42 USC 15922 – Consultation regarding oil and gas leasing on public land
(a) In general
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) Contents
Terms Used In 42 USC 15922
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
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.