§1711 Duties of Secretary

Summary

The Secretary must set up a system to inspect, collect, and keep track of oil and gas payments so royalties and other amounts (like interest, fines, fees, and deposits) are figured correctly and collected on time. The Secretary must have authorized, identified staff inspect each lease site at least once a year if it produces or is likely to produce significant oil or gas, or if it has a history of noncompliance, and must train those staff in inspection and accounting. The Secretary must audit and reconcile current and past lease accounts as far as practicable, follow the recordkeeping rules that applied during the audit period, and collect more money or issue refunds when needed. Priority goes to accounts a State or Indian tribe flags as likely underpaid. The Secretary may hire independent certified public accountants by competitive bidding under chapters 1–11 of title 40 and division C (except sections 3302, 3307(e), 3501(b), 3509, 3906, 4710, and 4711) of subtitle I of title 41, but may not hire a CPA that has the lessee as a primary audit client. Books, records, reports, and other papers needed for these audits must be made available to anyone or any government entity conducting audits under this chapter.