February 25, 2025
Mr. Hoeven (for himself, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Cramer, and Mr. Daines) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
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. Compliance with BLM permitting
(a) In general
Notwithstanding the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), or subpart 3162 of part 3160 of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), but subject to any applicable State or Tribal requirements and subsection (c), the Secretary of the Interior shall not require a permit to drill for an oil and gas lease under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) for an action occurring within an oil and gas drilling or spacing unit if—
(1)
the Federal Government—
(A)
owns less than 50 percent of the minerals within the oil and gas drilling or spacing unit; and
(B)
does not own or lease the surface estate within the area directly impacted by the action;
(2)
the well is located on non-Federal land overlying a non-Federal mineral estate, but some portion of the wellbore enters and produces from the Federal mineral estate subject to the lease; or
(3)
the well is located on non-Federal land overlying a non-Federal mineral estate, but some portion of the wellbore traverses but does not produce from the Federal mineral estate subject to the lease.
(b) Notification
For each State permit to drill or drilling plan that would impact or extract oil and gas owned by the Federal Government—
(1)
each lessee of Federal minerals in the unit, or designee of a lessee, shall—
(A)
notify the Secretary of the Interior of the submission of a State application for a permit to drill or drilling plan on submission of the application; and
(B)
provide a copy of the application described in subparagraph (A) to the Secretary of the Interior not later than 5 days after the date on which the permit or plan is submitted;
(2)
each lessee, designee of a lessee, or applicable State shall notify the Secretary of the Interior of the approved State permit to drill or drilling plan not later than 45 days after the date on which the permit or plan is approved; and
(3)
each lessee or designee of a lessee shall provide, prior to commencing drilling operations, agreements authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to enter non-Federal land, as necessary, for inspection and enforcement of the terms of the Federal lease.
(c) Nonapplicability to Indian lands
Subsection (a) shall not apply to Indian lands (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1702)).
(d) Effect
Nothing in this section affects—
(1)
other authorities of the Secretary of the Interior under the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); or
(2)
the amount of royalties due to the Federal Government from the production of the Federal minerals within the oil and gas drilling or spacing unit.
(e) Authority on non-Federal land
Section 17(g) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(g)) is amended—
(1)
by striking the subsection designation and all that follows through Secretary of the Interior, or
in the first sentence and inserting the following:
(g)
(1)
The Secretary of the Interior, or; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:
(2)
(A)
In the case of an oil and gas lease under this Act on land described in subparagraph (B) located within an oil and gas drilling or spacing unit, nothing in this Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior—
(i)
to require a bond to protect non-Federal land;
(ii)
to enter non-Federal land without the consent of the applicable landowner;
(iii)
to impose mitigation requirements; or
(iv)
to require approval for surface reclamation.
(B)
Land referred to in subparagraph (A) is land where—
(i)
the Federal Government—
(I)
owns less than 50 percent of the minerals within the oil and gas drilling or spacing unit; and
(II)
does not own or lease the surface estate within the area directly impacted by the action;
(ii)
the well is located on non-Federal land overlying a non-Federal mineral estate, but some portion of the wellbore enters and produces from the Federal mineral estate subject to the lease; or
(iii)
the well is located on non-Federal land overlying a non-Federal mineral estate, but some portion of the wellbore traverses but does not produce from the Federal mineral estate subject to the lease.