H.R. 3225 — what changed
Restoring Community Input and Public Protections in Oil and Gas Leasing Act of 2020
From Introduced in House to Reported in House. 4 sections amended between Introduced in House and Reported in House.
1. Short title
changed
This Act may be cited as the “Restoring Community Input and Public Protections in Oil and Gas Leasing Act of 2019”.2020”.
2. Leasing process
Onshore oil and gas leasing— Section 17(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(a)) is amended to read as follows:
“(a) Leasing authority
“(1) In general—All lands subject to disposition under this Act that are known or believed to contain oil or gas deposits may be leased by the Secretary.
“(2) Receipt of fair market value—Leasing activities under this Act shall be conducted to assure receipt of fair market value for the lands and resources leased and the rights conveyed by the United States.”
Competitive bidding— Section 17(b)(1)(A) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)(A)) is amended to read as follows:
“(A) Competitive bidding
“(i) In general—All lands to be leased under this section shall be leased as provided in this paragraph to the highest responsible qualified bidder by competitive bidding by sealed bid.
“(ii) Geographic limitation—The Secretary shall lease lands under this paragraph in units of not more than 2,560 acres, except in Alaska, where units shall be not more than 5,760 acres. Such units shall be as nearly compact as possible.
“(iii) Frequency—Lease sales under this section shall be held for each State in which there are lands eligible for leasing no more than 3 times each year and on a rotating basis such that the lands under the responsibility of any Bureau of Land Management field office are available for leasing no more than one time each year.
“(iv) Royalty—A lease under this section shall be conditioned upon the payment of a royalty at a rate of not less than 18.5 percent in amount or value of the production removed or sold from the lease, except as otherwise provided in this Act.
“(v) Issuance of lease—The Secretary may issue a lease under this section to the responsible qualified bidder with the highest bid that is equal to or greater than the national minimum acceptable bid. The Secretary shall decide whether to accept a bid and issue a lease within 90 days following payment by the successful bidder of the remainder of the bonus bid, if any, and annual rental for the first lease year.
“(vi) Rejection of bid—The Secretary may reject a bid above the national minimum acceptable bid if, after evaluation of the value of the lands proposed for lease, the Secretary determines that the bid amount does not ensure that fair market value is obtained for the lease.”
National minimum acceptable bid— Subparagraph (B) of section 17(b)(1) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)), is amended to read as follows:
“(B) National minimum acceptable bid
“(i) In general—The national minimum acceptable bid shall be $5 per acre. All bids under this section for less than the national minimum acceptable bid shall be rejected.
“(ii) Raising the national minimum acceptable bid—The Secretary may establish a higher national minimum acceptable bid—
changed
“(I) beginning at the end of the four year period that begins on the date of enactment of the Restoring Community Input and Public Protection in Oil and Gas Leasing Act of 2019, 2020, at least once every 4 years, to reflect the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics; and
“(II) at any time if the Secretary finds that such a higher amount is necessary to enhance financial returns to the United States or to promote more efficient management of oil and gas resources on Federal lands.
“(iii) Not a major Federal action—The proposal or issuance of any regulation to establish a higher national minimum acceptable bid under clause (ii) shall not be considered a major Federal action that is subject to the requirements of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).”
Rentals— Section 17(d) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(d)) is amended to read as follows:
“(d) Annual rentals—All leases issued under this section shall be conditioned upon the payment by the lessee of a rental of—
“(1) not less than $3.00 per acre per year during the 2-year period beginning on the date the lease begins for new leases, and after the end of such two year period not less than $5 per acre per year; or
“(2) such higher rental rate as the Secretary may establish if the Secretary finds that such action is necessary to enhance financial returns to the United States and promote more efficient management of oil and gas and alternative energy resources on Federal lands.”
Elimination of noncompetitive leasing— The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended—
in section 17(b) (30 U.S.C. 226(b)), by striking paragraph (3);
by amending section 17(c) (30 U.S.C. 226(c)) to read as follows:
“(c) Lands made available for leasing under subsection (b)(1) but for which no bid is accepted may be made available by the Secretary for a new round of sealed bidding under such subsection.”
in section 17(e) (30 U.S.C. 226(e))—
by striking “Competitive and noncompetitive leases” and inserting “Leases, including leases for tar sand areas,”; and
by striking “Provided, however” and all that follows through “ten years.”;
in section 31(d)(1) (30 U.S.C. 188(d)(1)) by striking “or section 17(c)”;
in section 31(e) (30 U.S.C. 188(e))—
in paragraph (2) by striking “, or the inclusion” and all that follows and inserting a semicolon; and
in paragraph (3) by striking “(A)” and by striking subparagraph (B);
by striking section 31(f) (30 U.S.C. 188(f)); and
in section 31(g) (30 U.S.C. 188(g))—
in paragraph (1) by striking “as a competitive” and all that follows through the period and inserting “in the same manner as the original lease issued pursuant to section 17.”;
by striking paragraph (2) and redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; and
in paragraph (2), as redesignated, by striking “, applicable to leases issued under subsection 17(c) of this Act (30 U.S.C. 226(c)) except,” and inserting “, except”.
changed
Lease term— Section 17(e) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(e)) is amended by striking “10 years:” and inserting “5 years.”years.”.
changed
Other leasing requirements— Section 17(g) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(g)), as amended by section 8 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following:amended—
added
by striking “The Secretary” at the beginning and inserting “(1) In General.—The Secretary”; and
added
by adding at the end the following:
added “(2) Limitation—The Secretary shall not issue a lease or approve the assignment of any lease to any person, or to any subsidiary or affiliate of such person or any other person controlled by or under common control with such person, unless such person has the demonstrated capability to explore and produce oil and gas under the lease.
added “(3) Protection of leased lands for other uses—Each lease under this section shall include such terms as are necessary to preserve the United States flexibility to control or prohibit activities that pose serious and unacceptable impacts to the value of the leased lands for uses other than production of oil and gas.”
removed
“(7) Limitation—The Secretary shall not issue a lease or approve the assignment of any lease to any person, or to any subsidiary or affiliate of such person or any other person controlled by or under common control with such person, unless such person has the demonstrated capability to explore and produce oil and gas under the lease.
removed
“(8) Protection of leased lands for other uses—Each lease under this section shall include such terms as are necessary to preserve the United States flexibility to control or prohibit activities that pose serious and unacceptable impacts to the value of the leased lands for uses other than production of oil and gas.”
8. Land management
Section 17(g) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(g)), as amended by section 2(g) of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
changed
“(9) “(4) Multiple-use management—The Secretary, and for National Forest lands, the Secretary of Agriculture, shall manage lands that are subject to an oil and gas lease under this Act in accordance with the principles, policies, and requirements relating to multiple use under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), until the beginning of operations on such lease.”
9. Oil shale
Section 21(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 241(a)) is amended—
in paragraph (1), by striking “The Secretary of the Interior” and inserting “Subject to paragraph (6), the Secretary of the Interior”; and
by adding at the end the following:
changed
“(6) Beginning on the date of enactment of the Restoring Community Input and Public Protections in Oil and Gas Leasing Act of 2019, 2020, The Secretary may not issue any lease for oil shale under this Act before the date the Secretary issues a finding that the technical and economic feasibility of development of and production from such deposit has been demonstrated under section 369 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15927).”