IIB 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4480 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 25, 2012 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

AN ACT 

To provide for the development of a plan to increase oil 

and gas exploration, development, and production under 

oil and gas leases of Federal lands under the jurisdiction 

of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, 

the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Defense in response to a drawdown of petroleum reserves 

from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. 


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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 ‘‘Domestic Energy and 

5 Jobs Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—INCREASING DOMESTIC OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION, 

DEVELOPMENT, AND PRODUCTION IN RESPONSE TO STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE DRAWDOWNS 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Plan for increasing domestic oil and gas exploration, development, 

and production from Federal lands in response to Strategic Petroleum Reserve drawdown. 

TITLE II—IMPACTS OF EPA RULES AND ACTIONS ON ENERGY 

PRICES 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Transportation Fuels Regulatory Committee. 

Sec. 203. Analyses. 

Sec. 204. Reports; public comment. 

Sec. 205. No final action on certain rules. 

Sec. 206. Consideration of feasibility and cost in revising or supplementing national ambient air quality standards for ozone. 

Sec. 207. Fuel requirements waiver and study. 

TITLE III—QUADRENNIAL STRATEGIC FEDERAL ONSHORE 

ENERGY PRODUCTION STRATEGY 

Sec. 301. Short title. 

Sec. 302. Onshore domestic energy production strategic plan. 

Sec. 303. Definitions. 

TITLE IV—ONSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING CERTAINTY 

Sec. 401. Short title. 

Sec. 402. Minimum acreage requirement for onshore lease sales. 

Sec. 403. Leasing certainty. 

Sec. 404. Leasing consistency. 

Sec. 405. Reduce redundant policies. 

TITLE V—STREAMLINED ENERGY PERMITTING 

Sec. 501. Short title. 


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Subtitle A—Application for Permits to Drill Process Reform 

Sec. 511. Permit to drill application timeline. 

Sec. 512. Solar and wind right-of-way rental reform. 

Subtitle B—Administrative Protest Documentation Reform 

Sec. 521. Administrative protest documentation reform. 

Subtitle C—Permit Streamlining 

Sec. 531. Improve Federal energy permit coordination. 

Sec. 532. Administration of current law. 

Sec. 533. Policies regarding buying, building, and working for America. 

Subtitle D—Judicial Review 

Sec. 541. Definitions. 

Sec. 542. Exclusive venue for certain civil actions relating to covered energy 

projects. 

Sec. 543. Timely filing. 

Sec. 544. Expedition in hearing and determining the action. 

Sec. 545. Standard of review. 

Sec. 546. Limitation on injunction and prospective relief. 

Sec. 547. Limitation on attorneys’ fees. 

Sec. 548. Legal standing. 

TITLE VI—EXPEDITIOUS PROGRAM OF OIL AND GAS LEASING IN 

THE NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA 

Sec. 601. Short title. 

Sec. 602. Sense of Congress and reaffirming national policy for the National 

Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. 

Sec. 603. National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska: lease sales. 

Sec. 604. National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska: planning and permitting pipeline and road construction. 

Sec. 605. Departmental Accountability for Development. 

Sec. 606. Updated resource assessment. 

Sec. 607. Colville River designation. 

TITLE VII—INTERNET-BASED ONSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE 

SALES 

Sec. 701. Short title. 

Sec. 702. Internet-based onshore oil and gas lease sales. 

TITLE VIII—SERVICE OVER THE COUNTER, SELF-CONTAINED, 

MEDIUM TEMPERATURE COMMERCIAL REFRIGERATORS 

Sec. 801. Service over the counter, self-contained, medium temperature commercial refrigerators. 

TITLE IX—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 901. Limitation on transfer of functions under the Mining Law Program 

or the Solid Minerals Leasing Program. 

Sec. 902. Amount of distributed qualified Outer Continental Shelf revenues. 

Sec. 903. Lease Sale 220 and other lease sales off the coast of Virginia. 


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TITLE X—ADVANCING OFFSHORE WIND PRODUCTION 

Sec. 1001. Short title. 

Sec. 1002. Offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring projects. 

1 TITLE I—INCREASING DOMESTIC 

2 OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION, 

3 DEVELOPMENT, AND PRO4 DUCTION IN RESPONSE TO 

5 STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RE6 SERVE DRAWDOWNS 

7 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Strategic Energy Pro9 duction Act of 2012’’. 

10 SEC. 102. PLAN FOR INCREASING DOMESTIC OIL AND GAS 

11 EXPLORATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND PRO12 DUCTION FROM FEDERAL LANDS IN RE13 SPONSE TO STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RE14 SERVE DRAWDOWN. 

15 Section 161 of the Energy Policy and Conservation 

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 6241) is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following new subsection: 

18 ‘‘(k) PLAN.— 

19 ‘‘(1) CONTENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

21 days after the date on which the Secretary exe22 cutes, in accordance with the provisions of this 

23 section, the first sale after the date of enactVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:50 Jun 26, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4480.RFS H4480

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1 ment of this subsection of petroleum products 

2 in the Reserve the Secretary shall develop a 

3 plan to increase the percentage of Federal lands 

4 (including submerged lands of the Outer Conti5 nental Shelf) under the jurisdiction of the Sec6 retary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, 

7 the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary 

8 of Defense leased for oil and gas exploration, 

9 development, and production. The percentage of 

10 the total amount of the Federal lands described 

11 in the preceding sentence by which the plan de12 veloped under this paragraph will increase leas13 ing for oil and gas exploration, development, 

14 and production shall be the same as the per15 centage of petroleum in the Strategic Petroleum 

16 Reserve that was drawn down. 

17 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The plan devel18 oped under this paragraph shall— 

19 ‘‘(i) be consistent with a national en20 ergy policy to meet the present and future 

21 energy needs of the Nation consistent with 

22 economic goals; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) promote the interests of con24 sumers through the provision of an ade25 quate and reliable supply of domestic 


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1 transportation fuels at the lowest reason2 able cost. 

3 ‘‘(C) ENERGY INFORMATION.—The Sec4 retary shall base the determination of the 

5 present and future energy needs of the Nation, 

6 for purposes of subparagraph (B)(i), on infor7 mation from the Energy Information Adminis8 tration. 

