I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1777 

To provide consumer relief for artificially high gas prices, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 5, 2011 

Mr. LATTA (for himself, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. FLORES, Mr. 

WALSH of Illinois, Mr. PITTS, Mrs. LUMMIS, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. CAMPBELL, Mr. ROSS of Florida, Mr. WEST, 

Mr. GUINTA, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. LONG, Mr. MANZULLO, Mrs. 

BLACKBURN, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. AKIN, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. CULBERSON, Mr. 

FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mr. CHAFFETZ, 

Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. GRIMM, Mr. HUELSKAMP, Mr. HERGER, Mrs. MYRICK, 

Mr. SCALISE, Mr. JORDAN, and Mr. ROKITA) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in 

addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Transportation 

and Infrastructure, Oversight and Government Reform, and 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 provide consumer relief for artificially high gas prices, 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be referred to as 

3 the ‘‘Consumer Relief for Pain at the Pump Act’’. 

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

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—END OF PRESIDENTIAL PERMATORIUM ON AMERICA’S 

OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF RESOURCES 

Sec. 101. Deadline for certain permit applications under existing leases. 

Subtitle A—Outer Continental Shelf 

Sec. 111. End moratorium of oil and gas leasing in certain areas of the Gulf 

of Mexico. 

Sec. 112. Outer Continental Shelf directed lease sales. 

Sec. 113. Leasing program considered approved. 

Sec. 114. Outer Continental Shelf lease sales. 

Sec. 115. Restrictions on leasing of the Outer Continental Shelf. 

Sec. 116. Sharing of OCS receipts with States and local governments. 

Subtitle B—Arctic Coastal Plain 

Sec. 121. Definitions. 

Sec. 122. Leasing program for land within the Coastal Plain. 

Sec. 123. Lease sales. 

Sec. 124. Grant of leases by the Secretary. 

Sec. 125. Lease terms and conditions. 

Sec. 126. Expedited judicial review. 

Sec. 127. Rights-of-way across the Coastal Plain. 

Sec. 128. Conveyance. 

TITLE II—REVOCATION OF ENERGY-RESTRICTING BLM LOCKUP 

Sec. 201. Revocation of Secretarial Order No. 3310. 

Subtitle A—Expedited Shale Leasing of Federal Lands 

Sec. 211. Opening of lands to oil shale leasing. 

Subtitle B—Judicial Review Regarding Energy Projects 

Sec. 221. Exclusive jurisdiction over causes and claims relating to covered energy projects. 

Sec. 222. Time for filing complaint. 

Sec. 223. District Court for the District of Columbia deadline. 

Sec. 224. Ability to seek appellate review. 

Sec. 225. Deadline for appeal to the Supreme Court. 

Sec. 226. Covered energy project defined. 

Sec. 227. Limitation on application. 

Subtitle C—Permitting Reform 


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Sec. 231. Purposes. 

Sec. 232. Federal Coordinator. 

Sec. 233. Regional Offices and Regional Permit Coordinators. 

Sec. 234. Reviews and actions of Federal agencies. 

Sec. 235. State coordination. 

Sec. 236. Savings provision. 

Sec. 237. Administrative and Judicial Review. 

Sec. 238. Amendments to publication process. 

Sec. 239. Repeal of fee for permits to drill. 

Sec. 240. Alaska Offshore Continental Shelf Coordination Office. 

TITLE III—RELIEF FROM REGULATIONS AND PROHIBITIONS 

THAT CAUSE ARTIFICIAL PRICE INCREASES 

Subtitle A—Relief From EPA Climate Change Regulations and Federal 

Prohibitions on Synthetic Fuels 

Sec. 301. Repeal of EPA climate change regulation. 

Sec. 302. Repeal of Federal ban on synthetic fuels purchasing requirement. 

Subtitle B—Refinery Reform 

Sec. 311. Refinery permitting process. 

Sec. 312. Existing refinery permit application deadline. 

1 TITLE I—END OF PRESIDENTIAL 

2 PERMATORIUM ON AMER3 ICA’S OUTER CONTINENTAL 

4 SHELF RESOURCES 

5 SEC. 101. DEADLINE FOR CERTAIN PERMIT APPLICATIONS 

6 UNDER EXISTING LEASES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—A lease under which a covered ap8 plication is submitted to the Secretary of the Interior shall 

9 be considered to be in directed suspension during the pe10 riod beginning May 27, 2010, and ending on the date the 

11 Secretary issues a final decision on the application, if the 

12 Secretary does not issue a final decision on the applica13 tion— 

14 (1) before the end of the 30-day period begin15 ning on the date of enactment of this Act, in the 


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1 case of a covered application submitted before such 

2 date of enactment; or 

3 (2) before the end of the 30-day period begin4 ning on the date the application is received by the 

5 Secretary, in the case of a covered application sub6 mitted on or after such date of enactment. 

7 (b) COVERED APPLICATION.—In this section the 

8 term ‘‘covered application’’ means an application for a 

9 permit to drill under an oil and gas lease under the Outer 

10 Continental Shelf Lands Act in effect on the date of enact11 ment of this Act, that— 

12 (1) represents a resubmission of an approved 

13 permit to drill (including an application for a permit 

14 to sidetrack) that was approved by the Secretary be15 fore May 27, 2010; and 

16 (2) is received by the Secretary after October 

17 12, 2010, and before the end of the 30-day period 

18 beginning on the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 Subtitle A—Outer Continental 

20 Shelf 

21 SEC. 111. END MORATORIUM OF OIL AND GAS LEASING IN 

22 CERTAIN AREAS OF THE GULF OF MEXICO. 

23 (a) REPEAL OF MORATORIUM.— 


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1 (1) REPEAL.—Section 104 of the Gulf of Mex2 ico Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 

3 note; Public Law 109–432) is repealed. 

4 (2) NATIONAL DEFENSE AREA.—Section 12(d) 

5 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

6 U.S.C. 1341(d)) is amended— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘(d) The United States’’ 

8 and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(d) RESTRICTION OF AREAS FOR NATIONAL DE10 FENSE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The United States’’; and 

12 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(2) REVIEW.—Annually, the Secretary of De14 fense shall review the areas of the outer Continental 

15 Shelf that have been designated as restricted from 

16 exploration and operation to determine whether the 

17 areas should remain under restriction.’’. 

18 (b) LEASING OF MORATORIUM AREAS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable, but 

20 not later than 1 year, after the date of enactment 

21 of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall offer 

22 for leasing under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

23 Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), any areas made avail24 able for leasing as a result of the enactment of sub25 section (a). 


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1 (2) LEASING PLAN.—Any areas made available 

2 for leasing under paragraph (1) shall be offered for 

3 lease under this section notwithstanding the omis4 sion of any of these respective areas from the appli5 cable 5-year plan developed by the Secretary pursu6 ant to section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf 

7 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344). 

8 (c) MILITARY MISSION.—Section 104 of the Gulf of 

9 Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 

10 note; Public Law 109–432) is further amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘(b) MILITARY MISSION

12 LINE.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), the’’ and in13 serting ‘‘(c) MILITARY MISSION.—’’; 

14 (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub15 section (b); 

16 (3) in subsection (b)(1), as so redesignated, by 

17 striking ‘‘paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (a)’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘paragraph (5)’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(5) AREAS DESCRIBED.—The areas referred to 

21 in paragraph (1) are— 

22 ‘‘(A) any area in the Eastern Planning 

23 Area that is within 125 miles of the coastline 

24 of the State of Florida; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) any area in the Central Planning 

2 Area that is— 

3 ‘‘(i) within— 

4 ‘‘(I) the 181 Area; and 

5 ‘‘(II) 100 miles of the coastline 

6 of the State of Florida; or 

7 ‘‘(ii)(I) outside the 181 Area; 

8 ‘‘(II) east of the western edge of 

9 the Pensacola Official Protraction 

10 Diagram (UTM X coordinate 

11 1,393,920 (NAD 27 feet)); and 

12 ‘‘(III) within 100 miles of the 

13 coastline of the State of Florida.’’. 

14 SEC. 112. OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF DIRECTED LEASE 

15 SALES. 

16 (a) 209 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary of the Interior 

17 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall offer 

18 the Beaufort Sea Program Area for oil and gas leasing 

19 pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

20 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 2007– 

21 2012 Lease Sale Schedule. 

22 (b) 210 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

23 Western Gulf of Mexico Program Area for oil and gas leas24 ing pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 


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1 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 

2 2007–2012 Lease Sale Schedule. 

3 (c) 212 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

4 Chukchi Sea Program Area for oil and gas leasing pursu5 ant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

6 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 2007–2012 

7 Lease Sale Schedule. 

8 (d) 213 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

9 Central Gulf of Mexico Program Area for oil and gas leas10 ing pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

11 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 

12 2007–2012 Lease Sale Schedule. 

13 (e) 215 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

14 Western Gulf of Mexico Program Area for oil and gas leas15 ing pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

16 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 

17 2007–2012 Lease Sale Schedule. 

18 (f) 216 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

19 Central Gulf of Mexico Program Area for oil and gas leas20 ing pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

21 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 

22 2007–2012 Lease Sale Schedule. 

