I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1965 

To streamline and ensure onshore energy permitting, provide for onshore 

leasing certainty, and give certainty to oil shale development for American energy security, economic development, and job creation, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 14, 2013 

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 

A BILL 

To streamline and ensure onshore energy permitting, provide 

for onshore leasing certainty, and give certainty to oil 

shale development for American energy security, economic development, and job creation, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Lands Jobs 

5 and Energy Security Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Policies regarding buying, building, and working for America. 

TITLE I—ONSHORE OIL AND GAS PERMIT STREAMLINING 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Subtitle A—Application for Permits to Drill Process Reform 

Sec. 111. Permit to drill application timeline. 

Sec. 112. Solar and wind right-of-way rental reform. 

Subtitle B—Administrative Protest Documentation Reform 

Sec. 121. Administrative protest documentation reform. 

Subtitle C—Permit Streamlining 

Sec. 131. Improve Federal energy permit coordination. 

Sec. 132. Administration of current law. 

Subtitle D—Judicial Review 

Sec. 141. Definitions. 

Sec. 142. Exclusive venue for certain civil actions relating to covered energy 

projects. 

Sec. 143. Timely filing. 

Sec. 144. Expedition in hearing and determining the action. 

Sec. 145. Standard of review. 

Sec. 146. Limitation on injunction and prospective relief. 

Sec. 147. Limitation on attorneys’ fees. 

Sec. 148. Legal standing. 

TITLE II—OIL AND GAS LEASING CERTAINTY 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Minimum acreage requirement for onshore lease sales. 

Sec. 203. Leasing certainty. 

Sec. 204. Leasing consistency. 

Sec. 205. Reduce redundant policies. 

TITLE III—OIL SHALE 

Sec. 301. Short title. 

Sec. 302. Effectiveness of oil shale regulations, amendments to resource management plans, and record of decision. 

Sec. 303. Oil shale leasing. 


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1 SEC. 3. POLICIES REGARDING BUYING, BUILDING, AND 

2 WORKING FOR AMERICA. 

3 (a) CONGRESSIONAL INTENT.—It is the intent of the 

4 Congress that— 

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

6 United States domestic energy sector that, in turn, 

7 helps to reinvigorate American manufacturing, 

8 transportation, and service sectors by employing the 

9 vast talents of United States workers to assist in the 

10 development of energy from domestic sources; 

11 (2) to ensure a robust onshore energy produc12 tion industry and ensure that the benefits of devel13 opment support local communities, under this Act, 

14 the Secretary shall make every effort to promote the 

15 development of onshore American energy, and shall 

16 take into consideration the socioeconomic impacts, 

17 infrastructure requirements, and fiscal stability for 

18 local communities located within areas containing 

19 onshore energy resources; and 

20 (3) the Congress will monitor the deployment of 

21 personnel and material onshore to encourage the de22 velopment of American technology and manufac23 turing to enable United States workers to benefit 

24 from this Act through good jobs and careers, as well 

25 as the establishment of important industrial facilities 

26 to support expanded access to American resources. 


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

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

3 United States workers and equipment manufactured in 

4 the United States in all construction related to mineral 

5 resource development under this Act. 

6 TITLE I—ONSHORE OIL AND GAS 

7 PERMIT STREAMLINING 

8 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

9 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Streamlining Permit10 ting of American Energy Act of 2013’’. 

11 Subtitle A—Application for Permits 

12 to Drill Process Reform 

13 SEC. 111. PERMIT TO DRILL APPLICATION TIMELINE. 

14 Section 17(p)(2) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

15 U.S.C. 226(p)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS FOR PERMITS TO DRILL RE17 FORM AND PROCESS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) TIMELINE.—The Secretary shall de19 cide whether to issue a permit to drill within 30 

20 days after receiving an application for the per21 mit. The Secretary may extend such period for 

22 up to 2 periods of 15 days each, if the Sec23 retary has given written notice of the delay to 

24 the applicant. The notice shall be in the form 

25 of a letter from the Secretary or a designee of 


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1 the Secretary, and shall include the names and 

2 titles of the persons processing the application, 

3 the specific reasons for the delay, and a specific 

4 date a final decision on the application is ex5 pected. 

6 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF REASONS FOR DENIAL.— 

7 If the application is denied, the Secretary shall 

8 provide the applicant— 

9 ‘‘(i) in writing, clear and comprehen10 sive reasons why the application was not 

11 accepted and detailed information con12 cerning any deficiencies; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) an opportunity to remedy any de14 ficiencies. 

