II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 991 

To prohibit drilling in the Arctic Ocean. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 1, 2017 

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. HEINRICH, 

Mr. BOOKER, Mr. FRANKEN, Ms. WARREN, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. PETERS, and Ms. HARRIS) introduced the following bill; which 

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

Resources 

A BILL 

To prohibit drilling in the Arctic Ocean. 

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 ‘‘Stop Arctic Ocean 

5 Drilling Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that, as of the date 

8 of enactment of this Act— 

9 (1) global climate change is occurring due 

10 largely to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse 


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1 gases and will continue to pose ongoing risks and 

2 challenges to the people and the Government of the 

3 United States; 

4 (2) the evidence of impacts and dangers of cli5 mate change are supported by numerous reports and 

6 panels, such as the 2014 National Climate Assess7 ment, the United States Global Change Research 

8 Program, and the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review 

9 of the Department of Defense; 

10 (3) from 1880 through 2015, global tempera11 tures have increased by approximately 1.06 degrees 

12 Celsius; 

13 (4) a global temperature increase of 2 degrees 

14 Celsius will lead to increased droughts, rising seas, 

15 mass extinctions, heat waves, desertification, wild16 fires, and acidifying oceans; 

17 (5) delaying action on climate change will result 

18 in severe economic losses, and global mitigation costs 

19 increase by approximately 40 percent for each dec20 ade of delay; 

21 (6) at least 80 percent of the carbon from 

22 known fossil fuel reserves must not be released to 

23 the atmosphere to have an 80-percent chance of 

24 avoiding the worst effects of climate change stemVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 May 05, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S991.IS S991

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1 ming from a 2-degree-Celsius change in global tem2 perature; 

3 (7) developing oil and gas reserves in the Arctic 

4 Ocean is incompatible with staying within that glob5 al carbon budget and avoiding the worst effects of 

6 climate change; and 

7 (8) the Arctic Ocean is home to invaluable and 

8 fragile ecosystems, which are critical to fisheries, mi9 gratory birds, indigenous populations, and subsist10 ence hunters. 

11 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

12 United States that the Arctic Ocean should be managed 

13 for the best interests of the people of the United States, 

14 including by keeping fossil fuels in the ground to avoid 

15 the dangerous impacts of climate change. 

16 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF OIL AND GAS LEASING IN ARCTIC 

17 OCEAN AREAS OF THE OUTER CONTINENTAL 

18 SHELF. 

19 Section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

20 (43 U.S.C. 1337) is amended by adding at the end the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(q) PROHIBITION OF OIL AND GAS LEASING IN

23 ARCTIC PLANNING AREA OF THE OUTER CONTINENTAL

24 SHELF.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act 

25 or any other law, the Secretary of the Interior shall not 


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1 issue or renew a lease or any other authorization for the 

2 exploration, development, or production of oil, natural gas, 

3 or any other mineral in the Arctic Ocean, including the 

4 Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea Planning Areas.’’. 

Æ 


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