II 

Calendar No. 254 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1965 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2013 

Received; read the first time 

DECEMBER 9, 2013 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 

AN ACT 

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 of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

Sec. 1. Short title. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

HR 1965 PCS

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—FEDERAL LANDS JOBS AND ENERGY SECURITY 

Sec. 1001. Short title. 

Sec. 1002. Policies regarding buying, building, and working for America. 

Subtitle A—Onshore Oil and Gas Permit Streamlining 

Sec. 1101. Short title. 

CHAPTER 1—APPLICATION FOR PERMITS TO DRILL PROCESS REFORM

Sec. 1111. Permit to drill application timeline. 

Sec. 1112. Solar and wind right-of-way rental reform. 

CHAPTER 2—ADMINISTRATIVE PROTEST DOCUMENTATION REFORM

Sec. 1121. Administrative protest documentation reform. 

CHAPTER 3—PERMIT STREAMLINING

Sec. 1131. Improve Federal energy permit coordination. 

Sec. 1132. Administration of current law. 

CHAPTER 4—JUDICIAL REVIEW

Sec. 1141. Definitions. 

Sec. 1142. Exclusive venue for certain civil actions relating to covered energy 

projects. 

Sec. 1143. Timely filing. 

Sec. 1144. Expedition in hearing and determining the action. 

Sec. 1145. Standard of review. 

Sec. 1146. Limitation on injunction and prospective relief. 

Sec. 1147. Limitation on attorneys’ fees. 

Sec. 1148. Legal standing. 

CHAPTER 5—KNOWING AMERICA’S OIL AND GAS RESOURCES

Sec. 1151. Funding oil and gas resource assessments. 

Subtitle B—Oil and Gas Leasing Certainty 

Sec. 1201. Short title. 

Sec. 1202. Minimum acreage requirement for onshore lease sales. 

Sec. 1203. Leasing certainty. 

Sec. 1204. Leasing consistency. 

Sec. 1205. Reduce redundant policies. 

Sec. 1206. Streamlined congressional notification. 

Subtitle C—Oil Shale 

Sec. 1301. Short title. 

Sec. 1302. Effectiveness of oil shale regulations, amendments to resource management plans, and record of decision. 

Sec. 1303. Oil shale leasing. 

Subtitle D—Miscellaneous Provisions 

Sec. 1401. Rule of construction. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

HR 1965 PCS

TITLE II—PLANNING FOR AMERICAN ENERGY 

Sec. 2001. Short title. 

Sec. 2002. Onshore domestic energy production strategic plan. 

TITLE III—NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA ACCESS 

Sec. 3001. Short title. 

Sec. 3002. Sense of Congress and reaffirming national policy for the National 

Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. 

Sec. 3003. National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska: lease sales. 

Sec. 3004. National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska: planning and permitting 

pipeline and road construction. 

Sec. 3005. Issuance of a new integrated activity plan and environmental impact 

statement. 

Sec. 3006. Departmental accountability for development. 

Sec. 3007. Deadlines under new proposed integrated activity plan. 

Sec. 3008. Updated resource assessment. 

TITLE IV—BLM LIVE INTERNET AUCTIONS 

Sec. 4001. Short title. 

Sec. 4002. Internet-based onshore oil and gas lease sales. 

TITLE V—NATIVE AMERICAN ENERGY 

Sec. 5001. Short title. 

Sec. 5002. Appraisals. 

Sec. 5003. Standardization. 

Sec. 5004. Environmental reviews of major Federal actions on Indian lands. 

Sec. 5005. Judicial review. 

Sec. 5006. Tribal biomass demonstration project. 

Sec. 5007. Tribal resource management plans. 

Sec. 5008. Leases of restricted lands for the Navajo Nation. 

Sec. 5009. Nonapplicability of certain rules. 

1 TITLE I—FEDERAL LANDS JOBS 

2 AND ENERGY SECURITY 

3 SEC. 1001. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 and Energy Security Act’’. 

6 SEC. 1002. POLICIES REGARDING BUYING, BUILDING, AND 

7 WORKING FOR AMERICA. 

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

9 Congress that— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

HR 1965 PCS

1 (1) this title will support a healthy and growing 

2 United States domestic energy sector that, in turn, 

3 helps to reinvigorate American manufacturing, 

4 transportation, and service sectors by employing the 

5 vast talents of United States workers to assist in the 

6 development of energy from domestic sources; 

7 (2) to ensure a robust onshore energy produc8 tion industry and ensure that the benefits of devel9 opment support local communities, under this title, 

10 the Secretary shall make every effort to promote the 

11 development of onshore American energy, and shall 

12 take into consideration the socioeconomic impacts, 

13 infrastructure requirements, and fiscal stability for 

14 local communities located within areas containing 

15 onshore energy resources; and 

16 (3) the Congress will monitor the deployment of 

17 personnel and material onshore to encourage the de18 velopment of American manufacturing to enable 

19 United States workers to benefit from this title 

20 through good jobs and careers, as well as the estab21 lishment of important industrial facilities to support 

22 expanded access to American resources. 

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

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

25 United States workers and equipment manufactured in 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

HR 1965 PCS

1 the United States in all construction related to mineral 

2 resource development under this title. 

3 Subtitle A—Onshore Oil and Gas 

4 Permit Streamlining 

5 SEC. 1101. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Streamlining Per7 mitting of American Energy Act of 2013’’. 

8 CHAPTER 1—APPLICATION FOR PERMITS 

9 TO DRILL PROCESS REFORM 

10 SEC. 1111. PERMIT TO DRILL APPLICATION TIMELINE. 

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

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

13 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS FOR PERMITS TO DRILL RE14 FORM AND PROCESS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) TIMELINE.—The Secretary shall de16 cide whether to issue a permit to drill within 30 

17 days after receiving an application for the per18 mit. The Secretary may extend such period for 

19 up to 2 periods of 15 days each, if the Sec20 retary has given written notice of the delay to 

21 the applicant. The notice shall be in the form 

22 of a letter from the Secretary or a designee of 

23 the Secretary, and shall include the names and 

24 titles of the persons processing the application, 

25 the specific reasons for the delay, and a specific 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

HR 1965 PCS

1 date a final decision on the application is ex2 pected. 

