(a) States are exempt from being assessed for any interest or penalties found to be due against the Department of the Interior for failure to comply with the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973, as amended, or any regulation issued by the Secretary of Energy thereunder concerning the certification or processing of crude oil taken in-kind as royalty by the Secretary.

(b) Any State shall be assessed for its share of any overcharge resulting from a determination that DOI failed to comply with the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973, as amended. Each State's share shall be assessed against monies owed to the State. Such assessment shall be first against monies owed to such State as a result of royalty audits prior to January 12, 1983, the enactment date of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982, then against other monies owed. The State shall be liable for any balance.

(c) A State's liability for repayment of an overcharge under this section shall exist for any amounts resulting from a judgment in a civil suit or as the result of settlement of a claim through a negotiated agreement. State liability would be offset against future mineral revenue distributions to the State.

[49 FR 37347, Sept. 21, 1984]