H.R. 1965 — what changed
Federal Lands Jobs and Energy Security Act of 2013
From Introduced in House to Reported in House. 6 sections amended and 3 added between Introduced in House and Reported in House.
Sec. 3 Policies regarding buying, building, and working for America
Congressional intent— It is the intent of the Congress that—
this Act will support a healthy and growing United States domestic energy sector that, in turn, helps to reinvigorate American manufacturing, transportation, and service sectors by employing the vast talents of United States workers to assist in the development of energy from domestic sources;
to ensure a robust onshore energy production industry and ensure that the benefits of development support local communities, under this Act, the Secretary shall make every effort to promote the development of onshore American energy, and shall take into consideration the socioeconomic impacts, infrastructure requirements, and fiscal stability for local communities located within areas containing onshore energy resources; and
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the Congress will monitor the deployment of personnel and material onshore to encourage the development of American technology and manufacturing to enable United States workers to benefit from this Act through good jobs and careers, as well as the establishment of important industrial facilities to support expanded access to American resources.
Requirement— The Secretary of the Interior shall when possible, and practicable, encourage the use of United States workers and equipment manufactured in the United States in all construction related to mineral resource development under this Act.
Sec. 111 Permit to drill application timeline
Section 17(p)(2) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(p)(2)) is amended to read as follows:
“(2) Applications for permits to drill reform and process
“(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.
“(B) Notice of reasons for denial—If the application is denied, the Secretary shall provide the applicant—
“(i) in writing, clear and comprehensive reasons why the application was not accepted and detailed information concerning any deficiencies; and
“(ii) an opportunity to remedy any deficiencies.
changed “(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.
“(D) Denial of permit—If the Secretary decides not to issue a permit to drill in accordance with subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall—
“(i) provide to the applicant a description of the reasons for the denial of the permit;
“(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
“(iii) issue or deny any resubmitted application not later than 10 days after the date the application is submitted to the Secretary.
“(E) Fee
“(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.
“(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.”
Sec. 112 Solar and wind right-of-way rental reform
In general— Subject to subsection (b), and notwithstanding any other provision of law, of fees collected each fiscal year as annual wind energy and solar energy right-of-way authorization fees required under section 504(g) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1764(g))—
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no less than 25 percent shall be available, subject to appropriation, for use for solar and wind permitting and management activities by Department of the Interior field offices responsible for the land where the fee was fees were collected;
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no less than 25 percent shall be available, subject to appropriation, for Bureau of Land Management solar and wind permit approval activities; and
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no less than 25 percent shall be available, subject to appropriation, to the Secretary of the Interior for department-wide solar and wind permitting activities.
Limitation— The amount used under subsection (a) each fiscal year shall not exceed $10,000,000.
Sec. 132 Administration of current law
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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 2005.2005 (42 U.S.C. 15942).
Sec. 151 Funding oil and gas resource assessments
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In general— The Secretary of the Interior shall provide matching funding for joint projects with States to conduct oil and gas resource assessments on Federal lands with significant oil and gas potential.
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Cost sharing— The Federal share of the cost of activities under this section shall not exceed 50 percent.
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Resource assessment— Any resource assessment under this section shall be conducted by a State, in consultation with the United States Geological Survey.
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Authorization of appropriations— There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section a total of $50,000,000 for fiscal years 2014 through 2017.
Sec. 202 Minimum acreage requirement for onshore lease sales
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:
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The Secretary shall offer for sale no less than 25 percent of the annual nominated acreage not previously made available for lease. Acreage offered for lease pursuant to this paragraph shall not be subject to protest and shall be eligible for categorical exclusions under section 390 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15492), 15942), except that it shall not be subject to the test of extraordinary circumstances.
In administering this section, the Secretary shall only consider leasing of Federal lands that are available for leasing at the time the lease sale occurs.
Sec. 206 Streamlined congressional notification
addedadded 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”.
Sec. 302 Effectiveness of oil shale regulations, amendments to resource management plans, and record of decision
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Regulations— Notwithstanding any other law or regulation to the contrary, the final regulations regarding oil shale management published by the Bureau of Land Management on November 18, 2008 (73 Fed. Reg. 69,414) are deemed to satisfy all legal and procedural requirements under any law, including the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58), and the Secretary of the Interior shall implement those regulations, including the oil shale leasing program authorized by the regulations, without any other administrative action necessary.
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Amendments to resource management plans and record of decision— Notwithstanding any other law or regulation to the contrary, the November 17, 2008 U.S. Bureau of Land Management Approved Resource Management Plan Amendments/Record of Decision for Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources to Address Land Use Allocations in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement are deemed to satisfy all legal and procedural requirements under any law, including the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58), and the Secretary of the Interior shall implement the oil shale leasing program authorized by the regulations referred to in subsection (a) in those areas covered by the resource management plans amended by such amendments, and covered by such record of decision, without any other administrative action necessary.
Sec. 401 Rule of construction
addedadded Nothing in this Act 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—
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the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note), the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestiture Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8501 et seq.), the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8701 et seq.), section 1245 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8513a), or the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8801 et seq.);
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Executive Order 13622 (July 30, 2012), Executive Order 13628 (October 9, 2012), or Executive Order 13645 (June 3, 2013);
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Executive Order 13224 (September 23, 2001) or Executive Order 13338 (May 11, 2004); or
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the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 2151 note).