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

4 If the application is denied, the Secretary shall 

5 provide the applicant— 

6 ‘‘(i) in writing, clear and comprehen7 sive reasons why the application was not 

8 accepted and detailed information con9 cerning any deficiencies; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) an opportunity to remedy any de11 ficiencies. 

12 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION DEEMED APPROVED.— 

13 If the Secretary has not made a decision on the 

14 application by the end of the 60-day period be15 ginning on the date the application is received 

16 by the Secretary, the application is deemed ap17 proved, except in cases in which existing reviews 

18 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

19 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) or Endangered 

20 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

21 are incomplete. 

22 ‘‘(D) DENIAL OF PERMIT.—If the Sec23 retary decides not to issue a permit to drill in 

24 accordance with subparagraph (A), the Sec25 retary shall— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

HR 1965 PCS

1 ‘‘(i) provide to the applicant a descrip2 tion of the reasons for the denial of the 

3 permit; 

4 ‘‘(ii) allow the applicant to resubmit 

5 an application for a permit to drill during 

6 the 10-day period beginning on the date 

7 the applicant receives the description of 

8 the denial from the Secretary; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) issue or deny any resubmitted 

10 application not later than 10 days after the 

11 date the application is submitted to the 

12 Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(E) FEE.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

15 any other law, the Secretary shall collect a 

16 single $6,500 permit processing fee per ap17 plication from each applicant at the time 

18 the final decision is made whether to issue 

19 a permit under subparagraph (A). This fee 

20 shall not apply to any resubmitted applica21 tion. 

22 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT OF PERMIT PROC23 ESSING FEE.—Of all fees collected under 

24 this paragraph, 50 percent shall be trans25 ferred to the field office where they are colVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:09 Dec 10, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1965.PCS H1965

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

HR 1965 PCS

1 lected and used to process protests, leases, 

2 and permits under this Act subject to ap3 propriation.’’. 

4 SEC. 1112. SOLAR AND WIND RIGHT-OF-WAY RENTAL RE5 FORM. 

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

7 notwithstanding any other provision of law, of fees col8 lected each fiscal year as annual wind energy and solar 

9 energy right-of-way authorization fees required under sec10 tion 504(g) of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

11 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1764(g))— 

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

13 subject to appropriation, for use for solar and wind 

14 permitting and management activities by Depart15 ment of the Interior field offices responsible for the 

16 land where the fees were collected; 

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

18 subject to appropriation, for Bureau of Land Man19 agement solar and wind permit approval activities; 

20 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 solar and wind permitting 

24 activities. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

HR 1965 PCS

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

2 (a) each fiscal year shall not exceed $5,000,000. 

3 CHAPTER 2—ADMINISTRATIVE PROTEST 

4 DOCUMENTATION REFORM 

5 SEC. 1121. ADMINISTRATIVE PROTEST DOCUMENTATION 

6 REFORM. 

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

8 226(p)) is further amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(4) PROTEST FEE.— 

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

12 collect a $5,000 documentation fee to accom13 pany each protest for a lease, right of way, or 

14 application for permit to drill. 

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

16 collected under this paragraph, 50 percent shall 

17 remain in the field office where they are col18 lected and used to process protests subject to 

19 appropriation.’’. 

20 CHAPTER 3—PERMIT STREAMLINING 

21 SEC. 1131. IMPROVE FEDERAL ENERGY PERMIT COORDINA22 TION. 

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

24 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall estab25 lish a Federal Permit Streamlining Project (referred to 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

HR 1965 PCS

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

2 Management field office with responsibility for permitting 

3 energy projects on Federal land. 

4 (b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

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

6 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

7 shall enter into a memorandum of understanding for 

8 purposes of this section with— 

9 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

10 (B) the Administrator of the Environ11 mental Protection Agency; and 

12 (C) the Chief of the Army Corps of Engi13 neers. 

14 (2) STATE PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary 

15 may request that the Governor of any State with en16 ergy projects on Federal lands to be a signatory to 

17 the memorandum of understanding. 

18 (c) DESIGNATION OF QUALIFIED STAFF.— 

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

20 the date of the signing of the memorandum of un21 derstanding under subsection (b), all Federal signa22 tory parties shall, if appropriate, assign to each of 

23 the Bureau of Land Management field offices an 

24 employee who has expertise in the regulatory issues 

25 relating to the office in which the employee is emVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:09 Dec 10, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1965.PCS H1965

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

HR 1965 PCS

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 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

HR 1965 PCS

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 1111, 1112, and 1121. 

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. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

HR 1965 PCS

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. 1132. 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 (42 U.S.C. 15942). 

9 CHAPTER 4—JUDICIAL REVIEW 

10 SEC. 1141. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this chapter— 

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 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

HR 1965 PCS

1 obligations under such lease, including regarding 

2 any alleged breach of the lease. 

3 SEC. 1142. 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. 1143. 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. 1144. EXPEDITION IN HEARING AND DETERMINING 

14 THE ACTION. 

15 The court shall endeavor to hear and determine any 

16 covered civil action as expeditiously as possible. 

17 SEC. 1145. 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. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

HR 1965 PCS

1 SEC. 1146. 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. 1147. 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. 1148. 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. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

HR 1965 PCS

1 CHAPTER 5—KNOWING AMERICA’S OIL 

2 AND GAS RESOURCES 

3 SEC. 1151. FUNDING OIL AND GAS RESOURCE ASSESS4 MENTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 

6 provide matching funding for joint projects with States to 

7 conduct oil and gas resource assessments on Federal lands 

8 with significant oil and gas potential. 

9 (b) COST SHARING.—The Federal share of the cost 

10 of activities under this section shall not exceed 50 percent. 

11 (c) RESOURCE ASSESSMENT.—Any resource assess12 ment under this section shall be conducted by a State, in 

13 consultation with the United States Geological Survey. 

14 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

15 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

16 out this section a total of $50,000,000 for fiscal years 

17 2014 through 2017. 

