This part restarts oil and gas leasing on federal land. It repeals two parts of a 2022 law and puts back what they had changed. It orders four lease sales a year in nine states. It also sets an 18 month clock for offering a parcel once someone asks for it.
“Subsection (a) of section 50262 of Public Law 117-169 (136 Stat. 2056) is repealed, and any provision of law amended or repealed by that subsection is restored or revived as if that subsection had not been enacted into law.”
The section repeals subsection (a) of section 50262 of Public Law 117-169, which dealt with onshore oil and gas royalty rates, and subsection (e) of that section, which dealt with noncompetitive leasing, and restores or revives any provision of law those subsections had amended or repealed as if they had never been enacted.
What the document actually says
“Subsection (a) of section 50262 of Public Law 117-169 (136 Stat. 2056) is repealed, and any provision of law amended or repealed by that subsection is restored or revived as if that subsection had not been enacted into law.”
That sentence, in plain words
Part of a 2022 law is wiped out. Any older wording it had changed comes back. It is treated as if that part had never passed.
What this is about
A second part of the same law is dealt with the same way. One covered royalty rates. The other covered leasing without a bidding contest.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “shall”Who acts: Secretary of the InteriorHow: statuteSec. 50101 in the PDF
What the document says
“The Secretary of the Interior shall immediately resume quarterly onshore oil and gas lease sales in compliance with the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.).”
The section requires the Secretary of the Interior to resume quarterly onshore oil and gas lease sales at once under the Mineral Leasing Act, to hold each required sale immediately once all scoping, public comment and environmental analysis under that Act and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 are complete, and to run those processes in time to meet the duty to resume.
What the document actually says
“The Secretary of the Interior shall immediately resume quarterly onshore oil and gas lease sales in compliance with the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.).”
That sentence, in plain words
The Interior Secretary must start holding lease sales again. They must be held every three months. They must follow an older mining law.
What this is about
Each sale must go ahead as soon as the reviews are done. Those reviews cover public comment and effects on the land. They must be run in good time.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
“the term `eligible lands' means all lands that are subject to leasing under this Act and are not excluded from leasing by a statutory prohibition”
The section inserts into section 17(b)(1)(A) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)(A)) definitions under which eligible lands are all lands open to leasing under that Act and not shut out by statute, and available lands are those designated open for leasing under a land use plan made under section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 that have been nominated through an expression of interest, are subject to drainage without leasing, or are otherwise designated available under the Secretary's regulations.
What the document actually says
“the term `eligible lands' means all lands that are subject to leasing under this Act and are not excluded from leasing by a statutory prohibition”
That sentence, in plain words
Eligible lands are lands that may be leased under this law. Lands a statute shuts out do not count.
What this is about
A second term, available, is also given a meaning. It covers land marked open in a land use plan. Someone must also have asked for it.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “shall”Who acts: Secretary of the InteriorHow: statuteSec. 50101 in the PDF
What the document says
“each fiscal year, the Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a minimum of 4 oil and gas lease sales of available land in each of the following States:”
The section requires at least four oil and gas lease sales of available land each fiscal year in Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Nevada and Alaska. In each sale the Secretary must offer at least 50 percent of available parcels nominated for oil and gas development under the resource management plan in effect for the relevant Bureau of Land Management areas in that State, and may not confine the parcels offered to one Bureau of Land Management field office unless every nominated parcel sits in that office's area.
What the document actually says
“each fiscal year, the Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a minimum of 4 oil and gas lease sales of available land in each of the following States:”
That sentence, in plain words
The Interior Secretary must hold at least four lease sales a year. They must be held in each state on the list below.
What this is about
Nine states are named. In each sale at least half the parcels people asked for must be offered. The sale may not be limited to one field office.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “shall”Who acts: Secretary of the InteriorHow: statuteSec. 50101 in the PDF
What the document says
“The Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a replacement sale during the same fiscal year if--”
The section requires a replacement sale in the same fiscal year where a required sale is canceled, delayed or deferred, including for a lack of eligible parcels, or where at least 25 percent of the acreage offered at a sale draws no bid.
What the document actually says
“The Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a replacement sale during the same fiscal year if--”
That sentence, in plain words
The Interior Secretary must hold another sale that same year. The two tests that follow say when.
