From: Caren [mailto:nmcga@nmagriculture.org]
Sent: Monday, June 08, 2009 4:19 PM
Subject: Call Senator Bingaman to support amendment to protect surface owners!!! Vote is tomrorrow JUNE 9!
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, chaired by New Mexico’s Senior Senator Jeff Bingaman, is scheduled to vote tomorrow, Tuesday, June 9, on an amendment (that)would help protect private landowners who face serious damage to their land when the federal oil and gas beneath their property is leased and drilled by oil and gas companies.
Senator Mark Udall's surface owner protection amendment would:
• Ensure that landowners are notified before the minerals beneath their land are leased.
• Require oil and gas operators to negotiate surface use agreements that minimize damages to the surface, reclaim the site, and compensate landowners for damages - or post bonds to ensure the same.
The Committee is closely divided on this issue, which means that the amendment could pass or fail by a single vote.
Please take just a moment and call or email Senator Bingaman to voice your support for this IMPORTANT amendment.
Senator Jeff Bingaman / http://www.bingaman.senate.gov/contact/types/email-issue.cfm
202.224.5521
If you know folks in other states who have senators on the Committee, please ask them to their senators too!
Here are the Committee Members
________________________________________
Chairman Jeff Bingaman (NM)
Byron L. Dorgan (ND)
Ron Wyden (OR)
Tim Johnson (SD)
Mary L. Landrieu (LA)
Maria Cantwell (WA)
Robert Menendez (NJ)
Blanche Lincoln (AR)
Bernard Sanders (VT)
Evan Bayh (IN)
Debbie Stabenow (MI)
Mark Udall (CO)
Jeanne Shaheen (NH)
Lisa Murkowski (AK)
Richard Burr (NC)
John Barrasso (WY)
Sam Brownback (KS)
James E. Risch (ID)
John McCain (AZ)
Robert Bennett (UT)
Jim Bunning (KY)
Jeff Sessions (AL)
Bob Corker (TN)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This is an important issue that Bill Humphries and others have been working on for years. It deserves everyone's support.
Below is the text of the amendment:
AMENDMENT NO.llll Calendar No.lll
Purpose: 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.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES—111th Cong., 1st Sess.
(no.) lllllll
(title) llllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
Referred to the Committee on llllllllll and
ordered to be printed
Ordered to lie on the table and to be printed
AMENDMENT intended to be proposed by Mr. UDALL of
Colorado
Viz:
1 At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ll2 . SPLIT ESTATE.
3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing
4 Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is amended by adding at the end the
5 following:
6 ‘‘(q) SPLIT ESTATES.—
7 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:
8 ‘‘(A) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘covered
9 land’ means land with respect to which—
2
O:\END\END09A57.xml S.L.C.
1 ‘‘(i) title to oil and gas resources is
2 held by the United States; but
3 ‘‘(ii) title to the surface estate is not
4 held by the United States.
5 ‘‘(B) LEASE.—The term ‘lease’ means a
6 lease issued by the Secretary under this Act
7 that provides for the development of oil and gas
8 resources (including coalbed methane) on cov9
ered land.
10 ‘‘(C) LESSEE.—The term ‘lessee’ means
11 the holder of a lease for the development of oil
12 and gas resources on covered land.
13 ‘‘(D) OIL AND GAS OPERATIONS.—The
14 term ‘oil and gas operations’ means all activi15
ties affecting the interest of a surface owner in
16 covered land that are associated with explo17
ration, drilling, or production of oil and gas,
18 through final reclamation of the affected sur19
face.
20 ‘‘(E) OPERATOR.—The term ‘operator’
21 means a person with the legal right to conduct
22 oil and gas operations on covered land.
23 ‘‘(F) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’
24 means the Secretary of the Interior.
3
O:\END\END09A57.xml S.L.C.
1 ‘‘(G) SURFACE OWNER.—The term ‘sur2
face owner’ means a person who holds legal or
3 equitable title, as demonstrated in the records
4 of the applicable county clerk or other local gov5
ernment official, to the surface of the covered
6 land on which the operator has the right to con7
duct oil and gas operations.