18 Subtitle B—Oil and Gas Leasing 

19 Certainty 

20 SEC. 1201. SHORT TITLE. 

21 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Providing Leasing 

22 Certainty for American Energy Act of 2013’’. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

HR 1965 PCS

1 SEC. 1202. MINIMUM ACREAGE REQUIREMENT FOR ON2 SHORE LEASE SALES. 

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

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

5 the Secretary of the Interior shall perform the following: 

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

7 than 25 percent of the annual nominated acreage 

8 not previously made available for lease. Acreage of9 fered for lease pursuant to this paragraph shall not 

10 be subject to protest and shall be eligible for cat11 egorical exclusions under section 390 of the Energy 

12 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15942), except that 

13 it shall not be subject to the test of extraordinary 

14 circumstances. 

15 (2) In administering this section, the Secretary 

16 shall only consider leasing of Federal lands that are 

17 available for leasing at the time the lease sale oc18 curs. 

19 SEC. 1203. LEASING CERTAINTY. 

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

21 226(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘All lands’’, 

22 and by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary shall not withdraw any cov24 ered energy project issued under this Act without finding 

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


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

HR 1965 PCS

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

2 rights under leases issued under this Act by indefinitely 

3 delaying issuance of project approvals, drilling and seismic 

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

5 lease. 

6 ‘‘(C) No later than 18 months after an area is des7 ignated as open under the current land use plan the Sec8 retary shall make available nominated areas for lease 

9 under the criteria in section 2. 

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

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

12 last payment is made. 

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

14 lease parcel after a competitive lease sale has occurred and 

15 a winning bidder has submitted the last payment for the 

16 parcel. 

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

18 under this Act, the Secretary shall adjudicate any lease 

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

20 protest is left unsettled, said protest is automatically de21 nied and appeal rights of the protestor begin. 

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

23 after the parcel is sold without consultation and agree24 ment of the lessee, unless the Secretary deems such stipuVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:09 Dec 10, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1965.PCS H1965

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
19 

HR 1965 PCS

1 lations as emergency actions to conserve the resources of 

2 the United States.’’. 

3 SEC. 1204. LEASING CONSISTENCY. 

4 Federal land managers must follow existing resource 

5 management plans and continue to actively lease in areas 

6 designated as open when resource management plans are 

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

8 of decision is signed. 

9 SEC. 1205. REDUCE REDUNDANT POLICIES. 

10 Bureau of Land Management Instruction Memo11 randum 2010–117 shall have no force or effect. 

12 SEC. 1206. STREAMLINED CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION. 

13 Section 31(e) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

14 188(e)) is amended in the matter following paragraph (4) 

15 by striking ‘‘at least thirty days in advance of the rein16 statement’’ and inserting ‘‘in an annual report’’. 

17 Subtitle C—Oil Shale 

18 SEC. 1301. SHORT TITLE. 

19 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Invest20 ment in Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, 

21 Energy, and Resource Security Act’’ or the ‘‘PIONEERS 

22 Act’’. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
20 

HR 1965 PCS

1 SEC. 1302. 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.), and the National Environmental Policy Act 

13 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and the Secretary of 

14 the Interior shall implement those regulations, including 

15 the oil shale leasing program authorized by the regula16 tions, without any other administrative action necessary. 

17 (b) AMENDMENTS TO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

18 PLANS AND RECORD OF DECISION.—Notwithstanding 

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

20 17, 2008 U.S. Bureau of Land Management Approved Re21 source Management Plan Amendments/Record of Decision 

22 for Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources to Address Land 

23 Use Allocations in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming and 

24 Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement are 

25 deemed to satisfy all legal and procedural requirements 

26 under any law, including the Federal Land Policy and 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
21 

HR 1965 PCS

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

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

3 and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

4 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and the Secretary of the Interior 

5 shall implement the oil shale leasing program authorized 

6 by the regulations referred to in subsection (a) in those 

7 areas covered by the resource management plans amended 

8 by such amendments, and covered by such record of deci9 sion, without any other administrative action necessary. 

10 SEC. 1303. OIL SHALE LEASING. 

11 (a) ADDITIONAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

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

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

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

15 research, development, and demonstration of oil shale re16 sources, under the terms offered in the solicitation of bids 

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

18 Reg. 10). 

19 (b) COMMERCIAL LEASE SALES.—No later than Jan20 uary 1, 2016, the Secretary of the Interior shall hold no 

21 less than 5 separate commercial lease sales in areas con22 sidered to have the most potential for oil shale develop23 ment, as determined by the Secretary, in areas nominated 

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


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
22 

HR 1965 PCS

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

2 blocs. 

3 Subtitle D—Miscellaneous 

4 Provisions 

5 SEC. 1401. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

6 Nothing in this title shall be construed to authorize 

7 the issuance of a lease under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

8 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) to any person designated for the impo9 sition of sanctions pursuant to— 

10 (1) the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (50 U.S.C. 

11 1701 note), the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Ac12 countability and Divestiture Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 

13 8501 et seq.), the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria 

14 Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8701 et 

15 seq.), section 1245 of the National Defense Author16 ization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8513a), 

17 or the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act 

18 of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8801 et seq.); 

19 (2) Executive Order No. 13622 (July 30, 

20 2012), Executive Order No. 13628 (October 9, 

21 2012), or Executive Order No. 13645 (June 3, 

22 2013); 

23 (3) Executive Order No. 13224 (September 23, 

24 2001) or Executive Order No. 13338 (May 11, 

25 2004); or 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
23 

HR 1965 PCS

1 (4) the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sov2 ereignty Restoration Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 2151 

3 note). 