9 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The plan developed under 

10 paragraph (1) shall not provide for oil and gas ex11 ploration, development, and production leasing of a 

12 total of more than 10 percent of the Federal lands 

13 described in paragraph (1)(A). 

14 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall de15 velop the plan required by paragraph (1) in con16 sultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Sec17 retary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Defense. 

18 Additionally, in developing the plan, the Secretary 

19 shall consult with the American Association of Pe20 troleum Geologists and other State, environ21 mentalist, and oil and gas industry stakeholders to 

22 determine the most geologically promising lands for 

23 production of oil and natural gas liquids. 

24 ‘‘(4) CONCURRENCE.—The plan required by 

25 paragraph (1) shall not take effect without the conVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:50 Jun 26, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4480.RFS H4480

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1 currence of each of the Secretary of Agriculture, the 

2 Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of De3 fense with respect to elements of the plan within the 

4 jurisdiction, respectively, of the Department of Agri5 culture, the Department of the Interior, and the De6 partment of Defense. 

7 ‘‘(5) COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 Each Federal agency described in paragraph (1)(A) 

9 shall comply with any requirements established by 

10 the Secretary pursuant to the plan, except that no 

11 action shall be taken pursuant to the plan if in the 

12 view of the Secretary of Defense such action will ad13 versely affect national security or military activities, 

14 including preparedness and training. 

15 ‘‘(6) EXCLUSIONS.—The lands referred to in 

16 paragraph (1)(A) shall not include lands managed 

17 under the National Park System or the National 

18 Wilderness Preservation System. 

19 ‘‘(7) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub20 section shall be construed to limit or affect the ap21 plication of existing restrictions on offshore drilling 

22 or requirements for land management under Fed23 eral, State, or local law.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—IMPACTS OF EPA 

2 RULES AND ACTIONS ON EN3 ERGY PRICES 

4 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Gasoline Regulations 

6 Act of 2012’’. 

7 SEC. 202. TRANSPORTATION FUELS REGULATORY COM8 MITTEE. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 

10 a committee to be known as the Transportation Fuels 

11 Regulatory Committee (in this title referred to as the 

12 ‘‘Committee’’) to analyze and report on the cumulative im13 pacts of certain rules and actions of the Environmental 

14 Protection Agency on gasoline, diesel fuel, and natural gas 

15 prices, in accordance with sections 203 and 204. 

16 (b) MEMBERS.—The Committee shall be composed of 

17 the following officials (or their designees): 

18 (1) The Secretary of Energy, who shall serve as 

19 the Chair of the Committee. 

20 (2) The Secretary of Transportation, acting 

21 through the Administrator of the National Highway 

22 Traffic Safety Administration. 

23 (3) The Secretary of Commerce, acting through 

24 the Chief Economist and the Under Secretary for 

25 International Trade. 


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1 (4) The Secretary of Labor, acting through the 

2 Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

3 (5) The Secretary of the Treasury, acting 

4 through the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environ5 ment and Energy of the Department of the Treas6 ury. 

7 (6) The Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

8 through the Chief Economist. 

9 (7) The Administrator of the Environmental 

10 Protection Agency. 

11 (8) The Chairman of the United States Inter12 national Trade Commission, acting through the Di13 rector of the Office of Economics. 

14 (9) The Administrator of the Energy Informa15 tion Administration. 

16 (c) CONSULTATION BY CHAIR.—In carrying out the 

17 functions of the Chair of the Committee, the Chair shall 

18 consult with the other members of the Committee. 

19 (d) CONSULTATION BY COMMITTEE.—In carrying 

20 out this title, the Committee shall consult with the Na21 tional Energy Technology Laboratory. 

22 (e) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall terminate 

23 60 days after submitting its final report pursuant to sec24 tion 204(c). 


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1 SEC. 203. ANALYSES. 

2 (a) SCOPE.—The Committee shall conduct analyses, 

3 for each of the calendar years 2016 and 2020, of the cu4 mulative impact of all covered rules, in combination with 

5 covered actions. 

6 (b) CONTENTS.—The Committee shall include in 

7 each analysis conducted under this section the following: 

8 (1) Estimates of the cumulative impacts of the 

9 covered rules and covered actions with regard to— 

10 (A) any resulting change in the national, 

11 State, or regional price of gasoline, diesel fuel, 

12 or natural gas; 

13 (B) required capital investments and pro14 jected costs for operation and maintenance of 

15 new equipment required to be installed; 

16 (C) global economic competitiveness of the 

17 United States and any loss of domestic refining 

18 capacity; 

19 (D) other cumulative costs and cumulative 

20 benefits, including evaluation through a general 

21 equilibrium model approach; 

22 (E) national, State, and regional employ23 ment, including impacts associated with 

24 changes in gasoline, diesel fuel, or natural gas 

25 prices and facility closures; and 


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1 (F) any other matters affecting the 

2 growth, stability, and sustainability of the Na3 tion’s oil and gas industries, particularly rel4 ative to that of other nations. 

5 (2) Discussion of key uncertainties and assump6 tions associated with each estimate under paragraph 

7 (1). 

8 (3) A sensitivity analysis reflecting alternative 

9 assumptions with respect to the aggregate demand 

10 for gasoline, diesel fuel, or natural gas. 

11 (4) Discussion, and where feasible an assess12 ment, of the cumulative impact of the covered rules 

13 and covered actions on— 

14 (A) consumers; 

15 (B) small businesses; 

16 (C) regional economies; 

17 (D) State, local, and tribal governments; 

18 (E) low-income communities; 

19 (F) public health; and 

20 (G) local and industry-specific labor mar21 kets, 

22 as well as key uncertainties associated with each 

23 topic listed in subparagraphs (A) through (G). 

24 (c) METHODS.—In conducting analyses under this 

25 section, the Committee shall use the best available methVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:50 Jun 26, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4480.RFS H4480

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1 ods, consistent with guidance from the Office of Informa2 tion and Regulatory Affairs and the Office of Management 

3 and Budget Circular A–4. 

4 (d) DATA.—In conducting analyses under this sec5 tion, the Committee is not required to create data or to 

6 use data that is not readily accessible. 