23 (g) 217 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

24 Beaufort Sea Program Area for oil and gas leasing pursu25 ant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 


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1 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 2007–2012 

2 Lease Sale Schedule. 

3 (h) 214 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

4 North Aleutian Basin Program Area for oil and gas leas5 ing pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

6 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 

7 2007–2012 Lease Sale Schedule. 

8 (i) 218 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

9 Western Gulf of Mexico Program Area for oil and gas leas10 ing pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

11 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 

12 2007–2012 Lease Sale Schedule. 

13 (j) 219 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

14 Cook Inlet Program Area for oil and gas leasing pursuant 

15 to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 

16 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 2007–2012 Lease 

17 Sale Schedule. 

18 (k) 220 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

19 Mid-Atlantic Program Area for oil and gas leasing pursu20 ant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

21 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 2007–2012 

22 Lease Sale Schedule. 

23 (l) 221 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

24 Chukchi Sea Program Area for oil and gas leasing pursu25 ant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 


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1 1331 et seq.) in 2012 as established in the 2007–2012 

2 Lease Sale Schedule. 

3 (m) 222 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

4 Central Gulf of Mexico Program Area for oil and gas leas5 ing pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

6 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) in 2012 as established in the 

7 2007–2012 Lease Sale Schedule. 

8 SEC. 113. LEASING PROGRAM CONSIDERED APPROVED. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Draft Proposed Outer Conti10 nental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program 2010–2015 

11 issued by the Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this 

12 section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) under section 18 of the Outer 

13 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) is consid14 ered to have been approved by the Secretary as a final 

15 oil and gas leasing program under that section. 

16 (b) FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.— 

17 The Secretary is considered to have issued a final environ18 mental impact statement for the program described in 

19 subsection (a) in accordance with all of the requirements 

20 of sections 18, 19, and 20 of the Outer Continental Shelf 

21 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344, 1345, and 1346), in accord22 ance with all requirements under section 102(2)(C) of the 

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

24 4332(2)(C)), and in accordance with all requirements of 


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1 the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 

2 1451 et seq.). 

3 SEC. 114. OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LEASE SALES. 

4 (a) REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT LEASE SALES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), not later than one year after the date of 

7 enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the 

8 Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this section 

9 as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall conduct at a minimum one 

10 lease sale in an Atlantic Planning Area, one lease 

11 sale in the Pacific Planning Area, one lease sale in 

12 the Alaska Planning Area, and three lease sales in 

13 a Gulf of Mexico Planning Area for which the Sec14 retary determines that there is a commercial interest 

15 in purchasing Federal oil and gas leases for produc16 tion on the outer Continental Shelf. 

17 (2) SUBSEQUENT DETERMINATIONS AND

18 SALES.—If the Secretary determines that there is 

19 not a commercial interest in purchasing Federal oil 

20 and gas leases for production on the outer Conti21 nental Shelf in a planning area under this sub22 section, not later than 2 years after the date of en23 actment of the determination and every 2 years 

24 thereafter, the Secretary shall— 


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1 (A) determine whether there is a commer2 cial interest in purchasing Federal oil and gas 

3 leases for production on the outer Continental 

4 Shelf in the planning area; and 

5 (B) if the Secretary determines that there 

6 is a commercial interest described in subpara7 graph (A), conduct a lease sale in the planning 

8 area. 

9 (b) LEASING PLAN.—Any areas made available for 

10 leasing under subsection (a) shall be offered for lease 

11 under this section notwithstanding the omission of any of 

12 these respective areas from the applicable 5-year plan de13 veloped by the Secretary pursuant to section 18 of the 

14 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344). 

15 SEC. 115. RESTRICTIONS ON LEASING OF THE OUTER CON16 TINENTAL SHELF. 

17 (a) STATE OPT-OUT.—No lease authorizing a perma18 nent surface energy project for the exploration, develop19 ment, or production of oil or gas may be issued for any 

20 area of the Outer Continental Shelf located within 10 

21 miles of the coastline of a State if the State has notified 

22 the Secretary of the Interior that the State does not want 

23 to participate in such leasing. 


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1 (b) EXISTING LEASES NOT AFFECTED.—This sec2 tion shall not affect any lease issued before the date of 

3 enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 116. SHARING OF OCS RECEIPTS WITH STATES AND 

5 LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 

6 Section 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

7 (43 U.S.C. 1338) is amended as follows: 

8 (1) By designating the existing text as sub9 section (a). 

10 (2) In subsection (a) (as so designated) by in11 serting ‘‘, if not paid as otherwise provided in this 

12 title’’ after ‘‘receipts’’. 

13 (3) By adding the following: 

14 ‘‘(b) TREATMENT OF OCS RECEIPTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) DEPOSIT.—The Secretary shall deposit 

16 into a separate account in the Treasury the portion 

17 of OCS Receipts for each fiscal year that will be 

18 shared under paragraph (2). 

19 ‘‘(2) IMMEDIATE RECEIPTS SHARING.—Begin20 ning October 1, 2011, the Secretary shall share 50 

21 percent of OCS Receipts derived from all leases, ex22 cept that the Secretary shall only share 25 percent 

23 of such OCS Receipts derived from all such leases 

24 within a State’s Adjacent Zone if leasing is not al25 lowed within at least 25 percent of that State’s AdVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:36 May 09, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777

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1 jacent Zone located completely within 75 miles of 

2 any coastline. 

3 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATIONS.—The Secretary shall allo4 cate the OCS Receipts deposited into the separate 

5 account established by paragraph (1) that are 

6 shared under paragraph (2) as follows: 

7 ‘‘(A) BONUS BIDS.—Deposits derived from 

8 bonus bids from a leased tract, including inter9 est thereon, shall be allocated at the end of 

10 each fiscal year to the Adjacent State. 

11 ‘‘(B) ROYALTIES.—Deposits derived from 

12 royalties and net profit shares from a leased 

13 tract, including interest thereon, shall be allo14 cated at the end of each fiscal year as follows: 

15 ‘‘(i) 50 percent to the Adjacent State. 

16 ‘‘(ii) 50 percent to all States, includ17 ing the Adjacent State, having a coastline 

18 point within 300 miles of the leased tract, 

19 divided equally, if such State allows leasing 

20 within at least 25 percent of its Adjacent 

21 Zone within 75 miles of the coastline. 

22 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION IF NOT ADMITTED TO

23 THE UNION AS A STATE.—Any entity defined as 

24 a ‘State’ under section 2(r), that has not been 

25 admitted to the Union as a State shall only be 


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1 entitled to one-half of a State share under this 

2 paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(c) TRANSMISSION OF ALLOCATIONS.— 

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

5 after the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall 

6 transmit— 

7 ‘‘(A) to each State 60 percent of such 

8 State’s allocations under subsections (b)(2), 

9 (b)(3)(A), and (b)(3)(B) (i) and (ii) for the im10 mediate prior fiscal year; and 

11 ‘‘(B) to each coastal county-equivalent and 

12 municipal political subdivisions of such State a 

13 total of 40 percent of such State’s allocations 

14 under subsections (b)(2), (b)(3)(A), and 

15 (b)(3)(B) (i) and (ii), for the immediate prior 

16 fiscal year, together with all accrued interest 

17 thereon. 

18 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATIONS TO COASTAL COUNTY19 EQUIVALENT POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.—The Sec20 retary shall make an initial allocation of the OCS 

21 Receipts to be shared under paragraph (1)(B) as fol22 lows: 

23 ‘‘(A) 25 percent shall be allocated to coast24 al county-equivalent political subdivisions that 

25 are completely more than 25 miles landward of 


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1 the coastline and at least a part of which lies 

2 not more than 75 miles landward from the 

3 coastline, with the allocation among such coast4 al county-equivalent political subdivisions based 

5 on population. 

6 ‘‘(B) 75 percent shall be allocated to coast7 al county-equivalent political subdivisions that 

8 are completely or partially less than 25 miles 

9 landward of the coastline, with the allocation 

10 among such coastal county-equivalent political 

11 subdivisions to be further allocated as follows: 

12 ‘‘(i) 25 percent shall be allocated 

13 based on the ratio of such coastal county14 equivalent political subdivision’s population 

15 to the coastal population of all coastal 

16 county-equivalent political subdivisions in 

17 the State. 

18 ‘‘(ii) 25 percent shall be allocated 

19 based on the ratio of such coastal county20 equivalent political subdivision’s coastline 

21 miles to the coastline miles of all coastal 

22 county-equivalent political subdivisions in 

23 the State as calculated by the Secretary. 

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1 line shall be considered to have 50 percent 

2 of the average coastline miles of the coast3 al county-equivalent political subdivisions 

4 that do have coastlines. 

5 ‘‘(iii) 50 percent shall be allocated 

6 equally to all coastal county-equivalent po7 litical subdivisions having a coastline point 

8 within 300 miles of the leased tract for 

9 which OCS Receipts are being shared. 

