117 S5217 IS: Use it or Lose it Act of 2022 U.S. Senate 2022-12-08 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

II117th CONGRESS2d SessionS. 5217IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESDecember 8, 2022Mr. Menendez (for himself and Mr. Reed) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural ResourcesA BILLTo promote the diligent development of Federal oil and gas leases, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Use it or Lose it Act of 2022.

2.

Definitions

In this Act:(1)

Covered lease

The term covered lease means a lease that authorizes the exploration for, or production of, oil or natural gas under—(A)section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226); or(B)the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.). (2)

Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.

3.

Diligent development of Federal oil and gas leases

(a)

Clarification of existing law

Each covered lease shall be diligently developed by the person holding the covered lease to ensure timely production from the covered lease.(b)

Regulations

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations with respect to covered leases that—(1)establish requirements and benchmarks for oil and gas development that will ensure that leaseholders—(A)diligently develop each covered lease; and(B)to the maximum extent practicable, produce oil and gas from each covered lease during the primary term of the covered lease;(2)require each leaseholder to submit to the Secretary a diligent development plan describing how the lessee will meet the benchmarks established under paragraph (1); and(3)in establishing requirements under paragraphs (1) and (2), take into account the differences in development conditions and circumstances in the areas to be developed.

4.

Nonproducing lease fee

(a)

Definition of nonproducing lease

In this section, the term nonproducing lease means a covered lease under which no oil or natural gas has been extracted during the applicable year, as determined by the Secretary.(b)

Authorization of nonproducing lease fee

The Secretary shall charge to each person who holds a nonproducing lease an annual, nonrefundable fee, in an amount determined by the Secretary under subsection (c), for each nonproducing lease held by the person.(c)

Amount

(1)

In general

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish the fee authorized under subsection (b) in an amount determined by the Secretary to be sufficient to adequately incentivize the use of covered leases, but not less than $10 per acre per year for each nonproducing lease.(2)

Increase

The Secretary shall by regulation, at least once every 5 years, adjust the amount of the fee established under paragraph (1) to reflect any increase in inflation.(d)

Deposit

Amounts collected as fees authorized under subsection (b) shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.