7 (e) COVERED RULES.—In this section, the term ‘‘cov8 ered rule’’ means the following rules (and includes any 

9 successor or substantially similar rules): 

10 (1) ‘‘Control of Air Pollution From New Motor 

11 Vehicles: Tier 3 Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel 

12 Standards’’, as described in the Unified Agenda of 

13 Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions under 

14 Regulatory Identification Number 2060–AQ86. 

15 (2) Any rule proposed after March 15, 2012, 

16 establishing or revising a standard of performance or 

17 emission standard under section 111 or 112 of the 

18 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7411, 7412) that is appli19 cable to petroleum refineries. 

20 (3) Any rule proposed after March 15, 2012, 

21 for implementation of the Renewable Fuel Program 

22 under section 211(o) of the Clean Air Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 7545(o)). 

24 (4) ‘‘National Ambient Air Quality Standards 

25 for Ozone’’, published at 73 Federal Register 16436 


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1 (March 27, 2008); ‘‘Reconsideration of the 2008 

2 Ozone Primary and Secondary National Ambient Air 

3 Quality Standards’’, as described in the Unified 

4 Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Ac5 tions under Regulatory Identification Number 2060– 

6 AP98; and any subsequent rule revising or 

7 supplementing the national ambient air quality 

8 standards for ozone under section 109 of the Clean 

9 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7409). 

10 (f) COVERED ACTIONS.—In this section, the term 

11 ‘‘covered action’’ means any action, to the extent such ac12 tion affects facilities involved in the production, transpor13 tation, or distribution of gasoline, diesel fuel, or natural 

14 gas, taken on or after January 1, 2009, by the Adminis15 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency, a State, 

16 a local government, or a permitting agency as a result of 

17 the application of part C of title I (relating to prevention 

18 of significant deterioration of air quality), or title V (relat19 ing to permitting), of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 

20 et seq.), to an air pollutant that is identified as a green21 house gas in the rule entitled ‘‘Endangerment and Cause 

22 or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases Under Sec23 tion 202(a) of the Clean Air Act’’ published at 74 Federal 

24 Register 66496 (December 15, 2009). 


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1 SEC. 204. REPORTS; PUBLIC COMMENT. 

2 (a) PRELIMINARY REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Committee 

4 shall make public and submit to the Committee on Energy 

5 and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 

6 Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Sen7 ate a preliminary report containing the results of the anal8 yses conducted under section 203. 

9 (b) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.—The Committee 

10 shall accept public comments regarding the preliminary re11 port submitted under subsection (a) for a period of 60 

12 days after such submission. 

13 (c) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after 

14 the close of the public comment period under subsection 

15 (b), the Committee shall submit to Congress a final report 

16 containing the analyses conducted under section 203, in17 cluding any revisions to such analyses made as a result 

18 of public comments, and a response to such comments. 

19 SEC. 205. NO FINAL ACTION ON CERTAIN RULES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Envi21 ronmental Protection Agency shall not finalize any of the 

22 following rules until a date (to be determined by the Ad23 ministrator) that is at least 6 months after the day on 

24 which the Committee submits the final report under sec25 tion 204(c): 


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1 (1) ‘‘Control of Air Pollution From New Motor 

2 Vehicles: Tier 3 Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel 

3 Standards’’, as described in the Unified Agenda of 

4 Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions under 

5 Regulatory Identification Number 2060–AQ86, and 

6 any successor or substantially similar rule. 

7 (2) Any rule proposed after March 15, 2012, 

8 establishing or revising a standard of performance or 

9 emission standard under section 111 or 112 of the 

10 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7411, 7412) that is appli11 cable to petroleum refineries. 

12 (3) Any rule revising or supplementing the na13 tional ambient air quality standards for ozone under 

14 section 109 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7409). 

15 (b) OTHER RULES NOT AFFECTED.—Subsection (a) 

16 shall not affect the finalization of any rule other than the 

17 rules described in such subsection. 

18 SEC. 206. CONSIDERATION OF FEASIBILITY AND COST IN 

19 REVISING OR SUPPLEMENTING NATIONAL 

20 AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS FOR 

21 OZONE. 

22 In revising or supplementing any national primary or 

23 secondary ambient air quality standards for ozone under 

24 section 109 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7409), the 


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1 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 

2 shall take into consideration feasibility and cost. 

3 SEC. 207. FUEL REQUIREMENTS WAIVER AND STUDY. 

4 (a) WAIVER OF FUEL REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

5 211(c)(4)(C) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 7545(c)(4)(C)) is amended— 

7 (1) in clause (ii)(II), by inserting ‘‘a problem 

8 with distribution or delivery equipment necessary for 

9 the transportation or delivery of fuel or fuel addi10 tives,’’ after ‘‘equipment failure,’’; 

11 (2) in clause (iii)(II), by inserting before the 

12 semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘(except that the 

13 Administrator may extend the effectiveness of a 

14 waiver for more than 20 days if the Administrator 

15 determines that the conditions under clause (ii) sup16 porting a waiver determination will exist for more 

17 than 20 days)’’; 

18 (3) by redesignating the second clause (v) (re19 lating to the authority of the Administrator to ap20 prove certain State implementation plans) as clause 

21 (vi); and 

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

23 ‘‘(vii) PRESUMPTIVE APPROVAL.—Notwithstanding 

24 any other provision of this subparagraph, if the Adminis25 trator does not approve or deny a request for a waiver 


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1 under this subparagraph within 3 days after receipt of the 

2 request, the request shall be deemed to be approved as 

3 received by the Administrator and the applicable fuel 

4 standards shall be deemed to be waived for the period of 

5 time requested.’’. 

6 (b) FUEL SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS HARMONIZATION

7 STUDY.—Section 1509 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

8 (Public Law 109–58; 119 Stat. 1083) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting 

11 ‘‘biofuels,’’ after ‘‘oxygenated fuel,’’; 

12 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

13 (i) in subparagraph (B)— 

14 (I) by redesignating clause (ii) as 

15 clause (iii); 

16 (II) in clause (i), by striking 

17 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; and 

18 (III) by inserting after clause (i) 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘(i) the renewable fuel standard; 

21 and’’; and 

22 (IV) in subparagraph (G), by in23 serting ‘‘or Tier III’’ after ‘‘Tier II’’; 

24 and 


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1 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘2008’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘2014’’. 

