Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 96 Part 2.djvu/1088

 96 STAT. 2450

Lease accounts, audits.

Contract authority.

Availability of Secretary's material.

PUBLIC LAW 97-451—JAN. 12, 1983

ments owed, and to collect and account for such amounts in a timely manner, (b) The Secretary shall— (1) establish procedures to ensure that authorized and properly identified representatives of the Secretary will inspect at least once annusdly each lease site producing or expected to produce significant quantities of oil or gas in any year or which has a history of noncompliance with applicable provisions of law or regulations; and (2) establish and maintain adequate programs providing for the training of all such authorized representatives in methods and techniques of inspection and accounting that will be used in the implementation of this Act. (c)(1) The Secretary shall audit and reconcile, to the extent practicable, all current and past lease accounts for leases of oil or gas and take appropriate actions to make additional collections or refunds as warranted. The Secretary shall conduct audits and reconciliations of lease accounts in conformity with the business practices and recordkeeping systems which were required of the lessee by the Secretary for the period covered by the audit. The Secretary shall give priority to auditing those lease accounts identified by a State or Indian tribe as having si^ificant potential for underpayment. The Secretary may also audit accounts and records of selected lessees and operators. (2) The Secretary may enter into contracts or other appropriate arrangements with independent certified public accountants to undertake audits of accounts and records of any lessee or operator relating to the lease of oil or gas. Selection of such independent certified public accountants shall be by competitive bidding in accordance with the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 252), except that the Secretary may not enter into a contract or other arrangement with any independent certified public accountant to audit any lessee or operator where such lessee or operator is a primary audit client of such certified public accountant. (3) All books, accounts, financial records, reports, files, and other papers of the Secretary, or used by the Secretary, which are reasonably necessary to facilitate the audits required under this section shall be made available to any person or governmental entity conducting audits under this Act. DUTIES OP LESSEES, OPERATORS, AND MOTOR VEHICLE TRANSPORTERS

30 USC 1712.

SEC. 102. (a) A lesseeCD who is required to make any royalty or other payment under a lease or under the mineral leasing laws, shall make such payments in the time and manner as may be specified by the Secretary; and (2) shall notify the Secretary, in the time and manner as may be specified by the Secretary, of any gissignment the lessee may have made of the obligation to make any royalty or other payment under a lease or under the mineral leasing laws. (b) All operator shall— (1) develop and comply with a site security plan designed to protect the oil or gas produced or stored on an onshore lease site from theft, which plan shall conform with such minimum stand-

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