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Title II — Timely issuance of offshore oil and gas leases

H.R. 70 · 113th Congress · Jan 3, 2013 · Lineage

II Timely issuance of offshore oil and gas leases

Sec. 201 Reinstatement of offshore oil and gas leases

Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(i) The Secretary is authorized, upon petition of a prior leaseholder, to reinstate any Expired Producible Lease in the offshore Gulf or Mexico if such reinstatement furthers the purposes and objectives of this Act. The Secretary shall act on such petitions as soon as possible after receipt thereof, and in any event, within 90 days of receipt of such petition or prior to the next scheduled lease sale in which such lease would be included, whichever is earlier. Any lease application pending for more than 90 days shall be reported to Congress, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Assistant Secretary for Land Management every 15 days until the application is acted upon.”

Sec. 202 Effective and efficient environmental review

(a)
Completion of analyses for lease sales— The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, complete all analyses, processes, and procedures required by section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) or under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; referred to in this section as NEPA), in connection with exploration and development under any lease to be offered for sale under this Act, prior to the annual lease sale in which such lease is first offered.
(b)
Treatment of Secretary’s actions— Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, the Secretary’s actions, after any initial lease sale, in approving and enforcing safety requirements and spill prevention and response requirements in individual plans or permits shall be deemed to be actions for the purpose of conserving and protecting the environment that are not subject to NEPA review requirements.