To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to facilitate the safe and timely production of American energy resources from the Gulf of Mexico, to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain offshore oil and gas lease sales, and for other purposes.

Summary: Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act - Title I: Amendment to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act - (Sec. 101) Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior (who currently is only authorized) to require that any lessee operating under an approved exploration plan obtain: (1) a permit before drilling any well in accordance with such plan, and (2) a new permit before drilling any well of a design significantly different from the design for which an existing permit was issued.

Prohibits the Secretary from issuing a permit without ensuring that the proposed drilling operations meet all: (1) critical safety system requirements including blowout prevention, and (2) oil spill response and containment requirements.

Requires the Secretary to decide whether to issue a permit within 30 days after receiving an application. Allows up to two 15-day extensions of such deadline. Prescribes implementation procedures.

Imposes a deadline for certain permit applications under existing leases.

(Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary to extend by one year the term of an oil and gas lease (covered lease) for the Gulf of Mexico outer Continental Shelf (OCS) region that: (1) was not producing as of April 30, 2010; or (2) was suspended from operations, permit processing, or consideration in accordance with either the moratorium set forth in the Minerals Management Service Notice to Lessees and Operators No. 2010, or the decision memorandum regarding the suspension of certain offshore permitting and drilling activities on the OCS, dated July 12, 2010; and (3) by its terms would expire on or before December 31, 2011.

States that the extension of such covered leases is in addition to any suspension of operations or of production granted by the Minerals Management Service or Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement after May 1, 2010.

Title II: Judicial Review of Agency Actions Relating to Outer Continental Shelf Activities in the Gulf of Mexico - (Sec. 201) Defines a covered civil action as one seeking relief (other than money damages) and stating a claim that an agency or an agency officer or employee acted or failed to act in an official capacity or under color of legal authority regarding a covered energy project in the Gulf of Mexico.

Defines such a covered energy project as the leasing of federal lands of the OCS (including submerged lands) for the exploration, development, production, processing, or transmission of oil, natural gas, wind, or any other source of energy in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as any action under such a lease. Excludes from the meaning of covered energy project any disputes between the parties to a lease regarding the obligations under such lease, including any alleged breach of the lease.

(Sec. 202) Establishes any district court within the Fifth Circuit as the exclusive venue for covered civil actions relating to covered energy projects in the Gulf of Mexico, unless there is no proper venue within that circuit.

(Sec. 203) Bars a covered civil action unless it is filed within 60 days after the final federal action to which it relates.

(Sec. 204) Requires the court to try to hear and determine any covered action as expeditiously as possible.

(Sec. 205) Makes a presumption, in any judicial review of a covered civil action, that the administrative findings and conclusions relating to the challenged federal action or decision are correct. Allows rebuttal of this presumption only by the preponderance of the evidence contained in the administrative record.

(Sec. 206) Prohibits a court from granting or approving any prospective relief unless it finds that such relief: (1) is narrowly drawn, (2) extends no further than necessary to correct the violation of a legal requirement, and (3) is the least intrusive means necessary to correct the violation.

(Sec. 207) Prohibits federal payment of attorneys' fees, expenses, and other court costs to any party in a covered civil action under this Act.

Title III: Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act - Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act - (Sec. 302) Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct specified proposed offshore oil and gas lease sales as follows: (1) lease sale 216 in the Central Gulf of Mexico within four months after enactment of this Act; (2) lease sale 218 in the Western Gulf of Mexico within eight months after enactment of this Act; (3) lease sale 220 on the Outer Continental Shelf offshore Virginia within one year after enactment of this Act; and (4) lease sale 222 in the Central Gulf of Mexico no later than June 1, 2012.

(Sec. 304) Prohibits the Secretary from making any Offshore Virginia tract available for leasing if it would conflict with military operations.

Declares that, for purposes of such proposed lease sales, specified Environmental Impact Statements are deemed to satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to 
Work Act''.

      TITLE I--AMENDMENT TO THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT

SEC. 101. AMENDMENT TO OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT.

