H.R. 1965 — what changed

added This title may be cited as the “Federal Lands Jobs and Energy Security Act”.

added This subtitle may be cited as the “Streamlining Permitting of American Energy Act of 2013”.

added Section 17(p)(2) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(p)(2)) is amended to read as follows:

added “(2) Applications for permits to drill reform and process

added “(A) Timeline—The Secretary shall decide whether to issue a permit to drill within 30 days after receiving an application for the permit. The Secretary may extend such period for up to 2 periods of 15 days each, if the Secretary has given written notice of the delay to the applicant. The notice shall be in the form of a letter from the Secretary or a designee of the Secretary, and shall include the names and titles of the persons processing the application, the specific reasons for the delay, and a specific date a final decision on the application is expected.

added “(B) Notice of reasons for denial—If the application is denied, the Secretary shall provide the applicant—

added “(i) in writing, clear and comprehensive reasons why the application was not accepted and detailed information concerning any deficiencies; and

added “(ii) an opportunity to remedy any deficiencies.

added “(C) Application deemed approved—If the Secretary has not made a decision on the application by the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date the application is received by the Secretary, the application is deemed approved, except in cases in which existing reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) or Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) are incomplete.

added “(D) Denial of permit—If the Secretary decides not to issue a permit to drill in accordance with subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall—

added “(i) provide to the applicant a description of the reasons for the denial of the permit;

added “(ii) allow the applicant to resubmit an application for a permit to drill during the 10-day period beginning on the date the applicant receives the description of the denial from the Secretary; and

added “(iii) issue or deny any resubmitted application not later than 10 days after the date the application is submitted to the Secretary.

added “(E) Fee

added “(i) In general—Notwithstanding any other law, the Secretary shall collect a single $6,500 permit processing fee per application from each applicant at the time the final decision is made whether to issue a permit under subparagraph (A). This fee shall not apply to any resubmitted application.

added “(ii) Treatment of permit processing fee—Of all fees collected under this paragraph, 50 percent shall be transferred to the field office where they are collected and used to process protests, leases, and permits under this Act subject to appropriation.”

added Section 17(p) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(p)) is further amended by adding at the end the following:

added “(4) Protest fee

added “(A) In general—The Secretary shall collect a $5,000 documentation fee to accompany each protest for a lease, right of way, or application for permit to drill.

added “(B) Treatment of fees—Of all fees collected under this paragraph, 50 percent shall remain in the field office where they are collected and used to process protests subject to appropriation.”

added Notwithstanding any other law, the Secretary of the Interior shall not require a finding of extraordinary circumstances in administering section 390 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15942).

added In this chapter—

added Venue for any covered civil action shall lie in the district court where the project or leases exist or are proposed.

added To ensure timely redress by the courts, a covered civil action must be filed no later than the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date of the final Federal agency action to which it relates.

added The court shall endeavor to hear and determine any covered civil action as expeditiously as possible.

added In any judicial review of a covered civil action, administrative findings and conclusions relating to the challenged Federal action or decision shall be presumed to be correct, and the presumption may be rebutted only by the preponderance of the evidence contained in the administrative record.

added In a covered civil action, the court shall not grant or approve any prospective relief unless the court finds that such relief is narrowly drawn, extends no further than necessary to correct the violation of a legal requirement, and is the least intrusive means necessary to correct that violation. In addition, courts shall limit the duration of preliminary injunctions to halt covered energy projects to no more than 60 days, unless the court finds clear reasons to extend the injunction. In such cases of extensions, such extensions shall only be in 30-day increments and shall require action by the court to renew the injunction.

added Sections 504 of title 5, United States Code, and 2412 of title 28, United States Code, (together commonly called the Equal Access to Justice Act) do not apply to a covered civil action, nor shall any party in such a covered civil action receive payment from the Federal Government for their attorneys’ fees, expenses, and other court costs.

added Challengers filing appeals with the Department of the Interior Board of Land Appeals shall meet the same standing requirements as challengers before a United States district court.

added This subtitle may be cited as the “Providing Leasing Certainty for American Energy Act of 2013”.

added In conducting lease sales as required by section 17(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(a)), each year the Secretary of the Interior shall perform the following:

added Section 17(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(a)) is amended by inserting “(1)” before “All lands”, and by adding at the end the following:

added “(2)

added “(A) The Secretary shall not withdraw any covered energy project issued under this Act without finding a violation of the terms of the lease by the lessee.

