Title: SPEED Act
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Streamlining Permitting Efficiencies in Energy Development Act or the SPEED Act
This bill requires the Department of the Interior to establish procedures by which an oil and gas operator may submit a notification of permit to drill instead of obtaining an application to drill if the proposed drilling activities meet certain criteria.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6088 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6088

 To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to authorize notifications of permit 
                   to drill, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 13, 2018

Mr. Curtis (for himself, Mr. Bishop of Utah, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Gianforte, 
 Mr. Westerman, and Mr. Gohmert) introduced the following bill; which 
           was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to authorize notifications of permit 
                   to drill, 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 ``Streamlining Permitting Efficiencies 
in Energy Development Act'' or the ``SPEED Act''.

SEC. 2. NOTIFICATIONS OF PERMIT TO DRILL.

    The Mineral Leasing Act is amended by--
            (1) redesignating section 44 as section 45; and
            (2) inserting after section 43 the following:

``SEC. 44. NOTIFICATIONS OF PERMIT TO DRILL.

    ``(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish procedures by 
which an operator may conduct drilling and production activities on 
available Federal land and non-Federal land after sending to the 
Secretary a notification of permit to drill under this section in lieu 
of obtaining an APD.
    ``(b) Content of Notification.--To be considered a complete 
notification of permit to drill under this section, an operator shall 
include in the notification of permit to drill submitted under this 
section the following:
            ``(1) A notification of permit to drill form.
            ``(2) A surface use plan of operations.
            ``(3) A drilling plan.
            ``(4) A well plat certified by a registered surveyor.
            ``(5) An operator certification.
            ``(6) Evidence of bond coverage.
            ``(7) A notification of permit to drill fee in an amount to 
        be determined by the Secretary.
            ``(8) Any other information required by order, notice, or 
        regulation issued by the Secretary pursuant to this section.
    ``(c) Justifications for Objection.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
        subsection, the Secretary may not object to a notification of 
        permit to drill under this section if the notification--
                    ``(A) demonstrates that the drilling operations 
                described in the notification of permit to drill will 
                be located in--
                            ``(i) a developed field, where there are 
                        existing oil and gas wells within a 5-mile 
                        radius and for which an approved land use plan 
                        or environmental review was prepared within the 
                        last 10 years under the National Environmental 
                        Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321) that 
                        analyzed such drilling operations as a 
                        reasonably foreseeable activity;
                            ``(ii) a location or well pad site at which 
                        drilling has occurred within 10 years before 
                        the date of spudding the well and the proposed 
                        operations do not increase the surface 
                        disturbance on the location or well pad site;
                            ``(iii) an area consisting of individual 
                        surface disturbances of less than 10 acres and 
                        the total surface disturbance on the lease is 
                        not greater than 150 acres and for which an 
                        approved land use plan or environmental review 
                        was prepared within the last 10 years under the 
                        National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
                        U.S.C. 4321) that analyzed such drilling 
                        operations as a reasonably foreseeable 
                        activity;
                            ``(iv) an area consisting of Federal 
                        mineral interests that is located within the 
                        boundaries of a communitization agreement or 
                        unit agreement which contains minerals leased 
                        by a State or private mineral owner for which a 
                        drilling permit has been approved by a State 
                        regulatory agency; or
                            ``(v) an area in which a categorical 
                        exclusion under the National Environmental 
                        Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321) applies for 
                        oil and gas drilling or re-entry activities; or
                    ``(B) includes--
                            ``(i) an environmental review that 
                        concludes that actions described in the 
                        notification of permit to drill pose no 
                        significant effects to the human environment or 
                        threatened or endangered species; and
                            ``(ii) an archeological review that 
                        concludes that actions described in the 
                        notification of permit to drill pose no 
                        significant effects on cultural or historic 
                        properties or resources.
            ``(2) Endangered species protection.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), 
                the Secretary shall object to a notification of permit 
                to drill if the activity described in such notification 
                of permit to drill is likely to jeopardize the 
                continued existence of a species that is a threatened 
                species or endangered species under the Endangered 
                Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) or result 
                in the destruction or adverse modification of critical 
                habitat of such species.
                    ``(B) Withdrawal of objection.--The Secretary may 
                withdraw an objection under subparagraph (A) if the 
                operator consults with the Secretary on such objection 
                and places conditions on the notification of permit to 
                drill sufficient to comply with the Endangered Species 
                Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
            ``(3) National historic preservation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), 
                the Secretary shall object to a notification of permit 
                to drill if the activity described in such notification 
                of permit to drill is likely to affect properties 
                listed, or eligible for listing, in the National 
