Sec. 3001 Finding
Congress finds that the United States has enormous potential for offshore energy development and that the people of the United States should have access to the jobs and economic benefits from developing those resources.
Title III — Outer Continental Shelf leasing
III Outer Continental Shelf leasing
Sec. 3002 Extension of leasing program
In general— Subject to subsection (c), the Draft Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program 2010–2015 issued by the Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this title as the “Secretary”) under section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) shall be considered to be the final oil and gas leasing program under that section for the period of fiscal years 2014 through 2019.
Final environmental impact statement— The Secretary is considered to have issued a final environmental impact statement for the program applicable to the period described in subsection (a) in accordance with all requirements under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).
Exceptions— Lease Sales 214, 232, and 239 shall not be included in the final oil and gas leasing program for the period of fiscal years 2014 through 2019.
Sec. 3003 Lease sales
In general— Except as otherwise provided in this section, not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act and every 270 days thereafter, the Secretary shall conduct a lease sale in each outer Continental Shelf planning area for which the Secretary determines that there is a commercial interest in purchasing Federal oil and gas leases for production on the outer Continental Shelf.
Subsequent determinations and sales— If the Secretary determines that there is not a commercial interest in purchasing Federal oil and gas leases for production on the outer Continental Shelf in a planning area under this section, not later than 2 years after the date of the determination and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall—
make an additional determination on whether there is a commercial interest in purchasing Federal oil and gas leases for production on the outer Continental Shelf in the planning area; and
if the Secretary determines that there is a commercial interest under paragraph (1), conduct a lease sale in the planning area.
Protection of State interest— In developing future leasing programs, the Secretary shall give deference to affected coastal States (as the term is used in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.)) in determining leasing areas to be included in the leasing program.
Petitions— If a person petitions the Secretary to conduct a lease sale for an outer Continental Shelf planning area in which the person has a commercial interest, the Secretary shall conduct a lease sale for the area in accordance with subsection (a).
Sec. 3004 Applications for permits to drill
Section 5 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1334) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(k) Applications for permits To drill
“(1) In general—Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary shall approve or disapprove an application for a permit to drill submitted under this Act not later than 20 days after the date on which the application is submitted to the Secretary.
“(2) Disapproval—If the Secretary disapproves an application for a permit to drill under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—
“(A) provide to the applicant a description of the reasons for the disapproval of the application;
“(B) allow the applicant to resubmit an application during the 10-day period beginning on the date of the receipt of the description described in subparagraph (A) by the applicant; and
“(C) approve or disapprove any resubmitted application not later than 10 days after the date on which the application is submitted to the Secretary.”
Sec. 3005 Lease sales for certain areas
In general— As soon as practicable but not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct Lease Sale 220 for areas offshore of the State of Virginia.
Compliance with other laws— For purposes of the lease sale described in subsection (a), the environmental impact statement prepared under section 3001 shall satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Energy projects in Gulf of Mexico—
Jurisdiction— The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit shall have exclusive jurisdiction over challenges to offshore energy projects and permits to drill carried out in the Gulf of Mexico.
Filing deadline— Any civil action to challenge a project or permit described in paragraph (1) shall be filed not later than 60 days after the date of approval of the project or the issuance of the permit.