To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to make certain adjustments to the regulation of surface-disturbing activities and to protect taxpayers from unduly bearing the reclamation costs of oil and gas development, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · June 22, 2023
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
This bill strengthens bonding and reclamation requirements for oil and gas operations on federal lands to ensure companies, not taxpayers, pay for cleanup costs. It requires companies to submit interim and final reclamation plans before drilling permits are approved and establishes minimum bond amounts of $150,000 per activity or $500,000 statewide, adjusted for inflation every three years. The bill also creates annual inspection fees ranging from $700 to $9,800 depending on the number of wells on a lease, with revenue funding federal oversight and orphaned well cleanup. Additionally, the legislation imposes a per-barrel fee of at least 10 cents on oil and gas produced from federal lands to fund plugging of abandoned wells, and extends similar financial assurance requirements to oil and gas operations on National Wildlife Refuge System lands to protect those resources from environmental damage.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.