[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3229 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3229

To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the Mineral Leasing 
 Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to issue regulations to 
   prevent or minimize the venting and flaring of gas in oil and gas 
  production operations in the United States, and for other purposes.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 14, 2011

 Mr. Markey (for himself and Mr. Holt) introduced the following bill; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the Mineral Leasing 
 Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to issue regulations to 
   prevent or minimize the venting and flaring of gas in oil and gas 
  production operations in the United States, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fuel Loss Abatement and Royalty 
Enhancement Act'' or the ``FLARE Act''.

SEC. 2. REGULATIONS TO PREVENT OR MINIMIZE THE VENTING AND FLARING OF 
              GAS.

    (a) Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.--The Outer Continental Shelf 
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 
section 9 the following:

``SEC. 10. REGULATIONS TO PREVENT OR MINIMIZE THE VENTING AND FLARING 
              OF GAS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall issue regulations under this 
Act to prevent or minimize the venting and flaring of gas in oil and 
gas production operations in the United States and to promote the 
capture and beneficial use or reinjection of gas in such operations.
    ``(b) Royalties.--Regulations issued under this section shall 
include provisions that treat gas that is flared or vented in 
operations under a lease under this Act as production for which royalty 
is required to be paid to the United States.''.
    (b) Mineral Leasing Act.--The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et 
seq.) is amended by redesignating section 44 as section 45, and by 
inserting after section 43 the following:

``SEC. 44. REGULATIONS TO PREVENT OR MINIMIZE THE VENTING AND FLARING 
              OF GAS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall issue regulations under this 
Act to prevent or minimize the venting and flaring of gas in oil and 
gas production operations in the United States and to promote the 
capture and beneficial use or reinjection of gas in such operations.
    ``(b) Royalties.--Regulations issued under this section shall 
include provisions that treat gas that is flared or vented in 
operations under a lease under this Act as production for which royalty 
is required to be paid to the United States.''.
    (c) Limitation on Application to Existing Leases.--Regulations 
issued under section 10(b) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, as 
amended by this Act, and regulations issued under section 43(b) of the 
Mineral Leasing Act, as amended by this Act, shall not apply with 
respect to production under a lease in effect on the date of enactment 
of this Act to the extent such application would constitute a breach of 
the terms of the lease by the United States.

SEC. 3. ASSESSMENT OF VENTING AND FLARING OF GAS IN PRODUCTION 
              OPERATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES.

    Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of the Interior shall assess and report to the Congress 
on the venting and flaring of gas in oil and gas production operations 
in the United States. The report shall include an estimate of the 
volume of gas that is vented or flared in such operations each year.

SEC. 4. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF VENTING AND FLARING OF GAS IN 
              PRODUCTION OPERATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES.

    Any finding or permit issued by a Federal agency that will 
authorize flaring or venting of gas in oil and gas production 
operations in the United States is a major Federal action significantly 
affecting the quality of the human environment for purposes of section 
102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332).

SEC. 5. REGULATIONS.

    The Secretary of the Interior shall issue regulations that define 
the terms ``vent'', ``venting'', ``flare'', and ``flaring'' for 
purposes of this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
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