4 TITLE II—PLANNING FOR 

5 AMERICAN ENERGY 

6 SEC. 2001. SHORT TITLE. 

7 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Planning for American 

8 Energy Act of 2013’’. 

9 SEC. 2002. ONSHORE DOMESTIC ENERGY PRODUCTION 

10 STRATEGIC PLAN. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Mineral Leasing Act (30 

12 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by redesignating section 

13 44 as section 45, and by inserting after section 43 the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 44. QUADRENNIAL STRATEGIC FEDERAL ONSHORE 

16 ENERGY PRODUCTION STRATEGY. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

18 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of the Interior (hereafter in 

19 this section referred to as ‘Secretary’), in consulta20 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture with regard to 

21 lands administered by the Forest Service, shall de22 velop and publish every 4 years a Quadrennial Fed23 eral Onshore Energy Production Strategy. This 

24 Strategy shall direct Federal land energy develop25 ment and department resource allocation in order to 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
24 

HR 1965 PCS

1 promote the energy and national security of the 

2 United States in accordance with Bureau of Land 

3 Management’s mission of promoting the multiple use 

4 of Federal lands as set forth in the Federal Land 

5 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

6 1701 et seq.). 

7 ‘‘(2) In developing this Strategy, the Secretary 

8 shall consult with the Administrator of the Energy 

9 Information Administration on the projected energy 

10 demands of the United States for the next 30-year 

11 period, and how energy derived from Federal on12 shore lands can put the United States on a trajec13 tory to meet that demand during the next 4-year pe14 riod. The Secretary shall consider how Federal lands 

15 will contribute to ensuring national energy security, 

16 with a goal for increasing energy independence and 

17 production, during the next 4-year period. 

18 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall determine a domestic 

19 strategic production objective for the development of 

20 energy resources from Federal onshore lands. Such 

21 objective shall be— 

22 ‘‘(A) the best estimate, based upon com23 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in24 crease in domestic production of oil and natural 

25 gas from the Federal onshore mineral estate, 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
25 

HR 1965 PCS

1 with a focus on lands held by the Bureau of 

2 Land Management and the Forest Service; 

3 ‘‘(B) the best estimate, based upon com4 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in5 crease in domestic coal production from Federal 

6 lands; 

7 ‘‘(C) the best estimate, based upon com8 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in9 crease in domestic production of strategic and 

10 critical energy minerals from the Federal on11 shore mineral estate; 

12 ‘‘(D) the best estimate, based upon com13 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in14 crease in megawatts for electricity production 

15 from each of the following sources: wind, solar, 

16 biomass, hydropower, and geothermal energy 

17 produced on Federal lands administered by the 

18 Bureau of Land Management and the Forest 

19 Service; 

20 ‘‘(E) the best estimate, based upon com21 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in22 crease in unconventional energy production, 

23 such as oil shale; 

24 ‘‘(F) the best estimate, based upon com25 mercial and scientific data, of the expected inVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:09 Dec 10, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1965.PCS H1965

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
26 

HR 1965 PCS

1 crease in domestic production of oil, natural 

2 gas, coal, and other renewable sources from 

3 tribal lands for any federally recognized Indian 

4 tribe that elects to participate in facilitating en5 ergy production on its lands; 

6 ‘‘(G) the best estimate, based upon com7 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in8 crease in production of helium on Federal lands 

9 administered by the Bureau of Land Manage10 ment and the Forest Service; and 

11 ‘‘(H) the best estimate, based upon com12 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in13 crease in domestic production of geothermal, 

14 solar, wind, or other renewable energy sources 

15 from ‘available lands’ (as such term is defined 

16 in section 203 of the Hawaiian Homes Commis17 sion Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108 et seq.), and in18 cluding any other lands deemed by the Terri19 tory or State of Hawaii, as the case may be, to 

20 be included within that definition) that the 

21 agency or department of the government of the 

22 State of Hawaii that is responsible for the ad23 ministration of such lands selects to be used for 

24 such energy production. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
27 

HR 1965 PCS

1 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall consult with the Ad2 ministrator of the Energy Information Administra3 tion regarding the methodology used to arrive at its 

4 estimates for purposes of this section. 

5 ‘‘(5) The Secretary has the authority to expand 

6 the energy development plan to include other energy 

7 production technology sources or advancements in 

8 energy on Federal lands. 

9 ‘‘(6) The Secretary shall include in the Strategy 

10 a plan for addressing new demands for transmission 

11 lines and pipelines for distribution of oil and gas 

12 across Federal lands to ensure that energy produced 

13 can be distributed to areas of need. 

14 ‘‘(b) TRIBAL OBJECTIVES.—It is the sense of Con15 gress that federally recognized Indian tribes may elect to 

16 set their own production objectives as part of the Strategy 

17 under this section. The Secretary shall work in coopera18 tion with any federally recognized Indian tribe that elects 

19 to participate in achieving its own strategic energy objec20 tives designated under this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(c) EXECUTION OF THE STRATEGY.—The relevant 

22 Secretary shall have all necessary authority to make deter23 minations regarding which additional lands will be made 

24 available in order to meet the production objectives estab25 lished by strategies under this section. The Secretary shall 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
28 

HR 1965 PCS

1 also take all necessary actions to achieve these production 

2 objectives unless the President determines that it is not 

3 in the national security and economic interests of the 

4 United States to increase Federal domestic energy produc5 tion and to further decrease dependence upon foreign 

6 sources of energy. In administering this section, the rel7 evant Secretary shall only consider leasing Federal lands 

8 available for leasing at the time the lease sale occurs. 

9 ‘‘(d) STATE, FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED INDIAN

10 TRIBES, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, AND PUBLIC INPUT.—In 

11 developing each strategy, the Secretary shall solicit the 

12 input of affected States, federally recognized Indian tribes, 

13 local governments, and the public. 

14 ‘‘(e) REPORTING.—The Secretary shall report annu15 ally to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

16 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

17 Natural Resources of the Senate on the progress of meet18 ing the production goals set forth in the strategy. The Sec19 retary shall identify in the report projections for produc20 tion and capacity installations and any problems with leas21 ing, permitting, siting, or production that will prevent 

22 meeting the goal. In addition, the Secretary shall make 

23 suggestions to help meet any shortfalls in meeting the pro24 duction goals. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
29 

HR 1965 PCS

1 ‘‘(f) PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

2 STATEMENT.—Not later than 12 months after the date 

3 of enactment of this section, in accordance with section 

4 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

5 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), the Secretary shall com6 plete a programmatic environmental impact statement. 

