Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act
The Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act would streamline oil and gas permitting on certain units where private (fee) ownership of minerals overlaps with Federal interests. Specifically, it allows, under defined conditions, that the federal government not require a federal drilling permit under the Mineral Leasing Act when a drilling or spacing unit is largely privately owned and the Federal minerals’ involvement is limited (e.g., Federal minerals represent less than 50% of the unit, and the surface may or may not be Federal). The bill also requires notification to Interior by lessees and designees when state permits are submitted or approved for such units, and it authorizes pre-drilling surface access agreements. It tightens how the Mineral Leasing Act is applied on non-Federal land within these units, limiting Interior’s authority (no bonds, no entry without consent, no mitigation or surface reclamation approvals) in certain circumstances. Indian lands are explicitly exempt from these provisions, and royalties/other authorities remain unaffected.
Key Points
- 1Section 2(a): Notwithstanding certain existing laws, the Interior Secretary would not require a federal drilling permit under the Mineral Leasing Act for actions within a drilling/spacing unit if: (1) the Federal government owns less than 50% of the minerals and does not own the surface directly impacted; or (2) the well on non-Federal land over Federal minerals has part of the wellbore entering and producing Federal minerals; or (3) the well traverses but does not produce from Federal minerals.
- 2Section 2(b): For state-issued permits/plans that would impact or extract Federal minerals, lessees or their designees must notify Interior when submitting the state permit (with a copy within 5 days) and within 45 days after state permit approval; they must also obtain/provide agreements allowing Interior to access non-Federal land as needed for inspection/enforcement.
- 3Section 2(c): The above non-permitting framework does not apply to Indian lands.
- 4Section 2(d): The new rule does not alter other Interior authorities under the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act or the royalty amounts due.
- 5Section 2(e): Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to limit Interior’s authority on non-Federal land within such units: Interior cannot require a bond to protect non-Federal land, cannot enter non-Federal land without landowner consent, cannot impose certain mitigation requirements, and cannot require surface reclamation approvals. This applies when the land is within a drilling/spacing unit and meets defined criteria similar to Section 2(a).
- 6Short title: The act would be cited as the “Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act.”