15 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION DEEMED APPROVED.— 

16 If the Secretary has not made a decision on the 

17 application by the end of the 60-day period be18 ginning on the date the application is received 

19 by the Secretary, the application is deemed ap20 proved, except in cases in which existing reviews 

21 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

22 1969 or Endangered Species Act of 1973 are 

23 incomplete. 

24 ‘‘(D) DENIAL OF PERMIT.—If the Sec25 retary decides not to issue a permit to drill in 


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1 accordance with subparagraph (A), the Sec2 retary shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) provide to the applicant a descrip4 tion of the reasons for the denial of the 

5 permit; 

6 ‘‘(ii) allow the applicant to resubmit 

7 an application for a permit to drill during 

8 the 10-day period beginning on the date 

9 the applicant receives the description of 

10 the denial from the Secretary; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) issue or deny any resubmitted 

12 application not later than 10 days after the 

13 date the application is submitted to the 

14 Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(E) FEE.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

17 any other law, the Secretary shall collect a 

18 single $6,500 permit processing fee per ap19 plication from each applicant at the time 

20 the final decision is made whether to issue 

21 a permit under subparagraph (A). This fee 

22 shall not apply to any resubmitted applica23 tion. 

24 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT OF PERMIT PROC25 ESSING FEE.—Of all fees collected under 


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1 this paragraph, 50 percent shall be trans2 ferred to the field office where they are col3 lected and used to process protests, leases, 

4 and permits under this Act subject to ap5 propriation.’’. 

6 SEC. 112. SOLAR AND WIND RIGHT-OF-WAY RENTAL RE7 FORM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), and 

9 notwithstanding any other provision of law, of fees col10 lected each fiscal year as annual wind energy and solar 

11 energy right-of-way authorization fees required under sec12 tion 504(g) of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

13 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1764(g))— 

14 (1) no less than 25 percent shall be available, 

15 subject to appropriation, for Department of the Inte16 rior field offices responsible for the land where the 

17 fee was collected; 

18 (2) no less than 25 percent shall be available, 

19 subject to appropriation, for Bureau of Land Man20 agement permit approval activities; and 

21 (3) no less than 25 percent shall be available, 

22 subject to appropriation, to the Secretary of the In23 terior for department-wide permitting activities. 

24 (b) LIMITATION.—The amount used under subsection 

25 (a) each fiscal year shall not exceed $10,000,000. 


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1 Subtitle B—Administrative Protest 

2 Documentation Reform 

3 SEC. 121. ADMINISTRATIVE PROTEST DOCUMENTATION RE4 FORM. 

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

6 226(p)) is further amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(4) PROTEST FEE.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

10 collect a $5,000 documentation fee to accom11 pany each protest for a lease, right of way, or 

12 application for permit to drill. 

13 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF FEES.—Of all fees 

14 collected under this paragraph, 50 percent shall 

15 remain in the field office where they are col16 lected and used to process protests subject to 

17 appropriation.’’. 

18 Subtitle C—Permit Streamlining 

19 SEC. 131. IMPROVE FEDERAL ENERGY PERMIT COORDINA20 TION. 

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

22 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall estab23 lish a Federal Permit Streamlining Project (referred to 

24 in this section as the ‘‘Project’’) in every Bureau of Land 


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1 Management field office with responsibility for permitting 

2 energy projects on Federal land. 

3 (b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

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

5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

6 shall enter into a memorandum of understanding for 

7 purposes of this section with— 

8 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

9 (B) the Administrator of the Environ10 mental Protection Agency; and 

11 (C) the Chief of the Army Corps of Engi12 neers. 

13 (2) STATE PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary 

14 may request that the Governor of any State with en15 ergy projects on Federal lands to be a signatory to 

16 the memorandum of understanding. 

17 (c) DESIGNATION OF QUALIFIED STAFF.— 

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

19 the date of the signing of the memorandum of un20 derstanding under subsection (b), all Federal signa21 tory parties shall, if appropriate, assign to each of 

22 the Bureau of Land Management field offices an 

23 employee who has expertise in the regulatory issues 

24 relating to the office in which the employee is emVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:25 May 17, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1965.IH H1965

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1 ployed, including, as applicable, particular expertise 

2 in— 

3 (A) the consultations and the preparation 

4 of biological opinions under section 7 of the En5 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

6 1536); 

7 (B) permits under section 404 of Federal 

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

9 (C) regulatory matters under the Clean Air 

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

11 (D) planning under the National Forest 

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

13 seq.); and 

14 (E) the preparation of analyses under the 

15 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

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

17 (2) DUTIES.—Each employee assigned under 

18 paragraph (1) shall— 

19 (A) not later than 90 days after the date 

20 of assignment, report to the Bureau of Land 

21 Management Field Managers in the office to 

22 which the employee is assigned; 

23 (B) be responsible for all issues relating to 

24 the energy projects that arise under the au25 thorities of the employee’s home agency; and 


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1 (C) participate as part of the team of per2 sonnel working on proposed energy projects, 

3 planning, and environmental analyses on Fed4 eral lands. 