3 TITLE III—QUADRENNIAL STRA4 TEGIC FEDERAL ONSHORE 

5 ENERGY PRODUCTION STRAT6 EGY 

7 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

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

9 Energy Act of 2012’’. 

10 SEC. 302. ONSHORE DOMESTIC ENERGY PRODUCTION 

11 STRATEGIC PLAN. 

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

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

14 44 as section 45, and by inserting after section 43 the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 44. QUADRENNIAL STRATEGIC FEDERAL ONSHORE 

17 ENERGY PRODUCTION STRATEGY. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

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

20 this section referred to as ‘Secretary’), in consulta21 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture with regard to 

22 lands administered by the Forest Service, shall de23 velop and publish every 4 years a Quadrennial Fed24 eral Onshore Energy Production Strategy. This 

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1 ment and department resource allocation in order to 

2 promote the energy security of the United States. 

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

4 shall consult with the Administrator of the Energy 

5 Information Administration on the projected energy 

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

7 period, and how energy derived from Federal on8 shore lands can put the United States on a trajec9 tory to meet that demand during the next 4-year pe10 riod. The Secretary shall consider how Federal lands 

11 will contribute to ensuring national energy security, 

12 with a goal for increasing energy independence and 

13 production, during the next 4-year period. 

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

15 strategic production objective for the development of 

16 energy resources from Federal onshore lands. Such 

17 objective shall be— 

18 ‘‘(A) the best estimate, based upon com19 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in20 crease in domestic production of oil and natural 

21 gas from the Federal onshore mineral estate, 

22 with a focus on lands held by the Bureau of 

23 Land Management and the Forest Service; 

24 ‘‘(B) the best estimate, based upon com25 mercial and scientific data, of the expected inVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:50 Jun 26, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4480.RFS H4480

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1 crease in domestic coal production from Federal 

2 lands; 

3 ‘‘(C) the best estimate, based upon com4 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in5 crease in domestic production of strategic and 

6 critical energy minerals from the Federal on7 shore mineral estate; 

8 ‘‘(D) the best estimate, based upon com9 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in10 crease in megawatts for electricity production 

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

12 biomass, hydropower, and geothermal energy 

13 produced on Federal lands administered by the 

14 Bureau of Land Management and the Forest 

15 Service; 

16 ‘‘(E) the best estimate, based upon com17 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in18 crease in unconventional energy production, 

19 such as oil shale; 

20 ‘‘(F) the best estimate, based upon com21 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in22 crease in domestic production of oil, natural 

23 gas, coal, and other renewable sources from 

24 tribal lands for any federally recognized Indian 


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1 tribe that elects to participate in facilitating en2 ergy production on its lands; and 

3 ‘‘(G) the best estimate, based upon com4 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in5 crease in domestic production of geothermal, 

6 solar, wind, or other renewable energy sources 

7 on lands defined as ‘available lands’ by section 

8 203 of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 

9 1920, and any other lands deemed by the Terri10 tory or State of Hawaii, as the case may be, to 

11 be included within that definition. 

12 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall consult with the Ad13 ministrator of the Energy Information Administra14 tion regarding the methodology used to arrive at its 

15 estimates for purposes of this section. 

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

17 the energy development plan to include other energy 

18 production technology sources or advancements in 

19 energy on Federal lands. 

20 ‘‘(b) TRIBAL OBJECTIVES.—It is the sense of Con21 gress that federally recognized Indian tribes may elect to 

22 set their own production objectives as part of the Strategy 

23 under this section. The Secretary shall work in coopera24 tion with any federally recognized Indian tribe that elects 


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1 to participate in achieving its own strategic energy objec2 tives designated under this subsection. 

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

4 Secretary shall have all necessary authority to make deter5 minations regarding which additional lands will be made 

6 available in order to meet the production objectives estab7 lished by strategies under this section. The Secretary shall 

8 also take all necessary actions to achieve these production 

9 objectives unless the President determines that it is not 

10 in the national security and economic interests of the 

11 United States to increase Federal domestic energy produc12 tion and to further decrease dependence upon foreign 

13 sources of energy. In administering this section, the rel14 evant Secretary shall only consider leasing Federal lands 

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

16 ‘‘(d) STATE, FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED INDIAN

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

18 developing each strategy, the Secretary shall solicit the 

19 input of affected States, federally recognized Indian tribes, 

20 local governments, and the public. 

21 ‘‘(e) REPORTING.—The Secretary shall report annu22 ally to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

23 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

24 Natural Resources of the Senate on the progress of meet25 ing the production goals set forth in the strategy. The SecVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:50 Jun 26, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4480.RFS H4480

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1 retary shall identify in the report projections for produc2 tion and capacity installations and any problems with leas3 ing, permitting, siting, or production that will prevent 

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

5 suggestions to help meet any shortfalls in meeting the pro6 duction goals. 

7 ‘‘(f) PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

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

9 of enactment of this section, in accordance with section 

10 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

11 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), the Secretary shall com12 plete a programmatic environmental impact statement. 

13 This programmatic environmental impact statement will 

14 be deemed sufficient to comply with all requirements 

15 under that Act for all necessary resource management and 

16 land use plans associated with the implementation of the 

17 strategy. 

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

19 prior to publishing a proposed strategy under this section, 

20 the Secretary shall submit it to the President and the Con21 gress, together with any comments received from States, 

22 federally recognized Indian tribes, and local governments. 

23 Such submission shall indicate why any specific rec24 ommendation of a State, federally recognized Indian tribe, 

25 or local government was not accepted.’’. 


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1 (b) FIRST QUADRENNIAL STRATEGY.—Not later 

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

3 the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to Congress the 

4 first Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy Production 

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

6 SEC. 303. DEFINITIONS. 

7 For purposes of this title, the term ‘‘strategic and 

8 critical energy minerals’’ means those that are necessary 

9 for the Nation’s energy infrastructure including pipelines, 

10 refining capacity, electrical power generation and trans11 mission, and renewable energy production and those that 

12 are necessary to support domestic manufacturing, includ13 ing but not limited to, materials used in energy genera14 tion, production, and transportation. 

