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HR 5759 111th Congress House

Protecting Rural Landscapes Act of 2010

Official title: To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to require an operator to compensate a surface owner for damages resulting from the oil and gas operations of the operator on land affected by the operations.

Introduced: July 15, 2010 Introduced by: Heinrich, Martin Democratic · New Mexico See on congress.gov
Public Lands and Natural Resources Civil actions and liabilityContracts and agencyFarmlandGovernment information and archives
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Land use and conservationOil and gasProperty rights
This bill died when the 111th Congress ended
It never became law before the 111th Congress (2009–2010) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jul 20, 2010
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
Jul 15, 2010
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Jul 15, 2010
Introduced in House
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 Latest action July 20, 2010

Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Protecting Rural Landscapes Act of 2010 - Amends the Mineral Leasing Act, with respect to the lease of oil and gas lands, to require a person with the legal right to conduct oil and gas operations on covered land (operator) to compensate the surface owner for damages resulting from: (1) loss of agricultural production and income; (2) lost land value; (3) lost use of and lost access to the land; and (4) the lost value of improvements. Requires the operator to reclaim the affected surface.

Requires the operator to give notice prior to: (1) initial entry for activities that do not disturb the surface; and (2) commencing oil and gas operations. Requires the operator, at the time of providing notice of commencement of oil and gas operations, to provide the surface owner with a proposed surface use agreement that includes an offer of compensation for damages to the surface affected by oil and gas operations.

Requires an operator to provide the surface owner with appropriate financial assurance of reclamation in lieu of executing a surface use agreement.

Requires the Secretary of the Interior to provide notice of upcoming lease sales and drilling permits to each: (1) surface owner of affected covered land; and (2) permittee or right-of-way holder with the right to use the surface of affected federal land.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 5759: Protecting Rural Landscapes Act of 2010. 111th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-5759/
MLA
"H.R. 5759: Protecting Rural Landscapes Act of 2010." 111th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-5759/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 5759, 111th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-5759/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 5759: Protecting Rural Landscapes Act of 2010](https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-5759/)
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