Title: Common Sense Permitting Act
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Common Sense Permitting Act
This bill revises the approval process for certain oil and gas activities by requiring additional categorical exclusions from National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)	requirements. (A categorical exclusion under NEPA is a category of actions that do not have a significant effect on the human environment and for which neither an Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact Statement is required.)

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6106 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6106

   To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to clarify the authorized 
categorical exclusions and authorize additional categorical exclusions 
    to streamline the oil and gas permitting process, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 14, 2018

 Mr. Pearce (for himself, Mr. Bishop of Utah, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Gohmert, 
  Mr. Johnson of Ohio, and Mr. Cramer) introduced the following bill; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to clarify the authorized 
categorical exclusions and authorize additional categorical exclusions 
    to streamline the oil and gas permitting process, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Common Sense Permitting Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 2005.

    Section 390 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, (42 U.S.C. 15942) is 
amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) NEPA Review.--Action by the Secretary of the Interior in 
managing the public lands, or the Secretary of Agriculture in managing 
National Forest System Lands, with respect to any of the activities 
described in subsection (d) shall be categorically excluded from any 
further analysis and documentation under the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) if the activity is 
conducted pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act for the purpose of 
exploration or development of oil or gas.
    ``(b) Categorical Exclusion.--Use of a categorical exclusion 
created in this section--
            ``(1) shall not require a finding of no extraordinary 
        circumstances; and
            ``(2) shall be effective for the full term of the 
        authorized permit or approval.
    ``(c) Application.--This section shall not apply to an action of 
the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture on Indian 
lands or resources managed in trust for the benefit of Indian Tribes.
    ``(d) Activities Described.--The activities referred to in 
subsection (a) are:
            ``(1) Reinstating a lease pursuant to section 31 of the 
        Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 188).
            ``(2) The following activities, provided that any new 
        surface disturbance is contiguous with the footprint of the 
        original authorization and does not exceed 20 acres or the 
        acreage evaluated in a document previously prepared under 
        section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 
        1969 with respect to such activity, whichever is greater:
                    ``(A) Drilling oil or gas wells at a well pad site 
                at which drilling has occurred previously.
                    ``(B) Expansion of an existing oil or gas well pad 
                site to accommodate additional wells.
                    ``(C) Expansion or modification of an existing oil 
                or gas well pad site, road, pipeline, facilities, or 
                utilities submitted in a sundry notice.
            ``(3) Drilling of oil and gas wells at new well pad sites, 
        provided that the new surface disturbance does not exceed 20 
        acres or the acreage evaluated in a document previously 
        prepared under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
        Policy Act of 1969 with respect to such activity, whichever is 
        greater.
            ``(4) Construction or realignment of a road, pipeline, or 
        utilities within an existing right-of-way or within a right-of-
        way corridor established in a land use plan.
            ``(5) The following activities when conducted from non-
        Federal surface into federally owned minerals, provided that 
        the operator submits to the Secretary concerned certification 
        of a surface use agreement with the non-Federal landowner:
                    ``(A) Drilling oil or gas wells at a well pad site 
                at which drilling has occurred previously.
                    ``(B) Expansion of an existing oil or gas well pad 
                site to accommodate additional wells.
                    ``(C) Expansion or modification of an existing oil 
                or gas well pad site, road, pipeline, facilities or 
                utilities submitted in a sundry notice.
            ``(6) Drilling of oil or gas wells from non-Federal surface 
        and non-Federal subsurface into Federal mineral estate.
            ``(7) Construction of up to 1 mile of new road on Federal 
        or non-Federal surface, not to exceed 2 miles in total.
            ``(8) Construction of up to 3 miles of individual pipelines 
        or utilities, regardless of surface ownership.''.
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