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 
such notice, the matter shall be referred to 
third party arbitration for resolution within a 
period of 90 days. The cost of such arbitration 
shall be the responsibility of the operator. 
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(B) IDENTIFICATION OF ARBITERS.—The 
Secretary shall identify persons with experience 
in conducting arbitrations and shall make this 
information available to operators and surface 
owners. 
(C) REFERRAL
TO
IDENTIFIED
ARBI-
TER.—Referral of a matter for arbitration by a 
person identified by the Secretary pursuant to 
subparagraph (B) shall be sufficient to con-
stitute compliance with subparagraph (A). 
(4) ATTORNEYS FEES.—If action is taken to 
enforce or interpret any of the terms and conditions 
contained in a surface use agreement, the prevailing 
party shall be reimbursed by the other party for rea-
sonable attorneys fees and actual costs incurred, in 
addition to any other relief which a court or arbitra-
tion panel may grant. 
(c) AUTHORIZED EXPLORATION AND DRILLING OP-
ERATIONS.— 
(1) AUTHORIZATION
WITHOUT
SURFACE
USE 
AGREEMENT.—The Secretary may authorize an op-
erator to conduct exploration and drilling operations 
on lands covered by subsection (b) in the absence of 
an agreement with the surface estate owner or own-
ers, if— 
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(A) the Secretary makes a determination 
in writing that the operator made a good faith 
attempt to conclude such an agreement, includ-
ing referral of the matter to arbitration pursu-
ant to subsection (b)(3), but that no agreement 
was concluded within 90 days after the referral 
to arbitration; 
(B) the operator submits a plan of oper-
ations that provides for the matters specified in 
subsection (b)(2) and for compliance with all 
other applicable requirements of Federal and 
State law; and 
(C) the operator posts a bond or other fi-
nancial assurance in an amount the Secretary 
determines to be adequate to ensure compensa-
tion to the surface estate owner for any dam-
ages to the site, in the form of a surety bond, 
trust fund, letter of credit, government security, 
certificate of deposit, cash, or equivalent. 
(2) SURFACE
OWNER
PARTICIPATION.—The 
Secretary shall provide surface estate owners with 
an opportunity to— 
(A) comment on plans of operations in ad-
vance of a determination of compliance with 
this section; 
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(B) participate in bond level determina-
tions and bond release proceedings under this 
subsection; 
(C) attend an on-site inspection during 
such determinations and proceedings; 
(D) file written objections to a proposed 
bond release; and 
(E) request and participate in an on-site 
inspection when they have reason to believe 
there is a violation of the terms and conditions 
of a plan of operations. 
(3) PAYMENT OF FINANCIAL GUARANTEE.—A 
surface estate owner with respect to any land subject 
to a lease may petition the Secretary for payment of 
all or any portion of a bond or other financial assur-
ance required under this subsection as compensation 
for any damages as a result of exploration and drill-
ing operations. Pursuant to such a petition, the Sec-
retary may use such bond or other guarantee to pro-
vide compensation to the surface estate owner for 
such damages. 
(4) BOND RELEASE.—Upon request and after 
inspection and opportunity for surface estate owner 
review, the Secretary may release the financial as-
surance required under this subsection if the Sec-
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retary determines that exploration and drilling oper-
ations are ended and all damages have been fully 
compensated. 
(d) SURFACE
OWNER
NOTIFICATION.—The Sec-
retary shall— 
(1) notify surface estate owners in writing at 
least 45 days in advance of lease sales; 
(2) within ten working days after a lease is 
issued, notify surface estate owners of regarding the 
identity of the lessee; 
(3) notify surface estate owners in writing with-
in 10 working days concerning any subsequent deci-
sions regarding a lease, such as modifying or 
waiving stipulations and approving rights of way; 
and 
(4) notify surface estate owners within five 
business days after issuance of a drilling permit 
under a lease. 
SEC. 222. ONSHORE OIL AND GAS RECLAMATION AND 
BONDING. 
Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 
226) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(p) RECLAMATION REQUIREMENTS.—An operator 
producing oil or gas (including coalbed methane) under 
a lease issued pursuant to this Act shall— 
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‘‘(1) at a minimum restore the land affected to 
a condition capable of supporting the uses that it 
was capable of supporting prior to any drilling, or 
higher or better uses of which there is reasonable 
likelihood, so long as such use or uses do not present 
any actual or probable hazard to public health or 
safety or pose any actual or probable threat of water 
diminution or pollution, and the permit applicants’ 
declared proposed land use following reclamation is 
not impractical or unreasonable, inconsistent with 
applicable land use policies and plans, or involve un-
reasonable delay in implementation, or is violative of 
Federal, State, or local law; 
‘‘(2) ensure that all reclamation efforts proceed 
in an environmentally sound manner and as contem-
poraneously as practicable with the oil and gas drill-
ing operations; and 
‘‘(3) submit with the plan of operations a rec-
lamation plan that describes in detail the methods 
and practices that will be used to ensure complete 
and timely restoration of all lands affected by oil 
and gas operations. 