                Register of Historic Places under section 306108 of 
                title 54, United States Code.
                    ``(B) Withdrawal of objection.--The Secretary may 
                withdraw an objection under subparagraph (A) if the 
                operator consults with the Secretary on such objection 
                and places conditions on the notification of permit to 
                drill sufficient to comply with section 306108 of title 
                54, United States Code.
    ``(d) Objection or No Action.--
            ``(1) Notification of incomplete notification.--Not later 
        than 15 days after receipt of a notification of permit to 
        drill, or a revised notification of permit to drill, from an 
        operator under this section, if the notification of permit to 
        drill is not complete, the Secretary shall notify the operator 
        in writing of such.
            ``(2) Notification of objections.--Not later than 45 days 
        after receipt of a complete notification of permit to drill 
        from an operator under this section, the Secretary shall review 
        the notification of permit to drill and--
                    ``(A) notify the operator in writing of any 
                objections to the notification of permit to drill; or
                    ``(B) take no action.
            ``(3) No action required.--If the Secretary has not 
        notified an operator under either paragraph (1) or paragraph 
        (2) within 45 days after receipt of a notification of permit to 
        drill from the operator under this section, the operator may, 
        without further action from the Secretary, conduct the drilling 
        and production activities for which the notification of permit 
        to drill was submitted.
            ``(4) Opportunity to resubmit notification.--If the 
        Secretary notifies an operator under paragraph (1) of an 
        incomplete notification or paragraph (2) of an objection, the 
        Secretary shall allow the operator to address such incomplete 
        notification or objection and revise and resubmit the 
        notification of permit to drill.
            ``(5) Opportunity to resubmit notification as apd.--If the 
        Secretary notifies an operator under paragraph (2) of an 
        objection, the Secretary shall allow the operator to resubmit 
        such information in the form of a notification for an APD.
    ``(e) Notification Fee.--The Secretary may not charge an operator 
under this section a fee for submitting a notification of permit to 
drill greater than the fee the Secretary charges an applicant for an 
APD.
    ``(f) Environmental Review.--
            ``(1) In general.--An environmental review or archeological 
        review described in subsection (c)(1)(B) may be completed by a 
        third-party contractor approved by the Secretary or pursuant to 
        a memorandum of understanding between the operator and the 
        Secretary.
            ``(2) Field work authorization.--The Secretary shall issue 
        a field work authorization to a third-party contractor for the 
        purposes of paragraph (1) within a reasonable time period.
            ``(3) Request for concurrence.--The Secretary shall allow a 
        third-party contractor to submit a request to the State 
        Historic Preservation Office on behalf of the Secretary.
    ``(g) Additional Surface Use Permits.--The Secretary may not 
require an operator that has submitted a notification of permit to 
drill for which the Secretary did not notice an objection to obtain a 
surface use permit for an action included in the notification of permit 
to drill.
    ``(h) Site Inspection.--The Secretary may not require an operator 
that has submitted a notification of permit to drill for which the 
Secretary did not notice an objection to submit to a site inspection 
before commencement of the activities described in the notification of 
permit to drill.
    ``(i) Federal Enforcement.--The Secretary may conduct inspections 
of and evaluate activities described in a notification of permit to 
drill for purposes of bringing an enforcement action. The Secretary may 
suspend enforcement proceedings if the operator modifies its activities 
to comply with the notification of permit to drill or obtains an APD 
for such activities.
    ``(j) Application of NEPA.--
            ``(1) No action by secretary.--The decision by the 
        Secretary to take no action under subsection (c)(1)(B)(2) shall 
        not constitute a major Federal action under section 102(2)(C) 
        of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
        4321(2)(C)).
            ``(2) Development of regulations.--The development of any 
        regulation pursuant to this section shall constitute a major 
        Federal action under section 102(2)(C) of the National 
        Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321(2)(C)).
    ``(k) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) APD.--The term `APD' means an application to drill or 
        re-enter a well.
            ``(2) Available federal land.--The term `available Federal 
        land' means Federal land that--
                    ``(A) is located within the boundaries of a State;
                    ``(B) is not held by the United States in trust for 
                the benefit of a federally recognized Indian Tribe;
                    ``(C) is not a unit of the National Park System;
                    ``(D) is not a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge 
                System;
                    ``(E) is not a Congressionally-approved wilderness 
                area under the Wilderness Act (16 22 U.S.C. 1131 et 
                seq.); and
                    ``(F) is managed by the Director of the Bureau of 
                Land Management or the Director of the Forest Service.
            ``(3) Drilling operations.--The term `drilling operations' 
        means the drilling or re-entry of a well.
            ``(4) Drilling plan.--The term `drilling plan' means a plan 
        containing--
                    ``(A) a description of the drilling program;
                    ``(B) the surface and projected completion zone 
                location;
                    ``(C) pertinent geologic data;
                    ``(D) expected hazards;
                    ``(E) proposed mitigation measures to address such 
                hazards;
                    ``(F) any other information specified in applicable 
                notices or orders; and
                    ``(G) any other pertinent data as the Secretary may 
                require.
            ``(5) Surface use plan of operation.--The term `surface use 
        plan of operation' means a plan containing--
                    ``(A) the road and drillpad location;
                    ``(B) details of pad construction;
                    ``(C) methods for containment and disposal of waste 
                material;
                    ``(D) plans for reclamation of the surface;
                    ``(E) any other information specified in applicable 
                orders or notices; and
                    ``(F) any other pertinent data as the Secretary may 
                require.''.
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