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Title II — Offshore Oil and Gas

H.R. 4294 · 116th Congress · Sep 11, 2019 · Lineage

II Offshore Oil and Gas

Sec. 201 Limitation of authority of the President to withdraw areas of the Outer Continental Shelf from oil and gas leasing

(a)
Limitation on withdrawal from disposition of lands on the outer Continental Shelf— Section 12 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1341) is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

“(a) Limitation on withdrawal

“(1) In general—Except as otherwise provided in this section, no lands of the outer Continental Shelf may be withdrawn from disposition except by an Act of Congress.

“(2) National marine sanctuaries—The President may withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the outer Continental Shelf located in a national marine sanctuary designated in accordance with the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) or otherwise by statute.

“(3) Existing withdrawals

“(A) In general—Except for the withdrawals listed in subparagraph (B), any withdrawal from disposition of lands on the outer Continental Shelf before the date of the enactment of this subsection shall have no force or effect.

“(B) Exceptions—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the following withdrawals:

“(i) Any withdrawal in a national marine sanctuary designated in accordance with the National Marine Sanctuaries Act.

“(ii) Any withdrawal in a national monument declared under section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, or the Act of June 8, 1906 (ch. 3060; 34 Stat. 225).

“(iii) Any withdrawal in the North Aleutian Basin Planning Area, including Bristol Bay.”

(b)
Termination of authority To establish marine national monuments— Section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(e) Limitation on marine national monuments

“(1) In general—Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), the President may not declare or reserve any ocean waters (as such term is defined in section 3 of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1402)) or lands beneath ocean waters as a national monument.

“(2) Marine national monuments designated before the date of the enactment of this subsection—This subsection shall not affect any national monument designated by the President before the date of the enactment of this Act.”

Sec. 202 Disposition of revenues from oil and gas leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf to Atlantic States and Alaska

Section 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1338) is amended—
(1)
by striking “All rentals” and inserting the following:

“(a) In general—Except as otherwise provided in this section, all rentals”

(2)
by adding at the end the following:

“(b) Distribution of revenue to producing States

“(1) Definitions—In this subsection:

“(A) Covered planning area

“(i) In general—Subject to clause (ii), the term covered planning area means each of the following planning areas, as such planning areas are generally depicted in the later of the 2017–2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program, dated November 2016, or a subsequent oil and gas leasing program developed under section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344):

“(I) Mid-Atlantic.

“(II) South Atlantic.

“(III) Any planning area located off the coast of Alaska.

“(ii) Exclusions—The term covered planning area does not include any area in the Atlantic—

“(I) north of the southernmost lateral seaward administrative boundary of the State of Maryland; or

“(II) south of the northernmost lateral seaward administrative boundary of the State of Florida.

“(B) Producing State—The term producing State means each of the following States:

“(i) Virginia.

“(ii) North Carolina.

“(iii) South Carolina.

“(iv) Georgia.

“(v) Alaska.

“(C) Qualified revenues

“(i) In general—The term qualified revenues means revenues derived from rentals, royalties, bonus bids, and other sums due and payable to the United States under oil and gas leases entered into on or after the date of the enactment of this Act for an area in a covered planning area.

“(ii) Exclusions—The term qualified revenues does not include—

“(I) revenues from the forfeiture of a bond or other surety securing obligations other than royalties, civil penalties, or royalties taken by the Secretary in-kind and not sold;

“(II) revenues generated from leases subject to section 8(g); and

“(III) the portion of rental revenues in excess of those that would have been collected at the rental rates in effect before August 5, 1993.

“(2) Deposit of qualified revenues

“(A) Phase I—With respect to qualified revenues under leases awarded under the first leasing program approved under section 18(a) that takes effect after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of the Treasury shall deposit or allocate, as applicable—

“(i) 87.5 percent into the general fund of the Treasury; and

“(ii) 12.5 percent to States in accordance with paragraph (3).

“(B) Phase II—With respect to qualified revenues under leases awarded under the second leasing program approved under section 18(a) that takes effect after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of the Treasury shall deposit or allocate, as applicable—

“(i) 75 percent into the general fund of the Treasury; and

“(ii) 25 percent to States in accordance with paragraph (3).

“(C) Phase III—With respect to qualified revenues under leases awarded under the third leasing program approved under section 18(a) that takes effect after the date of the enactment of this section and under any such leasing program subsequent to such third leasing program, the Secretary of the Treasury shall deposit or allocate, as applicable—

“(i) 50 percent into the general fund of the Treasury; and

“(ii) 50 percent into a special account in the Treasury from which the Secretary of the Treasury shall disburse—

“(I) 75 percent to States in accordance with paragraph (3); and

“(II) 25 percent to the Secretary of the Interior for units of the National Park System.