‘‘(q) RECLAMATION BOND.—An operator producing 
oil or gas (including coalbed methane) under a lease issued 
under this Act shall post a bond that covers that area of 
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land within the permit area upon which the operator will 
initiate and conduct oil and gas drilling and reclamation 
operations within the initial term of the permit. As suc-
ceeding increments of oil and gas drilling and reclamation 
operations are to be initiated and conducted within the 
permit area, the lessee shall file with the regulatory au-
thority an additional bond or bonds to cover such incre-
ments in accordance with this section. The amount of the 
bond required for each bonded area shall depend upon the 
reclamation requirements of the approved permit; shall re-
flect the probable difficulty of reclamation giving consider-
ation to such factors as topography, geology of the site, 
hydrology, and revegetation potential; and shall be deter-
mined by the Secretary. The amount of the bond shall be 
sufficient to assure the completion of the reclamation plan 
if the work had to be performed by the Secretary in the 
event of forfeiture. 
‘‘(r) REGULATIONS.—No later than one year after 
the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary 
shall promulgate regulations to implement the require-
ments of subsections (p) and (q).’’. 
SEC. 223. PROTECTION OF WATER RESOURCES. 
(a) MINERAL LEASING ACT REQUIREMENTS.—Sec-
tion 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is 
further amended by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(s) WATER REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An operator producing oil 
or gas (including coalbed methane) under a lease 
issued under this Act shall— 
‘‘(A) replace the water supply of a water 
user who obtains all or part of such user’s sup-
ply of water for domestic, agricultural, or other 
purposes from an underground or surface 
source that has been affected by contamination, 
diminution, or interruption proximately result-
ing from drilling operations for such produc-
tion; and 
‘‘(B) comply with all applicable require-
ments of Federal and State law for discharge of 
any water produced under the lease. 
‘‘(2) WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN.—An applica-
tion for a lease under this subsection shall be accom-
panied by a proposed water management plan in-
cluding provisions to— 
‘‘(A) protect the quantity and quality of 
surface and ground water systems, both on-site 
and off-site, from adverse effects of the explo-
ration, development, and reclamation processes 
or to provide alternative sources of water if 
such protection cannot be assured; 
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‘‘(B) protect the rights of present users of 
water that would be affected by operations 
under the lease, including the discharge of any 
water produced in connection with such oper-
ations that is not reinjected; and 
‘‘(C) identify any agreements with other 
parties for the beneficial use of produced waters 
and the steps that will be taken to comply with 
State and Federal laws related to such use.’’. 
(b) RELATION TO STATE LAW.—Nothing in this sub-
title or any amendment made by this subtitle shall— 
(1) be construed as impairing or in any manner 
affecting any right or jurisdiction of any State with 
respect to the waters of such State; or 
(2) be construed as limiting, altering, modi-
fying, or amending any of the interstate compacts or 
equitable apportionment decrees that apportion 
water among and between States. 
SEC. 224. DUE DILIGENCE FEE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior 
shall, within 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, issue regulations to establish a fee with respect to 
Federal onshore lands that are subject to a lease for pro-
duction of oil, natural gas, or coal under which production 
is not occurring. 
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(b) AMOUNT.—The amount of the fee shall be $1 per 
year for each acre of land that is not in production for 
that year. 
(c) ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION.—The Secretary 
shall assess and collect the fee established under this sec-
tion. 
(d) DEPOSIT AND USE.—Amounts received by the 
United States in the form of the fee established under this 
section shall be available to the Secretary of the Interior 
for use to repair damage to Federal lands and resources 
caused by oil and gas development, in accordance with the 
the documents submitted by the President with the budget 
submission for fiscal year 2008 relating to the Healthy 
Lands Initiative. 
Subtitle 
D—Ensuring 
Safety 
of 
Wildlife With Respect to Wind 
Energy 
SEC. 231. STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting through 
the Director and after public notice and opportunity to 
comment, shall promulgate regulations that establish min-
imum standards for siting, construction, monitoring, and 
adaptive management that must be satisfied by all wind 
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projects to avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse impacts 
on migratory birds, bats, and other wildlife. 
(b) NEW WIND PROJECTS.—Such standards shall, 
for all wind projects that have not been constructed before 
the date of enactment of this Act, include at a minimum 
the following: 
(1) 
PRECONSTRUCTION
SURVEYS.—Require-
ments for comprehensive preconstruction surveys 
that are of sufficient duration and scope to reason-
ably evaluate the extent to which a particular site is 
used by migratory birds, bats, and other wildlife, in-
cluding species listed as endangered species or 
threatened species under section 4 of the Endan-
gered Species Act of 1973(16 U.S.C. 1533) and the 
potential cumulative impact that a proposed wind 
project would have on such wildlife in combination 
with other existing or proposed wind projects. Such 
requirements shall provide that surveys must be car-
ried out by scientific teams that include independent 
scientists and that the Director may obtain reason-
able access to the proposed construction site to en-
sure that survey protocols are being properly devel-
oped and implemented. 
(2) SITING.—Standards for siting wind projects 
for which construction has not begun so as to avoid 
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