30 U.S.C. § 1701 — Congressional statement of findings and

Page 361 TITLE 30—MINERAL LANDS AND MINING § 1701 thority of Secretary of Labor, see section 18851 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. CHAPTER 29—OIL AND GAS ROYALTY MANAGEMENT Sec. 1701. Congressional statement of findings and pur- poses. 1702. Definitions. SUBCHAPTER I—FEDERAL ROYALTY MANAGEMENT AND ENFORCEMENT 1711. Duties of Secretary. 1712. Duties of lessees, operators, and motor vehi- cle transporters. 1713. Required recordkeeping. 1714. Deposit of royalty funds to Indian accounts. 1715. Explanation of payments. 1716. Liabilities and bonding. 1717. Hearings and investigations. 1718. Inspections. 1719. Civil penalties. 1720. Criminal penalties. 1720a. Applicability of civil and criminal penalties to various uses of Federal or Indian lands and Outer Continental Shelf. 1721. Royalty terms and conditions, interest, and penalties. 1721a. Adjustments and refunds. 1722. Injunction and specific enforcement author- ity. 1723. Rewards. 1724. Secretarial and delegated States’ actions and limitation periods. 1725. Assessments. 1726. Alternatives for marginal properties. 1727. Royalties on all extracted methane. SUBCHAPTER II—STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES 1731. Application of subchapter. 1731a. Application of subchapter to leases of lands within three miles of seaward boundaries of coastal States. 1732. Cooperative agreements. 1733. Information. 1734. State suits under Federal law. 1735. Delegation of royalty collections and related activities. 1736. Shared civil penalties. SUBCHAPTER III—GENERAL PROVISIONS 1751. Secretarial authority. 1752. Reports. 1753. Relation to other laws. 1754. Funding. 1755. Statute of limitations. 1756. Expanded royalty obligations. 1757. Severability. 1758. Use of royalty-in-kind revenue by Minerals Management Service. 1759. Fees and charges. § 1701. Congressional statement of findings and purposes (a) Congress finds that— (1) the Secretary of the Interior should en- force effectively and uniformly existing regu- lations under the mineral leasing laws pro- viding for the inspection of production activi- ties on lease sites on Federal and Indian lands; (2) the system of accounting with respect to royalties and other payments due and owing on oil and gas produced from such lease sites is archaic and inadequate; (3) it is essential that the Secretary initiate procedures to improve methods of accounting for such royalties and payments and to pro- vide for routine inspection of activities related to the production of oil and gas on such lease sites; and (4) the Secretary should aggressively carry out his trust responsibility in the administra- tion of Indian oil and gas. (b) It is the purpose of this chapter— (1) to clarify, reaffirm, expand, and define the responsibilities and obligations of lessees, operators, and other persons involved in trans- portation or sale of oil and gas from the Fed- eral and Indian lands and the Outer Conti- nental Shelf; (2) to clarify, reaffirm, expand and define the authorities and responsibilities of the Sec- retary of the Interior to implement and main- tain a royalty management system for oil and gas leases on Federal lands, Indian lands, and the Outer Continental Shelf; (3) to require the development of enforce- ment practices that ensure the prompt and proper collection and disbursement of oil and gas revenues owed to the United States and In- dian lessors and those inuring to the benefit of States; (4) to fulfill the trust responsibility of the United States for the administration of Indian oil and gas resources; and (5) to effectively utilize the capabilities of the States and Indian tribes in developing and maintaining an efficient and effective Federal royalty management system. (Pub. L. 97–451, § 2, Jan. 12, 1983, 96 Stat. 2448.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 104–185, § 11, Aug. 13, 1996, 110 Stat. 1717, pro- vided that: ‘‘Except as provided by section 115(h) [30 U.S.C. 1724(h)], section 111(h) [30 U.S.C. 1721(h)], section 111(k)(5) [30 U.S.C. 1721(k)(5)], and section 117 [30 U.S.C. 1726] of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (as added by this Act), this Act [see Short Title of 1996 Amendment note below], and the amend- ments made by this Act, shall apply with respect to the production of oil and gas after the first day of the month following the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 13, 1996].’’ EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 97–451, title III, § 305, Jan. 12, 1983, 96 Stat. 2461, provided that: ‘‘The provisions of this Act [enact- ing this chapter, amending sections 188 and 191 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 1714 and 1752 of this title] shall apply to oil and gas leases issued before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Jan. 12, 1983], except that in the case of a lease issued before such date, no provision of this Act or any rule or regu- lation prescribed under this Act shall alter the express and specific provisions of such a lease.’’ SHORT TITLE OF 2024 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 118–81, § 1, Sept. 20, 2024, 138 Stat. 1520, pro- vided that: ‘‘This Act [amending section 1721 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Royalty Resiliency Act’.’’ SHORT TITLE OF 1996 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 104–185, § 1, Aug. 13, 1996, 110 Stat. 1700, pro- vided that: ‘‘This Act [enacting sections 1721a and 1724 to 1726 of this title, amending sections 1702, 1712, 1721, and 1735 of this title, repealing section 1339 of Title 43, Public Lands, and enacting provisions set out as notes Page 362 TITLE 30—MINERAL LANDS AND MINING § 1702 under this section, section 1732 of this title, and section 1339 of Title 43] may be cited as the ‘Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Simplification and Fairness Act of 1996’.’’ SHORT TITLE Pub. L. 97–451, § 1, Jan. 12, 1983, 96 Stat. 2447, provided that: ‘‘This Act [enacting this chapter, amending sec- tions 188 and 191 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 1714 and 1752 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982’.’’ APPLICABILITY OF 1996 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 104–185, § 9, Aug. 13, 1996, 110 Stat. 1717, pro- vided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this Act [see Short Title of 1996 Amendment note above] shall not apply with respect to Indian lands, and the provisions of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 [30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.] as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act [Aug. 13, 1996] shall continue to apply after such date with respect to In- dian lands.’’ Pub. L. 104–185, § 10, Aug. 13, 1996, 110 Stat. 1717, pro- vided that: ‘‘This Act [see Short Title of 1996 Amend- ment note above] shall not apply to any privately owned minerals.’’ CONSTRUCTION OF 1996 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 104–185, § 12, Aug. 13, 1996, 110 Stat. 1717, pro- vided that: ‘‘Nothing in this Act [see Short Title of 1996 Amendment note above] shall be construed to give a State a property right or interest in any Federal lease or land.’’ § 1702. Definitions For the purposes of this chapter, the term— (1) ‘‘Federal land’’ means all land and inter- ests in land owned by the United States which are subject to the mineral leasing laws, in- cluding mineral resources or mineral estates reserved to the United States in the convey- ance of a surface or nonmineral estate; (2) ‘‘Indian allottee’’ means any Indian for whom land or an interest in land is held in trust by the United States or who holds title subject to Federal restriction against alien- ation; (3) ‘‘Indian lands’’ means any lands or inter- est in lands of an Indian tribe or an Indian al- lottee held in trust by the United States or which is subject to Federal restriction against alienation or which is administered by the United States pursuant to section 1613(g) of title 43, including mineral resources and min- eral estates reserved to an Indian tribe or an Indian allottee in the conveyance of a surface or nonmineral estate, except that such term does not include any lands subject to the pro- visions of section 3 of the Act of June 28, 1906 (34 Stat. 539); (4) ‘‘Indian tribe’’ means any Indian tribe, band, nation, pueblo, community, rancheria, colony, or other group of Indians, including the Metlakatla Indian Community of Annette Island Reserve, for which any land or interest in land is held by the United States in trust or which is subject to Federal restriction against alienation or which is administered by the United States pursuant to section 1613(g) of title 43; (5) ‘‘lease’’ means any contract, profit-share arrangement, joint venture, or other agree- ment issued or approved by the United States under a mineral leasing law that authorizes exploration for, extraction of, or removal of oil or gas; (6) ‘‘lease site’’ means any lands or sub- merged lands, including the surface of a sev- ered mineral estate, on which exploration for, or extraction or removal of, oil or gas is au- thorized pursuant to a lease; (7) ‘‘lessee’’ means any person to whom the United States issues an oil and gas lease or any person to whom operating rights in a lease have been assigned; (8) ‘‘mineral leasing law’’ means any Federal law administered by the Secretary authorizing the disposition under lease of oil or gas; (9) ‘‘oil or gas’’ means any oil or gas origi- nating from, or allocated to, the Outer Conti- nental Shelf, Federal, or Indian lands; (10) ‘‘Outer Continental Shelf’’ has the same meaning as provided in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (Public Law 95–372); (11) ‘‘operator’’ means any person, including a lessee, who has control of, or who manages operations on, an oil and gas lease site on Fed- eral or Indian lands or on the Outer Conti- nental Shelf; (12) ‘‘person’’ means any individual, firm, corporation, association, partnership, consor- tium, or joint venture; (13) ‘‘production’’ means those activities which take place for the removal of oil or gas, including such removal, field operations, transfer of oil or gas off the lease site, oper- ation monitoring, maintenance, and workover drilling; (14) ‘‘royalty’’ means any payment based on the value or volume of production which is due to the United States or an Indian tribe or an Indian allottee on production of oil or gas from the Outer Continental Shelf, Federal, or Indian lands, or any minimum royalty owed to the United States or an Indian tribe or an In- dian allottee under any provision of a lease; (15) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior or his designee; (16) ‘‘State’’ means the several States of the Union, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the territories and possessions of the United States, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; (17) ‘‘adjustment’’ means an amendment to a previously filed report on an obligation, and any additional payment or credit, if any, ap- plicable thereto, to rectify an underpayment or overpayment on an obligation; (18) ‘‘administrative proceeding’’ means any Department of the Interior agency process in which a demand, decision or order issued by the Secretary or a delegated State is subject to appeal or has been appealed; (19) ‘‘assessment’’ means any fee or charge levied or imposed by the Secretary or a dele- gated State other than— (A) the principal amount of any royalty, minimum royalty, rental bonus, net profit share or proceed of sale; (B) any interest; or (C) any civil or criminal penalty; (20) ‘‘commence’’ means— (A) with respect to a judicial proceeding, the service of a complaint, petition, counter- claim, cross claim, or other pleading seeking