I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 52 

To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to require that treatment 

of the issuance of any exploration plans, development production plans, 

development operation coordination documents, and lease sales required 

under Federal law for offshore drilling activity on the outer Continental 

Shelf as a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of 

the human environment for the purposes of the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 5, 2011 

Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia (for himself and Mr. TONKO) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to require 

that treatment of the issuance of any exploration plans, 

development production plans, development operation coordination documents, and lease sales required under 

Federal law for offshore drilling activity on the outer 

Continental Shelf as a major Federal action significantly 

affecting the quality of the human environment for the 

purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, 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. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Oil Pollution Environ3 mental Review Act’’ or ‘‘OPERA’’. 

4 SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF NEPA TO OFFSHORE DRILLING 

5 ACTIVITY. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Outer Continental Shelf 

7 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) is amended by adding 

8 at the end the following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 32. APPLICATION OF NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL 

10 POLICY ACT OF 1969. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The head of any Federal agency 

12 shall treat the issuance of any exploration plans, develop13 ment production plans, development operation coordina14 tion documents, and lease sales required under Federal 

15 law for offshore drilling activity on the outer Continental 

16 Shelf as a major Federal action significantly affecting the 

17 quality of the human environment for the purposes of sec18 tion 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

19 1969, and requiring detailed environmental analysis of 

20 such proposed actions and reasonably foreseeable subse21 quent actions. 

22 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the term ‘off23 shore drilling activity’— 

24 ‘‘(1) means drilling for oil or gas under a lease, 

25 or conducting a major geophysical seismic survey, 

26 under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) includes such drilling or surveying for ex2 ploration, development, or production.’’. 

3 (b) REPEAL OF 30-DAY DEADLINE FOR APPROVAL

4 OF EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES.—Section 11(c)(1) of the 

5 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

6 1340(c)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall 

7 approve such plan, as submitted or modified, within thirty 

8 days of its submission, except that the’’ and by inserting 

9 ‘‘The’’. 

Æ 


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