7 This programmatic environmental impact statement will 

8 be deemed sufficient to comply with all requirements 

9 under that Act for all necessary resource management and 

10 land use plans associated with the implementation of the 

11 strategy. 

12 ‘‘(g) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW.—At least 60 days 

13 prior to publishing a proposed strategy under this section, 

14 the Secretary shall submit it to the President and the Con15 gress, together with any comments received from States, 

16 federally recognized Indian tribes, and local governments. 

17 Such submission shall indicate why any specific rec18 ommendation of a State, federally recognized Indian tribe, 

19 or local government was not accepted. 

20 ‘‘(h) STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL ENERGY MINERALS

21 DEFINED.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘stra22 tegic and critical energy minerals’ means those that are 

23 necessary for the Nation’s energy infrastructure including 

24 pipelines, refining capacity, electrical power generation 

25 and transmission, and renewable energy production and 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
30 

HR 1965 PCS

1 those that are necessary to support domestic manufac2 turing, including but not limited to, materials used in en3 ergy generation, production, and transportation.’’. 

4 (b) FIRST QUADRENNIAL STRATEGY.—Not later 

5 than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 

6 the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to Congress the 

7 first Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy Production 

8 Strategy under the amendment made by subsection (a). 

9 TITLE III—NATIONAL PETRO10 LEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA 

11 ACCESS 

12 SEC. 3001. SHORT TITLE. 

13 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Petroleum 

14 Reserve Alaska Access Act’’. 

15 SEC. 3002. SENSE OF CONGRESS AND REAFFIRMING NA16 TIONAL POLICY FOR THE NATIONAL PETRO17 LEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that— 

19 (1) the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska 

20 remains explicitly designated, both in name and legal 

21 status, for purposes of providing oil and natural gas 

22 resources to the United States; and 

23 (2) accordingly, the national policy is to actively 

24 advance oil and gas development within the Reserve 

25 by facilitating the expeditious exploration, producVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:09 Dec 10, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1965.PCS H1965

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
31 

HR 1965 PCS

1 tion, and transportation of oil and natural gas from 

2 and through the Reserve. 

3 SEC. 3003. NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA: 

4 LEASE SALES. 

5 Section 107(a) of the Naval Petroleum Reserves Pro6 duction Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6506a(a)) is amended to 

7 read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct an 

9 expeditious program of competitive leasing of oil and gas 

10 in the reserve in accordance with this Act. Such program 

11 shall include at least one lease sale annually in those areas 

12 of the reserve most likely to produce commercial quantities 

13 of oil and natural gas each year in the period 2013 

14 through 2023.’’. 

15 SEC. 3004. NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA: 

16 PLANNING AND PERMITTING PIPELINE AND 

17 ROAD CONSTRUCTION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi19 sion of law, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation 

20 with other appropriate Federal agencies, shall facilitate 

21 and ensure permits, in a timely and environmentally re22 sponsible manner, for all surface development activities, 

23 including for the construction of pipelines and roads, nec24 essary to— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
32 

HR 1965 PCS

1 (1) develop and bring into production any areas 

2 within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska 

3 that are subject to oil and gas leases; and 

4 (2) transport oil and gas from and through the 

5 National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska in the most 

6 direct manner possible to existing transportation or 

7 processing infrastructure on the North Slope of 

8 Alaska. 

9 (b) TIMELINE.—The Secretary shall ensure that any 

10 Federal permitting agency shall issue permits in accord11 ance with the following timeline: 

12 (1) Permits for such construction for transpor13 tation of oil and natural gas produced under existing 

14 Federal oil and gas leases with respect to which the 

15 Secretary has issued a permit to drill shall be ap16 proved within 60 days after the date of enactment 

17 of this Act. 

18 (2) Permits for such construction for transpor19 tation of oil and natural gas produced under Federal 

20 oil and gas leases shall be approved within 6 months 

21 after the submission to the Secretary of a request 

22 for a permit to drill. 

23 (c) PLAN.—To ensure timely future development of 

24 the Reserve, within 270 days after the date of the enact25 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
33 

HR 1965 PCS

1 to Congress a plan for approved rights-of-way for a plan 

2 for pipeline, road, and any other surface infrastructure 

3 that may be necessary infrastructure that will ensure that 

4 all leasable tracts in the Reserve are within 25 miles of 

5 an approved road and pipeline right-of-way that can serve 

6 future development of the Reserve. 

7 SEC. 3005. ISSUANCE OF A NEW INTEGRATED ACTIVITY 

8 PLAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATE9 MENT. 

10 (a) ISSUANCE OF NEW INTEGRATED ACTIVITY

11 PLAN.—The Secretary of the Interior shall, within 180 

12 days after the date of enactment of this Act, issue— 

13 (1) a new proposed integrated activity plan 

14 from among the non-adopted alternatives in the Na15 tional Petroleum Reserve Alaska Integrated Activity 

16 Plan Record of Decision issued by the Secretary of 

17 the Interior and dated February 21, 2013; and 

18 (2) an environmental impact statement under 

19 section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 

20 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) for 

21 issuance of oil and gas leases in the National Petro22 leum Reserve-Alaska to promote efficient and max23 imum development of oil and natural gas resources 

24 of such reserve. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
34 

HR 1965 PCS

1 (b) NULLIFICATION OF EXISTING RECORD OF DECI2 SION, IAP, AND EIS.—Except as provided in subsection 

3 (a), the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Integrated 

4 Activity Plan Record of Decision issued by the Secretary 

5 of the Interior and dated February 21, 2013, including 

6 the integrated activity plan and environmental impact 

7 statement referred to in that record of decision, shall have 

8 no force or effect. 

9 SEC. 3006. DEPARTMENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR DEVEL10 OPMENT. 

11 The Secretary of the Interior shall issue regulations 

12 not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

13 this Act that establish clear requirements to ensure that 

14 the Department of the Interior is supporting development 

15 of oil and gas leases in the National Petroleum Reserve16 Alaska. 