    (a) Amendment.--Section 11(d) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 
Act (43 U.S.C. 1340(d)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(d) Drilling Permits.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall by regulation 
        require that any lessee operating under an approved exploration 
        plan--
                    ``(A) must obtain a permit before drilling any well 
                in accordance with such plan; and
                    ``(B) must obtain a new permit before drilling any 
                well of a design that is significantly different than 
                the design for which an existing permit was issued.
            ``(2) Safety review required.--The Secretary shall not 
        issue a permit under paragraph (1) without ensuring that the 
        proposed drilling operations meet all--
                    ``(A) critical safety system requirements, 
                including blowout prevention; and
                    ``(B) oil spill response and containment 
                requirements.
            ``(3) Timeline.--
                    ``(A) The Secretary shall decide whether to issue a 
                permit under paragraph (1) within 30 days after 
                receiving an application for the permit. The Secretary 
                may extend such period for up to two 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) 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.
                    ``(C) 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.''.
    (b) Deadline for Certain Permit Applications Under Existing 
Leases.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding the amendment made by 
        subsection (a), a lease under which a covered application is 
        submitted to the Secretary of the Interior shall be considered 
        to be in directed suspension during the period beginning May 
        27, 2010, and ending on the date the Secretary issues a final 
        decision on the application, if the Secretary does not issue a 
        final decision on the application--
                    (A) before the end of the 30-day period beginning 
                on the date of enactment of this Act, in the case of a 
                covered application submitted before such date of 
                enactment; or
                    (B) before the end of the 30-day period beginning 
                on the date the application is received by the 
                Secretary, in the case of a covered application 
                submitted on or after such date of enactment.
            (2) Covered application.--In this subsection the term 
        ``covered application'' means an application for a permit to 
        drill under an oil and gas lease under the Outer Continental 
        Shelf Lands Act in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, 
        that--
                    (A) represents a resubmission of an approved permit 
                to drill (including an application for a permit to 
                sidetrack) that was approved by the Secretary before 
                May 27, 2010; and
                    (B) is received by the Secretary after October 12, 
                2010, and before the end of the 30-day period beginning 
                on the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 102. EXTENSION OF CERTAIN OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LEASES.

    (a) Definition of Covered Lease.--In this section, the term 
``covered lease'' means each oil and gas lease for the Gulf of Mexico 
outer Continental Shelf region issued under section 8 of the Outer 
Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) that--
            (1)(A) was not producing as of April 30, 2010; or
            (B) was suspended from operations, permit processing, or 
        consideration, in accordance with the moratorium set forth in 
        the Minerals Management Service Notice to Lessees and Operators 
        No. 2010-N04, dated May 30, 2010, or the decision memorandum of 
        the Secretary of the Interior entitled ``Decision memorandum 
        regarding the suspension of certain offshore permitting and 
        drilling activities on the Outer Continental Shelf'' and dated 
        July 12, 2010; and
            (2) by its terms would expire on or before December 31, 
        2011.
    (b) Extension of Covered Leases.--The Secretary of the Interior 
shall extend the term of a covered lease by 1 year.
    (c) Effect on Suspensions of Operations or Production.--The 
extension of covered leases under this section is in addition to any 
suspension of operations or suspension of production granted by the 
Minerals Management Service or Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 
Regulation and Enforcement after May 1, 2010.

     TITLE II--JUDICIAL REVIEW OF AGENCY ACTIONS RELATING TO OUTER 
           CONTINENTAL SHELF ACTIVITIES IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS FOR TITLE.

    In this title--
            (1) 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 in the Gulf of 
        Mexico; and
            (2) the term ``covered energy project'' means the leasing 
        of Federal lands of the Outer Continental Shelf (including 
        submerged lands) for the exploration, development, production, 
        processing, or transmission of oil, natural gas, wind, or any 
        other source of energy in the Gulf of Mexico, and any action 
        under such a lease, except that the term does not include any 
        disputes between the parties to a lease regarding the 
        obligations under such lease, including regarding any alleged 
        breach of the lease.

SEC. 202. EXCLUSIVE VENUE FOR CERTAIN CIVIL ACTIONS RELATING TO COVERED 
              ENERGY PROJECTS IN THE GULF OF MEXICO.

    Venue for any covered civil action shall not lie in any district 
court not within the 5th circuit unless there is no proper venue in any 
court within that circuit.

SEC. 203. TIME LIMITATION ON FILING.

    A covered civil action is barred unless filed no later than the end 
of the 60-day period beginning on the date of the final Federal agency 
action to which it relates.

SEC. 204. EXPEDITION IN HEARING AND DETERMINING THE ACTION.

    The court shall endeavor to hear and determine any covered civil 
action as expeditiously as possible.

SEC. 205. 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.

SEC. 206. LIMITATION ON PROSPECTIVE RELIEF.

    In a covered civil action, the court shall not grant or approve any 
prospective relief unless the court finds that such 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.

SEC. 207. LIMITATION ON ATTORNEYS' FEES.

    Sections 504 of title 5, United States Code, and 2412 of title 28, 
United States Code (together commonly called the Equal Access to 
Justice Act) do not apply to a covered civil action, nor shall any 
party in such a covered civil action receive payment from the Federal 
Government for their attorneys' fees, expenses, and other court costs.

        TITLE III--RESTARTING AMERICAN OFFSHORE LEASING NOW ACT

SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``Restarting American Offshore 
Leasing Now Act''.

SEC. 302. REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT PROPOSED OIL AND GAS LEASE SALE 216 IN 
              THE CENTRAL GULF OF MEXICO.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior shall conduct 
offshore oil and gas Lease Sale 216 under section 8 of the Outer 
Continental Shelf Lands Act (33 U.S.C. 1337) as soon as practicable, 
but not later than 4 months after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Environmental Review.--For the purposes of that lease sale, the 
Environmental Impact Statement for the 2007-2012 5-Year OCS Plan and 
the Multi-Sale Environmental Impact Statement are deemed to satisfy the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

SEC. 303. REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT PROPOSED OIL AND GAS LEASE SALE 218 IN 
              THE WESTERN GULF OF MEXICO.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior shall conduct 
offshore oil and gas Lease Sale 218 under section 8 of the Outer 
Continental Shelf Lands Act (33 U.S.C. 1337) as soon as practicable, 
but not later than 8 months after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Environmental Review.--For the purposes of that lease sale, the 
Environmental Impact Statement for the 2007-2012 5-Year OCS Plan and 
the Multi-Sale Environmental Impact Statement are deemed to satisfy the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

SEC. 304. REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT PROPOSED OIL AND GAS LEASE SALE 220 ON 
              THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF OFFSHORE VIRGINIA.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior shall conduct 
offshore oil and gas Lease Sale 220 under section 8 of the Outer 
Continental Shelf Lands Act (33 U.S.C. 1337) as soon as practicable, 
but not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Prohibition on Conflicts With Military Operations.--The 
Secretary shall not make any tract available for leasing under this 
section if the President, through the Secretary of Defense, determines 
that drilling activity on that tract would create an unreasonable 
conflict with military operations.

SEC. 305. REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT PROPOSED OIL AND GAS LEASE SALE 222 IN 
              THE CENTRAL GULF OF MEXICO.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior shall conduct 
offshore oil and gas Lease Sale 222 under section 8 of the Outer 
Continental Shelf Lands Act (33 U.S.C. 1337) as soon as practicable, 
but not later than June 1, 2012.
    (b) Environmental Review.--For the purposes of that lease sale, the 
Environmental Impact Statement for the 2007-2012 5-Year OCS Plan and 
the Multi-Sale Environmental Impact Statement are deemed to satisfy the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

SEC. 306. DEFINITIONS.

    In this title:
            (1) The term ``Environmental Impact Statement for the 2007-
        2012 5 Year OCS Plan'' means the Final Environmental Impact 
        Statement for Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing 
        Program: 2007-2012 (April 2007) prepared by the Secretary of 
        the Interior.
            (2) The term ``Multi-Sale Environmental Impact Statement'' 
        means the Environmental Impact Statement for Proposed Western 
        Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales 204, 207, 210, 215, 
        and 218, and Proposed Central Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas 
        Lease Sales 205, 206, 208, 213, 216, and 222 (September 2008) 
        prepared by the Secretary of the Interior.

            Passed the House of Representatives May 11, 2011.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.