A bill to amend the Mineral Leasing Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to issue separately, for the same area, a lease for tar sand and a lease for oil and gas, and for other purposes.

Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to issue separately, for the same area, a lease for tar sand and a lease for oil and gas.

Declares that such a lease shall not be further subject to the Combined Hydrocarbon Leasing Act of 1981.

Requires a lease for tar sand to be issued using the same bidding process, annual rental, and posting period as a lease issued for oil and gas. Sets the minimum acceptable bid for a tar sand lease at $2 per acre.

Authorizes the Secretary, in order to promote any resource covered by a combined hydrocarbon lease, to waive, suspend, or alter any requirement that a permittee under a permit authorizing prospecting for tar sand must exercise due diligence.

[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 53 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 53

  To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to authorize the Secretary of the 
 Interior to issue separately, for the same area, a lease for tar sand 
          and a lease for oil and gas, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 24, 2005

   Mr. Hatch introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to authorize the Secretary of the 
 Interior to issue separately, for the same area, a lease for tar sand 
          and a lease for oil and gas, 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. COMBINED HYDROCARBON LEASING.

    (a) Special Provisions Regarding Leasing.--Section 17(b)(2) of the 
Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(b)(2)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(2)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(B) The Secretary may issue under this Act for the same area, 
separately--
            ``(i) a lease for exploration for and extraction of tar 
        sand; and
            ``(ii) a lease for exploration for and development of oil 
        and gas.
    ``(C) A lease issued under subparagraph (B)(ii) shall not be 
further subject to the Combined Hydrocarbon Leasing Act of 1981 (30 
U.S.C. 181 et seq.).
    ``(D) A lease issued for tar sand shall be issued using the same 
bidding process, annual rental, and posting period as a lease issued 
for oil and gas, except that the minimum acceptable bid required for a 
lease issued for tar sand shall be $2 per acre.
    ``(E) The Secretary may waive, suspend, or alter any requirement 
under section 26 that a permittee under a permit authorizing 
prospecting for tar sand must exercise due diligence, to promote any 
resource covered by a combined hydrocarbon lease.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 17(b)(1)(B) of the Mineral 
Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)(B)) is amended in the second sentence 
by inserting ``, subject to paragraph (2)(B),'' after ``the 
Secretary''.
    (c) Regulations.--Within 45 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall issue final regulations 
to implement this section.
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