“(3) Allocation to producing States

“(A) In general—Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), the Secretary of the Treasury shall allocate the qualified revenues distributed to States under paragraph (2) to each producing State in an amount based on a formula established by the Secretary of the Interior, by regulation, that—

“(i) is inversely proportional to the respective distances between—

“(I) the point on the coastline of the producing State that is closest to the geographical center of the applicable leased tract; and

“(II) the geographical center of that leased tract;

“(ii) does not allocate qualified revenues to any producing State that is further than 200 nautical miles from the leased tract; and

“(iii) allocates not less than 10 percent of qualified revenues to each producing State that is 200 or fewer nautical miles from the leased tract.

“(B) Payments to noncontiguous coastal States

“(i) In general—With respect to each producing State that is a noncontiguous coastal State, the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay 20 percent of the allocable share of such State determined under this paragraph to the coastal political subdivisions of such State.

“(ii) Allocation—The amount paid by the Secretary of the Treasury to coastal political subdivisions under this subparagraph shall be allocated to each coastal political subdivision in accordance with subparagraphs (B) and (E) of section 31(b)(4).

“(iii) Definition of coastal political subdivision—In this subparagraph, the term coastal political subdivision means—

“(I) a county-equivalent subdivision of a State for which—

“(aa) all or part lies within the coastal zone of the State (as defined in section 304 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453)); and

“(bb) the closest coastal point is not more than 200 nautical miles from the geographical center of any leased tract on the outer Continental Shelf; or

“(II) a municipal subdivision of a State for which—

“(aa) the closest point is more than 200 nautical miles from the geographical center of a leased tract on the outer Continental Shelf; and

“(bb) the State has determined to be a significant staging area for oil and gas servicing, supply vessels, operations, suppliers, or workers.

“(C) Payments to contiguous coastal States

“(i) In general—With respect to each producing State that is a contiguous coastal State, the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay—

“(I) 50 percent of the allocable share of such State determined under this paragraph to the State treasury to be used by the State in accordance with clause (ii);

“(II) 25 percent of the allocable share of such State determined under this paragraph to coastal towns; and

“(III) 25 percent of the allocable share of such State determined under this paragraph to coastal counties.

“(ii) Use of funds—Funds received by a producing State under clause (i)(I) shall be used by such State—

“(I) to enhance State land and water conservation efforts, particularly in inlets, waterways, and beaches;

“(II) for the purposes of beach nourishment and coastline enhancements;

“(III) for the protection of coastal wildlife;

“(IV) to support estuary health and aquaculture management;

“(V) for dredging and port infrastructure development;

“(VI) grants to support the geological and geophysical sciences or petroleum engineering programs or departments at institutions of higher education (as such term is defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) that are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and located within the producing State; or

“(VII) for any other purpose that enhances coastal communities, as determined by the Governor of the producing State.

“(iii) Definition of coastal town—In this subparagraph, the term coastal town means an economic and residential center not more than 20 miles from the coast of the producing State.

“(4) Administration—Amounts made available under paragraph (2)(B) shall—

“(A) be made available, without further appropriation, in accordance with this subsection;

“(B) remain available until expended;

“(C) be in addition to any amounts appropriated under—

“(i) chapter 2003 of title 54, United States Code;

“(ii) any other provision of this Act; and

“(iii) any other provision of law; and

“(D) be made available during the fiscal year immediately following the fiscal year in which such amounts were received.”

Sec. 203 Distribution of Outer Continental Shelf revenues to Gulf producing States

Section 105 of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a)—
(A)
in paragraph (1), by striking “50” and inserting “37.5”; and
(B)
in paragraph (2)—
(i)
by striking “50” and inserting “62.5”;
(ii)
in subparagraph (A), by striking “75” and inserting “80”; and
(iii)
in subparagraph (B), by striking “25” and inserting “20”; and
(2)
by striking subsection (f).

Sec. 204 Addressing permits for taking of marine mammals

Section 101(a)(5)(D) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1371(a)(5)(D)) is amended as follows:
(1)
In clause (i)—
(A)
by striking “citizens of the United States” and inserting “persons”;
(B)
by striking “within a specific geographic region”;
(C)
by striking “of small numbers”;
(D)
by striking “such citizens” and inserting “such persons”; and
(E)
by striking “within that region”.
(2)
In clause (ii)—
(A)
in subclause (I), by striking “, and other means of effecting the least practicable impact on such species or stock and its habitat”;
(B)
in subclause (III), by striking “requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking by harassment, including” and inserting “efficient and practical requirements pertaining to the monitoring of such taking by harassment while the activity is being conducted and the reporting of such taking, including, as the Secretary determines necessary, ”; and
(C)
by adding at the end the following:
(3)
In clause (iii), by striking “receiving an application under this subparagraph” and inserting “an application is accepted or required to be considered complete under subclause (I)(aa), (II)(aa), or (IV) of clause (viii), as applicable,”.
(4)
In clause (vi), by striking “a determination of “least practicable adverse impact on such species or stock” under clause (i)(I)” and inserting “conditions imposed under subclause (I), (II), or (III) of clause (ii)”.
(5)
By adding at the end the following:

“(viii)

“(I) The Secretary shall—

“(aa) accept as complete a written request for authorization under this subparagraph for incidental taking described in clause (i), by not later than 45 days after the date of submission of the request; or

“(bb) provide to the requester, by not later than 15 days after the date of submission of the request, a written notice describing any additional information required to complete the request.