10 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATIONS TO COASTAL MUNICIPAL PO11 LITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.—The initial allocation to 

12 each coastal county-equivalent political subdivision 

13 under paragraph (2) shall be further allocated to the 

14 coastal county-equivalent political subdivision and 

15 any coastal municipal political subdivisions located 

16 partially or wholly within the boundaries of the 

17 coastal county-equivalent political subdivision as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(A) One-third shall be allocated to the 

20 coastal county-equivalent political subdivision. 

21 ‘‘(B) Two-thirds shall be allocated on a per 

22 capita basis to the municipal political subdivi23 sions and the county-equivalent political sub24 division, with the allocation to the latter based 


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1 upon its population not included within the 

2 boundaries of a municipal political subdivision. 

3 ‘‘(d) INVESTMENT OF DEPOSITS.—Amounts depos4 ited under this section shall be invested by the Secretary 

5 of the Treasury in securities backed by the full faith and 

6 credit of the United States having maturities suitable to 

7 the needs of the account in which they are deposited and 

8 yielding the highest reasonably available interest rates as 

9 determined by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

10 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.—A recipient of funds under 

11 this section may use the funds for one or more of the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(1) To reduce in-State college tuition at public 

14 institutions of higher learning and otherwise support 

15 public education, including career technical edu16 cation. 

17 ‘‘(2) To make transportation infrastructure im18 provements. 

19 ‘‘(3) To reduce taxes. 

20 ‘‘(4) To promote, fund, and provide for— 

21 ‘‘(A) coastal or environmental restoration; 

22 ‘‘(B) fish, wildlife, and marine life habitat 

23 enhancement; 

24 ‘‘(C) waterways construction and mainte25 nance; 


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1 ‘‘(D) levee construction and maintenance 

2 and shore protection; and 

3 ‘‘(E) marine and oceanographic education 

4 and research. 

5 ‘‘(5) To promote, fund, and provide for— 

6 ‘‘(A) infrastructure associated with energy 

7 production activities conducted on the outer 

8 Continental Shelf; 

9 ‘‘(B) energy demonstration projects; 

10 ‘‘(C) supporting infrastructure for shore11 based energy projects; 

12 ‘‘(D) State geologic programs, including 

13 geologic mapping and data storage programs, 

14 and State geophysical data acquisition; 

15 ‘‘(E) State seismic monitoring programs, 

16 including operation of monitoring stations; 

17 ‘‘(F) development of oil and gas resources 

18 through enhanced recovery techniques; 

19 ‘‘(G) alternative energy development, in20 cluding bio fuels, coal-to-liquids, oil shale, tar 

21 sands, geothermal, geopressure, wind, waves, 

22 currents, hydro, and other renewable energy; 

23 ‘‘(H) energy efficiency and conservation 

24 programs; and 


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1 ‘‘(I) front-end engineering and design for 

2 facilities that produce liquid fuels from hydro3 carbons and other biological matter. 

4 ‘‘(6) To promote, fund, and provide for— 

5 ‘‘(A) historic preservation programs and 

6 projects; 

7 ‘‘(B) natural disaster planning and re8 sponse; and 

9 ‘‘(C) hurricane and natural disaster insur10 ance programs. 

11 ‘‘(7) For any other purpose as determined by 

12 State law. 

13 ‘‘(f) NO ACCOUNTING REQUIRED.—No recipient of 

14 funds under this section shall be required to account to 

15 the Federal Government for the expenditure of such 

16 funds, except as otherwise may be required by law. How17 ever, States may enact legislation providing for accounting 

18 for and auditing of such expenditures. Further, funds allo19 cated under this section to States and political subdivi20 sions may be used as matching funds for other Federal 

21 programs. 

22 ‘‘(g) EFFECT OF FUTURE LAWS.—Enactment of any 

23 future Federal statute that has the effect, as determined 

24 by the Secretary, of restricting any Federal agency from 

25 spending appropriated funds, or otherwise preventing it 


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1 from fulfilling its pre-existing responsibilities as of the 

2 date of enactment of the statute, unless such responsibil3 ities have been reassigned to another Federal agency by 

4 the statute with no prevention of performance, to issue 

5 any permit or other approval impacting on the OCS oil 

6 and gas leasing program, or any lease issued thereunder, 

7 or to implement any provision of this Act shall automati8 cally prohibit any sharing of OCS Receipts under this sec9 tion directly with the States, and their coastal political 

10 subdivisions, for the duration of the restriction. The Sec11 retary shall make the determination of the existence of 

12 such restricting effects within 30 days of a petition by any 

13 outer Continental Shelf lessee or producing State. 

14 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) COASTAL COUNTY-EQUIVALENT POLITICAL

16 SUBDIVISION.—The term ‘coastal county-equivalent 

17 political subdivision’ means a political jurisdiction 

18 immediately below the level of State government, in19 cluding a county, parish, borough in Alaska, inde20 pendent municipality not part of a county, parish, or 

21 borough in Alaska, or other equivalent subdivision of 

22 a coastal State, that lies within the coastal zone. 

23 ‘‘(2) COASTAL MUNICIPAL POLITICAL SUBDIVI24 SION.—The term ‘coastal municipal political subdivi25 sion’ means a municipality located within and part 


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1 of a county, parish, borough in Alaska, or other 

2 equivalent subdivision of a State, all or part of which 

3 coastal municipal political subdivision lies within the 

4 coastal zone. 

5 ‘‘(3) COASTAL POPULATION.—The term ‘coastal 

6 population’ means the population of all coastal coun7 ty-equivalent political subdivisions, as determined by 

8 the most recent official data of the Census Bureau. 

9 ‘‘(4) COASTAL ZONE.—The term ‘coastal zone’ 

10 means that portion of a coastal State, including the 

11 entire territory of any coastal county-equivalent po12 litical subdivision at least a part of which lies, within 

13 75 miles landward from the coastline, or a greater 

14 distance as determined by State law enacted to im15 plement this section. 

16 ‘‘(5) BONUS BIDS.—The term ‘bonus bids’ 

17 means all funds received by the Secretary to issue 

18 an outer Continental Shelf minerals lease. 

19 ‘‘(6) ROYALTIES.—The term ‘royalties’ means 

20 all funds received by the Secretary from production 

21 of oil or natural gas, or the sale of production taken 

22 in-kind, or from net profit shares, from an outer 

23 Continental Shelf minerals lease. 

24 ‘‘(7) PRODUCING STATE.—The term ‘producing 

25 State’ means an Adjacent State having an Adjacent 


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1 Zone containing leased tracts from which OCS Re2 ceipts were derived. 

3 ‘‘(8) OCS RECEIPTS.—The term ‘OCS Receipts’ 

4 means bonus bids and royalties, excluding royalties 

5 from leases amended under the authority of section 

6 8(s) of this Act.’’. 

7 Subtitle B—Arctic Coastal Plain 

8 SEC. 121. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this subtitle: 

10 (1) COASTAL PLAIN.—The term ‘‘Coastal 

11 Plain’’ means that area identified as the ‘‘1002 

12 Coastal Plain Area’’ on the map. 

13 (2) FEDERAL AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Fed14 eral Agreement’’ means the Federal Agreement and 

15 Grant Right-of-Way for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline 

16 issued on January 23, 1974, in accordance with sec17 tion 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 185) 

18 and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act 

19 (43 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.). 

20 (3) FINAL STATEMENT.—The term ‘‘Final 

21 Statement’’ means the final legislative environmental 

22 impact statement on the Coastal Plain, dated April 

23 1987, and prepared pursuant to section 1002 of the 

24 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 

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1 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

2 4332(2)(C)). 

3 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en4 titled ‘‘Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’’, dated Sep5 tember 2005, and prepared by the United States Ge6 ological Survey. 

7 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of the Interior (or the designee of the 

9 Secretary), acting through the Director of the Bu10 reau of Land Management, in consultation with the 

11 Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

12 Service. 

13 SEC. 122. LEASING PROGRAM FOR LAND WITHIN THE 

14 COASTAL PLAIN. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall take such ac16 tions as are necessary— 

17 (1) to establish and implement, in accordance 

18 with this subtitle, a competitive oil and gas leasing 

19 program that will result in an environmentally sound 

20 program for the exploration, development, and pro21 duction of the oil and gas resources of the Coastal 

22 Plain; and 

23 (2) to administer this subtitle through regula24 tions, lease terms, conditions, restrictions, prohibi25 tions, stipulations, and other provisions that require 


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1 the application of the best commercially available 

2 technology for oil and gas exploration, development, 

3 and production to all exploration, development, and 

4 production operations under this subtitle in a man5 ner that ensures the receipt of fair market value by 

6 the public for the mineral resources to be leased. 

7 (b) REPEAL.— 

8 (1) REPEAL.—Section 1003 of the Alaska Na9 tional Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (16 

10 U.S.C. 3143) is repealed. 

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

12 contents contained in section 1 of that Act (16 

13 U.S.C. 3101 note) is amended by striking the item 

14 relating to section 1003. 

15 (3) COMPLIANCE WITH NEPA FOR OTHER AC16 TIONS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Before conducting the 

18 first lease sale under this subtitle, the Secretary 

19 shall prepare an environmental impact state20 ment in accordance with the National Environ21 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

22 seq.) with respect to the actions authorized by 

23 this subtitle that are not referred to in para24 graph (2). 


