II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 883 

To provide for reforms of the administration of the outer Continental Shelf 

of the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 6 (legislative day, APRIL 4), 2017 

Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself and Mr. SULLIVAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for reforms of the administration of the outer 

Continental Shelf of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Offshore Production and Energizing National Security 

6 Alaska Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘OPENS Alaska Act of 

7 2017’’. 

8 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

9 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definition of Secretary. 

TITLE I— THE ALASKA OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LEASE 

SALE ACT 

Sec. 101. Mineral leasing in certain areas on the Arctic outer Continental Shelf. 

Sec. 102. Lease sales in Nearshore Beaufort Sea Planning Area, Cook Inlet 

Planning Area. 

Sec. 103. Lease terms of certain Chukchi and Beaufort leases. 

Sec. 104. Distribution of revenue to Alaska. 

Sec. 105. Inclusion of Beaufort, Nearshore Beaufort, Cook Inlet, and Chukchi 

lease sales in 5-year leasing programs. 

Sec. 106. North Slope science initiative. 

TITLE II—TRIBAL RESILIENCE PROGRAM 

Sec. 201. Tribal Resilience Program. 

Sec. 202. Tribal Resilience Fund. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY. 

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec3 retary of the Interior. 

4 TITLE I— THE ALASKA OUTER 

5 CONTINENTAL SHELF LEASE 

6 SALE ACT 

7 SEC. 101. MINERAL LEASING IN CERTAIN AREAS ON THE 

8 ARCTIC OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF. 

9 The Presidential Memorandum entitled ‘‘Withdrawal 

10 of Certain Portions of the United States Arctic Outer Con11 tinental Shelf from Mineral Leasing’’ issued on December 

12 20, 2016, and any other substantially similar memo13 randum, Executive order, or other action by the President 

14 issued or taken before, on, or after the date of enactment 

15 of this Act to withdraw from mineral leasing the areas 

16 of the outer Continental Shelf described in that memo17 randum (as in effect on the day before the date of enactVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Apr 17, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S883.IS S883

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1 ment of this Act) under section 12(a) of the Outer Conti2 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1341(a)) shall have 

3 no force or effect. 

4 SEC. 102. LEASE SALES IN NEARSHORE BEAUFORT SEA 

5 PLANNING AREA, COOK INLET PLANNING 

6 AREA. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF NEARSHORE BEAUFORT

8 SEA PLANNING AREA.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

10 a planning area for purposes of conducting lease 

11 sales under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

12 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), to be known as the ‘‘Near13 shore Beaufort Sea Planning Area’’ and to be de14 fined in accordance with paragraph (2). 

15 (2) DEFINITION OF NEARSHORE BEAUFORT SEA

16 PLANNING AREA.—The Secretary shall define the 

17 Nearshore Beaufort Sea Planning Area as the area 

18 of the outer Continental Shelf (as defined in section 

19 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

20 U.S.C. 1331)) consisting of the portion of the Beau21 fort Planning Area located within 3 nautical miles of 

22 the seaward boundary of Alaska. 

23 (b) LEASE SALES.—Notwithstanding section 18 of 

24 the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344), 


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1 the Secretary shall conduct under that Act (43 U.S.C. 

2 1331 et seq.)— 

3 (1) in the Nearshore Beaufort Sea Planning 

4 Area, 1 lease sale in each of fiscal years 2018, 2019, 

5 and 2020; and 

6 (2) in the Cook Inlet Planning Area, 1 lease 

7 sale in each of fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020. 

8 SEC. 103. LEASE TERMS OF CERTAIN CHUKCHI AND BEAU9 FORT LEASES. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8(b)(2) of the Outer Con11 tinental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(b)(2)) is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

14 the end; 

15 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘;’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(C) in the case of an oil and gas lease in 

19 the Beaufort Planning Area or the portion of 

20 the Chukchi Planning Area that is beyond 3 

21 nautical miles of the seaward boundary of the 

22 State of Alaska, 20 years;’’. 

23 (b) EXTENSION OF EXISTING LEASES.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, with the con25 sent of the holder of a covered lease described in 


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1 paragraph (2), may extend the initial term of the 

2 covered lease to 20 years. 

3 (2) DESCRIPTION OF COVERED LEASE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—A covered lease re5 ferred to in paragraph (1) is a lease for oil and 

6 gas production in effect on the date of enact7 ment of this Act that was issued under section 

8 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

9 U.S.C. 1337) for a portion of the Beaufort 

10 Planning Area or Chukchi Planning Area that 

11 is beyond 3 nautical miles of the seaward 

12 boundary of the State. 