added “(B) The Secretary shall not infringe upon lease rights under leases issued under this Act by indefinitely delaying issuance of project approvals, drilling and seismic permits, and rights of way for activities under such a lease.

added “(C) No later than 18 months after an area is designated as open under the current land use plan the Secretary shall make available nominated areas for lease under the criteria in section 2.

added “(D) Notwithstanding any other law, the Secretary shall issue all leases sold no later than 60 days after the last payment is made.

added “(E) The Secretary shall not cancel or withdraw any lease parcel after a competitive lease sale has occurred and a winning bidder has submitted the last payment for the parcel.

added “(F) Not later than 60 days after a lease sale held under this Act, the Secretary shall adjudicate any lease protests filed following a lease sale. If after 60 days any protest is left unsettled, said protest is automatically denied and appeal rights of the protestor begin.

added “(G) No additional lease stipulations may be added after the parcel is sold without consultation and agreement of the lessee, unless the Secretary deems such stipulations as emergency actions to conserve the resources of the United States.”

added Federal land managers must follow existing resource management plans and continue to actively lease in areas designated as open when resource management plans are being amended or revised, until such time as a new record of decision is signed.

added Bureau of Land Management Instruction Memorandum 2010–117 shall have no force or effect.

added Section 31(e) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 188(e)) is amended in the matter following paragraph (4) by striking “at least thirty days in advance of the reinstatement” and inserting “in an annual report”.

added This subtitle may be cited as the “Protecting Investment in Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, Energy, and Resource Security Act” or the “PIONEERS Act”.

added Nothing in this title shall be construed to authorize the issuance of a lease under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) to any person designated for the imposition of sanctions pursuant to—

added This title may be cited as the “Planning for American Energy Act of 2013”.

added “44. Quadrennial Strategic Federal Onshore Energy Production Strategy

added “(a) In general

added “(1) The Secretary of the Interior (hereafter in this section referred to as Secretary), in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture with regard to lands administered by the Forest Service, shall develop and publish every 4 years a Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy Production Strategy. This Strategy shall direct Federal land energy development and department resource allocation in order to promote the energy and national security of the United States in accordance with Bureau of Land Management’s mission of promoting the multiple use of Federal lands as set forth in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).

added “(2) In developing this Strategy, the Secretary shall consult with the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration on the projected energy demands of the United States for the next 30-year period, and how energy derived from Federal onshore lands can put the United States on a trajectory to meet that demand during the next 4-year period. The Secretary shall consider how Federal lands will contribute to ensuring national energy security, with a goal for increasing energy independence and production, during the next 4-year period.

added “(3) The Secretary shall determine a domestic strategic production objective for the development of energy resources from Federal onshore lands. Such objective shall be—

added “(A) the best estimate, based upon commercial and scientific data, of the expected increase in domestic production of oil and natural gas from the Federal onshore mineral estate, with a focus on lands held by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service;

added “(B) the best estimate, based upon commercial and scientific data, of the expected increase in domestic coal production from Federal lands;

added “(C) the best estimate, based upon commercial and scientific data, of the expected increase in domestic production of strategic and critical energy minerals from the Federal onshore mineral estate;

added “(D) the best estimate, based upon commercial and scientific data, of the expected increase in megawatts for electricity production from each of the following sources: wind, solar, biomass, hydropower, and geothermal energy produced on Federal lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service;

added “(E) the best estimate, based upon commercial and scientific data, of the expected increase in unconventional energy production, such as oil shale;

added “(F) the best estimate, based upon commercial and scientific data, of the expected increase in domestic production of oil, natural gas, coal, and other renewable sources from tribal lands for any federally recognized Indian tribe that elects to participate in facilitating energy production on its lands;

added “(G) the best estimate, based upon commercial and scientific data, of the expected increase in production of helium on Federal lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service; and

added “(H) the best estimate, based upon commercial and scientific data, of the expected increase in domestic production of geothermal, solar, wind, or other renewable energy sources from “available lands” (as such term is defined in section 203 of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108 et seq.), and including any other lands deemed by the Territory or State of Hawaii, as the case may be, to be included within that definition) that the agency or department of the government of the State of Hawaii that is responsible for the administration of such lands selects to be used for such energy production.

added “(4) The Secretary shall consult with the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration regarding the methodology used to arrive at its estimates for purposes of this section.

added “(5) The Secretary has the authority to expand the energy development plan to include other energy production technology sources or advancements in energy on Federal lands.

