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H.R. 1205 118th Congress House

Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act

Official title: To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to streamline the oil and gas permitting process and to recognize fee ownership for certain oil and gas drilling or spacing units, and for other purposes.

Introduced: February 27, 2023 Introduced by: Stephanie I. Bice Republican · Oklahoma See on congress.gov
Energy
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This bill died when the 118th Congress ended
It never became law before the 118th Congress (2023–2024) 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
Mar 22, 2023
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
Feb 27, 2023
Introduced in House
Feb 27, 2023
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
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 Latest action March 22, 2023

Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act

This bill revises requirements for oil and gas or geothermal drilling permits under the Mineral Leasing Act as well as the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970. Specifically, the bill prohibits the Department of the Interior from requiring an operator to obtain a federal drilling permit for oil, gas, or geothermal exploration and production activities conducted on a nonfederal surface estate if (1) the federal ownership interest is less than 50% of the subsurface mineral estate to be accessed by the proposed action; and (2) the operator submits to Interior a state permit to conduct such activities on the nonfederal surface estate.

Such activities are not considered to be a major federal action under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), and thus are not subject to environmental review requirements under NEPA. Further, such activities are not subject to requirements for federal actions under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

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 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 1205: Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act. 118th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-1205/
MLA
"H.R. 1205: Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act." 118th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-1205/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 1205, 118th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-1205/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 1205: Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-1205/)
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