13 (B) EXCLUSION.—A covered lease referred 

14 to in paragraph (1) does not include any lease 

15 in the Nearshore Beaufort Sea Planning Area. 

16 SEC. 104. DISTRIBUTION OF REVENUE TO ALASKA. 

17 Section 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

18 (43 U.S.C. 1338) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘All rentals,’’ and inserting the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

22 (b), all rentals,’’; and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(b) DISTRIBUTION OF REVENUE TO ALASKA.— 

25 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(A) COASTAL POLITICAL SUBDIVISION.— 

2 The term ‘coastal political subdivision’ means a 

3 county-equivalent subdivision of the State— 

4 ‘‘(i) all or part of which lies within the 

5 coastal zone of the State (as defined in 

6 section 304 of the Coastal Zone Manage7 ment Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453)); and 

8 ‘‘(ii)(I) the closest coastal point of 

9 which is not more than 200 nautical miles 

10 from the geographical center of any leased 

11 tract in the Alaska outer Continental Shelf 

12 region; or 

13 ‘‘(II)(aa) the closest point of which is 

14 more than 200 nautical miles from the 

15 geographical center of a leased tract in the 

16 Alaska outer Continental Shelf region; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) that is determined by the State 

18 to be a significant staging area for oil and 

19 gas servicing, supply vessels, operations, 

20 suppliers, or workers. 

21 ‘‘(B) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU22 CATION.—The term ‘institution of higher edu23 cation’ has the meaning given the term in sec24 tion 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

25 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 


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1 ‘‘(C) QUALIFIED REVENUES.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘quali3 fied revenues’ means all revenues derived 

4 from all rentals, royalties, bonus bids, and 

5 other sums due and payable to the United 

6 States from energy development in the 

7 Alaska outer Continental Shelf region. 

8 ‘‘(ii) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘quali9 fied revenues’ does not include revenues 

10 generated from leases subject to section 

11 8(g). 

12 ‘‘(D) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means the 

13 State of Alaska. 

14 ‘‘(E) WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD.— 

15 The term ‘workforce investment board’ means a 

16 State or local workforce investment board es17 tablished under subtitle B of title I of the 

18 Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 

19 2811 et seq.). 

20 ‘‘(2) FISCAL YEARS 2017–2027.—For each of fis21 cal years 2017 through 2027, the Secretary shall de22 posit— 

23 ‘‘(A) 75 percent of qualified revenues in 

24 the general fund of the Treasury; 


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1 ‘‘(B) 7.5 percent of qualified revenues in a 

2 special account in the Treasury, to be distrib3 uted by the Secretary to the State; 

4 ‘‘(C) 7.5 percent of qualified revenues in a 

5 special account in the Treasury, to be distrib6 uted by the Secretary to coastal political sub7 divisions; 

8 ‘‘(D) 2.5 percent of qualified revenues in a 

9 special account in the Treasury, to be used to 

10 carry out the North Slope Science Initiative es11 tablished under section 348(a)(1) of the Energy 

12 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15906(a)(1)); 

13 ‘‘(E) 2.5 percent of qualified revenues in a 

14 special account in the Treasury, to be used by 

15 the Secretary to provide grants on a competitive 

16 basis to eligible institutions of higher education 

17 and workforce investment boards in the State 

18 to establish and providing funding for— 

19 ‘‘(i) programs to ensure an adequately 

20 skilled workforce to construct, operate, or 

21 maintain oil or gas pipelines; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) programs to ensure an ade23 quately skilled workforce to operate, main24 tain, and perform all environmental procVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Apr 17, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S883.IS S883

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1 esses relating to existing or future oil and 

2 gas infrastructure; 

3 ‘‘(F) 2.5 percent of qualified revenues in a 

4 special account in the Treasury to provide fi5 nancial assistance for— 

6 ‘‘(i) offshore leasing and development 

7 programs in the State; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) the development of rights-of-way 

9 for pipelines to transport oil or gas pro10 duced offshore through land under the ju11 risdiction of the Secretary in the State; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(G) 2.5 percent of qualified revenues in 

14 the Tribal Resilience Fund established by sec15 tion 202 of the Offshore Production and Ener16 gizing National Security Alaska Act of 2017. 

