SW Arkansas Times

Last week, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman and House Committee on the Judiciary Jim Jordan sent a letter to Howard Cantor, Director of the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR), seeking information about the office's revenue collection activities. The letter expressed concerns over ONRR's practices, suggesting they might compel U.S. energy companies to pay more than required by law.

"There are concerns that ONRR is abusing its collection processes to force U.S. energy companies to pay more to produce energy," stated the letter. It referenced a Government Accountability Office report indicating that ONRR maintains an "arbitrary and predetermined compliance fee collection target." Additionally, emails obtained by the committees suggested that legal advice provided by the Department’s chief legal advisors was ignored by ONRR in decisions regarding royalty payment deductions.

The committees also highlighted issues with due process for U.S. energy producers challenging ONRR's decisions. Currently, their only recourse is an appeal to the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA), which faces a significant backlog of cases dating back several years. The backlog poses challenges as IBLA operates under a 33-month statutory deadline.

Since its inception in 2010, ONRR has been tasked with collecting revenues from energy production on federal and American Indian lands and offshore areas. It is noted as one of the government's largest non-tax revenue generators, having collected substantial amounts in royalties and compliance fees over recent years.

The House Committees on Natural Resources and Judiciary are actively investigating potential abuses within ONRR's processes and have requested relevant documents for review.