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1 (B) IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS.— 

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in 

3 carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary shall 

4 not be required— 

5 (i) to identify nonleasing alternative 

6 courses of action; or 

7 (ii) to analyze the environmental ef8 fects of those courses of action. 

9 (C) IDENTIFICATION OF PREFERRED AC10 TION.—Not later than 18 months after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— 

12 (i) identify only a preferred action and 

13 a single leasing alternative for the first 

14 lease sale authorized under this subtitle; 

15 and 

16 (ii) analyze the environmental effects 

17 and potential mitigation measures for 

18 those 2 alternatives. 

19 (D) PUBLIC COMMENTS.—In carrying out 

20 this paragraph, the Secretary shall consider 

21 only public comments that are filed not later 

22 than 20 days after the date of publication of a 

23 draft environmental impact statement. 

24 (E) EFFECT OF COMPLIANCE.—Notwith25 standing any other provision of law, compliance 


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1 with this paragraph shall be considered to sat2 isfy all requirements for the analysis and con3 sideration of the environmental effects of pro4 posed leasing under this subtitle. 

5 (c) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE AND LOCAL AUTHOR6 ITY.—Nothing in this subtitle expands or limits any State 

7 or local regulatory authority. 

8 (d) SPECIAL AREAS.— 

9 (1) DESIGNATION.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, after 

11 consultation with the State of Alaska, the 

12 North Slope Borough, Alaska, and the City of 

13 Kaktovik, Alaska, may designate not more than 

14 45,000 acres of the Coastal Plain as a special 

15 area if the Secretary determines that the special 

16 area would be of such unique character and in17 terest as to require special management and 

18 regulatory protection. 

19 (B) SADLEROCHIT SPRING AREA.—The 

20 Secretary shall designate as a special area in 

21 accordance with subparagraph (A) the 

22 Sadlerochit Spring area, comprising approxi23 mately 4,000 acres as depicted on the map. 

24 (2) MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary shall man25 age each special area designated under this subVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:05 May 07, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777

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1 section in a manner that preserves the unique and 

2 diverse character of the area, including fish, wildlife, 

3 subsistence resources, and cultural values of the 

4 area. 

5 (3) EXCLUSION FROM LEASING OR SURFACE

6 OCCUPANCY.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may ex8 clude any special area designated under this 

9 subsection from leasing. 

10 (B) NO SURFACE OCCUPANCY.—If the Sec11 retary leases all or a portion of a special area 

12 for the purposes of oil and gas exploration, de13 velopment, production, and related activities, 

14 there shall be no surface occupancy of the land 

15 comprising the special area. 

16 (4) DIRECTIONAL DRILLING.—Notwithstanding 

17 any other provision of this subsection, the Secretary 

18 may lease all or a portion of a special area under 

19 terms that permit the use of horizontal drilling tech20 nology from sites on leases located outside the spe21 cial area. 

22 (e) LIMITATION ON CLOSED AREAS.—The Secretary 

23 may not close land within the Coastal Plain to oil and gas 

24 leasing or to exploration, development, or production ex25 cept in accordance with this subtitle. 


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1 (f) REGULATIONS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 months 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec4 retary shall promulgate such regulations as are nec5 essary to carry out this subtitle, including rules and 

6 regulations relating to protection of the fish and 

7 wildlife, fish and wildlife habitat, subsistence re8 sources, and environment of the Coastal Plain. 

9 (2) REVISION OF REGULATIONS.—The Sec10 retary shall periodically review and, as appropriate, 

11 revise the rules and regulations issued under para12 graph (1) to reflect any significant biological, envi13 ronmental, scientific or engineering data that come 

14 to the attention of the Secretary. 

15 SEC. 123. LEASE SALES. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Land may be leased pursuant to 

17 this subtitle to any person qualified to obtain a lease for 

18 deposits of oil and gas under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

19 U.S.C. 181 et seq.). 

20 (b) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall, by regula21 tion, establish procedures for— 

22 (1) receipt and consideration of sealed nomina23 tions for any area in the Coastal Plain for inclusion 

24 in, or exclusion (as provided in subsection (c)) from, 

25 a lease sale; 


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1 (2) the holding of lease sales after that nomina2 tion process; and 

3 (3) public notice of and comment on designa4 tion of areas to be included in, or excluded from, a 

5 lease sale. 

6 (c) LEASE SALE BIDS.—Bidding for leases under 

7 this subtitle shall be by sealed competitive cash bonus bids. 

8 (d) ACREAGE MINIMUM IN FIRST SALE.—For the 

9 first lease sale under this subtitle, the Secretary shall offer 

10 for lease those tracts the Secretary considers to have the 

11 greatest potential for the discovery of hydrocarbons, tak12 ing into consideration nominations received pursuant to 

13 subsection (b)(1), but in no case less than 200,000 acres. 

14 (e) TIMING OF LEASE SALES.—The Secretary 

15 shall— 

16 (1) not later than 22 months after the date of 

17 enactment of this Act, conduct the first lease sale 

18 under this subtitle; 

19 (2) not later than 90 days after the date of the 

20 completion of the sale, evaluate the bids in the sale 

21 and issue leases resulting from the sale; and 

22 (3) conduct additional sales at appropriate in23 tervals if sufficient interest in exploration or devel24 opment exists to warrant the conduct of the addi25 tional sales. 


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1 SEC. 124. GRANT OF LEASES BY THE SECRETARY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—On payment by a lessee of such 

3 bonus as may be accepted by the Secretary, the Secretary 

4 may grant to the highest responsible qualified bidder in 

5 a lease sale conducted pursuant to section 123 a lease for 

6 any land on the Coastal Plain. 

7 (b) SUBSEQUENT TRANSFERS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—No lease issued under this 

9 subtitle may be sold, exchanged, assigned, sublet, or 

10 otherwise transferred except with the approval of the 

11 Secretary. 

12 (2) CONDITION FOR APPROVAL.—Before grant13 ing any approval described in paragraph (1), the 

14 Secretary shall consult with and give due consider15 ation to the opinion of the Attorney General. 

16 SEC. 125. LEASE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. 

17 An oil or gas lease issued pursuant to this subtitle 

18 shall— 

19 (1) provide for the payment of a royalty of not 

less than 121 20 ⁄2 percent of the amount or value of the 

21 production removed or sold from the lease, as deter22 mined by the Secretary in accordance with regula23 tions applicable to other Federal oil and gas leases; 

24 (2) require that each lessee of land within the 

25 Coastal Plain shall be fully responsible and liable for 

26 the reclamation of land within the Coastal Plain and 


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1 any other Federal land that is adversely affected in 

2 connection with exploration, development, produc3 tion, or transportation activities within the Coastal 

4 Plain conducted by the lessee or by any of the sub5 contractors or agents of the lessee; 

6 (3) provide that the lessee may not delegate or 

7 convey, by contract or otherwise, that reclamation 

8 responsibility and liability to another person without 

9 the express written approval of the Secretary; 

10 (4) provide that the standard of reclamation for 

11 land required to be reclaimed under this subtitle 

12 shall be, to the maximum extent practicable— 

13 (A) a condition capable of supporting the 

14 uses that the land was capable of supporting 

15 prior to any exploration, development, or pro16 duction activities; or 

17 (B) on application by the lessee, to a high18 er or better standard, as approved by the Sec19 retary; 

20 (5) contain terms and conditions relating to 

21 protection of fish and wildlife, fish and wildlife habi22 tat, subsistence resources, and the environment as 

23 required under section 122(a)(2); 

24 (6) provide that each lessee, and each agent 

25 and contractor of a lessee, use their best efforts to 


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1 provide a fair share of employment and contracting 

2 for Alaska Natives and Alaska Native Corporations 

3 from throughout the State of Alaska, as determined 

4 by the level of obligation previously agreed to in the 

5 Federal Agreement; and 

6 (7) contain such other provisions as the Sec7 retary determines to be necessary to ensure compli8 ance with this subtitle and the regulations promul9 gated under this subtitle. 

10 SEC. 126. EXPEDITED JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

11 (a) FILING OF COMPLAINTS.— 

12 (1) DEADLINE.—A complaint seeking judicial 

13 review of a provision of this subtitle or an action of 

14 the Secretary under this subtitle shall be filed— 

15 (A) except as provided in subparagraph 

16 (B), during the 90-day period beginning on the 

17 date on which the action being challenged was 

18 carried out; or 

19 (B) in the case of a complaint based solely 

20 on grounds arising after the 90-day period de21 scribed in subparagraph (A), by not later than 

22 90 days after the date on which the complain23 ant knew or reasonably should have known 

24 about the grounds for the complaint. 


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1 (2) VENUE.—A complaint seeking judicial re2 view of a provision of this subtitle or an action of 

3 the Secretary under this subtitle shall be filed in the 

4 United States District Court for the District of Co5 lumbia. 

6 (3) SCOPE.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Judicial review of a de8 cision of the Secretary relating to a lease sale 

9 under this subtitle (including an environmental 

10 analysis of such a lease sale) shall be— 

11 (i) limited to a review of whether the 

12 decision is in accordance with this subtitle; 

13 and 

14 (ii) based on the administrative record 

15 of the decision. 

