II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2986 

To prohibit the issuance of an interim or final rule, and to prohibit the 

inclusion in certain oil and gas leases, exploration or development plans, 

or well permits requirements or recommendations, that establish a vessel 

speed or operational restriction in the Central or Western Planning 

Area of the Gulf of Mexico of the outer Continental Shelf until the 

Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce complete a 

study demonstrating that proposed mitigation efforts would have no 

negative impact on supply chains, United States offshore energy production and generation, military activities, including readiness, and United 

States commercial and recreational fishing maritime commerce, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 28 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2023 

Mr. CASSIDY (for himself, Ms. LUMMIS, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mrs. BRITT, Mr. 

WICKER, Mr. TUBERVILLE, and Mr. BARRASSO) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To prohibit the issuance of an interim or final rule, and 

to prohibit the inclusion in certain oil and gas leases, 

exploration or development plans, or well permits requirements or recommendations, that establish a vessel speed 

or operational restriction in the Central or Western Planning Area of the Gulf of Mexico of the outer Continental 

Shelf until the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce complete a study demonstrating that 

proposed mitigation efforts would have no negative imVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Oct 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\S2986.IS S2986

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•S 2986 IS

pact on supply chains, United States offshore energy 

production and generation, military activities, including 

readiness, and United States commercial and recreational 

fishing maritime commerce, 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 ‘‘Warding off Hostile 

5 Administrative Leasing Efforts Act’’ or the ‘‘WHALE 

6 Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. VESSEL SPEED OR OPERATIONAL RESTRICTIONS IN 

8 THE GULF OF MEXICO. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall 

10 not issue an interim or final rule, and the Secretary of 

11 the Interior shall not include in an offshore oil and gas 

12 lease sale, exploration or development plan, or well permit 

13 in the Central or Western Planning Area of the Gulf of 

14 Mexico of the outer Continental Shelf a requirement or 

15 recommendation, that establishes a vessel speed or vessel 

16 operational restriction for any length of time in such a 

17 Planning Area until the Secretary of Commerce and Sec18 retary of the Interior— 

19 (1) complete a study— 

20 (A) assessing the impact of any mitigation 

21 protocols developed under subsection (b) on— 


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1 (i) the core habitat for Rice’s whales 

2 in the Eastern Planning Area of the Gulf 

3 of Mexico; and 

4 (ii) seasonal occupation and usage 

5 patterns outside such core habitat; and 

6 (B) demonstrating that mitigation proto7 cols developed under subsection (b) would have 

8 no negative impact on supply chains, United 

9 States offshore energy production and genera10 tion, military activities, including readiness, and 

11 United States commercial and recreational fish12 ing or maritime commerce; and 

13 (2) not later than 60 days after completing the 

14 study described in paragraph (1), submit a report 

15 containing the findings of such study to— 

16 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

17 and Transportation and the Committee on En18 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate; and 

19 (B) the Committee on Natural Resources 

20 and the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

21 of the House of Representatives. 

22 (b) MITIGATION PROTOCOLS REQUIRED.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce, 

24 in concurrence with the Secretary of the Interior and 

25 in consultation with the Secretary of the department 


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1 in which the Coast Guard is operating, the Secretary 

2 of Defense, the Secretary of Transportation, and af3 fected stakeholders, shall develop mitigation proto4 cols that make use of any monitoring system de5 signed under section 11303 of the Don Young Coast 

6 Guard Authorization Act of 2022 (16 U.S.C. 1391) 

7 to direct sector-specific mitigation measures that re8 duce the risk of serious injury and mortality to 

9 Rice’s whales in the Eastern Planning Area of the 

10 Gulf of Mexico. 

11 (2) PROHIBITIONS.—The mitigation protocols 

12 developed under paragraph (1) may not include— 

13 (A) any prohibitions on transit at night; or 

14 (B) implementation of a vessel speed or 

15 vessel operational restriction. 

16 (c) NATIONAL SECURITY.—The Secretary of Com17 merce shall, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, 

18 provide in any interim or final rule described in subsection 

19 (a) an exception for national security activities. 

20 (d) DEFINITION OF CORE HABITAT.—For purposes 

21 of this section, the term ‘‘core habitat’’, with respect to 

22 Rice’s whales, has the meaning given the term ‘‘Bryde’s 

23 whale area’’ in the ‘‘Biological Opinion on the Federally 

24 Regulated Oil and Gas Program Activities in the Gulf of 


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1 Mexico’’ published by the Department of Commerce on 

2 March 13, 2020. 

Æ 


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