delegation to states

delegation to states Sec. 205. (a) Upon written request of any State, the Secretary is authorized to delegate, in accordance with the provisions of this section, all or part of the authorities and responsibilities of the Secretary under this Act to conduct inspection, audits, and investigations to any State with respect to all Federal lands or Indian lands within the State; except that the Secretary may not undertake such a delegation with respect to any Indian lands, except with the permission of the Indian tribe allottee involved. (b) After notice and opportunity for a hearing, the Secretary is authorized to delegate such authorities and responsibilities granted under this section as the State has requested, if the Secretary finds that— (1) it is likely that the State will provide adequate resources to achieve the purposes of this Act; (2) the State has demonstrated that it will effectively and faithfully administer the rules and regulations of the Secretary under this Act in accordance with the requirements of subsections (c) and (d) of this section; and (3) such delegation will not create an unreasonable burden on any lessee, with respect to the Federal lands and Indian lands within the State. (c) The Secretary shall promulgate regulations which define those functions, if any, which must be carried out jointly in order to avoid duplication of effort, and any delegation to any State must be made in accordance with those requirements. (d) The Secretary shall by rule promulgate standards and regulations, pertaining to the authorities and responsibilities under subsection (a), including standards and regulations pertaining to: (1) audits performed; (2) records and accounts to be maintained; and (3) reporting procedures to be required by States under this section. Such standards and regulations shall be designed to provide reasonable assurance that a uniform and effective royalty management system will prevail among the States. The records and accounts under paragraph (2) shall be sufficient to allow the Secretary to monitor the performance of any State under this section. (e) If, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, the Secretary finds that any State to which any authority or responsibility of the Secretary has been delegated under this section is in violation of any requirement of this section or any rule thereunder, or that an affirmative finding by the Secretary under subsection (b) can no longer be made, the Secretary may revoke such delegation. (f) The Secretary shall compensate any State for those costs which may be necessary to carry out the delegated activities under this section. Payment shall be made no less than every quarter during the fiscal year.