Sec. 1101. Onshore oil and gas leasing
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In this section: The term onshore oil and gas lease sale means an oil and gas lease sale conducted under section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 226 ). The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior. Consistent with the policy described in section 102(a)(12) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1701(a)(12) ) that the Bureau of Land Management manage public land in a manner which recognizes the Nation’s need for domestic sources of minerals from public land, Congress declares that it is the policy of the United States that it is in the national interest for the Department of the Interior to move forward expeditiously to immediately resume quarterly onshore oil and gas lease sales.
The Secretary shall immediately resume quarterly onshore oil and gas lease sales in accordance with section 17(b)(1)(A) of the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)(A) ). During the 5-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, in order to promote increased production on Federal land, the Secretary may, on a determination that it is in the national interest, reduce the applicable royalty rate on individual leases issued under an onshore oil and gas lease sale to not less than 12.5 percent.
In conducting a quarterly onshore oil and gas lease sale in a State described in section 17(b)(1)(A) of the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)(A) ), the Secretary— shall offer not less than 25 percent of available parcels nominated for oil and gas development under the applicable resource management plan in effect for relevant Bureau of Land Management resource management areas within the applicable State; and shall not restrict the parcels offered to 1 Bureau of Land Management field office within the applicable State unless all nominated parcels are located within the same Bureau of Land Management field office.
If, for any reason, an onshore oil and gas lease sale for a calendar year is canceled, delayed, or deferred or is paused due to section 208 of Executive Order 14008 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 note; relating to tackling the climate crisis at home and abroad), the Secretary shall conduct a replacement sale by not later than 180 days after the date of the cancellation, delay, deferral, or pause, as applicable. Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 226 ) is amended by striking the section designation and all that follows through the end of subsection
(a)and inserting the following: Any parcel of land subject to disposition under this Act that is known or believed to contain oil or gas deposits shall be made available for leasing, subject to paragraphs
(2)and (3), by the Secretary of the Interior, or for National Forest System land, the Secretary of Agriculture, as applicable (referred to in this subsection as the Secretary concerned ), not later than 18 months after the date of receipt by the Secretary concerned of an expression of interest in leasing the applicable parcel of land available for disposition under this section, in accordance with procedures established under subsection
(q)and for which the applicable fee was paid under that subsection, if the Secretary concerned determines that the parcel of land is open to oil or gas leasing under the approved resource management plan applicable to the planning area in which the parcel of land is located that is in effect on the date on which the expression of interest was submitted to the Secretary concerned (referred to in this subsection as the approved resource management plan ). A lease issued by the Secretary concerned under this section with respect to an applicable parcel of land made available for leasing under paragraph (1)— shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the approved resource management plan; and may not require any stipulations or mitigation requirements not included in the approved resource management plan. The fact that the approved resource management plan is being amended shall not prevent or delay the Secretary concerned from making the applicable parcel of land available for leasing if the other requirements of this section have been met, as determined by the Secretary concerned. A lease sale conducted under the terms of an approved resource management plan shall not be considered to be an action that limits the choice of reasonable alternatives for an environmental review conducted pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ) for the purpose of amending that resource management plan. . Section 17(q) of the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 226(q) ) is amended— by striking Secretary each place it appears and inserting Secretary of the Interior ; in paragraph (1), by striking nonrefundable ; and by adding at the end the following: If a person other than the person who submitted the expression of interest is the highest responsible qualified bidder for a parcel of land covered by the applicable expression of interest in a lease sale conducted under this section— as a condition of the issuance of the lease, the person who is the highest responsible qualified bidder shall pay to the Secretary of the Interior an amount equal to the applicable fee paid by the person who submitted the expression of interest; and not later than 10 days after the date of the lease sale, the Secretary of the Interior shall refund to the person who submitted the expression of interest an amount equal to the amount of the initial fee paid. . Section 17(b)(1)(A) of the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)(A) ) is amended by inserting after the seventh sentence the following: The Secretary of the Interior shall resolve any protest to a lease sale within 60 days following such payment. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the Secretary of the Interior denies a protest to a lease sale, any lease subject to the protest shall not be subject to further environmental review by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the . National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ). Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 226 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: A civil action relating to an environmental review under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. ), division A of subtitle III of title 54, United States Code (formerly known as the National Historic Preservation Act ), or the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ) with respect to a lease sale conducted under this section shall not— affect the validity of a lease issued under the lease sale that is the subject of the civil action; or except as provided in paragraph (3)(B), cause a delay in the timelines established under subsection (p)(2) for the consideration of an application for permit to drill with respect to a lease issued under the lease sale that is the subject of the civil action. If, in a civil action described in paragraph (1), the environmental review for a lease sale is found by the applicable court to violate the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. )— notwithstanding chapter 5 or 7 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Administrative Procedure Act ), the applicable court shall not set aside the lease sale and vacate the leases issued pursuant to the sale but instead remand the matter to the Secretary of the Interior to resolve the violation; and the Secretary of the Interior shall continue to process all applicable applications for permit to drill pursuant to subsection (p)(2). Not later than 60 days after the date on which a civil action described in paragraph
(1)is filed, the Secretary of the Interior shall notify the holder of any lease issued under the lease sale that is the subject of the civil action of the filing of the civil action. Not later than 90 days after the date of receipt of a notice under subparagraph (A), the leaseholder may file with the Secretary of the Interior a request to pause the timeline under subsection (e)(1) with respect to the term of the lease during any period in which the civil action is pending. . Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 226 ) (as amended by paragraph (3)) is amended by adding at the end the following: A lease issued under this section shall be considered to be valid and not subject to cancellation by the Secretary of the Interior for any reason, except for— the express written agreement to the cancellation by the lessee; or a determination by the Secretary of the Interior that cancellation is appropriate in accordance with section 3108.3 of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this subsection), subject to the limitation that a lease may not be determined to be improperly issued under that section based on a finding by a Federal court that the environmental review for the lease sale pursuant to which the lease was issued was in violation of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. ), division A of subtitle III of title 54, United States Code (formerly known as the National Historic Preservation Act ), or the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ). . Section 42 of the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 226–2 ) is amended by striking the section designation and all that follows through the period at the end of the second sentence, and inserting the following: Notwithstanding chapter 5 or 7 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Administrative Procedure Act ), no action contesting a decision of the Secretary involving any oil and gas lease sale, individual lease, or individual permit shall be maintained unless the action is commenced or taken by not later than 60 days after the date on which the final decision of the Secretary relating to the action was made. An action contesting a decision of the Secretary may only be commenced— for an individual lease or permit, in the district court of the United States for the district in which the property, or some part thereof, is located; and for a lease sale, in a district court of the United States in the State in which the sale occurred. A defendant or defendant intervenor in an action challenging a lease sale, lease, or permit in multiple states may remove the action to the district court of the United States for the district in which the property is located pursuant to section 1441(c) of title 28, United States Code. .
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- 30 USC 226–2
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Sec. 1101
Onshore oil and gas leasing
Cite30 USC 226–2
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