5 (d) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Secretary shall 

6 assign to each Bureau of Land Management field office 

7 identified in subsection (a) any additional personnel that 

8 are necessary to ensure the effective approval and imple9 mentation of energy projects administered by the Bureau 

10 of Land Management field offices, including inspection 

11 and enforcement relating to energy development on Fed12 eral land, in accordance with the multiple use mandate 

13 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 

14 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 

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

16 shall come from the Department of the Interior reforms 

17 identified in sections 101, 102, and 201. 

18 (f) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section af19 fects— 

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

21 or 

22 (2) any delegation of authority made by the 

23 head of a Federal agency whose employees are par24 ticipating in the Project. 


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

2 term ‘‘energy projects’’ includes oil, natural gas, coal, and 

3 other energy projects as defined by the Secretary. 

4 SEC. 132. ADMINISTRATION OF CURRENT LAW. 

5 Notwithstanding any other law, the Secretary of the 

6 Interior shall not require a finding of extraordinary cir7 cumstances in administering section 390 of the Energy 

8 Policy Act of 2005. 

9 Subtitle D—Judicial Review 

10 SEC. 141. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this subtitle— 

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

13 action containing a claim under section 702 of title 

14 5, United States Code, regarding agency action (as 

15 defined for the purposes of that section) affecting a 

16 covered energy project on Federal lands of the 

17 United States; and 

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

19 the leasing of Federal lands of the United States for 

20 the exploration, development, production, processing, 

21 or transmission of oil, natural gas, wind, or any 

22 other source of energy, and any action under such 

23 a lease, except that the term does not include any 

24 disputes between the parties to a lease regarding the 


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1 obligations under such lease, including regarding 

2 any alleged breach of the lease. 

3 SEC. 142. 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 pro7 posed. 

8 SEC. 143. TIMELY FILING. 

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

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

11 period beginning on the date of the final Federal agency 

12 action to which it relates. 

13 SEC. 144. EXPEDITION IN HEARING AND DETERMINING THE 

14 ACTION. 

15 The court shall endeavor to hear and determine any 

16 covered civil action as expeditiously as possible. 

17 SEC. 145. STANDARD OF REVIEW. 

18 In any judicial review of a covered civil action, admin19 istrative findings and conclusions relating to the chal20 lenged Federal action or decision shall be presumed to be 

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

22 preponderance of the evidence contained in the adminis23 trative record. 


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1 SEC. 146. LIMITATION ON INJUNCTION AND PROSPECTIVE 

2 RELIEF. 

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

4 or approve any prospective relief unless the court finds 

5 that such relief is narrowly drawn, extends no further than 

6 necessary to correct the violation of a legal requirement, 

7 and is the least intrusive means necessary to correct that 

8 violation. In addition, courts shall limit the duration of 

9 preliminary injunctions to halt covered energy projects to 

10 no more than 60 days, unless the court finds clear reasons 

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

12 extensions shall only be in 30-day increments and shall 

13 require action by the court to renew the injunction. 

14 SEC. 147. 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 ac19 tion receive payment from the Federal Government for 

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

21 SEC. 148. LEGAL STANDING. 

22 Challengers filing appeals with the Department of the 

23 Interior Board of Land Appeals shall meet the same 

24 standing requirements as challengers before a United 

25 States district court. 


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1 TITLE II—OIL AND GAS LEASING 

2 CERTAINTY 

3 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Providing Leasing 

5 Certainty for American Energy Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 202. MINIMUM ACREAGE REQUIREMENT FOR ON7 SHORE LEASE SALES. 

8 In conducting lease sales as required by section 17(a) 

9 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(a)), each year 

10 the Secretary of the Interior shall perform the following: 

11 (1) The Secretary shall offer for sale no less 

12 than 25 percent of the annual nominated acreage 

13 not previously made available for lease. Acreage of14 fered for lease pursuant to this paragraph shall not 

15 be subject to protest and shall be eligible for cat16 egorical exclusions under section 390 of the Energy 

17 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15492), except that 

18 it shall not be subject to the test of extraordinary 

19 circumstances. 

20 (2) In administering this section, the Secretary 

21 shall only consider leasing of Federal lands that are 

22 available for leasing at the time the lease sale oc23 curs. 


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1 SEC. 203. LEASING CERTAINTY. 