15 TITLE IV—ONSHORE OIL AND 

16 GAS LEASING CERTAINTY 

17 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

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

19 Certainty for American Energy Act of 2012’’. 

20 SEC. 402. MINIMUM ACREAGE REQUIREMENT FOR ON21 SHORE LEASE SALES. 

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

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

24 the Secretary of the Interior shall perform the following: 


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

2 than 25 percent of the annual nominated acreage 

3 not previously made available for lease. Acreage of4 fered for lease pursuant to this paragraph shall not 

5 be subject to protest and shall be eligible for cat6 egorical exclusions under section 390 of the Energy 

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

8 it shall not be subject to the test of extraordinary 

9 circumstances. 

10 (2) In administering this section, the Secretary 

11 shall only consider leasing of Federal lands that are 

12 available for leasing at the time the lease sale oc13 curs. 

14 SEC. 403. LEASING CERTAINTY. 

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

16 226(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘All lands’’, 

17 and by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary shall not withdraw any cov19 ered energy project issued under this Act without finding 

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

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

22 rights under leases issued under this Act by indefinitely 

23 delaying issuance of project approvals, drilling and seismic 

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

25 lease. 


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1 ‘‘(C) No later than 18 months after an area is des2 ignated as open under the current land use plan the Sec3 retary shall make available nominated areas for lease 

4 under the criteria in section 2. 

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

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

7 last payment is made. 

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

9 lease parcel after a competitive lease sale has occurred and 

10 a winning bidder has submitted the last payment for the 

11 parcel. 

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

13 under this Act, the Secretary shall adjudicate any lease 

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

15 protest is left unsettled, said protest is automatically de16 nied and appeal rights of the protestor begin. 

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

18 after the parcel is sold without consultation and agree19 ment of the lessee, unless the Secretary deems such stipu20 lations as emergency actions to conserve the resources of 

21 the United States.’’. 

22 SEC. 404. LEASING CONSISTENCY. 

23 Federal land managers must follow existing resource 

24 management plans and continue to actively lease in areas 

25 designated as open when resource management plans are 


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

2 of decision is signed. 

3 SEC. 405. REDUCE REDUNDANT POLICIES. 

4 Bureau of Land Management Instruction Memo5 randum 2010–117 shall have no force or effect. 

6 TITLE V—STREAMLINED 

7 ENERGY PERMITTING 

8 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE. 

9 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Streamlining Permit10 ting of American Energy Act of 2012’’. 

11 Subtitle A—Application for Permits 

12 to Drill Process Reform 

13 SEC. 511. PERMIT TO DRILL APPLICATION TIMELINE. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

24 the applicant. The notice shall be in the form 

25 of a letter from the Secretary or a designee of 


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1 the Secretary, and shall include the names and 

2 titles of the persons processing the application, 

3 the specific reasons for the delay, and a specific 

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

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

7 If the application is denied, the Secretary shall 

8 provide the applicant— 

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

11 accepted and detailed information con12 cerning any deficiencies; and 

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

15 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION DEEMED APPROVED.— 

16 If the Secretary has not made a decision on the 

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

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

21 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

22 1969 or Endangered Species Act of 1973 are 

23 incomplete. 

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


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

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

5 permit; 

6 ‘‘(ii) allow the applicant to resubmit 

7 an application for a permit to drill during 

8 the 10-day period beginning on the date 

9 the applicant receives the description of 

10 the denial from the Secretary; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) issue or deny any resubmitted 

12 application not later than 10 days after the 

13 date the application is submitted to the 

14 Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(E) FEE.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

17 any other law, the Secretary shall collect a 

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

20 the final decision is made whether to issue 

21 a permit under subparagraph (A). This fee 

22 shall not apply to any resubmitted applica23 tion. 

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


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

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

6 SEC. 512. SOLAR AND WIND RIGHT-OF-WAY RENTAL RE7 FORM. 

8 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each fis9 cal year, of fees collected as annual wind energy and solar 

10 energy right-of-way authorization fees required under sec11 tion 504(g) of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

12 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1764(g)), 50 percent shall be re13 tained by the Secretary of the Interior to be used, subject 

14 to appropriation, by the Bureau of Land Management to 

15 process permits, right-of-way applications, and other ac16 tivities necessary for renewable development, and, at the 

17 discretion of the Secretary, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

18 Service or other Federal agencies involved in wind and 

19 solar permitting reviews to facilitate the processing of 

20 wind energy and solar energy permit applications on Bu21 reau of Land Management lands. 


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1 Subtitle B—Administrative Protest 

2 Documentation Reform 

3 SEC. 521. ADMINISTRATIVE PROTEST DOCUMENTATION RE4 FORM. 

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

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

8 ‘‘(4) PROTEST FEE.— 

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

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

12 application for permit to drill. 

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

14 collected under this paragraph, 50 percent shall 

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

17 appropriation.’’. 

18 Subtitle C—Permit Streamlining 

19 SEC. 531. IMPROVE FEDERAL ENERGY PERMIT COORDINA20 TION. 

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

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

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


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1 Management field office with responsibility for permitting 

2 energy projects on Federal land. 

3 (b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

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

5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

6 shall enter into a memorandum of understanding for 

7 purposes of this section with— 

8 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

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

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

13 (2) STATE PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary 

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

16 the memorandum of understanding. 

17 (c) DESIGNATION OF QUALIFIED STAFF.— 

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

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

22 the Bureau of Land Management field offices an 

23 employee who has expertise in the regulatory issues 

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1 ployed, including, as applicable, particular expertise 

2 in— 

3 (A) the consultations and the preparation 

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

6 1536); 

7 (B) permits under section 404 of Federal 

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

9 (C) regulatory matters under the Clean Air 

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

11 (D) planning under the National Forest 

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

13 seq.); and 

14 (E) the preparation of analyses under the 

15 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

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

17 (2) DUTIES.—Each employee assigned under 

18 paragraph (1) shall— 

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

20 of assignment, report to the Bureau of Land 

21 Management Field Managers in the office to 

22 which the employee is assigned; 

23 (B) be responsible for all issues relating to 

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


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

3 planning, and environmental analyses on Fed4 eral lands. 

5 (d) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Secretary shall 

6 assign to each Bureau of Land Management field office 

7 identified in subsection (a) any additional personnel that 

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

10 of Land Management field offices, including inspection 

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

13 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 

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

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

16 shall come from the Department of the Interior reforms 

17 identified in sections 511, 512, and 521. 

