119 STAT. 732
PUBLIC LAW 109–58—AUG. 8, 2005 (1) IDENTIFICATION.—The Secretary of Energy shall identify technologies for the development of oil shale and tar sands that— (A) are ready for demonstration at a commerciallyrepresentative scale; and (B) have a high probability of leading to commercial production. (2) ASSISTANCE.—For each technology identified under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Energy may provide— (A) technical assistance; (B) assistance in meeting environmental and regulatory requirements; and (C) cost-sharing assistance. (m) NATIONAL OIL SHALE AND TAR SANDS ASSESSMENT.— (1) ASSESSMENT.— (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a national assessment of oil shale and tar sands resources for the purposes of evaluating and mapping oil shale and tar sands deposits, in the geographic areas described in subparagraph (B). In conducting such an assessment, the Secretary shall make use of the extensive geological assessment work for oil shale and tar sands already conducted by the United States Geological Survey. (B) GEOGRAPHIC AREAS.—The geographic areas referred to in subparagraph (A), listed in the order in which the Secretary shall assign priority, are— (i) the Green River Region of the States of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming; (ii) the Devonian oil shales and other hydrocarbonbearing rocks having the nomenclature of ‘‘shale’’ located east of the Mississippi River; and (iii) any remaining area in the central and western United States (including the State of Alaska) that contains oil shale and tar sands, as determined by the Secretary. (2) USE OF STATE SURVEYS AND UNIVERSITIES.—In carrying out the assessment under paragraph (1), the Secretary may request assistance from any State-administered geological survey or university. (n) LAND EXCHANGES.— (1) IN GENERAL.—To facilitate the recovery of oil shale and tar sands, especially in areas where Federal, State, and private lands are intermingled, the Secretary shall consider the use of land exchanges where appropriate and feasible to consolidate land ownership and mineral interests into manageable areas. (2) IDENTIFICATION AND PRIORITY OF PUBLIC LANDS.—The Secretary shall identify public lands containing deposits of oil shale or tar sands within the Green River, Piceance Creek, Uintah, and Washakie geologic basins, and shall give priority to implementing land exchanges within those basins. The Secretary shall consider the geology of the respective basin in determining the optimum size of the lands to be consolidated. (3) COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 206 OF FLPMA.—A land exchange undertaken in furtherance of this subsection shall be implemented in accordance with section 206 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716).
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