the court for an order that
fixes the date and terms on which the Federal coal
lessee may commence mining operations or construc-
tion of support facilities in the portion of the com-
mon area subject to the order issued pursuant to
section 12(d) and, if all or any part of the Federal
coal lease and/or any non-Federal interest in the log-
ical mining unit is suspended, terminates the sus-
pension.
(b) COURT ORDER TO TERMINATE LEASE SUSPEN-
SION.—The court shall issue the order sought under sub-
section (a)(2) within 30 days of the date of receipt of the
petition pursuant to subsection (a)(2).
(c) TERMINATION OF LEASE.—
(1) If the Federal coal lessee determines that,
as a consequence of the order of the court issued
pursuant to section 12(d), further development of all
or any part of the Federal coal lease and/or any
non-Federal interest in the logical mining unit is im-
practicable, the Federal coal lessee may petition the
court to terminate all or any part of the Federal coal
lease and/or any non-Federal interest in the logical
mining unit.