16 (B) PRESUMPTIONS.—Any identification 

17 by the Secretary of a preferred course of action 

18 relating to a lease sale, and any analysis by the 

19 Secretary of environmental effects, under this 

20 subtitle shall be presumed to be correct unless 

21 proven otherwise by clear and convincing evi22 dence. 

23 (b) LIMITATION ON OTHER REVIEW.—Any action of 

24 the Secretary that is subject to judicial review under this 


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1 section shall not be subject to judicial review in any civil 

2 or criminal proceeding for enforcement. 

3 (c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROVISIONS.—Subtitle 

4 B of title II shall not affect the application of this section. 

5 SEC. 127. RIGHTS-OF-WAY ACROSS THE COASTAL PLAIN. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall issue rights7 of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain for the 

8 transportation of oil and gas— 

9 (1) except as provided in paragraph (2), under 

10 section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

11 185), without regard to title XI of the Alaska Na12 tional Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 

13 3161 et seq.); and 

14 (2) under title XI of the Alaska National Inter15 est Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3161 et 

16 seq.), for access authorized by sections 1110 and 

17 1111 of that Act (16 U.S.C. 3170, 3171). 

18 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall include in 

19 regulations under section 122(f) provisions granting 

20 rights-of-way and easements described in subsection (a). 

21 SEC. 128. CONVEYANCE. 

22 Notwithstanding section 1302(h)(2) of the Alaska 

23 National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 

24 3192(h)(2)), to remove any cloud on title to land, and to 


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1 clarify land ownership patterns in the Coastal Plain, the 

2 Secretary shall— 

3 (1) to the extent necessary to fulfill the entitle4 ment of the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation under sec5 tions 12 and 14 of the Alaska Native Claims Settle6 ment Act (43 U.S.C. 1611, 1613), as determined by 

7 the Secretary, convey to that Corporation the sur8 face estate of the land described in paragraph (1) of 

9 Public Land Order 6959, in accordance with the 

10 terms and conditions of the agreement between the 

11 Secretary, the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv12 ice, the Bureau of Land Management, and the 

13 Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation, dated January 22, 

14 1993; and 

15 (2) convey to the Arctic Slope Regional Cor16 poration the remaining subsurface estate to which 

17 that Corporation is entitled under the agreement be18 tween that corporation and the United States, dated 

19 August 9, 1983. 

20 TITLE II—REVOCATION OF EN21 ERGY-RESTRICTING BLM 

22 LOCKUP 

23 SEC. 201. REVOCATION OF SECRETARIAL ORDER NO. 3310. 

24 Secretarial Order No. 3310, dated December 22, 

25 2010, relating to protecting wilderness characteristics on 


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1 lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management is 

2 hereby revoked. 

3 Subtitle A—Expedited Shale 

4 Leasing of Federal Lands 

5 SEC. 211. OPENING OF LANDS TO OIL SHALE LEASING. 

6 (a) REPEAL OF LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.— 

7 Section 433 of division F of the Consolidated Appropria8 tions Act, 2008 (Public Law 110–161; 121 Stat. 2152) 

9 is repealed. 

10 (b) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of 

11 the Interior shall issue all regulations necessary to imple12 ment section 369 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public 

13 Law 109–58; 42 U.S.C. 15927) with respect to oil shale 

14 by not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment 

15 of this Act. Such regulations shall include such safeguards 

16 and assurances as the Secretary considers necessary to 

17 allow States to exercise their regulatory and statutory au18 thorities under State law, consistent with otherwise appli19 cable Federal law. 

20 (c) LEASING OF OIL SHALE RESOURCE.—Imme21 diately after issuing regulations under subsection (b), the 

22 Secretary of the Interior shall— 

23 (1) offer for leasing for research and develop24 ment of oil shale resources under subsection (c) of 

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1 lic Law 109–58; 42 U.S.C. 15927), additional 160- 

2 acre tracts of lands the Secretary considers nec3 essary to fulfill the research and development objec4 tives of such Act; and 

5 (2) offer for leasing for commercial exploration, 

6 development, and production of oil shale resources 

7 under subsection (e) of such section, public lands in 

8 States for which the Secretary finds sufficient sup9 port and interest as required by that subsection. 

10 Subtitle B—Judicial Review 

11 Regarding Energy Projects 

12 SEC. 221. EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OVER CAUSES AND 

13 CLAIMS RELATING TO COVERED ENERGY 

14 PROJECTS. 

15 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 

16 United States District Court for the District of Columbia 

17 shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear all causes and 

18 claims under this title or any other provision of law that 

19 arise from any covered energy project. 

20 SEC. 222. TIME FOR FILING COMPLAINT. 

21 All causes and claims referred to in section 221 must 

22 be filed not later than the end of the 60-day period begin23 ning on the date of the action or decision by a Federal 

24 official that constitutes the covered energy project conVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:05 May 07, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777

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1 cerned. Any cause or claim not filed within that time pe2 riod shall be barred. 

3 SEC. 223. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUM4 BIA DEADLINE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—All proceedings that are subject 

6 to section 221— 

7 (1) shall be resolved as expeditiously as pos8 sible, and in any event not more than 180 days after 

9 such cause or claim is filed; and 

10 (2) shall take precedence over all other pending 

11 matters before the district court. 

12 (b) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH DEADLINE.—If an 

13 interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order has not 

14 been issued by the district court by the deadline described 

15 under this section, the cause or claim shall be dismissed 

16 with prejudice and all rights relating to such cause or 

17 claim shall be terminated. 

18 SEC. 224. ABILITY TO SEEK APPELLATE REVIEW. 

19 An interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order 

20 of the district court in a proceeding that is subject to sec21 tion 221 may be reviewed by no other court except the 

22 Supreme Court. 


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1 SEC. 225. DEADLINE FOR APPEAL TO THE SUPREME 

2 COURT. 

3 If a writ of certiorari has been granted by the Su4 preme Court pursuant to section 224, then— 

5 (1) the interlocutory or final judgment, decree, 

6 or order of the district court shall be resolved as ex7 peditiously as possible and in any event not more 

8 than 180 days after such interlocutory or final judg9 ment, decree, order of the district court is issued; 

10 and 

11 (2) all such proceedings shall take precedence 

12 over all other matters then before the Supreme 

13 Court. 

14 SEC. 226. COVERED ENERGY PROJECT DEFINED. 

15 In this subtitle, the term ‘‘covered energy project’’ 

16 means any action or decision by the President or a Federal 

17 official regarding— 

18 (1) the leasing of Federal lands (including sub19 merged lands) for the exploration, development, pro20 duction, processing, or transmission of oil, natural 

21 gas, or any other source or form of energy, including 

22 actions and decisions regarding the selection or of23 fering of Federal lands for such leasing; or 

24 (2) any action under such a lease. 


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1 SEC. 227. LIMITATION ON APPLICATION. 

2 This subtitle shall not apply with respect to a covered 

3 energy project to the extent such application would be in4 consistent with subtitle C. 

5 Subtitle C—Permitting Reform 

6 SEC. 231. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this subtitle are to— 

8 (1) respond to the Nation’s increased need for 

9 domestic energy resources; 

10 (2) facilitate interagency coordination and co11 operation in the processing of permits required to 

12 support oil and gas use authorization on Federal 

13 lands, both onshore and on the Outer Continental 

14 Shelf, in order to achieve greater consistency, cer15 tainty, and timeliness in permit processing require16 ments; 

17 (3) promote process streamlining and increased 

18 interagency efficiency, including elimination of inter19 agency duplication of effort; 

20 (4) improve information sharing among agen21 cies and understanding of respective agency roles 

22 and responsibilities; 

23 (5) promote coordination with State agencies 

24 with expertise and responsibilities related to Federal 

25 oil and gas permitting decisions; 


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1 (6) promote responsible stewardship of Federal 

2 oil and gas resources; 

3 (7) maintain high standards of safety and envi4 ronmental protection; and 

5 (8) enhance the benefits to Federal permitting 

6 already occurring as a result of a coordinated and 

7 timely interagency process for oil and gas permit re8 view for certain Federal oil and gas leases. 

9 SEC. 232. FEDERAL COORDINATOR. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, as an 

11 independent agency in the Executive Branch, the Office 

12 of the Federal Oil and Gas Permit Coordinator. 

13 (b) FEDERAL PERMIT COORDINATOR.—The Office 

14 shall be headed by a Federal Permit Coordinator, who 

15 shall be appointed by the President within 90 days after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act. 

17 (c) DUTIES.—The Federal Permit Coordinator shall 

18 be responsible for the following: 

19 (1) Coordinating the timely completion of all 

20 permitting activities by Federal agencies, and State 

21 agencies to the maximum extent practicable, with re22 spect to any oil and gas project under a Federal 

23 lease issued pursuant to the mineral leasing laws, ei24 ther onshore or on the Outer Continental Shelf. For 

25 purposes of this subtitle only, such oil and gas 


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1 projects shall include oil shale projects under Fed2 eral oil shale leases. 