added “(6) The Secretary shall include in the Strategy a plan for addressing new demands for transmission lines and pipelines for distribution of oil and gas across Federal lands to ensure that energy produced can be distributed to areas of need.

added “(b) Tribal objectives—It is the sense of Congress that federally recognized Indian tribes may elect to set their own production objectives as part of the Strategy under this section. The Secretary shall work in cooperation with any federally recognized Indian tribe that elects to participate in achieving its own strategic energy objectives designated under this subsection.

added “(c) Execution of the Strategy—The relevant Secretary shall have all necessary authority to make determinations regarding which additional lands will be made available in order to meet the production objectives established by strategies under this section. The Secretary shall also take all necessary actions to achieve these production objectives unless the President determines that it is not in the national security and economic interests of the United States to increase Federal domestic energy production and to further decrease dependence upon foreign sources of energy. In administering this section, the relevant Secretary shall only consider leasing Federal lands available for leasing at the time the lease sale occurs.

added “(d) State, federally recognized Indian tribes, local government, and public input—In developing each strategy, the Secretary shall solicit the input of affected States, federally recognized Indian tribes, local governments, and the public.

added “(e) Reporting—The Secretary shall report annually to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate on the progress of meeting the production goals set forth in the strategy. The Secretary shall identify in the report projections for production and capacity installations and any problems with leasing, permitting, siting, or production that will prevent meeting the goal. In addition, the Secretary shall make suggestions to help meet any shortfalls in meeting the production goals.

added “(f) Programmatic environmental impact statement—Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this section, in accordance with section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), the Secretary shall complete a programmatic environmental impact statement. This programmatic environmental impact statement will be deemed sufficient to comply with all requirements under that Act for all necessary resource management and land use plans associated with the implementation of the strategy.

added “(g) Congressional review—At least 60 days prior to publishing a proposed strategy under this section, the Secretary shall submit it to the President and the Congress, together with any comments received from States, federally recognized Indian tribes, and local governments. Such submission shall indicate why any specific recommendation of a State, federally recognized Indian tribe, or local government was not accepted.

added “(h) Strategic and critical energy minerals defined—For purposes of this section, the term strategic and critical energy minerals means those that are necessary for the Nation’s energy infrastructure including pipelines, refining capacity, electrical power generation and transmission, and renewable energy production and those that are necessary to support domestic manufacturing, including but not limited to, materials used in energy generation, production, and transportation.”

added This title may be cited as the “National Petroleum Reserve Alaska Access Act”.

added It is the sense of Congress that—

added Section 107(a) of the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6506a(a)) is amended to read as follows:

added “(a) In General—The Secretary shall conduct an expeditious program of competitive leasing of oil and gas in the reserve in accordance with this Act. Such program shall include at least one lease sale annually in those areas of the reserve most likely to produce commercial quantities of oil and natural gas each year in the period 2013 through 2023.”

added The Secretary of the Interior shall issue regulations not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act that establish clear requirements to ensure that the Department of the Interior is supporting development of oil and gas leases in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

added At a minimum, the new proposed integrated activity plan issued under section 3005(a)(1) shall—

added This title may be cited as the “BLM Live Internet Auctions Act”.

added “(C) In order to diversify and expand the Nation’s onshore leasing program to ensure the best return to the Federal taxpayer, reduce fraud, and secure the leasing process, the Secretary may conduct onshore lease sales through Internet-based bidding methods. Each individual Internet-based lease sale shall conclude within 7 days.”

added This title may be cited as the “Native American Energy Act”.

added “2607. Appraisal reforms

added “(a) Options to Indian Tribes—With respect to a transaction involving Indian land or the trust assets of an Indian tribe that requires the approval of the Secretary, any appraisal relating to fair market value required to be conducted under applicable law, regulation, or policy may be completed by—

added “(1) the Secretary;

added “(2) the affected Indian tribe; or

added “(3) a certified, third-party appraiser pursuant to a contract with the Indian tribe.

added “(b) Time Limit on Secretarial Review and Action—Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary receives an appraisal conducted by or for an Indian tribe pursuant to paragraphs (2) or (3) of subsection (a), the Secretary shall—

added “(1) review the appraisal; and

added “(2) provide to the Indian tribe a written notice of approval or disapproval of the appraisal.

added “(c) Failure of Secretary To Approve or Disapprove—If, after 60 days, the Secretary has failed to approve or disapprove any appraisal received, the appraisal shall be deemed approved.