8 ‘‘(2) COMPENSATION AND RECLAMATION.—
9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An operator shall
10 compensate the surface owner for damages re11
sulting from the oil and gas operations of the
12 operator on land affected by the operations
13 from—
14 ‘‘(i) loss of agricultural production
15 and income;
16 ‘‘(ii) lost land value;
17 ‘‘(iii) lost use of and lost access to the
18 land of the surface owner; and
19 ‘‘(iv) the lost value of improvements.
20 ‘‘(B) RECLAMATION.—An operator shall
21 reclaim the surface affected by the oil and gas
22 operations of the operator.
23 ‘‘(3) NOTICE OF OPERATIONS.—
24 ‘‘(A) PRIOR TO INITIAL ENTRY.—Prior to
25 initial entry for activities that do not disturb
4
O:\END\END09A57.xml S.L.C.
1 the surface, the operator shall make good faith
2 efforts to provide notice to the surface owner.
3 ‘‘(B) OPERATIONS.—Prior to commencing
4 oil and gas operations, the operator shall make
5 good faith efforts to provide not less than 30
6 days notice to the surface owner with sufficient
7 disclosure of the planned operations to enable
8 the surface owner to evaluate the effect of the
9 operations.
10 ‘‘(4) SURFACE USE AGREEMENT.—
11 ‘‘(A) SURFACE USE AGREEMENT.—At the
12 time of providing notice of operations under
13 paragraph (3)(B), the operator shall provide to
14 the surface owner a proposed surface use agree15
ment that—
16 ‘‘(i) to the extent known, specifies—
17 ‘‘(I) facilities, terms of ingress
18 and egress, and proposed reclamation;
19 and
20 ‘‘(II) actions to minimize surface
21 damages to the land; and
22 ‘‘(ii) includes an offer of compensation
23 for damages to the surface affected by oil
24 and gas operations.
25 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.—
5
O:\END\END09A57.xml S.L.C.
1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30
2 days after the date of receipt of the pro3
posed surface use agreement, the surface
4 owner may accept or reject the agreement.
5 ‘‘(ii) FAILURE TO ACCEPT.—Failure
6 to accept the agreement during the 30 day7
period described in clause (i) shall be con8
sidered a rejection of the agreement.
9 ‘‘(C) NEGOTIATIONS.—The surface owner
10 and operator may enter into negotiations re11
garding the surface use agreement.
12 ‘‘(D) AGREEMENT.—The operator and the
13 surface owner may enter into a mutually ac14
ceptable agreement that specifies the rights and
15 obligations of the parties with respect to the
16 surface activities conducted by the operator.
17 ‘‘(5) ENTRY WITHOUT AGREEMENT; BOND.—
18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If no surface use
19 agreement has been executed within 30 days
20 after the date on which the surface owner re21
ceives the proposed agreement under paragraph
22 (4)(A), the operator may enter the property of
23 the surface owner and conduct oil and gas oper24
ations as provided in this section.
6
O:\END\END09A57.xml S.L.C.
1 ‘‘(B) FINANCIAL ASSURANCE.—The oper2
ator shall provide an appropriate financial as3
surance, as determined by the Secretary, prior
4 to commencing operations under this para5
graph.
6 ‘‘(C) RELEASE OF FINANCIAL ASSUR7
ANCE.—The Secretary shall provide for the ap8
propriate release of the financial assurance on
9 a determination that—
10 ‘‘(i) the reclamation is complete; and
11 ‘‘(ii) the surface owner has been com12
pensated for any damages.
13 ‘‘(6) NOTICE OF SECRETARIAL ACTION WITH
14 RESPECT TO FEDERAL LEASES.—The Secretary
15 shall make reasonable efforts to provide to each sur16
face owner of affected covered land, and to each per17
mittee or right-of-way holder with the right to use
18 the surface of affected Federal land, written notice
19 of—
20 ‘‘(A) any lease sale for an oil or gas lease
21 under this Act by not later than 30 days before
22 the date of the lease sale; and
23 ‘‘(B) the issuance of a drilling permit by
24 not later than 5 days before the date of
25 issuance.
7
O:\END\END09A57.xml S.L.C.
1 ‘‘(7) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAW.—Nothing
2 in this subsection preempts any applicable State
3 law.’’.
4 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after
5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the
6 Interior shall promulgate such regulations as are nec7
essary to carry out the amendment made by subsection
8 (a).
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