17 SEC. 3007. DEADLINES UNDER NEW PROPOSED INTE18 GRATED ACTIVITY PLAN. 

19 At a minimum, the new proposed integrated activity 

20 plan issued under section 3005(a)(1) shall— 

21 (1) require the Department of the Interior to 

22 respond within 5 business days to a person who sub23 mits an application for a permit for development of 

24 oil and natural gas leases in the National Petroleum 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
35 

HR 1965 PCS

1 Reserve-Alaska acknowledging receipt of such appli2 cation; and 

3 (2) establish a timeline for the processing of 

4 each such application, that— 

5 (A) specifies deadlines for decisions and 

6 actions on permit applications; and 

7 (B) provide that the period for issuing 

8 each permit after submission of such an appli9 cation shall not exceed 60 days without the con10 currence of the applicant. 

11 SEC. 3008. UPDATED RESOURCE ASSESSMENT. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 

13 complete a comprehensive assessment of all technically re14 coverable fossil fuel resources within the National Petro15 leum Reserve in Alaska, including all conventional and un16 conventional oil and natural gas. 

17 (b) COOPERATION AND CONSULTATION.—The re18 source assessment required by subsection (a) shall be car19 ried out by the United States Geological Survey in co20 operation and consultation with the State of Alaska and 

21 the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. 

22 (c) TIMING.—The resource assessment required by 

23 subsection (a) shall be completed within 24 months of the 

24 date of the enactment of this Act. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
36 

HR 1965 PCS

1 (d) FUNDING.—The United States Geological Survey 

2 may, in carrying out the duties under this section, coop3 eratively use resources and funds provided by the State 

4 of Alaska. 

5 TITLE IV—BLM LIVE INTERNET 

6 AUCTIONS 

7 SEC. 4001. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This title may be cited as the ‘‘BLM Live Internet 

9 Auctions Act’’. 

10 SEC. 4002. INTERNET-BASED ONSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE 

11 SALES. 

12 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 17(b)(1) of the Min13 eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)) is amended— 

14 (1) in subparagraph (A), in the third sentence, 

15 by inserting ‘‘, except as provided in subparagraph 

16 (C)’’ after ‘‘by oral bidding’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘(C) In order to diversify and expand the Nation’s 

19 onshore leasing program to ensure the best return to the 

20 Federal taxpayer, reduce fraud, and secure the leasing 

21 process, the Secretary may conduct onshore lease sales 

22 through Internet-based bidding methods. Each individual 

23 Internet-based lease sale shall conclude within 7 days.’’. 

24 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the tenth 

25 Internet-based lease sale conducted under the amendment 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
37 

HR 1965 PCS

1 made by subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall 

2 analyze the first 10 such lease sales and report to Con3 gress the findings of the analysis. The report shall in4 clude— 

5 (1) estimates on increases or decreases in such 

6 lease sales, compared to sales conducted by oral bid7 ding, in— 

8 (A) the number of bidders; 

9 (B) the average amount of bid; 

10 (C) the highest amount bid; and 

11 (D) the lowest bid; 

12 (2) an estimate on the total cost or savings to 

13 the Department of the Interior as a result of such 

14 sales, compared to sales conducted by oral bidding; 

15 and 

16 (3) an evaluation of the demonstrated or ex17 pected effectiveness of different structures for lease 

18 sales which may provide an opportunity to better 

19 maximize bidder participation, ensure the highest re20 turn to the Federal taxpayers, minimize opportuni21 ties for fraud or collusion, and ensure the security 

22 and integrity of the leasing process. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
38 

HR 1965 PCS

1 TITLE V—NATIVE AMERICAN 

2 ENERGY 

3 SEC. 5001. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Native American En5 ergy Act’’. 

6 SEC. 5002. APPRAISALS. 

7 (a) AMENDMENT.—Title XXVI of the Energy Policy 

8 Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) is amended by add9 ing at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 2607. APPRAISAL REFORMS. 

11 ‘‘(a) OPTIONS TO INDIAN TRIBES.—With respect to 

12 a transaction involving Indian land or the trust assets of 

13 an Indian tribe that requires the approval of the Sec14 retary, any appraisal relating to fair market value required 

15 to be conducted under applicable law, regulation, or policy 

16 may be completed by— 

17 ‘‘(1) the Secretary; 

18 ‘‘(2) the affected Indian tribe; or 

19 ‘‘(3) a certified, third-party appraiser pursuant 

20 to a contract with the Indian tribe. 

21 ‘‘(b) TIME LIMIT ON SECRETARIAL REVIEW AND AC22 TION.—Not later than 30 days after the date on which 

23 the Secretary receives an appraisal conducted by or for 

24 an Indian tribe pursuant to paragraphs (2) or (3) of sub25 section (a), the Secretary shall— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
39 

HR 1965 PCS

1 ‘‘(1) review the appraisal; and 

2 ‘‘(2) provide to the Indian tribe a written notice 

3 of approval or disapproval of the appraisal. 

4 ‘‘(c) FAILURE OF SECRETARY TO APPROVE OR DIS5 APPROVE.—If, after 60 days, the Secretary has failed to 

6 approve or disapprove any appraisal received, the ap7 praisal shall be deemed approved. 

8 ‘‘(d) OPTION TO INDIAN TRIBES TO WAIVE AP9 PRAISAL.— 

10 ‘‘(1) An Indian tribe wishing to waive the re11 quirements of subsection (a), may do so after it has 

12 satisfied the requirements of subsections (2) and (3) 

13 below. 

14 ‘‘(2) An Indian tribe wishing to forego the ne15 cessity of a waiver pursuant to this section must 

16 provide to the Secretary a written resolution, state17 ment, or other unambiguous indication of tribal in18 tent, duly approved by the governing body of the In19 dian tribe. 

20 ‘‘(3) The unambiguous indication of intent pro21 vided by the Indian tribe to the Secretary under 

22 paragraph (2) must include an express waiver by the 

23 Indian tribe of any claims for damages it might have 

24 against the United States as a result of the lack of 

25 an appraisal undertaken. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
40 

HR 1965 PCS

1 ‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this subsection, 

2 the term ‘appraisal’ includes appraisals and other esti3 mates of value. 

