Sec. 201 Short title
This subtitle may be cited as the “Streamlining Permitting of American Energy Act of 2014”.
Title II — Onshore oil and gas permit streamlining
II Onshore oil and gas permit streamlining
A Streamlining permitting
Sec. 202 Permit to drill application timeline
Section 17(p) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(p)) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
“(2) Applications for permits to drill reform and process
“(A) Timeline
“(i) In general—Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary receives an application for a permit to drill, the Secretary shall decide whether to issue or deny the permit.
“(ii) Extension—On giving written notice of a delay to the applicant, the Secretary may extend the period described in clause (i) for not more than 2 additional periods of 15 days each.
“(iii) Form of notice—The notice referred to in clause (ii) shall—
“(I) be in the form of a letter from the Secretary or a designee of the Secretary; and
“(II) 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) Application considered 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 shall be considered to be approved, except in a case in which an existing review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) or the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) is incomplete.
“(C) 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 on which the application is submitted to the Secretary.
“(D) Fee
“(i) In general—Notwithstanding any other provision of 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).
“(ii) Limitation—The fee described in clause (i) shall not apply to any resubmitted application.
“(iii) Treatment of permit processing fee—Of all amounts collected as fees under this paragraph, 50 percent shall be—
“(I) transferred to the field office where the fee is collected; and
“(II) used to process leases and permits under this Act, subject to appropriation.”
Sec. 203 Making pilot offices permanent to improve energy permitting on Federal land
Definitions— In this section:
Energy projects— The term energy projects includes oil, natural gas, and other energy projects, as defined by the Secretary.
Project— The term Project means the Federal Permit Streamlining Project established under subsection (b).
Secretary— The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
Establishment— The Secretary shall establish a Federal Permit Streamlining Project in every Bureau of Land Management field office with responsibility for permitting energy projects on Federal land.
Memorandum of understanding—
In general— Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall enter into a memorandum of understanding for purposes of this section with—
the Secretary of Agriculture;
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; and
the Chief of Engineers.
State participation— The Secretary may request that the Governor of any State in which energy projects on Federal land are located be a signatory to the memorandum of understanding.
Designation of qualified staff—
In general— Not later than 30 days after the date of the signing of the memorandum of understanding under subsection (c), all Federal signatory parties shall, if appropriate, assign to each of the Bureau of Land Management field offices an employee who has expertise in the regulatory issues relating to the office in which the employee is employed, including, as applicable, particular expertise in—
the consultations and the preparation of biological opinions under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536);
permits under section 404 of Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344);
regulatory matters under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.);
planning under the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et seq.); and
the preparation of analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Duties— Each employee assigned under paragraph (1) shall—
not later than 90 days after the date of assignment, report to the Bureau of Land Management Field Managers in the office to which the employee is assigned;
be responsible for all issues relating to the energy projects that arise under the authorities of the agency of the employee; and
participate as part of the team of personnel working on proposed energy projects, planning, and environmental analyses on Federal land.
Additional personnel— The Secretary shall assign to each Bureau of Land Management field office identified in subsection (b) any additional personnel that are necessary to ensure the effective approval and implementation of energy projects administered by the Bureau of Land Management field offices, including inspection and enforcement relating to energy development on Federal land, in accordance with the multiple use mandate of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).
Funding— Salaries for the additional personnel shall be funded from the collection of fees described in section 17(p)(2)(D) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(p)(2)(D)) (as amended by section 202).
Savings provision— Nothing in this section affects—
the operation of any Federal or State law; or
any delegation of authority made by the head of a Federal agency whose employees are participating in the Project.
Sec. 204 Administration
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).
Sec. 205 Judicial review
Definitions— In this section:
Covered civil action— The term covered civil action means a civil action containing a claim under section 702 of title 5, United States Code, regarding agency action (as defined for the purposes of that section) affecting a covered energy project on Federal land.
Covered energy project—
In general— The term covered energy project means the leasing of Federal land for the exploration, development, production, processing, or transmission of oil, natural gas, or any other source of energy, and any action carried out pursuant to that lease.
Exclusion— The term covered energy project does not include any disputes between the parties to a lease regarding the obligations under the lease, including regarding any alleged breach of the lease.
Exclusive venue for certain civil actions relating to covered energy projects— Venue for any covered civil action shall lie in the district court where the project or leases exist or are proposed.
Timely filing— To ensure timely redress by the courts, a covered civil action shall be filed not later than the last day of the 90-day period beginning on the date of the final Federal agency action to which the covered civil action relates.
Expedition in hearing and determining the action— The court shall endeavor to hear and determine any covered civil action as expeditiously as possible.
Standard of review— 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.
Limitation on injunction and prospective relief—
In general— In a covered civil action, the court shall not grant or approve any prospective relief unless the court finds that the 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.
Duration of preliminary injunctions— A court shall limit the duration of a preliminary injunction to halt a covered energy project to a period of not more than 60 days, unless the court finds clear reasons to extend the injunction.
Duration of extension— An extension under paragraph (2) shall—
only be for a period of not more than 30 days; and
require action by the court to renew the injunction.
Limitation on attorneys’ fees— Sections 504 of title 5 and 2412 of title 28, United States Code (commonly known as the “Equal Access to Justice Act”) shall not apply to a covered civil action, nor shall any party in the covered civil action receive payment from the Federal Government for attorneys’ fees, expenses, or other court costs.
Legal standing— A person filing an appeal with the Department of the Interior Board of Land Appeals shall meet the same standing requirements as a person before a United States district court.
B BLM live internet auctions
Sec. 211 Short title
This subtitle may be cited as the “BLM Live Internet Auctions Act”.
Sec. 212 Internet-based onshore oil and gas lease sales
Authorization— Section 17(b)(1) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)) is amended—
in subparagraph (A), in the third sentence, by inserting “, except as provided in subparagraph (C)” after “by oral bidding”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(C) Internet-based bidding
“(i) In general—In order to diversify and expand the onshore leasing program in the United States 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.
“(ii) Conclusion of sale—Each individual Internet-based lease sale shall conclude not later than 7 days after the date of initiation of the sale.”
Report— Not later than 90 days after the tenth Internet-based lease sale conducted pursuant to subparagraph (C) of section 17(b)(1) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)) (as added by subsection (a)), the Secretary of the Interior shall conduct, and submit to Congress a report describing the results of, an analysis of the first 10 such lease sales, including—
estimates of increases or decreases in the lease sales, compared to sales conducted by oral bidding, in—
the number of bidders;
the average amount of the bids;
the highest amount of the bids; and
the lowest amount of the bids;
an estimate on the total cost or savings to the Department of the Interior as a result of the sales, as compared to sales conducted by oral bidding; and
an evaluation of the demonstrated or expected effectiveness of different structures for lease sales, which may—
provide an opportunity to better maximize bidder participation;
ensure the highest return to the Federal taxpayers;
minimize opportunities for fraud or collusion; and
ensure the security and integrity of the leasing process.