Title 42 — The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§15922 Consultation regarding oil and gas leasing on public land

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 149— - NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY AND PROGRAMS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - OIL AND GAS › Part Part B— - Access to Federal Lands › § 15922

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture must, within 180 days after August 8, 2005, sign a memorandum of understanding about oil and gas leasing on public land managed by the Interior and on National Forest System land managed by Agriculture. The agreement must set clear steps and who is in charge so lease applications, surface use plans, and drilling permit requests are handled quickly and on time. It must cut down on duplicate work by coordinating planning and environmental reviews. Lease rules must be applied the same way, coordinated between agencies, and only as strict as needed to protect resources. It must create a shared data system to track applications and a shared mapping system to track surface resources and help process plans and permits.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §15922

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Not later than 180 days after August 8, 2005, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall enter into a memorandum of understanding regarding oil and gas leasing on—

(1)public land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior; and

(2)National Forest System land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture.

(b)The memorandum of understanding shall include provisions that—

(1)establish administrative procedures and lines of authority that ensure timely processing of—

(A)oil and gas lease applications;

(B)surface use plans of operation, including steps for processing surface use plans; and

(C)applications for permits to drill consistent with applicable timelines;

(2)eliminate duplication of effort by providing for coordination of planning and environmental compliance efforts;

(3)ensure that lease stipulations are—

(A)applied consistently;

(B)coordinated between agencies; and

(C)only as restrictive as necessary to protect the resource for which the stipulations are applied;

(4)establish a joint data retrieval system that is capable of—

(A)tracking applications and formal requests made in accordance with procedures of the Federal onshore oil and gas leasing program; and

(B)providing information regarding the status of the applications and requests within the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture; and

(5)establish a joint geographic information system mapping system for use in—

(A)tracking surface resource values to aid in resource management; and

(B)processing surface use plans of operation and applications for permits to drill.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 15922

Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73