Nick Rahall: “Currently, the law allows leaseholders 10 years to develop oil or gas. Our bill used to cut it down to 5 years. We have…”

“Currently, the law allows leaseholders 10 years to develop oil or gas. Our bill used to cut it down to 5 years. We have now upped it back up to the 10 years to try to satisfy some of the critics concerned with this legislation. Yet, they are still not pleased, of course. Existing leases can be cancelled if leaseholders fail to comply with lease provisions, such as public safety and environmental requirements. Yet, there's no law or regulation that requires diligent development on Federal oil and gas leases. That is what we are doing here, is requiring this due diligence. As long as the leaseholders paid the required annual rental fee, the government cannot compel diligent development of the leased lands. Our bill requires oil and gas operators to diligently develop oil and gas leases, as is currently required of coal leaseholders, I might remind my colleague from West Virginia. We had this same regime in place for Federal coal leasing. It was put in place when coal was in its boom days. What we are doing for oil and gas now is what we have done with coal and other commodities that are produced on the land that the people of the United States own.”