S. 722 — Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act

This section prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from requiring a federal permit to drill for oil and gas leases under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) within an oil and gas drilling or spacing unit if (1) the federal government owns less than 50% of the minerals and does not own or lease the directly impacted surface estate; (2) the well is on non-federal land overlying non-federal minerals but the wellbore enters and produces from federal minerals; or (3) the well is on non-federal land overlying non-federal minerals but the wellbore traverses (without producing from) federal minerals. It requires lessees of federal minerals (or designees) to notify the Secretary of state permit applications upon submission (with copies provided within 5 days), notify of approvals within 45 days, and provide pre-drilling access agreements for DOI inspections on non-federal land; the prohibition does not apply to Indian lands (as defined in 30 U.S.C. 1702(3)). The section preserves other Department of the Interior authorities under the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and federal royalty obligations. It further amends section 17(g) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(g)) to prohibit the Secretary, in the specified circumstances, from requiring bonds to protect non-federal land, entering non-federal land without landowner consent, imposing mitigation requirements, or approving surface reclamation.