[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S2625]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 471. 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 DEPARTMENT OF 
                   DEFENSE INSTALLATIONS.

       (a) Authority.--
       (1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 3 of the Mineral 
     Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 352), the Secretary 
     of Defense may--
       (A) produce any natural gas located within land under the 
     geographic footprint of any installation of the Department of 
     Defense within the United States, including within any 
     territory of the United States; 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 States or Territories.--
       (1) Value of royalties.--Beginning after the date of the 
     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 Defense, for natural gas produced 
     at any installation of the Department pursuant to subsection 
     (a) during that calendar year, information on the amount of 
     royalty payments that the State or territory where each such 
     installation is location 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 Defense 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 Defense shall, for each State 
     or territory, as applicable, deposit in the Treasury of the 
     United States an amount equal to the amount of the royalty 
     payments calculated under that paragraph.
       (B) Disbursements.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
     disburse to each State or territory an amount equal to the 
     amount deposited in the Treasury of the United States by the 
     Secretary of Defense for such State or territory pursuant to 
     subparagraph (A) as though the amounts were being disbursed 
     to the State or territory 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 a State or territory consenting to the waiver 
     of any of the requirements of paragraph (1), the Secretary of 
     the Interior shall waive that requirement.
       (c) Ownership of Facilities.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense 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 an installation of the Department 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 the installation at which such gas was 
     produced.
       (e) Safety Standards for Gas Wells.--
       (1) In general.--A natural gas well installed on any 
     installation of the Department 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 any installation of the Department and subject 
     to this Act--
       (A) the Bureau of Land Management shall--
       (i) ensure compliance by the Secretary of Defense with the 
     standards described in paragraph (1); and
       (ii) report any violations of the standards to the 
     Secretary of Defense; and
       (B) the Secretary of Defense shall take such actions as are 
     necessary to bring the well into compliance with such 
     standards.
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