Restoring Community Input and Public Protections in Oil and Gas Leasing Act of 2021
This bill modifies several provisions related to oil and gas leasing on public lands.
Among other requirements, the bill replaces the competitive auction process with a competitive-sealed bidding process. It also eliminates non-competitive bidding.
Additionally, the bill increases royalty rates, rental rates, and the minimum bid amount. Further, the bill creates a fee for nominating lands for leasing.
Lease sales must be held in each state no more than three times per year instead of quarterly. The bill also decreases lease term durations from 10 to 5 years. Certain lease information must be made available on public websites, including the names of all current and former lessees and operators.
The bill also adds a number of new provisions related to protection of private surface estate owners.
Finally, the bill establishes requirements to protect water resources, including by requiring oil or gas operators to replace certain water supplies affected by drilling, hydraulic fracturing (i.e., fracking), or production operations. In addition, the Bureau of Land Management must issue regulations governing the use of fracking under oil and gas leases for federal lands. The regulations must require (1) baseline water testing, and (2) public disclosure of each chemical used for fracking.