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

3 226(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘All lands’’, 

4 and by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary shall not withdraw any cov6 ered energy project issued under this Act without finding 

7 a violation of the terms of the lease by the lessee. 

8 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall not infringe upon lease 

9 rights under leases issued under this Act by indefinitely 

10 delaying issuance of project approvals, drilling and seismic 

11 permits, and rights of way for activities under such a 

12 lease. 

13 ‘‘(C) No later than 18 months after an area is des14 ignated as open under the current land use plan the Sec15 retary shall make available nominated areas for lease 

16 under the criteria in section 2. 

17 ‘‘(D) Notwithstanding any other law, the Secretary 

18 shall issue all leases sold no later than 60 days after the 

19 last payment is made. 

20 ‘‘(E) The Secretary shall not cancel or withdraw any 

21 lease parcel after a competitive lease sale has occurred and 

22 a winning bidder has submitted the last payment for the 

23 parcel. 

24 ‘‘(F) Not later than 60 days after a lease sale held 

25 under this Act, the Secretary shall adjudicate any lease 

26 protests filed following a lease sale. If after 60 days any 


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1 protest is left unsettled, said protest is automatically de2 nied and appeal rights of the protestor begin. 

3 ‘‘(G) No additional lease stipulations may be added 

4 after the parcel is sold without consultation and agree5 ment of the lessee, unless the Secretary deems such stipu6 lations as emergency actions to conserve the resources of 

7 the United States.’’. 

8 SEC. 204. LEASING CONSISTENCY. 

9 Federal land managers must follow existing resource 

10 management plans and continue to actively lease in areas 

11 designated as open when resource management plans are 

12 being amended or revised, until such time as a new record 

13 of decision is signed. 

14 SEC. 205. REDUCE REDUNDANT POLICIES. 

15 Bureau of Land Management Instruction Memo16 randum 2010–117 shall have no force or effect. 

17 TITLE III—OIL SHALE 

18 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

19 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Investment 

20 in Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, En21 ergy, and Resource Security Act’’ or the ‘‘PIONEERS 

22 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 302. EFFECTIVENESS OF OIL SHALE REGULATIONS, 

2 AMENDMENTS TO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 

3 PLANS, AND RECORD OF DECISION. 

4 (a) REGULATIONS.—Notwithstanding any other law 

5 or regulation to the contrary, the final regulations regard6 ing oil shale management published by the Bureau of 

7 Land Management on November 18, 2008 (73 Fed. Reg. 

8 69,414) are deemed to satisfy all legal and procedural re9 quirements under any law, including the Federal Land 

10 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 

11 seq.), the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

12 1531 et seq.), the National Environmental Policy Act of 

13 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and the Energy Policy Act 

14 of 2005 (Public Law 109–58), and the Secretary of the 

15 Interior shall implement those regulations, including the 

16 oil shale leasing program authorized by the regulations, 

17 without any other administrative action necessary. 

18 (b) AMENDMENTS TO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

19 PLANS AND RECORD OF DECISION.—Notwithstanding 

20 any other law or regulation to the contrary, the November 

21 17, 2008 U.S. Bureau of Land Management Approved Re22 source Management Plan Amendments/Record of Decision 

23 for Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources to Address Land 

24 Use Allocations in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming and 

25 Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement are 

26 deemed to satisfy all legal and procedural requirements 


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1 under any law, including the Federal Land Policy and 

2 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the 

3 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 

4 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

5 4321 et seq.), and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public 

6 Law 109–58), and the Secretary of the Interior shall im7 plement the oil shale leasing program authorized by the 

8 regulations referred to in subsection (a) in those areas cov9 ered by the resource management plans amended by such 

10 amendments, and covered by such record of decision, with11 out any other administrative action necessary. 

12 SEC. 303. OIL SHALE LEASING. 

13 (a) ADDITIONAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

14 LEASE SALES.—The Secretary of the Interior shall hold 

15 a lease sale within 180 days after the date of enactment 

16 of this Act offering an additional 10 parcels for lease for 

17 research, development, and demonstration of oil shale re18 sources, under the terms offered in the solicitation of bids 

19 for such leases published on January 15, 2009 (74 Fed. 

20 Reg. 10). 

21 (b) COMMERCIAL LEASE SALES.—No later than Jan22 uary 1, 2016, the Secretary of the Interior shall hold no 

23 less than 5 separate commercial lease sales in areas con24 sidered to have the most potential for oil shale develop25 ment, as determined by the Secretary, in areas nominated 


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1 through public comment. Each lease sale shall be for an 

2 area of not less than 25,000 acres, and in multiple lease 

3 blocs. 

Æ 


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