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

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

21 or 

22 (2) any delegation of authority made by the 

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


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

2 term ‘‘energy projects’’ means oil, natural gas and renew3 able energy projects. 

4 SEC. 532. ADMINISTRATION OF CURRENT LAW. 

5 Notwithstanding any other law, the Secretary of the 

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

8 Policy Act of 2005. 

9 SEC. 533. POLICIES REGARDING BUYING, BUILDING, AND 

10 WORKING FOR AMERICA. 

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

12 Congress that— 

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

14 United States domestic energy sector that, in turn, 

15 helps to reinvigorate American manufacturing, 

16 transportation, and service sectors by employing the 

17 vast talents of United States workers to assist in the 

18 development of energy from domestic sources; and 

19 (2) Congress will monitor the deployment of 

20 personnel and material onshore under this title to 

21 encourage the development of American technology 

22 and manufacturing to enable United States workers 

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1 dustrial facilities to support expanded access to 

2 American energy resources. 

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

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

5 United States workers and equipment manufactured in 

6 the United States in all construction related to mineral 

7 resource development under this title. 

8 Subtitle D—Judicial Review 

9 SEC. 541. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this title— 

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

12 action containing a claim under section 702 of title 

13 5, United States Code, regarding agency action (as 

14 defined for the purposes of that section) affecting a 

15 covered energy project on Federal lands of the 

16 United States; and 

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

18 the leasing of Federal lands of the United States for 

19 the exploration, development, production, processing, 

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

21 other source of energy, and any action under such 

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

23 disputes between the parties to a lease regarding the 

24 obligations under such lease, including regarding 

25 any alleged breach of the lease. 


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1 SEC. 542. EXCLUSIVE VENUE FOR CERTAIN CIVIL ACTIONS 

2 RELATING TO COVERED ENERGY PROJECTS. 

3 Venue for any covered civil action shall lie in the dis4 trict court where the project or leases exist or are pro5 posed. 

6 SEC. 543. TIMELY FILING. 

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

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

9 period beginning on the date of the final Federal agency 

10 action to which it relates. 

11 SEC. 544. EXPEDITION IN HEARING AND DETERMINING THE 

12 ACTION. 

13 The court shall endeavor to hear and determine any 

14 covered civil action as expeditiously as possible. 

15 SEC. 545. STANDARD OF REVIEW. 

16 In any judicial review of a covered civil action, admin17 istrative findings and conclusions relating to the chal18 lenged Federal action or decision shall be presumed to be 

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

20 preponderance of the evidence contained in the adminis21 trative record. 

22 SEC. 546. LIMITATION ON INJUNCTION AND PROSPECTIVE 

23 RELIEF. 

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

25 or approve any prospective relief unless the court finds 

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


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1 necessary to correct the violation of a legal requirement, 

2 and is the least intrusive means necessary to correct that 

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

4 preliminary injunctions to halt covered energy projects to 

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

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

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

8 require action by the court to renew the injunction. 

9 SEC. 547. LIMITATION ON ATTORNEYS’ FEES. 

10 Sections 504 of title 5, United States Code, and 2412 

11 of title 28, United States Code, (together commonly called 

12 the Equal Access to Justice Act) do not apply to a covered 

13 civil action, nor shall any party in such a covered civil ac14 tion receive payment from the Federal Government for 

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

16 SEC. 548. LEGAL STANDING. 

17 Challengers filing appeals with the Department of the 

18 Interior Board of Land Appeals shall meet the same 

19 standing requirements as challengers before a United 

20 States district court. 


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1 TITLE VI—EXPEDITIOUS PRO2 GRAM OF OIL AND GAS LEAS3 ING IN THE NATIONAL PE4 TROLEUM RESERVE IN ALAS5 KA 

6 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. 

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

8 Reserve Alaska Access Act’’. 

9 SEC. 602. SENSE OF CONGRESS AND REAFFIRMING NA10 TIONAL POLICY FOR THE NATIONAL PETRO11 LEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA. 

12 It is the sense of Congress that— 

13 (1) the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska 

14 remains explicitly designated, both in name and legal 

15 status, for purposes of providing oil and natural gas 

16 resources to the United States; and 

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

18 advance oil and gas development within the Reserve 

19 by facilitating the expeditious exploration, produc20 tion, and transportation of oil and natural gas from 

21 and through the Reserve. 


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1 SEC. 603. NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA: 

2 LEASE SALES. 

3 Section 107(a) of the Naval Petroleum Reserves Pro4 duction Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6506a(a)) is amended to 

5 read as follows: 

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

7 expeditious program of competitive leasing of oil and gas 

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

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

10 of the reserve most likely to produce commercial quantities 

11 of oil and natural gas each year in the period 2011 

12 through 2021.’’. 

13 SEC. 604. NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA: 

14 PLANNING AND PERMITTING PIPELINE AND 

15 ROAD CONSTRUCTION. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi17 sion of law, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation 

18 with the Secretary of Transportation, shall facilitate and 

19 ensure permits, in an environmentally responsible manner, 

20 for all surface development activities, including for the 

21 construction of pipelines and roads, necessary to— 

22 (1) develop and bring into production any areas 

23 within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska 

24 that are subject to oil and gas leases; and 

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

26 National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska to existing 


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1 transportation or processing infrastructure on the 

2 North Slope of Alaska. 

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

4 Federal permitting agency shall issue permits in accord5 ance with the following timeline: 

6 (1) Permits for such construction for transpor7 tation of oil and natural gas produced under existing 

8 Federal oil and gas leases with respect to which the 

9 Secretary has issued a permit to drill shall be ap10 proved within 60 days after the date of enactment 

11 of this Act. 

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

14 oil and gas leases shall be approved within 6 months 

15 after the submission to the Secretary of a request 

16 for a permit to drill. 

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

18 the Reserve, within 270 days after the date of the enact19 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit 

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

21 for pipeline, road, and any other surface infrastructure 

22 that may be necessary infrastructure that will ensure that 

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

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

25 future development of the Reserve. 


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1 SEC. 605. DEPARTMENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR DEVEL2 OPMENT. 

