42 U.S.C. § 6217
Verified against govinfo.gov as of June 20, 2026View official text on govinfo.gov ↗
- (a)The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy, shall conduct an inventory of all onshore Federal lands. The inventory shall identify—
- (1)the United States Geological Survey estimates of the oil and gas resources underlying these lands;
- (2)the extent and nature of any restrictions or impediments to the development of the resources, including—
- (A)impediments to the timely granting of leases;
- (B)post-lease restrictions, impediments, or delays on development for conditions of approval, applications for permits to drill, or processing of environmental permits; and
- (C)permits or restrictions associated with transporting the resources for entry into commerce; and
- (3)the quantity of resources not produced or introduced into commerce because of the restrictions.
- (b)Once completed, the USGS resource estimates and the surface availability data as provided in subsection (a)(2) shall be regularly updated and made publicly available.
- (c)The inventory shall be provided to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate within 2 years after November 9, 2000.
- (d)Using the inventory, the Secretary of Energy shall make periodic assessments of economically recoverable resources accounting for a range of parameters such as current costs, commodity prices, technology, and regulations.