Sponsors (4)
The bill speeds state-authorized oil and gas development and reduces federal permitting friction while keeping revenue collection and some oversight tools, but does so by removing key federal environmental, cultural and species protections and shifting health, environmental and regulatory risks onto local communities and tribes.
State-permitted operators (including small energy firms and utilities) can begin approved oil and gas activity within 30 days and face less duplicative federal permitting for projects where the U.S. owns <50% subsurface interest, speeding project starts and lowering regulatory delays.
Federal royalty collection, audit authority, and civil-penalty authority are preserved, protecting federal revenue streams from production.
Department of the Interior inspectors retain authority to perform onsite reviews to verify production and royalty reporting, preserving some federal oversight and accountability.
Communities and the environment lose federal NEPA review and ESA section 7 consultation for many projects, reducing environmental analysis and public review and increasing risks to species, habitats, air and water quality.
Indigenous tribes and local communities face higher risk to historic and cultural sites because projects are exempted from NHPA section 106 federal review.
Homeowners and surface owners near affected projects could bear increased environmental and health risks because the law applies even when the federal subsurface interest is <50%, reducing some federal safeguards for nonfederal surface owners and nearby communities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Prevents the Interior Secretary from requiring federal drilling permits or federal NEPA/ESA/NHPA reviews for oil and gas operations on non‑Federal surface when the U.S. owns <50% of the subsurface and a State permit is submitted.
Introduced February 25, 2025 by Stephanie I. Bice · Last progress February 25, 2025
Prevents the Interior Secretary from requiring a federal drilling permit or additional federal environmental reviews for oil and gas exploration and production that uses non‑Federal surface when the United States owns less than 50% of the subsurface and the operator has a State permit. Those activities may begin 30 days after the State permit is submitted, are not treated as major federal actions under NEPA, and are exempt from the National Historic Preservation Act section 106 and Endangered Species Act section 7 consultation. Federal royalty, audit, civil-penalty authorities, and onsite inspections for production accountability remain in place; the rule does not apply to Indian lands.