17 ‘‘(3) SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS.—For fiscal 

18 year 2028 and each subsequent fiscal year, the Sec19 retary shall deposit— 

20 ‘‘(A) 50 percent of qualified revenues in 

21 general fund of the Treasury; 

22 ‘‘(B) 30 percent of qualified revenues in a 

23 special account in the Treasury, to be distrib24 uted by the Secretary to the State; 


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1 ‘‘(C) 12.5 percent of qualified revenues in 

2 the Tribal Resilience Fund established by sec3 tion 202 of the Offshore Production and Ener4 gizing National Security Alaska Act of 2017; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(D) 7.5 in a special account in the Treas7 ury, to be distributed by the Secretary to coast8 al political subdivisions. 

9 ‘‘(4) ALLOCATION AMONG COASTAL POLITICAL

10 SUBDIVISIONS.—Of the amount paid by the Sec11 retary to coastal political subdivisions under para12 graph (2)(C) or (3)(D)— 

13 ‘‘(A) 90 percent shall be allocated in 

14 amounts (based on a formula established by the 

15 Secretary by regulation) that are inversely pro16 portional to the respective distances between 

17 the point in each coastal political subdivision 

18 that is closest to the geographic center of the 

19 applicable leased tract and not more than 200 

20 miles from the geographic center of the leased 

21 tract; and 

22 ‘‘(B) 10 percent shall be divided equally 

23 among each coastal political subdivision that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is more than 200 nautical miles 

2 from the geographic center of a leased 

3 tract; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) the State of Alaska determines to 

5 be a significant staging area for oil and 

6 gas servicing, supply vessels, operations, 

7 suppliers, or workers. 

8 ‘‘(5) TIMING.—The amounts required to be de9 posited under paragraphs (2) and (3) for the appli10 cable fiscal year shall be made available in accord11 ance with those paragraphs during the fiscal year 

12 immediately following the applicable fiscal year. 

13 ‘‘(6) ADMINISTRATION.—Amounts made avail14 able under paragraphs (2) and (3) shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) be made available, without further 

16 appropriation, in accordance with this sub17 section; 

18 ‘‘(B) remain available until expended; and 

19 ‘‘(C) be in addition to any amounts appro20 priated under any other provision of law.’’. 


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1 SEC. 105. INCLUSION OF BEAUFORT, NEARSHORE BEAU2 FORT, COOK INLET, AND CHUKCHI LEASE 

3 SALES IN 5-YEAR LEASING PROGRAMS. 

4 Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

5 (43 U.S.C. 1344) is amended by adding at the end the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(i) INCLUSION OF CERTAIN LEASE SALES.—Effec8 tive starting with the first leasing program prepared after 

9 the date of enactment of the Offshore Production and En10 ergizing National Security Alaska Act of 2017, the Sec11 retary shall include in any leasing program prepared in 

12 accordance with this section provisions for the conduct of 

13 at least 3 lease sales in each of the Beaufort Planning 

14 Area and the Chukchi Planning Area, and annual lease 

15 sales in the Nearshore Beaufort Sea Planning Area and 

16 the Cook Inlet Planning Area during the term of the leas17 ing program.’’. 

18 SEC. 106. NORTH SLOPE SCIENCE INITIATIVE. 

19 Section 348 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

20 U.S.C. 15906) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)— 

22 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(re23 ferred to in this section as the ‘Secretary’)’’ 

24 after ‘‘Secretary of the Interior’’; and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘(in2 cluding the Beaufort and Chukchi seas)’’ after 

3 ‘‘North Slope of Alaska’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (b)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(in6 cluding the Beaufort and Chukchi seas)’’ after 

7 ‘‘North Slope’’; and 

8 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘develop 

9 an understanding of’’ and inserting ‘‘identify’’; 

10 and 

11 (3) in subsection (c)(2), by inserting ‘‘the 

12 Northwest Arctic Borough, the NANA Regional Cor13 poration,’’ after ‘‘Arctic Slope Regional Corpora14 tion,’’. 

15 TITLE II—TRIBAL RESILIENCE 

16 PROGRAM 

17 SEC. 201. TRIBAL RESILIENCE PROGRAM. 

18 (a) DEFINITION OF INDIAN TRIBE.—In this section, 

19 the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has the meaning given the term 

20 in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu21 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

22 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

23 a program— 

24 (1) to improve the resilience of Indian tribes to 

25 the effects of a changing climate; 


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1 (2) to support Native American leaders in 

2 building strong, resilient communities; and 

3 (3) to ensure the development of modern, cost4 effective infrastructure. 

5 (c) GRANTS.—Subject to the availability of appro6 priations and amounts in the Tribal Resilience Fund es7 tablished by section 202(a), in carrying out the program 

8 described in subsection (b), the Secretary shall make ad9 aptation grants, in amounts not to exceed $200,000,000 

10 total per fiscal year, to Indian tribes for eligible activities 

11 described in subsection (d). 