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

4 issue regulations within 180 days after the date of enact5 ment of this Act that establish clear requirements to en6 sure that the Department of the Interior is supporting de7 velopment of oil and gas leases in the National Petroleum 

8 Reserve in Alaska. 

9 (b) DEADLINES.—At a minimum, the regulations 

10 shall— 

11 (1) require the Department to respond within 5 

12 business days acknowledging receipt of any permit 

13 application for such development; and 

14 (2) establish a timeline for the processing of 

15 each such application, that— 

16 (A) specifies deadlines for decisions and 

17 actions on permit applications; and 

18 (B) provide that the period for issuing 

19 each permit after submission of such an appli20 cation shall not exceed 60 days without the con21 currence of the applicant. 

22 (c) ACTIONS REQUIRED FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY

23 WITH DEADLINES.—If the Department fails to comply 

24 with any deadline under subsection (b) with respect to a 

25 permit application, the Secretary shall notify the applicant 

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1 sons for the permit delay, the name of the specific Depart2 ment office or offices responsible for issuing the permit 

3 and for monitoring the permit delay, and an estimate of 

4 the time that the permit will be issued. 

5 (d) ADDITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—Within 180 

6 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

7 of the Interior shall approve, after consultation with the 

8 State of Alaska and public comment, right-of-way cor9 ridors for the construction of 2 separate additional bridges 

10 and pipeline rights-of-way to help facilitate timely oil and 

11 gas development of the Reserve. 

12 SEC. 606. UPDATED RESOURCE ASSESSMENT. 

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

14 complete a comprehensive assessment of all technically re15 coverable fossil fuel resources within the National Petro16 leum Reserve in Alaska, including all conventional and un17 conventional oil and natural gas. 

18 (b) COOPERATION AND CONSULTATION.—The re19 source assessment required by subsection (a) shall be car20 ried out by the United States Geological Survey in co21 operation and consultation with the State of Alaska and 

22 the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. 

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

24 subsection (a) shall be completed within 24 months after 

25 the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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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 SEC. 607. COLVILLE RIVER DESIGNATION. 

6 The designation by the Environmental Protection 

7 Agency of the Colville River Delta as an Aquatic Resource 

8 of National Importance shall have no force or effect. 

9 TITLE VII—INTERNET-BASED 

10 ONSHORE OIL AND GAS 

11 LEASE SALES 

12 SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE. 

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

14 Auctions Act’’. 

15 SEC. 702. INTERNET-BASED ONSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE 

16 SALES. 

17 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 17(b)(1) of the Min18 eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)) is amended— 

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

20 by inserting ‘‘, except as provided in subparagraph 

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

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

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

24 onshore leasing program to ensure the best return to the 

25 Federal taxpayer, reduce fraud, and secure the leasing 


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1 process, the Secretary may conduct onshore lease sales 

2 through Internet-based bidding methods. Each individual 

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

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

5 Internet-based lease sale conducted under the amendment 

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

7 analyze the first 10 such lease sales and report to Con8 gress the findings of the analysis. The report shall in9 clude— 

10 (1) estimates on increases or decreases in such 

11 lease sales, compared to sales conducted by oral bid12 ding, in— 

13 (A) the number of bidders; 

14 (B) the average amount of bid; 

15 (C) the highest amount bid; and 

16 (D) the lowest bid; 

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

18 the Department of the Interior as a result of such 

19 sales, compared to sales conducted by oral bidding; 

20 and 

21 (3) an evaluation of the demonstrated or ex22 pected effectiveness of different structures for lease 

23 sales which may provide an opportunity to better 

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1 ties for fraud or collusion, and ensure the security 

2 and integrity of the leasing process. 

3 TITLE VIII—SERVICE OVER THE 

4 COUNTER, SELF-CONTAINED, 

5 MEDIUM TEMPERATURE COM6 MERCIAL REFRIGERATORS 

7 SEC. 801. SERVICE OVER THE COUNTER, SELF-CONTAINED, 

8 MEDIUM TEMPERATURE COMMERCIAL RE9 FRIGERATORS. 

10 Section 342(c) of the Energy Policy and Conservation 

11 Act (42 U.S.C. 6313(c)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

13 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

14 and (C) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respec15 tively; and 

16 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(B) The term ‘(SOC-SC-M)’ means a medium 

19 temperature commercial refrigerator— 

20 ‘‘(i) with a self-contained condensing unit 

21 and equipped with sliding or hinged doors in 

22 the back intended for use by sales personnel, 

23 and with glass or other transparent material in 

24 the front for displaying merchandise; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) that has a height not greater than 66 

2 inches and is intended to serve as a counter for 

3 transactions between sales personnel and cus4 tomers. 

5 ‘‘(C) The term ‘TDA’ means the total display 

area (ft2 6 ) of the refrigerated case, as defined in Air7 Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute 

8 Standard 1200.’’; 

9 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as 

10 paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and 

11 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(4) Each SOC-SC-M manufactured on or after the 

14 date which is 6 months after the date of enactment of 

15 the Better Use of Refrigerator Regulations Act shall have 

16 a total daily energy consumption (in kilowatt hours per 

17 day) of not more than 0.6 x TDA + 1.0.’’. 

18 TITLE IX—MISCELLANEOUS 

19 PROVISIONS 

20 SEC. 901. LIMITATION ON TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS 

21 UNDER THE MINING LAW PROGRAM OR THE 

22 SOLID MINERALS LEASING PROGRAM. 

23 The Secretary of the Interior may not transfer to the 

24 Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 

25 any responsibility or authority to perform any function 


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1 performed immediately before the enactment of this Act 

2 under the Solid Minerals Program of the Department of 

3 the Interior, including— 

4 (1) any such function under— 

5 (A) the laws popularly known as the Min6 ing Law of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 22 note); 

7 (B) the Act of July 31, 1947 (chapter 406; 

8 30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), popularly known as the 

9 Materials Act of 1947; 

10 (C) the Minerals Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

11 181 et seq.); or 

12 (D) the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired 

13 Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.); 

14 (2) any such function relating to management 

15 of mineral development on Federal lands and ac16 quired lands under section 302 of the Federal Land 

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

18 1732); and 

19 (3) any function performed under the Mining 

20 Law Program. 

21 SEC. 902. AMOUNT OF DISTRIBUTED QUALIFIED OUTER 

22 CONTINENTAL SHELF REVENUES. 

23 Section 105(f)(1) of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Secu24 rity Act of 2006 (title I of division C of Public Law 109– 

25 432; (43 U.S.C. 1331 note)) is amended by striking 


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1 ‘‘2055’’ and inserting ‘‘2022, and shall not exceed 

2 $750,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 

3 2055’’. 

