H.R. 1548 — what changed
Native American Energy Act
From Introduced in House to Reported in House. 2 sections amended between Introduced in House and Reported in House.
Sec. 7 Bonding requirements and nonpayment of attorneys’ fees to promote Indian energy projects
In General— A plaintiff who obtains a preliminary injunction or administrative stay in an energy related action, but does not ultimately prevail on the merits of the energy related action, shall be liable for damages sustained by a defendant who—
opposed the preliminary injunction or administrative stay; and
was harmed by the preliminary injunction or administrative stay.
Bond— Unless otherwise specifically exempted by Federal law, a court may not issue a preliminary injunction and an agency may not grant an administrative stay in an energy related action until the plaintiff posts with the court or the agency a surety bond or cash equivalent—
in an amount the court or agency decides is 30 percent of that amount that the court or agency considers is sufficient to compensate each defendant opposing the preliminary injunction or administrative stay for damages, including but not limited to preliminary development costs, additional development costs, and reasonable attorney fees, that each defendant may sustain as a result of the preliminary injunction or administrative stay;
written by a surety licensed to do business in the State in which the Indian Land or other land where the activities are undertaken is situated; and
payable to each defendant opposing the preliminary injunction or administrative stay, in the event that the plaintiff does not prevail on the merits of the energy related action, Provided, that, if there is more than one plaintiff, the court or agency shall establish the amount of the bond required by this subsection for each plaintiff in a fair and equitable manner.
Limitation on certain payments— Notwithstanding section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, no award may be made under section 504 of title 5, United States Code, or under section 2412 of title 28, United States Code, and no amounts may be obligated or expended from the Claims and Judgment Fund of the United States Treasury to pay any fees or other expenses under such sections to any plaintiff related to an energy related action.
Definitions— For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
Administrative stay— The term Administrative Stay means a stay or other temporary remedy issued by a Federal agency, including the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Indian land— The term Indian Land has the same meaning given such term in section 203(c)(3) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 25 U.S.C. 3501), including lands owned by Native Corporations under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (Public Law 92–203; 43 U.S.C. 1601).
Energy related action— The term energy related action means a cause of action that—
is filed on or after the effective date of this Act; and
seeks judicial review of a final agency action (as defined in section 702 of title 5, United States Code), to issue a permit, license, or other form of agency permission allowing:
any person or entity to conduct activities on Indian Land, which activities involve the exploration, development, production or transportation of oil, gas, coal, shale gas, oil shale, geothermal resources, wind or solar resources, underground coal gasification, biomass, or the generation of electricity, or
any Indian Tribe, or any organization of two or more entities, at least one of which is an Indian tribe, to conduct activities involving the exploration, development, production or transportation of oil, gas, coal, shale gas, oil shale, geothermal resources, wind or solar resources, underground coal gasification, biomass, or the generation of electricity, regardless of where such activities are undertaken.
Ultimately prevail on the merits— The phrase “Ultimately prevail on the merits” means, in a final enforceable judgment on the merits, the court rules in the plaintiff’s favor on at least one cause of action which is an underlying rationale for the preliminary injunction, and does not include circumstances where the final agency action is modified or amended by the issuing agency unless such modification or amendment is required pursuant to a final enforceable judgment of the court or a court-ordered consent decree.
added
Indian tribe— The term “Indian tribe” means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community, including any Alaska Native village or regional or village corporation as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians.
Sec. 8 Tribal biomass demonstration project
changed
The Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 3115a) is amended by inserting after section 2 (25 U.S.C. 3115a) the following:
“3. Tribal biomass demonstration project
“(a) In general—For each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018, the Secretary shall enter into stewardship contracts or other agreements, other than agreements that are exclusively direct service contracts, with Indian tribes to carry out demonstration projects to promote biomass energy production (including biofuel, heat, and electricity generation) on Indian forest land and in nearby communities by providing reliable supplies of woody biomass from Federal land.
“(b) Definitions—The definitions in section 2 shall apply to this section.
“(c) Demonstration projects—In each fiscal year for which projects are authorized, the Secretary shall enter into contracts or other agreements described in subsection (a) to carry out at least 4 new demonstration projects that meet the eligibility criteria described in subsection (d).
“(d) Eligibility criteria—To be eligible to enter into a contract or other agreement under this subsection, an Indian tribe shall submit to the Secretary an application—
“(1) containing such information as the Secretary may require; and
“(2) that includes a description of—
“(A) the Indian forest land or rangeland under the jurisdiction of the Indian tribe; and
“(B) the demonstration project proposed to be carried out by the Indian tribe.
“(e) Selection—In evaluating the applications submitted under subsection (c), the Secretary—
“(1) shall take into consideration the factors set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 2(e) of Public Law 108–278; and whether a proposed demonstration project would—
“(A) increase the availability or reliability of local or regional energy;
“(B) enhance the economic development of the Indian tribe;
“(C) improve the connection of electric power transmission facilities serving the Indian tribe with other electric transmission facilities;
“(D) improve the forest health or watersheds of Federal land or Indian forest land or rangeland; or
“(E) otherwise promote the use of woody biomass; and
“(2) shall exclude from consideration any merchantable logs that have been identified by the Secretary for commercial sale.
“(f) Implementation—The Secretary shall—
“(1) ensure that the criteria described in subsection (c) are publicly available by not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this section; and
“(2) to the maximum extent practicable, consult with Indian tribes and appropriate intertribal organizations likely to be affected in developing the application and otherwise carrying out this section.
“(g) Report—Not later than September 20, 2015, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that describes, with respect to the reporting period—
“(1) each individual tribal application received under this section; and
“(2) each contract and agreement entered into pursuant to this section.
“(h) Incorporation of management plans—In carrying out a contract or agreement under this section, on receipt of a request from an Indian tribe, the Secretary shall incorporate into the contract or agreement, to the extent practicable, management plans (including forest management and integrated resource management plans) in effect on the Indian forest land or rangeland of the respective Indian tribe.
“(i) Term—A stewardship contract or other agreement entered into under this section—
“(1) shall be for a term of not more than 20 years; and
“(2) may be renewed in accordance with this section for not more than an additional 10 years.”