Title 30 — Mineral Lands and MiningRelease 119-73

§1734 State suits under Federal law

Title 30 › Chapter CHAPTER 29— - OIL AND GAS ROYALTY MANAGEMENT › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES › § 1734

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

A State may sue someone to get back royalties, interest, or civil fines it believes are owed for oil and gas leases on federal land in the State, if the State has credible evidence. Before suing, the State must give written notice to the Secretary and wait 90 days, unless the Secretary waives the wait. If the Secretary issues a payment demand within that 90 days, the State must wait 45 days after the demand before suing, and no suit is allowed if the Secretary gets full payment in that 45-day period. If the Secretary sends the matter to the Attorney General of the United States during that 45 days or within 10 business days after it ends, the State cannot start a suit if the Attorney General begins a federal civil case within 45 days of the referral and then pursues it. The State must tell the Secretary and the Attorney General when it files a suit. A court can order payment and may award legal costs, including reasonable lawyer and expert fees, to a party if the court finds that proper. Such suits must be filed in the United States district court for the district where the lease or leasing activity is located. That court can act no matter how much money is at issue or who the parties are. If the State recovers civil penalties, the State keeps and may spend them as it chooses. Any rent, royalty, or interest the State recovers must be turned into the U.S. Treasury in the same way federal collections are handled, and must be deposited no later than 10 days after the State receives them.

Full Legal Text

Title 30, §1734

Mineral Lands and Mining — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)A State may commence a civil action under this section against any person to recover any royalty, interest, or civil penalty which the State believes is due, based upon credible evidence, with respect to any oil and gas lease on Federal lands located within the State.

(2)(A)No action may be commenced under paragraph (1) prior to 90 days after the State has given notice in writing to the Secretary of the payment required. Such 90-day limitation may be waived by the Secretary on a case-by-case basis.

(B)If, within the 90-day period specified in subparagraph (A), the Secretary issues a demand for the payment concerned, no action may be commenced under paragraph (1) with respect to such payment during a 45-day period after issuance of such demand. If, during such 45-day period, the Secretary receives payment in full, no action may be commenced under paragraph (1).

(C)If the Secretary refers the case to the Attorney General of the United States within the 45-day period referred to in subparagraph (B) or within 10 business days after the expiration of such 45-day period, no action may be commenced under paragraph (1) if the Attorney General, within 45 days after the date of such referral, commences, and thereafter diligently prosecutes, a civil action in a court of the United States with respect to the payment concerned.

(3)The State shall notify the Secretary and the Attorney General of the United States of any suit filed by the State under this section.

(4)A court in issuing any final order in any action brought under paragraph (1) may award costs of litigation including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees, to any party in such action if the court determines such an award is appropriate.

(b)An action brought under subsection (a) of this section may be brought only in a United States district court for the judicial district in which the lease site or the leasing activity complained of is located. Such district court shall have jurisdiction, without regard to the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties, to require compliance or order payment in any such action.

(c)(1)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any civil penalty recovered by a State under subsection (a) shall be retained by the State and may be expended in such manner and for such purposes as the State deems appropriate.

(2)Any rent, royalty, or interest recovered by a State under subsection (a) shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States in the same manner, and subject to the same requirements, as are applicable in the case of any rent, royalty, or interest collected by an officer or employee of the United States, except that such amounts shall be deposited in the Treasury not later than 10 days after receipt by the State.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

30 U.S.C. § 1734

Title 30 — Mineral Lands and Mining

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73