42 U.S.C. § 15921 — Management of Federal oil and gas leasing programs

(a) Timely action on leases and permits: (1) The Secretary of the Interior must (A) make sure environmental and cultural resource reviews, including under section 4332(2)(C) of this title, move quickly; (B) improve how the Department consults and coordinates with states and the public; and (C) improve how it collects, stores, and retrieves information about oil and gas leasing. (2) The Secretary of Agriculture must similarly (A) make sure environmental and cultural resource law compliance moves quickly, and (B) improve information collection, storage, and retrieval. (b) Best management practices: (1) Within 18 months of August 8, 2005, the Secretary had to create and put in place best management practices to (A) improve how the onshore oil and gas leasing program under the Mineral Leasing Act is run, and (B) make sure leases and drilling permit applications are handled promptly. (2) In creating those practices, the Secretary had to consider recommendations from the review required under section 361. (3) Within 180 days of finishing those best practices, the Secretary had to publish, for public comment, proposed regulations setting specific deadlines — for approving or denying resource management plans, lease applications, drilling permit applications, and surface use plans, and for related administrative appeals. (c) Improved enforcement: The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture must both improve inspection and enforcement of oil and gas activity, including enforcing the terms of drilling permits on land each of them manages. (d) Authorization of appropriations: On top of other funding for oil and gas leasing, Congress authorized, for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010: (1) to the Interior Secretary, through the Bureau of Land Management Director, $40,000,000 for the work in (a)(1) and (b), and $20,000,000 for enforcement under (c); (2) to the Interior Secretary, through the Fish and Wildlife Service Director, $5,000,000 for the work in (a)(1); and (3) to the Agriculture Secretary, through the Forest Service Chief, $5,000,000 for the work in (a)(2) and (c).