What this is about
One test is that the sale was called off or put back. That includes a shortage of land to offer. The other is that a quarter of the acres drew no bid.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “shall”Who acts: Secretary of the InteriorHow: statuteSec. 50101 in the PDF
What the document says
“shall be made available for leasing, subject to paragraph (2), by the Secretary of the Interior, not later than 18 months after the date of receipt by the Secretary of an expression of interest in leasing the applicable parcel of land”
The section rewrites the opening of section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) so that any parcel subject to disposition under that Act and known or believed to hold oil or gas must be made available for leasing within 18 months of the Secretary receiving an expression of interest, where the Secretary finds the parcel open to leasing under the approved resource management plan in effect for the planning area when that expression of interest was submitted.
What the document actually says
“shall be made available for leasing, subject to paragraph (2), by the Secretary of the Interior, not later than 18 months after the date of receipt by the Secretary of an expression of interest in leasing the applicable parcel of land”
That sentence, in plain words
The land must be put up for lease within 18 months. The clock starts when someone tells the Secretary they want it.
What this is about
The land must be marked open in the plan for that area. The plan used is the one in force when the request came in. A later change does not count.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “may not”Who acts: Secretary of the InteriorHow: statuteSec. 50101 in the PDF
What the document says
“may not require any stipulations or mitigation requirements not included in the approved resource management plan.”
The section provides that a lease issued under the section is subject to the terms and conditions of the approved resource management plan and may not carry stipulations or mitigation requirements the plan does not include, and that starting an amendment to a plan does not stop or delay the Secretary from making a parcel available under the plan as it stands.
What the document actually says
“may not require any stipulations or mitigation requirements not included in the approved resource management plan.”
That sentence, in plain words
A lease may not add conditions of its own. Only what the land plan already says may be required.
What this is about
That covers steps to limit harm to the land. Starting work on a new plan does not pause leasing. The old plan still governs.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “shall”Who acts: Secretary of the InteriorHow: statuteSec. 50101 in the PDF
What the document says
“4-year period beginning on the date that the permit to drill is approved.”
The section adds a new paragraph (4) to subsection (p) of section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act providing that a permit to drill approved under that subsection is valid for a single, non renewable four year period starting the day it is approved.
What the document actually says
“4-year period beginning on the date that the permit to drill is approved.”
That sentence, in plain words
The permit runs for four years. The clock starts the day it is approved.
What this is about
There is only one such run. The permit cannot be renewed. After four years a new one must be sought.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “shall”Who acts: Secretary of the InteriorHow: statuteSec. 50101 in the PDF
What the document says
“The Secretary of the Interior shall approve applications allowing for the commingling of production from 2 or more sources”
The section replaces subsection (q) of section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act with a rule requiring the Secretary to approve applications to commingle production from two or more sources, including lease areas, drilling spacing units, unit participating areas, communitized areas or non-federal property, before production reaches the royalty measurement point and whatever the ownership, royalty rates or acreage shares, where the applicant agrees to install measurement devices for each source, to use an allocation method holding volume measurement uncertainty within plus or minus 2 percent reported monthly, or to use an approved periodic well testing method. Production from several leases or units through a single wellbore counts as one source, and the Secretary may still allow higher uncertainty levels where technical and economic justifications are given.
What the document actually says
“The Secretary of the Interior shall approve applications allowing for the commingling of production from 2 or more sources”
That sentence, in plain words
The Interior Secretary must say yes to these requests. They ask to mix output from two or more sources.
What this is about
The operator must meter each source or use an approved way. The count must be right within 2 percent. One well drawing from several leases counts as one source.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
Each distinct thing the section does: the two repeals and their revival effect, the duty to resume quarterly sales, the new definitions of eligible lands and available lands, the four sales a year in nine named States with the 50 percent and field office rules, the replacement sale duty, the 18 month leasing deadline, the limits tied to the resource management plan, the four year drilling permit term, and the commingling rule.
The nine States are listed in a summary rather than recorded one by one.
The section repeals provisions of Public Law 117-169 and amends section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act, neither of which is indexed here, so what the revived provisions say cannot be checked against anything on this site.