added “(d) Option to Indian Tribes To Waive Appraisal

added “(1) An Indian tribe wishing to waive the requirements of subsection (a), may do so after it has satisfied the requirements of subsections (2) and (3) below.

added “(2) An Indian tribe wishing to forego the necessity of a waiver pursuant to this section must provide to the Secretary a written resolution, statement, or other unambiguous indication of tribal intent, duly approved by the governing body of the Indian tribe.

added “(3) The unambiguous indication of intent provided by the Indian tribe to the Secretary under paragraph (2) must include an express waiver by the Indian tribe of any claims for damages it might have against the United States as a result of the lack of an appraisal undertaken.

added “(e) Definition—For purposes of this subsection, the term appraisal includes appraisals and other estimates of value.

added “(f) Regulations—The Secretary shall develop regulations for implementing this section, including standards the Secretary shall use for approving or disapproving an appraisal.”

added As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall implement procedures to ensure that each agency within the Department of the Interior that is involved in the review, approval, and oversight of oil and gas activities on Indian lands shall use a uniform system of reference numbers and tracking systems for oil and gas wells.

added Section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) is amended by inserting “(a) In general.—” before the first sentence, and by adding at the end the following:

added “(b) Review of major Federal actions on Indian lands

added “(1) In general—For any major Federal action on Indian lands of an Indian tribe requiring the preparation of a statement under subsection (a)(2)(C), the statement shall only be available for review and comment by the members of the Indian tribe and by any other individual residing within the affected area.

added “(2) Regulations—The Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality shall develop regulations to implement this section, including descriptions of affected areas for specific major Federal actions, in consultation with Indian tribes.

added “(3) Definitions—In this subsection, each of the terms Indian land and Indian tribe has the meaning given that term in section 2601 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3501).

added “(4) Clarification of authority—Nothing in the Native American Energy Act, except section 5006 of that Act, shall give the Secretary any additional authority over energy projects on Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act lands.”

added The Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 is amended by inserting after section 2 (25 U.S.C. 3115a) the following:

added “3. Tribal biomass demonstration project

added “(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.

added “(b) Definitions—The definitions in section 2 shall apply to this section.

added “(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).

added “(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—

added “(1) containing such information as the Secretary may require; and

added “(2) that includes a description of—

added “(A) the Indian forest land or rangeland under the jurisdiction of the Indian tribe; and

added “(B) the demonstration project proposed to be carried out by the Indian tribe.

added “(e) Selection—In evaluating the applications submitted under subsection (c), the Secretary—

added “(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—

added “(A) increase the availability or reliability of local or regional energy;

added “(B) enhance the economic development of the Indian tribe;

added “(C) improve the connection of electric power transmission facilities serving the Indian tribe with other electric transmission facilities;

added “(D) improve the forest health or watersheds of Federal land or Indian forest land or rangeland; or

added “(E) otherwise promote the use of woody biomass; and

added “(2) shall exclude from consideration any merchantable logs that have been identified by the Secretary for commercial sale.

added “(f) Implementation—The Secretary shall—

added “(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

added “(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.

added “(g) Report—Not later than September 20, 2015, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that describes, with respect to the reporting period—

added “(1) each individual tribal application received under this section; and

added “(2) each contract and agreement entered into pursuant to this section.

added “(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.

added “(i) Term—A stewardship contract or other agreement entered into under this section—

added “(1) shall be for a term of not more than 20 years; and

added “(2) may be renewed in accordance with this section for not more than an additional 10 years.”

added Unless otherwise explicitly exempted by Federal law enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act, any activity conducted or resources harvested or produced pursuant to a tribal resource management plan or an integrated resource management plan approved by the Secretary of the Interior under the National Indian Forest Resources Management Act (25 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) or the American Indian Agricultural Resource Management Act (25 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), shall be considered a sustainable management practice for purposes of any Federal standard, benefit, or requirement that requires a demonstration of such sustainability.

added Subsection (e)(1) of the first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 415(e)(1); commonly referred to as the “Long-Term Leasing Act”), is amended—

added “(C) in the case of a lease for the exploration, development, or extraction of mineral resources, including geothermal resources, 25 years, except that any such lease may include an option to renew for one additional term not to exceed 25 years.”

added No rule promulgated by the Department of the Interior regarding hydraulic fracturing used in the development or production of oil or gas resources shall have any effect on any land held in trust or restricted status for the benefit of Indians except with the express consent of the beneficiary on whose behalf such land is held in trust or restricted status.