3 (2) Ensuring the compliance of Federal agen4 cies, and State agencies to the extent they partici5 pate, with this subtitle. 

6 SEC. 233. REGIONAL OFFICES AND REGIONAL PERMIT CO7 ORDINATORS. 

8 (a) REGIONAL OFFICES.—Within 90 days after the 

9 date of appointment of the Federal Permit Coordinator, 

10 the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), in consultation 

11 with the Federal Permit Coordinator, shall establish re12 gional offices to coordinate review of Federal permits for 

13 oil and gas projects on Federal lands onshore and on the 

14 Outer Continental Shelf. 

15 (b) NUMBER AND LOCATION OF REGIONAL OF16 FICES.—The number of regional offices shall be estab17 lished by the Secretary in consultation with the Federal 

18 Permit Coordinator. The Secretary shall ensure that there 

19 is an adequate number of offices in each region proximate 

20 to available Federal oil and gas lease tracts onshore and 

21 on the Outer Continental Shelf to meet the demands for 

22 expeditious permitting in that region. The Secretary shall 

23 designate as regional offices under this section all offices 

24 established under section 365 of the Energy Policy Act 

25 of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15924). 


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1 (c) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—Within 90 

2 days after the appointment of the Federal Permit Coordi3 nator, the Federal Permit Coordinator, the Secretary, the 

4 Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the 

5 Secretary of Homeland Security, the Administrator of the 

6 Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of De7 fense, and the head of any other Federal agency with re8 sponsibilities related to permitting of Federal oil and gas 

9 leases, shall enter into a memorandum of understanding 

10 (MOU) establishing respective duties and responsibilities 

11 for staffing the regional offices and accomplishing the ob12 jectives of this section. 

13 (d) DESIGNATION OF QUALIFIED STAFF.— 

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

15 the date of signing of the MOU under subsection 

16 (c), all Federal signatory agencies shall assign to 

17 each regional office the appropriate employees with 

18 expertise in the oil and gas permitting issues relat19 ing to that office, including, but not limited, with re20 spect to— 

21 (A) consultation and preparation of bio22 logical opinions under section 7 of the Endan23 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536); 

24 (B) permits under section 404 of Federal 

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


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1 (C) regulatory matters under the Clean Air 

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

3 (D) planning under the National Forest 

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

5 seq.); 

6 (E) the preparation of analyses under the 

7 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

8 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) (NEPA); 

9 (F) applications for permits to drill under 

10 the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et 

11 seq.); and 

12 (G) exploration plans and development and 

13 production plans under the Outer Continental 

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

15 (2) PREFERENCE AND INCENTIVES.—To the 

16 maximum extent practicable, for purposes of this 

17 subsection, Federal agencies shall give preference to 

18 employees volunteering for reassignment to the re19 gional offices, and shall offer incentives to attract 

20 and retain regional office employees, including, but 

21 not limited to, retaining contract employees, rota22 tional assignments, salary incentives of up to 120 

23 percent of an employee’s existing salary immediately 

24 prior to reassignment, or any combination of strate25 gies. 


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1 (e) DUTIES.—Each employee assigned under sub2 section (d) shall— 

3 (1) within 90 days after the date of assignment, 

4 report to the regional office to which the employee 

5 is assigned; 

6 (2) be responsible for all issues relating to the 

7 jurisdiction of the home office or agency of the em8 ployee; and 

9 (3) participate as part of the team working on 

10 proposed oil and gas projects, planning, and environ11 mental analyses. 

12 (f) CREATION OF AND DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY

13 TO REGIONAL PERMIT COORDINATORS.—The Federal 

14 Permit Coordinator shall appoint a Regional Permit Coor15 dinator to be located within each regional office estab16 lished under this section, with full authority to act on be17 half of the Federal Permit Coordinator. 

18 (g) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Federal Permit 

19 Coordinator or Regional Permit Coordinators may at any 

20 time direct that any Federal agency party to the MOU 

21 under subsection (c) assign additional staff required to im22 plement the duties of the regional offices. 

23 SEC. 234. REVIEWS AND ACTIONS OF FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

24 (a) SCHEDULES FOR TIMELY PERMIT DECISION25 MAKING.—Within 10 days after the date on which the SecVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:05 May 07, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777

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1 retary receives any oil and gas permit application or 

2 amended application, the Secretary shall either notify the 

3 applicant that the application is complete or notify the ap4 plicant that information is missing and specify the infor5 mation that is required to be submitted for the application 

6 to be complete. Within 30 days after notifying a permit 

7 applicant that an application is complete, the Secretary, 

8 in consultation with the permit applicant as necessary, 

9 shall determine and inform the Regional Permit Coordi10 nator responsible for that project area whether the pro11 posed permit is a class I, class II, or class III permit. The 

12 Regional Permit Coordinator shall as soon as possible but 

13 in no event later than 30 days following the Secretary’s 

14 determination establish a binding schedule to ensure the 

15 most expeditious possible review and processing of the re16 quested permit, in accordance with this section. 

17 (b) PERMIT CLASSES AND SCHEDULES.— 

18 (1) CLASS I PERMITS.—An oil and gas permit 

19 shall be designated as a class I permit under this 

20 section if the permitted activity is of a nature that 

21 would typically require preparation of an environ22 mental impact statement under NEPA to inform the 

23 permitting decision. For such permits, the Regional 

24 Permit Coordinator shall establish a schedule for 

25 timely completion of all permit reviews and procVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:05 May 07, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777

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1 essing, not to exceed 30 months. The Regional Per2 mit Coordinator shall make the schedule publicly 

3 available within 10 days after the schedule is estab4 lished. 

5 (2) CLASS II PERMITS.—An oil and gas permit 

6 shall be designated as a class II permit under this 

7 section if the permitted activity is of a nature that 

8 would typically be found not to significantly affect 

9 the quality of the human environment under NEPA. 

10 For such permits, the Regional Permit Coordinator 

11 shall establish the most expeditious schedule possible 

12 for completion of all permit reviews and processing, 

13 not to exceed 90 days. The Regional Permit Coordi14 nator may grant a one-time extension of that sched15 ule, not to exceed 60 days, upon a good cause show16 ing that additional time is necessary to complete 

17 permit decisions. Not later than 15 days after estab18 lishing or extending any schedule for a class II per19 mit, the Regional Permit Coordinator shall provide 

20 the permit applicant with the schedule. 

21 (3) CLASS III PERMITS.—Notwithstanding para22 graphs (1) and (2), an oil and gas permit shall be 

23 designated as a class III permit under this section 

24 if the permitted activity either qualifies for a statu25 tory or regulatory categorical exclusion under NEPA 


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1 or if the requirements under NEPA and other appli2 cable law for the permit have been completed within 

3 30 days after the date of a complete application. For 

4 such permits, the permit shall be issued within 30 

5 days after the date of a complete application. 

6 (4) RECLASSIFICATION OF CLASS II PERMIT.— 

7 If prior to the expiration of the established schedule 

8 for a class II permit newly discovered information 

9 indicates that the class II permit will significantly 

10 affect the quality of the human environment, the 

11 Secretary may, in consultation with the permit appli12 cant, reclassify the permit as a class I permit under 

13 paragraph (1), and the Regional Coordinator shall 

14 establish an amended schedule that complies with 

15 the provisions of that paragraph. 

16 (c) REPORTING.—The Regional Permit Coordinators 

17 shall include data on all schedule timing and compliance 

18 in their reports to the Federal Permit Coordinator re19 quired under subsection (i), who shall include such data 

20 in the report to the President and Congress required 

21 under subsection (i). 

22 (d) DISPUTE RESOLUTION.—The Regional Permit 

23 Coordinator shall resolve all administrative issues that af24 fect oil and gas permit reviews. The Regional Permit Coor25 dinator shall report jointly to the Federal Permit CoordiVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:05 May 07, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777

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1 nator and to the head of the relevant action agency, or 

2 his or her designee, for resolution of any issue regarding 

3 an oil and gas permit that may result in missing the 

4 schedule deadlines established pursuant to subsection (b). 

5 The Regional Permit Coordinators shall include data re6 garding the incidence and resolution of disputes under this 

7 subsection in their reports to the Federal Permit Coordi8 nator required under subsection (i), who shall include such 

9 reported data and develop recommendations in the report 

10 to the President and Congress required under subsection 

11 (i). 

12 (e) REMEDIES.—An applicant for a class I permit 

13 may bring a cause of action to seek expedited mandamus 

14 review, if a Regional Permit Coordinator or the Secretary 

15 fails to— 

16 (1) establish a schedule in accordance with sub17 section (b); 

18 (2) enforce and ensure completion of reviews 

19 within schedule deadlines; or 

20 (3) take all actions as are necessary and proper 

21 to avoid jeopardizing the timely completion of the 

22 entire schedule. 

23 If an agency fails to complete its review of and issue a 

24 decision upon a permit within the schedule established by 


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1 the Court, that permit shall be deemed granted to the ap2 plicant. 