4 SEC. 903. LEASE SALE 220 AND OTHER LEASE SALES OFF 

5 THE COAST OF VIRGINIA. 

6 (a) INCLUSION IN LEASING PROGRAMS.—The Sec7 retary of the Interior shall— 

8 (1) upon enactment of this Act, revise the pro9 posed Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing 

10 program for the 2012–2017 period to include in 

11 such program Lease Sale 220 off the coast of Vir12 ginia; and 

13 (2) include the Outer Continental Shelf off the 

14 coast of Virginia in the leasing program for each 5- 

15 year period after the 2012–2017 period. 

16 (b) CONDUCT OF LEASE SALE.—As soon as prac17 ticable, but not later than 1 year after the date of enact18 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall carry 

19 out under section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

20 Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) Lease Sale 220. 

21 (c) BALANCING MILITARY AND ENERGY PRODUC22 TION GOALS.— 

23 (1) JOINT GOALS.—In recognition that the 

24 Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing program 

25 and the domestic energy resources produced thereVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:50 Jun 26, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4480.RFS H4480

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1 from are integral to national security, the Secretary 

2 of the Interior and the Secretary of Defense shall 

3 work jointly in implementing this section in order to 

4 ensure achievement of the following common goals: 

5 (A) Preserving the ability of the Armed 

6 Forces of the United States to maintain an op7 timum state of readiness through their contin8 ued use of the Outer Continental Shelf. 

9 (B) Allowing effective exploration, develop10 ment, and production of our Nation’s oil, gas, 

11 and renewable energy resources. 

12 (2) PROHIBITION ON CONFLICTS WITH MILI13 TARY OPERATIONS.—No person may engage in any 

14 exploration, development, or production of oil or nat15 ural gas off the coast of Virginia that would conflict 

16 with any military operation, as determined in ac17 cordance with the Memorandum of Agreement be18 tween the Department of Defense and the Depart19 ment of the Interior on Mutual Concerns on the 

20 Outer Continental Shelf signed July 20, 1983, and 

21 any revision or replacement for that agreement that 

22 is agreed to by the Secretary of Defense and the 

23 Secretary of the Interior after that date but before 

24 the date of issuance of the lease under which such 


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1 exploration, development, or production is con2 ducted. 

3 (3) NATIONAL DEFENSE AREAS.—The United 

4 States reserves the right to designate by and 

5 through the Secretary of Defense, with the approval 

6 of the President, national defense areas on the 

7 Outer Continental Shelf pursuant to section 12(d) of 

8 the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

9 1341(d)). 

10 TITLE X—ADVANCING 

11 OFFSHORE WIND PRODUCTION 

12 SEC. 1001. SHORT TITLE. 

13 This title may be cited at the ‘‘Advancing Offshore 

14 Wind Production Act’’. 

15 SEC. 1002. OFFSHORE METEOROLOGICAL SITE TESTING 

16 AND MONITORING PROJECTS. 

17 (a) DEFINITION OF AN OFFSHORE METEOROLOG18 ICAL SITE TESTING AND MONITORING PROJECT.—In this 

19 section, the term ‘‘offshore meteorological site testing and 

20 monitoring project’’ means a project carried out on or in 

21 the waters of the Outer Continental Shelf administered 

22 by the Department of the Interior to test or monitor 

23 weather (including wind, tidal, current, and solar energy) 

24 using towers, buoys, or other temporary ocean infrastruc25 ture, that— 


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1 (1) causes— 

2 (A) less than 1 acre of surface or seafloor 

3 disruption at the location of each meteorological 

4 tower or other device; and 

5 (B) not more than 5 acres of surface or 

6 seafloor disruption within the proposed area af7 fected by for the project (including hazards to 

8 navigation); 

9 (2) is decommissioned not more than 5 years 

10 after the date of commencement of the project, in11 cluding— 

12 (A) removal of towers, buoys, or other tem13 porary ocean infrastructure from the project 

14 site; and 

15 (B) restoration of the project site to ap16 proximately the original condition of the site; 

17 and 

18 (3) provides meteorological information ob19 tained by the project to the Secretary of the Inte20 rior. 

21 (b) OFFSHORE METEOROLOGICAL PROJECT PERMIT22 TING.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte24 rior shall by regulation require that any applicant 

25 seeking to conduct an offshore meteorological site 


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1 testing and monitoring project on the outer Conti2 nental Shelf (as that term is defined in the Outer 

3 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et 

4 seq.)) must obtain a permit and right of way for the 

5 project in accordance with this subsection. 

6 (2) PERMIT AND RIGHT OF WAY TIMELINE AND

7 CONDITIONS.— 

8 (A) DEADLINE FOR APPROVAL.—The Sec9 retary shall decide whether to issue a permit 

10 and right of way for an offshore meteorological 

11 site testing and monitoring project within 30 

12 days after receiving an application. 

13 (B) PUBLIC COMMENT AND CONSULTA14 TION.—During the period referred to in sub15 paragraph (A), the Secretary shall— 

16 (i) provide an opportunity for submis17 sion of comments by the public; and 

18 (ii) consult with the Secretary of De19 fense, the Commandant of the Coast 

20 Guard, and the heads of other Federal, 

21 State, and local agencies that would be af22 fected by issuance of the permit and right 

23 of way. 

24 (C) DENIAL OF PERMIT; OPPORTUNITY TO

25 REMEDY DEFICIENCIES.—If the application is 


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1 denied, the Secretary shall provide the appli2 cant— 

3 (i) in writing, clear and comprehensive 

4 reasons why the application was not ap5 proved and detailed information concerning 

6 any deficiencies in the application; and 

7 (ii) an opportunity to remedy such de8 ficiencies. 

9 (c) NEPA EXCLUSION.—Section 102(2)(C) of the 

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

11 4332(2)(C)) shall not apply with respect to an offshore 

12 meteorological site testing and monitoring project. 

13 (d) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.—The informa14 tion provided to the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to 

15 subsection (a)(3) shall be treated by the Secretary as pro16 prietary information and protected against disclosure. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 21, 2012. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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