119-hr1555

[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.''.
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