3 (f) PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN TERMS AND CONDI4 TIONS.—No Federal agency may include in any permit, 

5 right-of-way, or other authorization issued for an oil and 

6 gas project subject to the provisions of this subtitle, any 

7 term or condition that may be authorized, but is not re8 quired, by the provisions of any applicable law, if the Fed9 eral Permit Coordinator determines that such term or con10 dition would prevent or impair in any significant respect 

11 completion of a permit review within the time schedule es12 tablished pursuant to subsection (b) or would otherwise 

13 impair in any significant respect expeditious oil and gas 

14 development. The Federal Permit Coordinator shall not 

15 have any authority to impose any terms, conditions, or re16 quirements beyond those imposed by any Federal law, 

17 agency, regulation, or lease term. 

18 (g) CONSOLIDATED RECORD.—The Federal Permit 

19 Coordinator, acting through the appropriate Regional Per20 mit Coordinator, with the cooperation of Federal and 

21 State administrative officials and agencies, shall maintain 

22 a complete, consolidated record of all decisions made or 

23 actions taken by the Federal Permit Coordinator or Re24 gional Permit Coordinator or by any Federal agency with 

25 respect to any oil and gas permit. 


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1 (h) RELATIONSHIP TO NEPA AND ENERGY POLICY

2 ACT OF 2005.— 

3 (1) Section 390(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 

4 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15942(a)) is amended— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘rebuttable presumption 

6 that the use of a’’; and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘would apply’’. 

8 (2) Section 17(p) of the Mineral Leasing Act 

9 (30 U.S.C. 226(p)) is repealed. 

10 (i) ADDITIONAL POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

11 (1) REGIONAL PERMIT COORDINATOR RE12 PORTS.—The Regional Permit Coordinators shall 

13 each submit a report to the Federal Permit Coordi14 nator by December 31 of each year that documents 

15 each office’s performance in meeting the objectives 

16 under this subtitle, including recommendations to 

17 further streamline the permitting process. 

18 (2) REDIRECTION OF PRIORITIES OR RE19 SOURCES.—In order to expedite overall permitting 

20 activity, the Federal Permit Coordinator may redi21 rect the priority of regional office activities or the al22 location of resources among such offices, and shall 

23 engage the agencies that are parties to the MOU to 

24 the extent such adjustments implicate their respec25 tive staffs or resources. 


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1 (3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Beginning three 

2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

3 Federal Permit Coordinator shall prepare and sub4 mit a report to the President and Congress by April 

5 15 of each year that outlines the results achieved 

6 under this subtitle and makes recommendations to 

7 the President and Congress for further improve8 ments in processing oil and gas permits on Federal 

9 lands. 

10 SEC. 235. STATE COORDINATION. 

11 The Governor of any State wherein an oil and gas 

12 operation may require a Federal permit, or the coastline 

13 of which is in immediate geographic proximity to oil and 

14 gas operations on the Outer Continental Shelf, may be a 

15 signatory to the MOU for purposes of fulfilling any State 

16 responsibilities with respect to Federal oil and gas permit17 ting decisions. The Regional Permit Coordinators shall fa18 cilitate and coordinate concurrent State reviews of re19 quested permits for oil and gas projects on the Outer Con20 tinental Shelf. 

21 SEC. 236. SAVINGS PROVISION. 

22 Except as expressly stated, nothing in this subtitle 

23 affects— 

24 (1) the applicability of any Federal or State 

25 law; or 


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1 (2) any delegation of authority made by the 

2 head of a Federal agency the employees of which are 

3 participating in the implementation of this section. 

4 SEC. 237. ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

5 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—Any oil and gas per6 mitting decision for Federal lands onshore or on the Outer 

7 Continental Shelf that was issued in accordance with the 

8 procedures established by this subtitle shall not be subject 

9 to further administrative review within the respective Fed10 eral agency responsible for that decision, and shall be the 

11 final decision of that agency for purposes of judicial re12 view. 

13 (b) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OVER PERMIT DECI14 SIONS.—Only the United States District Court for the 

15 District of Columbia shall have original jurisdiction over 

16 any civil action for the review of such a permit decision. 

17 (c) LIMITATIONS ON CLAIMS.—Notwithstanding any 

18 other provision of law, any action arising under Federal 

19 law seeking judicial review of a permit, license, or approval 

20 issued by a Federal agency for an oil and gas permit sub21 ject to this subtitle shall be barred unless it is filed within 

22 90 days of the date of the decision. Nothing in this subtitle 

23 shall create a right to judicial review or places any limit 

24 on filing a claim that a person has violated the terms of 

25 a permit, license, or approval. 


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1 (d) FILING OF RECORD.—When any civil action is 

2 brought pursuant to this subtitle, the Federal Permit Co3 ordinator shall immediately prepare for the court a con4 solidated record. 

5 (e) EXPEDITED REVIEW.—Any action for judicial re6 view challenging a decision approved pursuant to this sec7 tion shall be set for consideration by not later than 90 

8 days after the date the action is filed. 

9 (f) EXPEDITED MANDAMUS REVIEW.—Notwith10 standing subsection (e), within 30 days after the filing of 

11 an action challenging or seeking to enforce an established 

12 permit review schedule for a class I permit, the court shall 

13 issue a decision either compelling permit issuance or sanc14 tioning the delay and establishing a new schedule that en15 ables the most expeditious possible completion of pro16 ceedings. In rendering its decision, the court shall review 

17 whether the agencies subject to the schedule have been 

18 acting in good faith, whether the permit applicant has 

19 been cooperating fully with the agencies that are respon20 sible for issuing the requested permits, and any other rel21 evant matters. The court may issue orders to enforce any 

22 schedule it establishes under this subsection. 

23 (g) NO PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—This subtitle 

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1 forceable at law or equity, by a person against the United 

2 States, its agencies, its officers, or any person. 

3 (h) FINALITY OF LEASING DECISIONS.—Notwith4 standing the provisions of any law or regulation to the 

5 contrary, a decision by the Bureau of Land Management 

6 or the Minerals Management Service to issue a Final No7 tice of Sale and proceed with an oil and gas lease sale 

8 pursuant to any mineral leasing law shall not be subject 

9 to further administrative review within the Department of 

10 the Interior, and shall be the final decision of the agency 

11 for purposes of judicial review. 

12 SEC. 238. AMENDMENTS TO PUBLICATION PROCESS. 

13 Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

14 (43 U.S.C. 1344) is amended— 

15 (1) by amending subsection (c)(2) to read as 

16 follows: 

17 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall publish a proposed 

18 leasing program in the Federal Register, and shall 

19 submit a copy of such proposed program to the Gov20 ernor of each affected State, for review and com21 ment. The Governor may solicit comments from 

22 those executives of local governments in his State 

23 which he, in his discretion, determines will be af24 fected by the proposed program.’’; 

25 (2) by striking subsection (c)(3); and 


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1 (3) in subsection (d)(2) by inserting ‘‘final’’ 

2 after ‘‘proposed’’. 

3 SEC. 239. REPEAL OF FEE FOR PERMITS TO DRILL. 

4 Public Law 110–161 is amended under the heading 

5 ‘‘Bureau of Land Managementlmanagement of lands 

6 and resources’’ (121 Stat. 2098) by striking ‘‘to be re7 duced by amounts collected by the Bureau and credited 

8 to this appropriation that shall be derived from $4,000 

9 per new application for permit to drill that the Bureau 

10 shall collect upon submission of each new application,’’. 

11 SEC. 240. ALASKA OFFSHORE CONTINENTAL SHELF CO12 ORDINATION OFFICE. 

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

14 shall establish and maintain, in coordination with the 

15 Mayor of the North Slope Borough of Alaska, a separate 

16 office to be known as the Alaska Offshore Continental 

17 Shelf Coordination Office. 

18 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the office shall be 

19 to— 

20 (1) coordinate the leasing of the Outer Conti21 nental Shelf off the coast of Alaska; 

22 (2) advise persons awarded such leases on local 

23 conditions and the history of areas affected by devel24 opment of the oil and gas resources of the Outer 

25 Continental Shelf off the coast of Alaska; 


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1 (3) provide to the Committee on Natural Re2 sources of the House of Representatives and the 

3 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

4 Senate annual reports on the status of the coordina5 tion between such and communities affected by such 

6 development; 

7 (4) collect from residents of the North Slope of 

8 Alaska information regarding the impacts of such 

9 development on marine wildlife, coastal habitats, ma10 rine and coastal subsistence resources, and the ma11 rine and coastal environment of Alaska’s North 

12 Slope region; and 

13 (5) ensure that the information collected under 

14 paragraph (3) is submitted to— 

15 (A) developers of such resources; and 

16 (B) any appropriate Federal agency. 


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1 TITLE III—RELIEF FROM REGU2 LATIONS AND PROHIBITIONS 

3 THAT CAUSE ARTIFICIAL 

4 PRICE INCREASES 

5 Subtitle A—Relief From EPA Cli6 mate Change Regulations and 

7 Federal Prohibitions on Syn8 thetic Fuels 

9 SEC. 301. REPEAL OF EPA CLIMATE CHANGE REGULATION. 

10 (a) GREENHOUSE GAS REGULATION UNDER CLEAN

11 AIR ACT.—Section 302(g) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 7602(g)) is amended by adding the following at the end 

13 thereof: ‘‘The term ‘air pollutant’ shall not include carbon 

14 dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, 

15 hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur 

16 hexafluoride.’’. 

