Title: Bonding Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2019
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Bonding Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2019
This bill revises bonding requirements for oil and gas development.
Specifically, the bill increases the amount of bond that oil and gas developers must provide prior to conducting surface-disturbing activities and requires such amounts to adjust every three years for inflation.
The bill also requires the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture to establish uniform standards for all interim and final reclamation plans and not release any bond amounts until the standards have been met by oil and gas developers.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4346 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4346

  To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to make certain adjustments to the 
 regulation of surface-disturbing activities and to protect taxpayers 
 from unduly bearing the reclamation costs of oil and gas development, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 17, 2019

Mr. Lowenthal introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to make certain adjustments to the 
 regulation of surface-disturbing activities and to protect taxpayers 
 from unduly bearing the reclamation costs of oil and gas development, 
                        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 referred to as the ``Bonding Reform and Taxpayer 
Protection Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. SURFACE DISTURBANCE AND RECLAMATION.

    Section 17(g) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(g)) is 
amended to read as follows:
    ``(g) Bonding Requirements.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Interim reclamation plan.--The term `Interim 
                Reclamation Plan' means an ongoing plan specifying 
                reclamation steps to be taken on all disturbed areas 
                covered by any lease issued under this Act that are not 
                needed for active operations.
                    ``(B) Final reclamation plan.--The term `Final 
                Reclamation Plan' means a plan describing all 
                reclamation activity to be conducted for all disturbed 
                areas, including locations, facilities, trenches, 
                rights-of-way, roads, and any other surface disturbance 
                covered by a lease issued under this Act prior to final 
                abandonment.
            ``(2) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior, or with 
        respect to National Forest lands, the Secretary of Agriculture, 
        shall regulate all surface-disturbing activities conducted 
        pursuant to any lease issued under this Act, and shall 
        determine reclamation and other actions as required in the 
        interest of conservation of surface resources.
            ``(3) Reclamation plans required.--
                    ``(A) Analysis and approval required.--No permit to 
                drill on an oil and gas lease issued under this Act may 
                be granted without the analysis and approval by the 
                Secretary concerned of both an interim reclamation plan 
                and a final reclamation plan covering proposed surface-
                disturbing activities within the lease area.
                    ``(B) Plans of operations.--All Plans of Operations 
                submitted and approved pursuant to this Act shall 
                include an Interim Reclamation Plan.
                    ``(C) Secretarial review.--The relevant Secretary 
                shall review each Interim Reclamation Plan at regular 
                intervals and shall require such plans to be amended as 
                warranted, subject to the approval of such Secretary.
            ``(4) Bonding.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary concerned shall, 
                by regulation, require that an adequate bond, surety, 
                or other financial arrangement will be established 
                prior to the commencement of surface-disturbing 
                activities on any lease, to ensure the complete and 
                timely reclamation of the lease tract, and the 
                restoration of any lands or surface waters adversely 
                affected by lease operations after the abandonment or 
                cessation of oil and gas operations on the lease.
                    ``(B) Prohibition.--The Secretary shall not issue 
                or approve the assignment of any lease under the terms 
                of this section to any person, association, 
                corporation, or any subsidiary, affiliate, or person 
                controlled by or under common control with such person, 
                association, or corporation, during any period in 
                which, as determined by the relevant Secretary, such 
                entity has failed or refused to comply in any material 
                respect with the reclamation requirements and other 
                standards established under this section for any prior 
                lease to which such requirements and standards applied.
                    ``(C) Notice and opportunity for compliance.--Prior 
                to making such determination with respect to any such 
                entity the concerned Secretary shall provide such 
                entity with adequate notification and an opportunity to 
                comply with such reclamation requirements and other 
                standards and shall consider whether any administrative 
                or judicial appeal is pending. Once the entity has 
                complied with the reclamation requirement or other 
                standard concerned an oil or gas lease may be issued to 
                such entity under this Act.
                    ``(D) Limitation on bonds.--A bond, surety, or 
                other financial arrangement described in subparagraph 
                (A) shall not be adequate if it is less than--
                            ``(i) $50,000 in the case of an arrangement 
                        for an individual surface-disturbing activity 
                        of an entity;
                            ``(ii) $250,000 in the case of an 
                        arrangement for all surface-disturbing 
                        activities of an entity in a State; or
                            ``(iii) $1,000,000 in the case of an 
                        arrangement for all surface-disturbing 
                        activities of an entity in the United States.
                    ``(E) Adjustments for inflation.--In the 
                application of subparagraph (B), the Secretaries 
                concerned shall jointly at least once every three years 
                adjust the dollar amounts in subparagraph (B) to 
                account for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index 
                for all urban consumer published by the Department of 
                Labor.
            ``(5) Standards.--The Secretary of the Interior and the 
        Secretary of Agriculture shall, by regulation, establish 
        uniform standards for all Interim and Final Reclamation Plans. 
        The goal of such plans shall be the restoration of the affected 
        ecosystem to a condition approximating or equal to that which 
        existed prior to the surface disturbance. Such standards shall 
        include restoration of natural vegetation and hydrology, 
        habitat restoration, salvage, storage and reuse of topsoils, 
        erosion control, control of invasive species and noxious weeds 
        and natural contouring.
            ``(6) Monitoring.--The Secretary concerned shall not 
        approve final abandonment and shall not release any bond 
        required by this Act until the standards and requirement for 
        final reclamation established pursuant to this Act have been 
        met.''.
                                 <all>