[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2625-S2626]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 472. Mr. LANKFORD submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2024 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place in title XXVIII, insert the
following:
SEC. ___. PRODUCTION AND USE OF NATURAL GAS AT MCALESTER ARMY
AMMUNITION PLANT.
(a) Authority.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 3 of the Mineral
Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 352), the Secretary
of the Army may--
(A) produce any natural gas located within land under the
geographic footprint of the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant
(referred to in this Act as ``MCAAP''); and
(B) treat, manage, and use the natural gas produced
pursuant to subparagraph (A).
(2) Contract authority.--To carry out any authority
described in paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Army may
enter into a contract with an entity determined appropriate
by the Secretary.
(b) Royalties to the State of Oklahoma.--
(1) Value of royalties.--Beginning after the date of
enactment of this Act, as soon as practicable after the end
of each calendar year, the Secretary of the Interior shall
provide to the Secretary of the Army, for natural gas
produced at MCAAP pursuant to subsection (a) during that
calendar year, information on the amount of royalty payments
that the State of Oklahoma would have received under the
Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et
seq.) if the natural gas had been produced pursuant to a
lease issued under that Act.
(2) Access to information.--On request of the Secretary of
the Interior, the Secretary of the Army shall promptly
provide all information, documents, and other materials the
Secretary of the Interior considers necessary to calculate
the amount of royalty payments under paragraph (1).
(3) Payments; disbursements.--
(A) Payments to treasury.--On receipt of the information
from the Secretary of the Interior under paragraph (1) each
calendar year, the Secretary of the Army shall deposit in the
Treasury of the United States an amount equal to the amount
of the royalty payments calculated under that paragraph.
(B) Disbursements to oklahoma.--The Secretary of the
Interior shall disburse to the State of Oklahoma an amount
equal to the amount deposited in the Treasury of the United
States by the Secretary of the Army pursuant to subparagraph
(A) as though the amounts were being disbursed to the State
under section 6 of the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands
(30 U.S.C. 355).
(4) Waiver authority.--On receipt of written notice from
the Governor of Oklahoma consenting to the waiver of any of
the requirements of paragraphs (1) through (3), the Secretary
of the Interior may waive that requirement.
(c) Ownership of Facilities.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Army may take
ownership of any gas production and treatment equipment and
facilities and associated infrastructure from an entity with
which the Secretary has entered into a contract under
subsection (a)(2) in accordance with the terms of such
contract.
(2) Responsibility.--With respect to a natural gas well
installed on MCAAP and subject to this Act, the Secretary of
the Interior shall have no responsibility for--
(A) the plugging, abandonment, or reclamation of such well;
or
(B) any environmental damage caused by or associated with
the production of such well.
(d) Limitation on Uses.--Natural gas produced pursuant to
subsection (a) may be used only to support activities and
operations at MCAAP.
(e) Safety Standards for Gas Wells.--
[[Page S2626]]
(1) In general.--A natural gas well installed on MCAAP and
subject to this Act shall meet the same technical
installation and operating standards required for a natural
gas well installed under a lease issued pursuant to the
Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et
seq.), including--
(A) the gas measurement requirements under the Federal Oil
and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et
seq.); and
(B) the operational standards required by the Bureau of
Land Management pursuant to part 3160 of title 43, Code of
Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation).
(2) Compliance.--With respect to a natural gas well
installed on MCAAP and subject to this Act--
(A) the Bureau of Land Management shall--
(i) ensure compliance by the Secretary of the Army with the
standards described in paragraph (1); and
(ii) report any violations of the standards to the
Secretary of the Army; and
(B) the Secretary of the Army shall take such actions as
are necessary to bring the well into compliance with such
standards.
______