17 (b) NO REGULATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE.—Noth18 ing in the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), the 

19 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et 

20 seq.), the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

21 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

22 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), or the Solid Waste Disposal Act 

23 (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), shall be treated as authorizing 

24 or requiring the regulation of climate change or global 

25 warming. 


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1 SEC. 302. REPEAL OF FEDERAL BAN ON SYNTHETIC FUELS 

2 PURCHASING REQUIREMENT. 

3 Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security 

4 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17142) is repealed. 

5 Subtitle B—Refinery Reform 

6 SEC. 311. REFINERY PERMITTING PROCESS. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis9 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ10 mental Protection Agency. 

11 (2) EXPANSION.—The term ‘‘expansion’’ means 

12 a physical change that results in an increase in the 

13 capacity of a refinery. 

14 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

15 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

16 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

17 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

18 (4) PERMIT.—The term ‘‘permit’’ means any 

19 permit, license, approval, variance, or other form of 

20 authorization that a refiner is required to obtain— 

21 (A) under any Federal law; or 

22 (B) from a State or Indian tribal govern23 ment agency delegated authority by the Federal 

24 Government, or authorized under Federal law, 

25 to issue permits. 


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1 (5) REFINER.—The term ‘‘refiner’’ means a 

2 person that— 

3 (A) owns or operates a refinery; or 

4 (B) seeks to become an owner or operator 

5 of a refinery. 

6 (6) REFINERY.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘refinery’’ 

8 means— 

9 (i) a facility at which crude oil is re10 fined into transportation fuel or other pe11 troleum products; and 

12 (ii) a coal liquification or coal-to-liquid 

13 facility at which coal is processed into syn14 thetic crude oil or any other fuel. 

15 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘refinery’’ in16 cludes an expansion of a refinery. 

17 (7) REFINERY PERMITTING AGREEMENT.—The 

18 term ‘‘refinery permitting agreement’’ means an 

19 agreement entered into between the Administrator 

20 and a State or Indian tribe under subsection (b). 

21 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

22 the Secretary of Commerce. 

23 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

24 (A) a State; 

25 (B) the District of Columbia; 


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1 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

2 and 

3 (D) any other territory or possession of the 

4 United States. 

5 (b) STREAMLINING OF REFINERY PERMITTING

6 PROCESS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the request of the Gov8 ernor of a State or the governing body of an Indian 

9 tribe, the Administrator shall enter into a refinery 

10 permitting agreement with the State or Indian tribe 

11 under which the process for obtaining all permits 

12 necessary for the construction and operation of a re13 finery shall be streamlined using a systematic inter14 disciplinary multimedia approach as provided in this 

15 section. 

16 (2) AUTHORITY OF ADMINISTRATOR.—Under a 

17 refinery permitting agreement the Administrator 

18 shall have authority, as applicable and necessary, 

19 to— 

20 (A) accept from a refiner a consolidated 

21 application for all permits that the refiner is re22 quired to obtain to construct and operate a re23 finery; 

24 (B) in consultation and cooperation with 

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1 ment agency that is required to make any de2 termination to authorize the issuance of a per3 mit, establish a schedule under which each 

4 agency shall— 

5 (i) concurrently consider, to the max6 imum extent practicable, each determina7 tion to be made; and 

8 (ii) complete each step in the permit9 ting process; and 

10 (C) issue a consolidated permit that com11 bines all permits issued under the schedule es12 tablished under subparagraph (B). 

13 (3) AGREEMENT BY THE STATE.—Under a re14 finery permitting agreement, a State or governing 

15 body of an Indian tribe shall agree that— 

16 (A) the Administrator shall have each of 

17 the authorities described in paragraph (2); and 

18 (B) each State or Indian tribal government 

19 agency shall— 

20 (i) in accordance with State law, make 

21 such structural and operational changes in 

22 the agencies as are necessary to enable the 

23 agencies to carry out consolidated project24 wide permit reviews concurrently and in 

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1 tection Agency and other Federal agencies; 

2 and 

3 (ii) comply, to the maximum extent 

4 practicable, with the applicable schedule 

5 established under paragraph (2)(B). 

6 (4) DEADLINES.— 

7 (A) NEW REFINERIES.—In the case of a 

8 consolidated permit for the construction of a 

9 new refinery, the Administrator and the State 

10 or governing body of an Indian tribe shall ap11 prove or disapprove the consolidated permit not 

12 later than— 

13 (i) 360 days after the date of the re14 ceipt of the administratively complete ap15 plication for the consolidated permit; or 

16 (ii) on agreement of the applicant, the 

17 Administrator, and the State or governing 

18 body of the Indian tribe, 90 days after the 

19 expiration of the deadline established 

20 under clause (i). 

21 (B) EXPANSION OF EXISTING REFIN22 ERIES.—In the case of a consolidated permit 

23 for the expansion of an existing refinery, the 

24 Administrator and the State or governing body 


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1 of an Indian tribe shall approve or disapprove 

2 the consolidated permit not later than— 

3 (i) 120 days after the date of the re4 ceipt of the administratively complete ap5 plication for the consolidated permit; or 

6 (ii) on agreement of the applicant, the 

7 Administrator, and the State or governing 

8 body of the Indian tribe, 30 days after the 

9 expiration of the deadline established 

10 under clause (i). 

11 (5) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Each Federal agency 

12 that is required to make any determination to au13 thorize the issuance of a permit shall comply with 

14 the applicable schedule established under paragraph 

15 (2)(B). 

16 (6) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any civil action for re17 view of any permit determination under a refinery 

18 permitting agreement shall be brought exclusively in 

19 the United States district court for the district in 

20 which the refinery is located or proposed to be lo21 cated. 

22 (7) EFFICIENT PERMIT REVIEW.—In order to 

23 reduce the duplication of procedures, the Adminis24 trator shall use State permitting and monitoring 


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1 procedures to satisfy substantially equivalent Fed2 eral requirements under this subtitle. 

3 (8) SEVERABILITY.—If 1 or more permits that 

4 are required for the construction or operation of a 

5 refinery are not approved on or before any deadline 

6 established under paragraph (4), the Administrator 

7 may issue a consolidated permit that combines all 

8 other permits that the refiner is required to obtain 

9 other than any permits that are not approved. 

10 (9) SAVINGS.—Nothing in this subsection af11 fects the operation or implementation of otherwise 

12 applicable law regarding permits necessary for the 

13 construction and operation of a refinery. 

14 (10) CONSULTATION WITH LOCAL GOVERN15 MENTS.—Congress encourages the Administrator, 

16 States, and tribal governments to consult, to the 

17 maximum extent practicable, with local governments 

18 in carrying out this subsection. 

19 (11) EFFECT ON LOCAL AUTHORITY.—Nothing 

20 in this subsection affects— 

21 (A) the authority of a local government 

22 with respect to the issuance of permits; or 

23 (B) any requirement or ordinance of a 

24 local government (such as a zoning regulation). 

25 (c) FISCHER-TROPSCH FUELS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In cooperation with the Sec2 retary of Energy, the Secretary of Defense, the Ad3 ministrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, 

4 Secretary of Health and Human Services, and 

5 Fischer-Tropsch industry representatives, the Ad6 ministrator shall— 

7 (A) conduct a research and demonstration 

8 program to evaluate the air quality benefits of 

9 ultra-clean Fischer-Tropsch transportation fuel, 

10 including diesel and jet fuel; 

11 (B) evaluate the use of ultra-clean Fischer12 Tropsch transportation fuel as a mechanism for 

13 reducing engine exhaust emissions; and 

14 (C) submit recommendations to Congress 

15 on the most effective use and associated bene16 fits of these ultra-clean fuel for reducing public 

17 exposure to exhaust emissions. 

18 (2) GUIDANCE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT.—The 

19 Administrator shall, to the extent necessary, issue 

20 any guidance or technical support documents that 

21 would facilitate the effective use and associated ben22 efit of Fischer-Tropsch fuel and blends. 

23 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—The program described 

24 in paragraph (1) shall consider— 


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1 (A) the use of neat (100 percent) Fischer2 Tropsch fuel and blends with conventional 

3 crude oil-derived fuel for heavy-duty and light4 duty diesel engines and the aviation sector; and 

5 (B) the production costs associated with 

6 domestic production of those ultra-clean fuel 

7 and prices for consumers. 

8 (4) REPORTS.—The Administrator shall submit 

9 to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

10 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re11 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy 

12 and Commerce of the House of Representatives— 

13 (A) not later than 1 year after the date of 

14 enactment of this Act, an interim report on ac15 tions taken to carry out this subsection; and 

16 (B) not later than 2 years after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act, a final report on ac18 tions taken to carry out this subsection. 

19 SEC. 312. EXISTING REFINERY PERMIT APPLICATION DEAD20 LINE. 

21 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, applica22 tions for a permit for existing refinery applications shall 

23 not be considered to be timely if submitted after 120 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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