4 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall develop 

5 regulations for implementing this section, including stand6 ards the Secretary shall use for approving or disapproving 

7 an appraisal.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con9 tents of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13201 

10 note) is amended by adding at the end of the items relat11 ing to title XXVI the following: 

‘‘Sec. 2607. Appraisal reforms.’’. 

12 SEC. 5003. STANDARDIZATION. 

13 As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall implement 

15 procedures to ensure that each agency within the Depart16 ment of the Interior that is involved in the review, ap17 proval, and oversight of oil and gas activities on Indian 

18 lands shall use a uniform system of reference numbers and 

19 tracking systems for oil and gas wells. 

20 SEC. 5004. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS OF MAJOR FEDERAL 

21 ACTIONS ON INDIAN LANDS. 

22 Section 102 of the National Environmental Policy 

23 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) is amended by inserting 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before the first sentence, and by 

25 adding at the end the following: 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
41 

HR 1965 PCS

1 ‘‘(b) REVIEW OF MAJOR FEDERAL ACTIONS ON IN2 DIAN LANDS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For any major Federal ac4 tion on Indian lands of an Indian tribe requiring the 

5 preparation of a statement under subsection 

6 (a)(2)(C), the statement shall only be available for 

7 review and comment by the members of the Indian 

8 tribe and by any other individual residing within the 

9 affected area. 

10 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Chairman of the 

11 Council on Environmental Quality shall develop reg12 ulations to implement this section, including descrip13 tions of affected areas for specific major Federal ac14 tions, in consultation with Indian tribes. 

15 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, each of 

16 the terms ‘Indian land’ and ‘Indian tribe’ has the 

17 meaning given that term in section 2601 of the En18 ergy Policy Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3501). 

19 ‘‘(4) CLARIFICATION OF AUTHORITY.—Nothing 

20 in the Native American Energy Act, except section 

21 5006 of that Act, shall give the Secretary any addi22 tional authority over energy projects on Alaska Na23 tive Claims Settlement Act lands.’’. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
42 

HR 1965 PCS

1 SEC. 5005. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

2 (a) TIME FOR FILING COMPLAINT.—Any energy re3 lated action must be filed not later than the end of the 

4 60-day period beginning on the date of the final agency 

5 action. Any energy related action not filed within this time 

6 period shall be barred. 

7 (b) DISTRICT COURT VENUE AND DEADLINE.—All 

8 energy related actions— 

9 (1) shall be brought in the United States Dis10 trict Court for the District of Columbia; and 

11 (2) shall be resolved as expeditiously as pos12 sible, and in any event not more than 180 days after 

13 such cause of action is filed. 

14 (c) APPELLATE REVIEW.—An interlocutory order or 

15 final judgment, decree or order of the district court in an 

16 energy related action may be reviewed by the U.S. Court 

17 of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The D.C. 

18 Circuit Court of Appeals shall resolve such appeal as expe19 ditiously as possible, and in any event not more than 180 

20 days after such interlocutory order or final judgment, de21 cree or order of the district court was issued. 

22 (d) LIMITATION ON CERTAIN PAYMENTS.—Notwith23 standing section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, no 

24 award may be made under section 504 of title 5, United 

25 States Code, or under section 2412 of title 28, United 

26 States Code, and no amounts may be obligated or exVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:09 Dec 10, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1965.PCS H1965

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
43 

HR 1965 PCS

1 pended from the Claims and Judgment Fund of the 

2 United States Treasury to pay any fees or other expenses 

3 under such sections, to any person or party in an energy 

4 related action. 

5 (e) LEGAL FEES.—In any energy related action in 

6 which the plaintiff does not ultimately prevail, the court 

7 shall award to the defendant (including any intervenor8 defendants), other than the United States, fees and other 

9 expenses incurred by that party in connection with the en10 ergy related action, unless the court finds that the position 

11 of the plaintiff was substantially justified or that special 

12 circumstances make an award unjust. Whether or not the 

13 position of the plaintiff was substantially justified shall be 

14 determined on the basis of the administrative record, as 

15 a whole, which is made in the energy related action for 

16 which fees and other expenses are sought. 

17 (f) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section, 

18 the following definitions apply: 

19 (1) AGENCY ACTION.—The term ‘‘agency ac20 tion’’ has the same meaning given such term in sec21 tion 551 of title 5, United States Code. 

22 (2) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian Land’’ 

23 has the same meaning given such term in section 

24 203(c)(3) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public 

25 Law 109–58; 25 U.S.C. 3501), including lands 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
44 

HR 1965 PCS

1 owned by Native Corporations under the Alaska Na2 tive Claims Settlement Act (Public Law 92–203; 43 

3 U.S.C. 1601). 

4 (3) ENERGY RELATED ACTION.—The term ‘‘en5 ergy related action’’ means a cause of action that— 

6 (A) is filed on or after the effective date of 

7 this Act; and 

8 (B) seeks judicial review of a final agency 

9 action to issue a permit, license, or other form 

10 of agency permission allowing: 

11 (i) any person or entity to conduct ac12 tivities on Indian Land, which activities in13 volve the exploration, development, produc14 tion or transportation of oil, gas, coal, 

15 shale gas, oil shale, geothermal resources, 

16 wind or solar resources, underground coal 

17 gasification, biomass, or the generation of 

18 electricity; or 

19 (ii) any Indian Tribe, or any organiza20 tion of two or more entities, at least one 

21 of which is an Indian tribe, to conduct ac22 tivities involving the exploration, develop23 ment, production or transportation of oil, 

24 gas, coal, shale gas, oil shale, geothermal 

25 resources, wind or solar resources, underVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:09 Dec 10, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1965.PCS H1965

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
45 

HR 1965 PCS

1 ground coal gasification, biomass, or the 

2 generation of electricity, regardless of 

3 where such activities are undertaken. 

4 (4) ULTIMATELY PREVAIL.—The phrase ‘‘ulti5 mately prevail’’ means, in a final enforceable judg6 ment, the court rules in the party’s favor on at least 

7 one cause of action which is an underlying rationale 

8 for the preliminary injunction, administrative stay, 

9 or other relief requested by the party, and does not 

10 include circumstances where the final agency action 

11 is modified or amended by the issuing agency unless 

12 such modification or amendment is required pursu13 ant to a final enforceable judgment of the court or 

14 a court-ordered consent decree. 