“(II) If the Secretary provides notice under subclause (I)(bb), the Secretary shall, by not later than 30 days after the date of submission of the additional information described in the notice—

“(aa) accept the written request for authorization under this subparagraph for incidental taking described in clause (i); or

“(bb) deny the request and provide the requester a written explanation of the reasons for the denial.

“(III) The Secretary may not make a second request for information, request that the requester withdraw and resubmit the request, or otherwise delay a decision on the request.

“(IV) If the Secretary fails to respond to a request for authorization under this subparagraph in the manner provided in subclause (I) or (II), the request shall be considered to be complete.

“(ix)

“(I) At least 90 days before the expiration of any authorization issued under this subparagraph, the holder of such authorization may apply for a one-year extension of such authorization. The Secretary shall grant such extension within 14 days after the date of such request on the same terms and without further review if there has been no substantial change in the activity carried out under such authorization nor in the status of the marine mammal species or stock, as applicable, as reported in the final annual stock assessment reports for such species or stock.

“(II) In subclause (I) the term substantial change means a change that prevents the Secretary from making the required findings to issue an authorization under clause (i) with respect to such species or stock.

“(III) The Secretary shall notify the applicant of such substantial changes with specificity and in writing within 14 days after the applicant’s submittal of the extension request.

“(x) If the Secretary fails to make the required findings and, as appropriate, issue the authorization within 120 days after the application is accepted or required to be considered complete under subclause (I)(aa), (II)(aa), or (III) of clause (viii), as applicable, the authorization is deemed to have been issued on the terms stated in the application and without further process or restrictions under this Act.

“(xi) Any taking of a marine mammal in compliance with an authorization under this subparagraph is exempt from the prohibition on taking in section 9 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1538). Any Federal agency authorizing, funding, or carrying out an action that results in such taking, and any agency action authorizing such taking, is exempt from the requirement to consult regarding potential impacts to marine mammal species or designated critical habitat under section 7(a)(2) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)).”

Sec. 205 Energy Development in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico

(a)
Compatibility between military mission and oil and gas operations—
(1)
Updating memorandum of agreement— Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Defense shall update the memorandum of agreement entitled “Memorandum of Agreement Between the Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior on Mutual concerns on the Outer Continental Shelf” to ensure compatibility between the military mission and oil and gas operations in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.
(2)
Reservations— Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect section 12 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (42 U.S.C. 1341).
(3)
Existing leases— The stipulations and restrictions developed under this subsection shall not apply to existing leases in the Eastern Planning Area.
(b)
Directed lease sales—
(1)
In general— Notwithstanding the omission of any of these areas from the National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program approved by the Secretary of the Interior under section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344), as in effect at the time of the lease sale, but subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, the Secretary shall offer the following areas for oil and gas leasing under such Act:
(A)
All acreage of the Eastern Planning Area that is not subject to subsection (a) of section 104 of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note), as such Act was in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, by holding at least two lease sales before December 31, 2021.
(B)
All acreage of the Eastern Planning Area by holding at least one additional sale after June 30, 2022 and before December 31, 2022, and at least two additional sales each subsequent year.
(2)
National Environmental Policy Act requirements— The Secretary and all other Federal officials shall complete all actions required by section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) with respect to such lease sales by not later than one year before the final lease sale conducted under paragraph (1).
(3)
Definitions— In this section, the term Eastern Planning Area means the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Area of the Outer Continental Shelf, as designated in the document entitled “2019–2024 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program”, dated January 2018.
(c)
Lease terms—
(1)
In general— Paragraph (2) of section 8(b) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(b)) is amended to read as follows:

“(2) be for an initial period of—

“(A) five years, except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C);

“(B) not to exceed ten years if the Secretary finds that such longer period is necessary to encourage exploration and development in areas because of unusually deep water or other unusually adverse conditions, except as provided in subparagraph (C); or

“(C) for leases located in water depths of greater than 1,500 meters, 15 years, and as long thereafter as oil or gas is produced from the area in paying quantities or drilling or well reworking operations approved by the Secretary are conducted thereon.”

(2)
Extension of existing leases—
(A)
In general— Within 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall issue regulations under which the Secretary may extend by five years the term of an oil and gas lease under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) for a tract located in water deeper than 1,500 meters.
(B)
Application; payment— Regulations issued under this paragraph shall require—
(i)
submission of an application for such extension; and
(ii)
payment of a minimum bid amount.
(C)
Limitation— The Secretary may not extend the term of a lease under this paragraph more than once.
(d)
Report— The Secretary of the Interior shall submit a report to the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources regarding options for sharing the revenues produced in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Area with the Gulf States consistent with the revenue sharing formulas under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note) as amended by this Act. The report shall include analysis of potential economic benefits to the Gulf States and recommendations for authorizing the use of these revenues for coastal restoration, recovering endangered species, coral restoration, and mitigation of harmful algal blooms.