U.S. House Passes “License to Drill” Public Lands Permitting Bill

The License to Drill Act (H.R.7831) passed the U.S. House this week. The bill extends the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) authority to collect oil and gas permit processing fees through 2037. Authorization to collect those fees currently expires in September 2026. The fees fund the Permit Processing Improvement Fund, which supports BLM staff who process drilling permits, conduct environmental analyses, and issue approvals on federal lands. Note, this is NOT taxpayer money. It is fees collected from the drilling industry. The BLM is set to hold a lease on federal lands in Ohio's Wayne National Forest in September (see BLM Ready to Auction Land in OH Wayne Nat’l Forest for Drilling). The BLM needs to be able to collect fees from that sale.

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