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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1555 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1555
To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to streamline the oil and gas
permitting process and to recognize fee ownership for certain oil and
gas drilling or spacing units, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 25, 2025
Mrs. Bice introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to streamline the oil and gas
permitting process and to recognize fee ownership for certain oil and
gas drilling or spacing units, 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 ``Bureau of Land Management Mineral
Spacing Act''.
SEC. 2. ACCESS TO FEDERAL ENERGY RESOURCES FROM NON-FEDERAL SURFACE
ESTATE.
Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(r) No Federal Permit Required for Oil and Gas Activities on
Certain Land.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall not require an
operator to obtain a Federal drilling permit for oil and gas
exploration and production activities conducted on non-Federal
surface estate, provided that--
``(A) the United States holds an ownership interest
of less than 50 percent of the subsurface mineral
estate to be accessed by the proposed action; and
``(B) the operator submits to the Secretary a State
permit to conduct oil and gas exploration and
production activities on the non-Federal surface
estate.
``(2) No federal action.--An oil and gas exploration and
production activity carried out under paragraph (1)--
``(A) shall not be considered a major Federal
action for the purposes of section 102(2)(C) of the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4332);
``(B) shall require no additional Federal action;
``(C) may commence 30 days after submission of the
State permit to the Secretary; and
``(D) shall not be subject to--
``(i) section 306108 of title 54, United
States Code (commonly known as the National
Historic Preservation Act of 1966); and
``(ii) section 7 of the Endangered Species
Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536).
``(3) Royalties and production accountability.--(A) Nothing
in this subsection shall affect the amount of royalties due to
the United States under this Act from the production of oil and
gas, or alter the Secretary's authority to conduct audits and
collect civil penalties pursuant to the Federal Oil and Gas
Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).
``(B) The Secretary may conduct onsite reviews and
inspections to ensure proper accountability, measurement, and
reporting of production of Federal oil and gas, and payment of
royalties.
``(4) Nonapplicability to indian lands.--This subsection
shall not apply to Indian lands.
``(5) Indian land.--In this subsection, the term `Indian
land' means--
``(A) any land located within the boundaries of an
Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria; and
``(B) any land not located within the boundaries of
an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria, the title
to which is held--
``(i) in trust by the United States for the
benefit of an Indian tribe or an individual
Indian;
``(ii) by an Indian tribe or an individual
Indian, subject to restriction against
alienation under laws of the United States; or
``(iii) by a dependent Indian community.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
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