PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 21 - 16.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 25, 2025
Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act
This bill exempts certain oil and gas exploration and production activities from permit and environmental review requirements. This exemption applies to activities conducted on nonfederal surface estates located on partially federally-held mineral rights.
Specifically, the bill prohibits the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from requiring an operator to obtain a federal drilling permit under the Mineral Leasing Act for oil and gas exploration and production activities conducted on a nonfederal surface estate if (1) less than 50% of the subsurface mineral estate to be accessed by the proposed action is federally owned, and (2) the operator submits to the BLM a state permit to conduct such activities on the nonfederal surface estate.
Those activities are not considered to be a major federal action under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), and thus are exempt from environmental review requirements under NEPA. Further, those activities are exempt from requirements for federal actions under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
The bill does not apply to Indian lands.
People & committees
Rep. Bice, Stephanie I. [R-OK-5] · R–OK
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 21 - 16.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Discharged
Subcommittee Hearings Held
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 17, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-25 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act would let oil and gas operators proceed without a Federal drilling permit on non-Federal surface land when the United States owns less than half of the underground mineral estate and the operator submits a State permit. Qualifying activities could begin after 30 days and would be exempt from specified Federal environmental and historic-preservation provisions. Federal royalty obligations would remain, and the changes would not apply to Indian lands as defined in the bill.
This Act may be cited as the Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act.
The Secretary shall not require an operator to obtain a Federal drilling permit for oil and gas exploration and production activities conducted on non-Federal surface estate, provided that— (A) the United States holds an ownership interest of less than 50 percent of the subsurface mineral estate to be accessed by the proposed action; and (B) the operator submits to the Secretary a State permit to conduct oil and gas exploration and production activities on the non-Federal surface estate.
(2) No federal action An oil and gas exploration and production activity carried out under paragraph (1)— (A) shall not be considered a major Federal action for the purposes of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332); (B) shall require no additional Federal action; (C) may commence 30 days after submission of the State permit to the Secretary; and (D) shall not be subject to— (i) section 306108 of title 54, United States Code (commonly known as the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966); and (ii) section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536).
Nothing in this subsection shall affect the amount of royalties due to the United States under this Act from the production of oil and gas
(4) Nonapplicability to Indian lands This subsection shall not apply to Indian lands.
Section 2 would add a subsection to the Mineral Leasing Act prohibiting the Secretary from requiring a Federal drilling permit when both conditions are met: Federal ownership of the underground mineral estate to be accessed is below 50 percent, and the operator submits a State permit for exploration and production on non-Federal surface land. Federal ownership of exactly 50 percent would not meet the threshold.
Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is amended by adding at the end the following:
The Secretary shall not require an operator to obtain a Federal drilling permit for oil and gas exploration and production activities conducted on non-Federal surface estate, provided that— (A) the United States holds an ownership interest of less than 50 percent of the subsurface mineral estate to be accessed by the proposed action; and (B) the operator submits to the Secretary a State permit to conduct oil and gas exploration and production activities on the non-Federal surface estate.
Qualifying activities would not count as a major Federal action under the specified National Environmental Policy Act provision and would require no additional Federal action. They also would be exempt from the cited historic-preservation provision and section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
An oil and gas exploration and production activity carried out under paragraph (1)— (A) shall not be considered a major Federal action for the purposes of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332); (B) shall require no additional Federal action;
(D) shall not be subject to— (i) section 306108 of title 54, United States Code (commonly known as the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966); and (ii) section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536).
An activity meeting the proposed conditions could begin 30 days after the operator submits its State permit to the Secretary. This is permission to begin, not a requirement to start on that date.
An oil and gas exploration and production activity carried out under paragraph (1)
(C) may commence 30 days after submission of the State permit to the Secretary;
The proposal would preserve the amount of royalties—payments owed to the United States for oil and gas production—and the Secretary's existing authority to conduct audits and collect civil penalties under the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act.
Nothing in this subsection shall affect the amount of royalties due to the United States under this Act from the production of oil and gas, or alter the Secretary’s authority to conduct audits and collect civil penalties pursuant to the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).
The Secretary could conduct onsite reviews and inspections to check measurement and reporting of Federal oil and gas production and payment of royalties. The provision permits these inspections; it does not require them.
The Secretary may conduct onsite reviews and inspections to ensure proper accountability, measurement, and reporting of production of Federal oil and gas, and payment of royalties.
The proposed subsection would not apply to Indian lands. Its definition includes any land within an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria, without stating an ownership qualification for land within those boundaries.
(4) Nonapplicability to Indian lands This subsection shall not apply to Indian lands. (5) Indian land In this subsection, the term Indian land means— (A) any land located within the boundaries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria;
The Indian-land exclusion would also cover land outside those boundaries if its title is held by the United States in trust for a tribe or individual Indian; by a tribe or individual Indian with Federal restrictions on transferring ownership; or by a dependent Indian community.
(4) Nonapplicability to Indian lands This subsection shall not apply to Indian lands.
(B) any land not located within the boundaries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria, the title to which is held— (i) in trust by the United States for the benefit of an Indian tribe or an individual Indian; (ii) by an Indian tribe or an individual Indian, subject to restriction against alienation under laws of the United States; or (iii) by a dependent Indian community.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated September 17, 2026, records introduction and referral to the House Committee on Natural Resources on February 25, 2025, followed by subcommittee referral on March 18, 2026, and hearings on March 25, 2026.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-17T08:07:34Z.
2026-03-25: Subcommittee Hearings Held 2026-03-18: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. 2025-02-25: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. 2025-02-25: Introduced in House
The supplied September 17, 2026 snapshot records committee consideration and a September 15, 2026 vote of 21–16 ordering the bill reported in the nature of a substitute, meaning with replacement text. This records a committee step, not enactment.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-17T08:07:34Z. 2026-09-15: Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 21 - 16. 2026-09-15: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held 2026-09-15: Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Discharged
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-25. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy rider attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for a particular recipient or place was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The introduced text contains a conditional regulatory exemption central to the bill's policy. Classification as a targeted benefit is not a judgment about its merits or motivation.
Oil and gas operators on non-Federal surface land would receive a special exemption from Federal drilling permits and specified Federal review provisions when Federal ownership of the mineral estate to be accessed is below 50 percent and they submit a State permit. This is a regulatory benefit for a defined subset of operations and is the bill's main policy. Indian lands would be excluded.
The Secretary shall not require an operator to obtain a Federal drilling permit for oil and gas exploration and production activities conducted on non-Federal surface estate, provided that— (A) the United States holds an ownership interest of less than 50 percent of the subsurface mineral estate to be accessed by the proposed action; and (B) the operator submits to the Secretary a State permit to conduct oil and gas exploration and production activities on the non-Federal surface estate.
(2) No federal action An oil and gas exploration and production activity carried out under paragraph (1)— (A) shall not be considered a major Federal action for the purposes of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332); (B) shall require no additional Federal action; (C) may commence 30 days after submission of the State permit to the Secretary; and (D) shall not be subject to— (i) section 306108 of title 54, United States Code (commonly known as the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966); and (ii) section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536).
(4) Nonapplicability to Indian lands This subsection shall not apply to Indian lands.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 17, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI