Bill would change mining on federal lands

WASHINGTON, May 22 (UPI) -- House Democrats plan to revise U.S. rules to require energy companies to pay more to drill on government lands and give them less time to do it, observers say.

The Hill reported Friday that the proposal drafted by the House Natural Resources Committee Democratic staff raises the royalty fees oil and gas companies pay to drill on federal lands for the first time since the 1980s.

The proposal also shortens federal leases from 10 years to five, the newspaper reported.

Oil and gas companies currently pay royalties of 12.5 percent to access federal, onshore resources.

The newspaper said energy companies pay between 18.75 percent and 25 percent royalties to drill on private land.

A source also told the newspaper that shortening lease durations would also bring federal leases more in line with those that companies reach in private land deals.

The bill would also reorganize the Minerals Management Service within the U.S. Interior Department. The Minerals Management Service drew scrutiny a year ago, after an inspector general's report said a Colorado office suffered from a "culture of substance abuse and promiscuity."