15 SEC. 5006. TRIBAL BIOMASS DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 

16 The Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 is amended 

17 by inserting after section 2 (25 U.S.C. 3115a) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 3. TRIBAL BIOMASS DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 2014 

21 through 2018, the Secretary shall enter into stewardship 

22 contracts or other agreements, other than agreements that 

23 are exclusively direct service contracts, with Indian tribes 

24 to carry out demonstration projects to promote biomass 

25 energy production (including biofuel, heat, and electricity 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
46 

HR 1965 PCS

1 generation) on Indian forest land and in nearby commu2 nities by providing reliable supplies of woody biomass from 

3 Federal land. 

4 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—The definitions in section 2 

5 shall apply to this section. 

6 ‘‘(c) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—In each fiscal 

7 year for which projects are authorized, the Secretary shall 

8 enter into contracts or other agreements described in sub9 section (a) to carry out at least 4 new demonstration 

10 projects that meet the eligibility criteria described in sub11 section (d). 

12 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—To be eligible to enter 

13 into a contract or other agreement under this subsection, 

14 an Indian tribe shall submit to the Secretary an applica15 tion— 

16 ‘‘(1) containing such information as the Sec17 retary may require; and 

18 ‘‘(2) that includes a description of— 

19 ‘‘(A) the Indian forest land or rangeland 

20 under the jurisdiction of the Indian tribe; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the demonstration project proposed 

22 to be carried out by the Indian tribe. 

23 ‘‘(e) SELECTION.—In evaluating the applications 

24 submitted under subsection (c), the Secretary— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
47 

HR 1965 PCS

1 ‘‘(1) shall take into consideration the factors set 

2 forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 2(e) of 

3 Public Law 108–278; and whether a proposed dem4 onstration project would— 

5 ‘‘(A) increase the availability or reliability 

6 of local or regional energy; 

7 ‘‘(B) enhance the economic development of 

8 the Indian tribe; 

9 ‘‘(C) improve the connection of electric 

10 power transmission facilities serving the Indian 

11 tribe with other electric transmission facilities; 

12 ‘‘(D) improve the forest health or water13 sheds of Federal land or Indian forest land or 

14 rangeland; or 

15 ‘‘(E) otherwise promote the use of woody 

16 biomass; and 

17 ‘‘(2) shall exclude from consideration any mer18 chantable logs that have been identified by the Sec19 retary for commercial sale. 

20 ‘‘(f) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) ensure that the criteria described in sub22 section (c) are publicly available by not later than 

23 120 days after the date of enactment of this section; 

24 and 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
48 

HR 1965 PCS

1 ‘‘(2) to the maximum extent practicable, consult 

2 with Indian tribes and appropriate intertribal orga3 nizations likely to be affected in developing the ap4 plication and otherwise carrying out this section. 

5 ‘‘(g) REPORT.—Not later than September 20, 2015, 

6 the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that de7 scribes, with respect to the reporting period— 

8 ‘‘(1) each individual tribal application received 

9 under this section; and 

10 ‘‘(2) each contract and agreement entered into 

11 pursuant to this section. 

12 ‘‘(h) INCORPORATION OF MANAGEMENT PLANS.—In 

13 carrying out a contract or agreement under this section, 

14 on receipt of a request from an Indian tribe, the Secretary 

15 shall incorporate into the contract or agreement, to the 

16 extent practicable, management plans (including forest 

17 management and integrated resource management plans) 

18 in effect on the Indian forest land or rangeland of the re19 spective Indian tribe. 

20 ‘‘(i) TERM.—A stewardship contract or other agree21 ment entered into under this section— 

22 ‘‘(1) shall be for a term of not more than 20 

23 years; and 

24 ‘‘(2) may be renewed in accordance with this 

25 section for not more than an additional 10 years.’’. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
49 

HR 1965 PCS

1 SEC. 5007. TRIBAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANS. 

2 Unless otherwise explicitly exempted by Federal law 

3 enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act, any 

4 activity conducted or resources harvested or produced pur5 suant to a tribal resource management plan or an inte6 grated resource management plan approved by the Sec7 retary of the Interior under the National Indian Forest 

8 Resources Management Act (25 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) or 

9 the American Indian Agricultural Resource Management 

10 Act (25 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), shall be considered a sus11 tainable management practice for purposes of any Federal 

12 standard, benefit, or requirement that requires a dem13 onstration of such sustainability. 

14 SEC. 5008. LEASES OF RESTRICTED LANDS FOR THE NAV15 AJO NATION. 

16 Subsection (e)(1) of the first section of the Act of 

17 August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 415(e)(1); commonly referred 

18 to as the ‘‘Long-Term Leasing Act’’), is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘, except a lease for’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘, including leases for’’; 

21 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘25’’ the 

22 first place it appears and all that follows and insert23 ing ‘‘99 years;’’; 

24 (3) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 

25 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

26 (4) by adding at the end the following: 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
50 

HR 1965 PCS

1 ‘‘(C) in the case of a lease for the exploration, 

2 development, or extraction of mineral resources, in3 cluding geothermal resources, 25 years, except that 

4 any such lease may include an option to renew for 

5 one additional term not to exceed 25 years.’’. 

6 SEC. 5009. NONAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN RULES. 

7 No rule promulgated by the Department of the Inte8 rior regarding hydraulic fracturing used in the develop9 ment or production of oil or gas resources shall have any 

10 effect on any land held in trust or restricted status for 

11 the benefit of Indians except with the express consent of 

12 the beneficiary on whose behalf such land is held in trust 

13 or restricted status. 

Passed the House of Representatives November 20, 

2013. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 254 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1965 

AN ACT 

To streamline and ensure onshore energy permitjob creation, and for other purposes. ican energy security, economic development, and give certainty to oil shale development for Amer- ting, provide for onshore leasing certainty, and 

DECEMBER 9, 2013 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS