IB 

Union Calendar No. 376 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4383 

[Report No. 112–528, Part I] 

To streamline the application for permits to drill process and increase funds 

for energy project permit processing, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 18, 2012 

Mr. LAMBORN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on the 

Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

JUNE 15, 2012 

Additional sponsors: Mrs. BLACK, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. GRIFFIN of Arkansas, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mr. COFFMAN of Colorado, Mr. 

TIPTON, Mr. DENHAM, Mr. NUNNELEE, Ms. FOXX, Mr. LATHAM, Mr. 

CONAWAY, Ms. JENKINS, Mrs. CAPITO, and Mr. REED

JUNE 15, 2012 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

JUNE 15, 2012 

The Committee on the Judiciary discharged; committed to the Committee of 

the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 18, 2012] 


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A BILL 

To streamline the application for permits to drill process 

and increase funds for energy project permit processing, 

and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Streamlining Permit5 ting of American Energy Act of 2012’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—APPLICATION FOR PERMITS TO DRILL PROCESS REFORM 

Sec. 101. Permit to drill application timeline. 

Sec. 102. Solar and wind right-of-way rental reform. 

TITLE II—ADMINISTRATIVE PROTEST DOCUMENTATION REFORM 

Sec. 201. Administrative protest documentation reform. 

TITLE III—PERMIT STREAMLINING 

Sec. 301. Improve Federal energy permit coordination. 

Sec. 302. Administration of current law. 

Sec. 303. Policies regarding buying, building, and working for America. 

TITLE IV—JUDICIAL REVIEW 

Sec. 401. Definitions. 

Sec. 402. Exclusive venue for certain civil actions relating to covered energy 

projects. 

Sec. 403. Timely filing. 

Sec. 404. Expedition in hearing and determining the action. 

Sec. 405. Standard of review. 

Sec. 406. Limitation on injunction and prospective relief. 

Sec. 407. Limitation on attorneys’ fees. 

Sec. 408. Legal standing. 

8 TITLE I—APPLICATION FOR PER9 MITS TO DRILL PROCESS RE10 FORM 

11 SEC. 101. PERMIT TO DRILL APPLICATION TIMELINE. 

12 Section 17(p)(2) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

13 226(p)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS FOR PERMITS TO DRILL RE2 FORM AND PROCESS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) TIMELINE.—The Secretary shall decide 

4 whether to issue a permit to drill within 30 days 

5 after receiving an application for the permit. 

6 The Secretary may extend such period for up to 

7 2 periods of 15 days each, if the Secretary has 

8 given written notice of the delay to the appli9 cant. The notice shall be in the form of a letter 

10 from the Secretary or a designee of the Secretary, 

11 and shall include the names and titles of the per12 sons processing the application, the specific rea13 sons for the delay, and a specific date a final de14 cision on the application is expected. 

15 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF REASONS FOR DENIAL.—If 

16 the application is denied, the Secretary shall 

17 provide the applicant— 

18 ‘‘(i) in writing, clear and comprehen19 sive reasons why the application was not 

20 accepted and detailed information con21 cerning any deficiencies; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) an opportunity to remedy any de23 ficiencies. 

24 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION DEEMED APPROVED.—If 

25 the Secretary has not made a decision on the apVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:55 Jun 15, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4383.RH H4383

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1 plication by the end of the 60-day period begin2 ning on the date the application is received by 

3 the Secretary, the application is deemed ap4 proved, except in cases in which existing reviews 

5 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

6 1969 or Endangered Species Act of 1973 are in7 complete. 

8 ‘‘(D) DENIAL OF PERMIT.—If the Secretary 

9 decides not to issue a permit to drill in accord10 ance with subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

11 shall— 

12 ‘‘(i) provide to the applicant a descrip13 tion of the reasons for the denial of the per14 mit; 

15 ‘‘(ii) allow the applicant to resubmit 

16 an application for a permit to drill during 

17 the 10-day period beginning on the date the 

18 applicant receives the description of the de19 nial from the Secretary; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) issue or deny any resubmitted 

21 application not later than 10 days after the 

22 date the application is submitted to the Sec23 retary. 

24 ‘‘(E) FEE.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

2 any other law, the Secretary shall collect a 

3 single $6,500 permit processing fee per ap4 plication from each applicant at the time 

5 the final decision is made whether to issue 

6 a permit under subparagraph (A). This fee 

7 shall not apply to any resubmitted applica8 tion. 

9 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT OF PERMIT PROC10 ESSING FEE.—Of all fees collected under 

11 this paragraph, 50 percent shall be trans12 ferred to the field office where they are col13 lected and used to process protests, leases, 

14 and permits under this Act subject to ap15 propriation.’’. 

16 SEC. 102. SOLAR AND WIND RIGHT-OF-WAY RENTAL RE17 FORM. 

18 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each fis19 cal year, of fees collected as annual wind energy and solar 

20 energy right-of-way authorization fees required under sec21 tion 504(g) of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

22 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1764(g)), 50 percent shall be re23 tained by the Secretary of the Interior to be used, subject 

24 to appropriation, by the Bureau of Land Management to 

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1 tivities necessary for renewable development, and, at the 

2 discretion of the Secretary, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

3 Service or other Federal agencies involved in wind and 

4 solar permitting reviews to facilitate the processing of wind 

5 energy and solar energy permit applications on Bureau of 

6 Land Management lands. 

7 TITLE II—ADMINISTRATIVE PRO8 TEST DOCUMENTATION RE9 FORM 

10 SEC. 201. ADMINISTRATIVE PROTEST DOCUMENTATION RE11 FORM. 

12 Section 17(p) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

13 226(p)) is further amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(4) PROTEST FEE.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall col17 lect a $5,000 documentation fee to accompany 

18 each protest for a lease, right of way, or applica19 tion for permit to drill. 

20 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF FEES.—Of all fees col21 lected under this paragraph, 50 percent shall re22 main in the field office where they are collected 

23 and used to process protests subject to appropria24 tion.’’. 


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1 TITLE III—PERMIT 

2 STREAMLINING 

3 SEC. 301. IMPROVE FEDERAL ENERGY PERMIT COORDINA4 TION. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior 

6 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall estab7 lish a Federal Permit Streamlining Project (referred to in 

8 this section as the ‘‘Project’’) in every Bureau of Land Man9 agement field office with responsibility for permitting en10 ergy projects on Federal land. 

11 (b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

14 enter into a memorandum of understanding for pur15 poses of this section with— 

16 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

17 (B) the Administrator of the Environmental 

18 Protection Agency; and 

19 (C) the Chief of the Army Corps of Engi20 neers. 

21 (2) STATE PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary may 

22 request that the Governor of any State with energy 

23 projects on Federal lands to be a signatory to the 

24 memorandum of understanding. 

25 (c) DESIGNATION OF QUALIFIED STAFF.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

2 the date of the signing of the memorandum of under3 standing under subsection (b), all Federal signatory 

4 parties shall, if appropriate, assign to each of the Bu5 reau of Land Management field offices an employee 

6 who has expertise in the regulatory issues relating to 

7 the office in which the employee is employed, includ8 ing, as applicable, particular expertise in— 

9 (A) the consultations and the preparation of 

10 biological opinions under section 7 of the Endan11 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536); 

12 (B) permits under section 404 of Federal 

13 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344); 

14 (C) regulatory matters under the Clean Air 

15 Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.); 

16 (D) planning under the National Forest 

17 Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et 

18 seq.); and 

19 (E) the preparation of analyses under the 

20 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

21 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

22 (2) DUTIES.—Each employee assigned under 

23 paragraph (1) shall— 

24 (A) not later than 90 days after the date of 

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1 agement Field Managers in the office to which 

2 the employee is assigned; 

3 (B) be responsible for all issues relating to 

4 the energy projects that arise under the authori5 ties of the employee’s home agency; and 

6 (C) participate as part of the team of per7 sonnel working on proposed energy projects, 

8 planning, and environmental analyses on Fed9 eral lands. 

10 (d) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Secretary shall as11 sign to each Bureau of Land Management field office identi12 fied in subsection (a) any additional personnel that are nec13 essary to ensure the effective approval and implementation 

14 of energy projects administered by the Bureau of Land 

15 Management field offices, including inspection and enforce16 ment relating to energy development on Federal land, in 

17 accordance with the multiple use mandate of the Federal 

18 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 

19 et seq.). 

20 (e) FUNDING.—Funding for the additional personnel 

21 shall come from the Department of the Interior reforms 

22 identified in sections 101, 102, and 201. 

23 (f) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section af24 fects— 

25 (1) the operation of any Federal or State law; or 


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1 (2) any delegation of authority made by the head 

2 of a Federal agency whose employees are partici3 pating in the Project. 

4 (g) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section the term 

5 ‘‘energy projects’’ includes oil, natural gas, coal, and other 

6 energy projects as defined by the Secretary. 

7 SEC. 302. ADMINISTRATION OF CURRENT LAW. 

8 Notwithstanding any other law, the Secretary of the 

9 Interior shall not require a finding of extraordinary cir10 cumstances in administering section 390 of the Energy Pol11 icy Act of 2005. 

12 SEC. 303. POLICIES REGARDING BUYING, BUILDING, AND 

13 WORKING FOR AMERICA. 

14 (a) CONGRESSIONAL INTENT.—It is the intent of Con15 gress that— 

16 (1) this Act will support a healthy and growing 

17 United States domestic energy sector that, in turn, 

18 helps to reinvigorate American manufacturing, trans19 portation, and service sectors by employing the vast 

20 talents of United States workers to assist in the devel21 opment of energy from domestic sources; and 

22 (2) Congress will monitor the deployment of per23 sonnel and material onshore under this Act to encour24 age the development of American technology and 

25 manufacturing to enable United States workers to 


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1 benefit from this Act through good jobs and careers, 

2 as well as the establishment of important industrial 

3 facilities to support expanded access to American en4 ergy resources. 

5 (b) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior 

6 shall, when possible and practicable, encourage the use of 

7 United States workers and equipment manufactured in the 

8 United States in all construction related to mineral re9 source development under this Act. 

10 TITLE IV—JUDICIAL REVIEW 

11 SEC. 401. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act— 

13 (1) the term ‘‘covered civil action’’ means a civil 

14 action containing a claim under section 702 of title 

15 5, United States Code, regarding agency action (as 

16 defined for the purposes of that section) affecting a 

17 covered energy project on Federal lands of the United 

18 States; and 

19 (2) the term ‘‘covered energy project’’ means the 

20 leasing of Federal lands of the United States for the 

21 exploration, development, production, processing, or 

22 transmission of oil, natural gas, wind, or any other 

23 source of energy, and any action under such a lease, 

24 except that the term does not include any disputes be25 tween the parties to a lease regarding the obligations 


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1 under such lease, including regarding any alleged 

2 breach of the lease. 

3 SEC. 402. EXCLUSIVE VENUE FOR CERTAIN CIVIL ACTIONS 

4 RELATING TO COVERED ENERGY PROJECTS. 

5 Venue for any covered civil action shall lie in the dis6 trict court where the project or leases exist or are proposed. 

7 SEC. 403. TIMELY FILING. 

8 To ensure timely redress by the courts, a covered civil 

9 action must be filed no later than the end of the 90-day 

10 period beginning on the date of the final Federal agency 

11 action to which it relates. 

12 SEC. 404. EXPEDITION IN HEARING AND DETERMINING THE 

13 ACTION. 

14 The court shall endeavor to hear and determine any 

15 covered civil action as expeditiously as possible. 

16 SEC. 405. STANDARD OF REVIEW. 

17 In any judicial review of a covered civil action, ad18 ministrative findings and conclusions relating to the chal19 lenged Federal action or decision shall be presumed to be 

20 correct, and the presumption may be rebutted only by the 

21 preponderance of the evidence contained in the administra22 tive record. 


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1 SEC. 406. LIMITATION ON INJUNCTION AND PROSPECTIVE 

2 RELIEF. 

3 In a covered civil action, the court shall not grant or 

4 approve any prospective relief unless the court finds that 

5 such relief is narrowly drawn, extends no further than nec6 essary to correct the violation of a legal requirement, and 

7 is the least intrusive means necessary to correct that viola8 tion. In addition, courts shall limit the duration of prelimi9 nary injunctions to halt covered energy projects to no more 

10 than 60 days, unless the court finds clear reasons to extend 

11 the injunction. In such cases of extensions, such extensions 

12 shall only be in 30-day increments and shall require action 

13 by the court to renew the injunction. 

14 SEC. 407. LIMITATION ON ATTORNEYS’ FEES. 

15 Sections 504 of title 5, United States Code, and 2412 

16 of title 28, United States Code, (together commonly called 

17 the Equal Access to Justice Act) do not apply to a covered 

18 civil action, nor shall any party in such a covered civil 

19 action receive payment from the Federal Government for 

20 their attorneys’ fees, expenses, and other court costs. 

21 SEC. 408. LEGAL STANDING. 

22 Challengers filing appeals with the Department of the 

23 Interior Board of Land Appeals shall meet the same stand24 ing requirements as challengers before a United States dis25 trict court. 


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Union Calendar No. 376 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4383 

[Report No. 112–528, Part I] 

A BILL 

To streamline the application for permits to drill 

permit processing, and for other purposes. process and increase funds for energy project 

JUNE 15, 2012 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with 

J

an amendment 

UNE 15, 2012 

The Committee on the Judiciary discharged; committed 

the Union and ordered to be printed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS