30 U.S.C. § 1711 — Duties of Secretary

Page 364 TITLE 30—MINERAL LANDS AND MINING § 1711 an Indian tribe, or an Indian allottee, issues a lease, or any person who has been assigned an obligation to make royalty or other payments required by the lease;’’. Pars. (17) to (25). Pub. L. 104–185, § 2(2), added pars. (17) to (25). Par. (25)(B). Pub. L. 104–200, substituted ‘‘provisions of section 1712(a)’’ for ‘‘provision of section 1712(a)’’ in introductory provisions. Pars. (26) to (33). Pub. L. 104–185, § 2(2), added pars. (26) to (33). 1988—Pars. (3), (4). Pub. L. 92–203 inserted ‘‘or which is administered by the United States pursuant to sec- tion 1613(g) of title 43’’ after ‘‘alienation’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 104–185 applicable with re- spect to production of oil and gas after the first day of the month following Aug. 13, 1996, see section 11 of Pub. L. 104–185, set out as a note under section 1701 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1988 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 92–203, § 29(f)(2), as added by Pub. L. 100–241, § 15, Feb. 3, 1988, 101 Stat. 1813, provided that: ‘‘The amendment made by paragraph (1) [amending this sec- tion] shall be effective as if originally included in sec- tion 3 of Public Law 97–451 [this section].’’ APPLICABILITY OF 1996 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 104–185 not applicable to any privately owned minerals or with respect to Indian lands, see sections 9 and 10 of Pub. L. 104–185, set out as a note under section 1701 of this title. Executive Documents TERMINATION OF TRUST TERRITORY OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS For termination of Trust Territory of the Pacific Is- lands, see note set out preceding section 1681 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions. SUBCHAPTER I—FEDERAL ROYALTY MANAGEMENT AND ENFORCEMENT § 1711. Duties of Secretary (a) Establishment of inspection, collection, and accounting and auditing system The Secretary shall establish a comprehensive inspection, collection and fiscal and production accounting and auditing system to provide the capability to accurately determine oil and gas royalties, interest, fines, penalties, fees, depos- its, and other payments owed, and to collect and account for such amounts in a timely manner. (b) Annual inspection of lease sites; training The Secretary shall— (1) establish procedures to ensure that au- thorized and properly identified representa- tives of the Secretary will inspect at least once annually each lease site producing or ex- pected to produce significant quantities of oil or gas in any year or which has a history of noncompliance with applicable provisions of law or regulations; and (2) establish and maintain adequate pro- grams providing for the training of all such authorized representatives in methods and techniques of inspection and accounting that will be used in the implementation of this chapter. (c) Audit and reconciliation of lease accounts; contracts with certified public accountants; availability of books, accounts, records, etc., necessary for audit (1) The Secretary shall audit and reconcile, to the extent practicable, all current and past lease accounts for leases of oil or gas and take appro- priate actions to make additional collections or refunds as warranted. The Secretary shall con- duct audits and reconciliations of lease accounts in conformity with the business practices and recordkeeping systems which were required of the lessee by the Secretary for the period cov- ered by the audit. The Secretary shall give pri- ority to auditing those lease accounts identified by a State or Indian tribe as having significant potential for underpayment. The Secretary may also audit accounts and records of selected les- sees and operators. (2) The Secretary may enter into contracts or other appropriate arrangements with inde- pendent certified public accountants to under- take audits of accounts and records of any lessee or operator relating to the lease of oil or gas. Selection of such independent certified public accountants shall be by competitive bidding in accordance with chapters 1 to 11 of title 40 and division C (except sections 3302, 3307(e), 3501(b), 3509, 3906, 4710, and 4711) of subtitle I of title 41, except that the Secretary may not enter into a contract or other arrangement with any inde- pendent certified public accountant to audit any lessee or operator where such lessee or operator is a primary audit client of such certified public accountant. (3) All books, accounts, financial records, re- ports, files, and other papers of the Secretary, or used by the Secretary, which are reasonably necessary to facilitate the audits required under this section shall be made available to any per- son or governmental entity conducting audits under this chapter. (Pub. L. 97–451, title I, § 101, Jan. 12, 1983, 96 Stat. 2449.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION In subsec. (c)(2), ‘‘chapters 1 to 11 of title 40 and divi- sion C (except sections 3302, 3307(e), 3501(b), 3509, 3906, 4710, and 4711) of subtitle I of title 41’’ substituted for ‘‘the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 252)’’ on authority of Pub. L. 107–217, § 5(c), Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1303, which Act enacted Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and Works, and Pub. L. 111–350, § 6(c), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3854, which Act enacted Title 41, Public Contracts. § 1712. Duties of lessees, operators, and motor ve- hicle transporters (a) Liability for royalty payments In order to increase receipts and achieve effec- tive collections of royalty and other payments, a lessee who is required to make any royalty or other payment under a lease or under the min- eral leasing laws, shall make such payments in the time and manner as may be specified by the Secretary or the applicable delegated State. A lessee may designate a person to make all or part of the payments due under a lease on the lessee’s behalf and shall notify the Secretary or