12 (d) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—An Indian tribe receiving 

13 a grant under subsection (c) may only use grant funds 

14 for one or more of the following eligible activities: 

15 (1) Development and delivery of adaptation 

16 training. 

17 (2) Adaptation planning, vulnerability assess18 ments, emergency preparedness planning, and moni19 toring. 

20 (3) Capacity building through travel support for 

21 training, technical sessions, and cooperative manage22 ment forums. 

23 (4) Travel support for participation in ocean 

24 and coastal planning. 


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1 (5) Development of science-based information 

2 and tools to enable adaptive resource management 

3 and the ability to plan for resilience. 

4 (6) Relocation of villages or other communities 

5 experiencing or susceptible to coastal or river ero6 sion. 

7 (7) Construction of infrastructure to support 

8 emergency evacuations. 

9 (8) Restoration or repair of infrastructure dam10 aged by melting permafrost or coastal or river ero11 sion. 

12 (9) Installation and management of energy sys13 tems that reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas 

14 emissions compared to the energy systems in use be15 fore that installation and management. 

16 (10) Construction and maintenance of social or 

17 cultural infrastructure that the Secretary determines 

18 supports resilience. 

19 (e) APPLICATIONS.—An Indian tribe desiring an ad20 aptation grant under subsection (c) shall submit to the 

21 Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 

22 and containing such information as the Secretary may re23 quire, including a description of the eligible activities to 

24 be undertaken using the grant. 


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1 (f) CAPITAL PROJECTS.—Of amounts made available 

2 to carry out this program, not less than 90 percent shall 

3 be used for the engineering, design, and construction or 

4 implementation of capital projects. 

5 (g) INTERAGENCY COOPERATION.—The Secretary 

6 and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

7 Agency shall establish under the White House Council on 

8 Native American Affairs an interagency subgroup on trib9 al resilience— 

10 (1) to work with Indian tribes to collect and 

11 share data and information, including traditional ec12 ological knowledge, about how the effects of a chang13 ing climate are relevant to Indian tribes and Alaska 

14 Natives; and 

15 (2) to identify opportunities for the Federal 

16 Government to improve collaboration and assist with 

17 adaptation and mitigation efforts that promote resil18 ience. 

19 (h) TRIBAL RESILIENCE LIAISON.—The Secretary 

20 shall establish a tribal resilience liaison— 

21 (1) to coordinate with Indian tribes and rel22 evant Federal agencies; and 

23 (2) to help ensure tribal engagement in climate 

24 conversations at the Federal level. 


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1 SEC. 202. TRIBAL RESILIENCE FUND. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

3 Treasury a fund, to be known as the ‘‘Tribal Resilience 

4 Fund’’ (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Fund’’). 

5 (b) DEPOSITS.—The Fund shall consist of the fol6 lowing: 

7 (1) Amounts made available through an appro8 priation Act for deposit in the Fund. 

9 (2) Amounts deposited into the Fund under 

10 paragraphs (2)(G) and (3)(C) of subsection (b) of 

11 section 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

12 (43 U.S.C. 1338) (as added by section 104(2)). 

13 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the amounts 

15 estimated by the Secretary to be deposited in the 

16 Fund under subsection (b), there are authorized to 

17 be appropriated annually to the Fund out of any 

18 money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated 

19 such amounts as are necessary to make the income 

20 of the Fund not more than $200,000,000 for fiscal 

21 year 2028 and each fiscal year thereafter. 

22 (2) RECEIPTS UNDER OUTER CONTINENTAL

23 SHELF LANDS ACT.—To the extent that amounts ap24 propriated under paragraph (1) and deposited under 

25 subsection (b) are not sufficient to make the total 

26 annual income of the Fund equivalent to the 


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1 amounts provided in paragraph (1), an amount suf2 ficient to cover the remainder shall be credited to 

3 the Fund from revenues due and payable to the 

4 United States for deposit in the Treasury as mis5 cellaneous receipts under the Outer Continental 

6 Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.). 

7 (3) AVAILABILITY OF DEPOSITS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts deposited in 

9 the Fund under this subsection shall remain 

10 available until expended, without fiscal year 

11 limitation. 

12 (B) USE.—Amounts deposited in the Fund 

13 under this subsection and made available for 

14 obligation or expenditure from the Fund may 

15 be obligated or expended only to carry out the 

16 Tribal Resilience Program under section 201. 

Æ 


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