II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3445 

To approve the Keystone XL Pipeline, to provide for the development of 

a plan to increase oil and gas exploration, development, and production 

under oil and gas leases of Federal land, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 26, 2012 

Mr. HOEVEN (for himself, Mr. MCCONNELL, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. VITTER, Mr. THUNE, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. 

WICKER, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. BURR, Mr. HELLER, Mr. RISCH, Mr. 

COATS, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. KYL, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. 

INHOFE, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. 

ENZI, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. COBURN, Mr. JOHNSON of Wisconsin, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mr. JOHANNS, and Mr. LUGAR) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To approve the Keystone XL Pipeline, to provide for the 

development of a plan to increase oil and gas exploration, 

development, and production under oil and gas leases 

of Federal land, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Domestic Energy and Jobs Act’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—KEYSTONE XL PERMIT APPROVAL 

Sec. 101. Keystone XL permit approval. 

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. 

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 and consistency. 

Sec. 404. Reduction of redundant policies. 

TITLE V—STREAMLINED ENERGY PERMITTING 

Sec. 501. Short title. 

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 Appeal Documentation Reform 

Sec. 521. Administrative appeal documentation reform. 

Subtitle C—Permit Streamlining 

Sec. 531. 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. 


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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 OIL AND GAS LEASING PROGRAM IN 

NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA 

Sec. 601. Short title. 

Sec. 602. Sense of Congress reaffirming national policy regarding National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. 

Sec. 603. Competitive leasing of oil and gas. 

Sec. 604. Planning and permitting pipeline and road construction. 

Sec. 605. Departmental accountability for development. 

Sec. 606. Updated resource assessment. 

Sec. 607. Colville River Delta 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—ADVANCING OFFSHORE WIND PRODUCTION 

Sec. 801. Short title. 

Sec. 802. Offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring projects. 

TITLE IX—CRITICAL MINERALS 

Sec. 901. Definitions. 

Sec. 902. Designations. 

Sec. 903. Policy. 

Sec. 904. Resource assessment. 

Sec. 905. Permitting. 

Sec. 906. Recycling and alternatives. 

Sec. 907. Analysis and forecasting. 

Sec. 908. Education and workforce. 

Sec. 909. International cooperation. 

Sec. 910. Repeal, authorization, and offset. 

TITLE X—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 1001. Limitation on transfer of functions under the Solid Minerals Leasing Program. 

Sec. 1002. Amount of distributed qualified Outer Continental Shelf revenues. 

Sec. 1003. Lease Sale 220 and other lease sales off the coast of Virginia. 

Sec. 1004. Limitation on authority to issue regulations under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. 


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1 TITLE I—KEYSTONE XL PERMIT 

2 APPROVAL 

3 SEC. 101. KEYSTONE XL PERMIT APPROVAL. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding Executive Order 

5 No. 13337 (3 U.S.C. 301 note), Executive Order No. 

6 11423 (3 U.S.C. 301 note), section 301 of title 3, United 

7 States Code, and any other Executive order or provision 

8 of law, no presidential permit shall be required for the 

9 pipeline described in the application filed on May 4, 2012, 

10 by TransCanada Corporation to the Department of State 

11 for the northern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline from 

12 the Canadian border to the South Dakota/Nebraska bor13 der. 

14 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.—The 

15 final environmental impact statement issued by the Sec16 retary of State on August 26, 2011, regarding the pipeline 

17 referred to in subsection (a), shall be considered to satisfy 

18 all requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act 

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

20 (c) INTRASTATE PORTION.—Nothing in this section 

21 affects the ongoing work of the State of Nebraska with 

22 regard to the fully intrastate portion of the Keystone XL 

23 pipeline. 


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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 (referred to in this title as the 

12 ‘‘Committee’’), to analyze and report on the cumulative 

13 impacts 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 on the date that is 60 days after the date of submission 

24 of the final report of the Committee pursuant to section 

25 204(c). 


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1 SEC. 203. ANALYSES. 

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

3 (1) COVERED ACTION.—The term ‘‘covered ac4 tion’’ means any action, to the extent that the action 

5 affects facilities involved in the production, transpor6 tation, or distribution of gasoline, diesel fuel, or nat7 ural gas, taken on or after January 1, 2009, by the 

8 Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

9 Agency, a State, a local government, or a permitting 

10 agency as a result of the application of part C of 

11 title I (relating to prevention of significant deteriora12 tion of air quality), or title V (relating to permit13 ting), of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), 

14 to an air pollutant that is identified as a greenhouse 

15 gas in the rule entitled ‘‘Endangerment and Cause 

16 or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases Under 

17 Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act’’ (74 Fed. Reg. 

18 66496 (December 15, 2009)). 

19 (2) COVERED RULE.—The term ‘‘covered rule’’ 

20 means the following rules (and includes any suc21 cessor or substantially similar rules): 

22 (A) ‘‘Control of Air Pollution From New 

23 Motor Vehicles: Tier 3 Motor Vehicle Emission 

24 and Fuel Standards’’, as described in the Uni25 fied Agenda of Federal Regulatory and DereguVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:34 Jul 28, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3445.IS S3445

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1 latory Actions under Regulatory Identification 

2 Number 2060–AQ86. 

3 (B) ‘‘National Ambient Air Quality Stand4 ards for Ozone’’ (73 Fed. Reg. 16436 (March 

5 27, 2008)). 

6 (C) ‘‘Reconsideration of the 2008 Ozone 

7 Primary and Secondary National Ambient Air 

8 Quality Standards’’, as described in the Unified 

9 Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregula10 tory Actions under Regulatory Identification 

11 Number 2060–AP98. 

12 (D) Any rule proposed after March 15, 

13 2012, establishing or revising a standard of 

14 performance or emission standard under section 

15 111 or 112 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

16 7411, 7412) applicable to petroleum refineries. 

17 (E) Any rule proposed after March 15, 

18 2012, to implement any portion of the renew19 able fuel program under section 211(o) of the 

20 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)). 

21 (F) Any rule proposed after March 15, 

22 2012, revising or supplementing the national 

23 ambient air quality standards for ozone under 

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

25 7409). 


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1 (b) SCOPE.—The Committee shall conduct analyses, 

2 for each of calendar years 2016 and 2020, of the prospec3 tive cumulative impact of all covered rules and covered ac4 tions. 

5 (c) CONTENTS.—The Committee shall include in each 

6 analysis conducted under this section— 

7 (1) estimates of the cumulative impacts of the 

8 covered rules and covered actions relating to— 

9 (A) any resulting change in the national, 

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

11 or natural gas; 

12 (B) required capital investments and pro13 jected costs for operation and maintenance of 

14 new equipment required to be installed; 

15 (C) global economic competitiveness of the 

16 United States and any loss of domestic refining 

17 capacity; 

18 (D) other cumulative costs and cumulative 

19 benefits, including evaluation through a general 

20 equilibrium model approach; 

21 (E) national, State, and regional employ22 ment, including impacts associated with 

23 changes in gasoline, diesel fuel, or natural gas 

24 prices and facility closures; and 


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1 (F) any other matters affecting the 

2 growth, stability, and sustainability of the oil 

3 and gas industries of the United States, par4 ticularly relative to that of other nations; 

5 (2) an analysis of key uncertainties and as6 sumptions associated with each estimate under para7 graph (1); 

8 (3) a sensitivity analysis reflecting alternative 

9 assumptions with respect to the aggregate demand 

10 for gasoline, diesel fuel, or natural gas; and 

11 (4) an analysis and, if feasible, an assessment 

12 of— 

13 (A) the cumulative impact of the covered 

14 rules and covered actions on— 

15 (i) consumers; 

16 (ii) small businesses; 

17 (iii) regional economies; 

18 (iv) State, local, and tribal govern19 ments; 

20 (v) low-income communities; 

21 (vi) public health; and 

22 (vii) local and industry-specific labor 

23 markets; and 

24 (B) key uncertainties associated with each 

25 topic described in subparagraph (A). 


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1 (d) METHODS.—In conducting analyses under this 

2 section, the Committee shall use the best available meth3 ods, consistent with guidance from the Office of Informa4 tion and Regulatory Affairs and the Office of Management 

5 and Budget Circular A–4. 

6 (e) DATA.—In conducting analyses under this sec7 tion, the Committee shall not be required to create data 

8 or to use data that is not readily accessible. 

9 SEC. 204. REPORTS; PUBLIC COMMENT. 

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

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

12 shall make public and submit to the Committee on Energy 

13 and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 

14 Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Sen15 ate a preliminary report containing the results of the anal16 yses conducted under section 203. 

17 (b) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.—The Committee 

18 shall accept public comments regarding the preliminary re19 port submitted under subsection (a) for a period of 60 

20 days after the date on which the preliminary report is sub21 mitted. 

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

23 the expiration of the 60-day period described in subsection 

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


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1 containing the analyses conducted under section 203, in2 cluding— 

3 (1) any revisions to the analyses made as a re4 sult of public comments; and 

5 (2) a response to the public comments. 

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

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Envi8 ronmental Protection Agency shall not finalize any of the 

9 following rules until a date (to be determined by the Ad10 ministrator) that is at least 180 days after the date on 

11 which the Committee submits the final report under sec12 tion 204(c): 

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

14 Vehicles: Tier 3 Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel 

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

16 Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions under 

17 Regulatory Identification Number 2060–AQ86, and 

18 any successor or substantially similar rule. 

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

20 establishing or revising a standard of performance or 

21 emission standard under section 111 or 112 of the 

22 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7411, 7412) that is appli23 cable to petroleum refineries. 


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1 (3) Any rule revising or supplementing the na2 tional ambient air quality standards for ozone under 

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

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

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

6 rules described in subsection (a). 

7 SEC. 206. CONSIDERATION OF FEASIBILITY AND COST IN 

8 REVISING OR SUPPLEMENTING NATIONAL 

9 AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS FOR 

10 OZONE. 

11 In revising or supplementing any national primary or 

12 secondary ambient air quality standards for ozone under 

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

14 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 

15 shall take into consideration feasibility and cost. 

16 SEC. 207. FUEL REQUIREMENTS WAIVER AND STUDY. 

17 (a) WAIVER OF FUEL REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

18 211(c)(4)(C) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 7545(c)(4)(C)) is amended— 

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

21 with distribution or delivery equipment necessary for 

22 the transportation or delivery of fuel or fuel addi23 tives,’’ after ‘‘equipment failure,’’; 

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

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


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1 Administrator may extend the effectiveness of a 

2 waiver for more than 20 days if the Administrator 

3 determines that the conditions under clause (ii) sup4 porting a waiver determination will exist for more 

5 than 20 days)’’; 

6 (3) by redesignating the second clause (v) (re7 lating to the authority of the Administrator to ap8 prove certain State implementation plans) as clause 

9 (vi); and 

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

11 ‘‘(vii) PRESUMPTIVE APPROVAL.—Notwithstanding 

12 any other provision of this subparagraph, if the Adminis13 trator does not approve or deny a request for a waiver 

14 under this subparagraph within 3 days after receipt of the 

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

16 received by the Administrator and the applicable fuel 

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

18 time requested.’’. 

19 (b) FUEL SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS HARMONIZATION

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

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

22 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

24 ‘‘biofuels,’’ after ‘‘oxygenated fuel,’’; and 

25 (B) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (i) in subparagraph (B)— 

2 (I) by redesignating clause (ii) as 

3 clause (iii); 

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

5 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; and 

6 (III) by inserting after clause (i) 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(ii) the renewable fuel standard; 

9 and’’; and 

10 (ii) in subparagraph (G), by inserting 

11 ‘‘or Tier III’’ after ‘‘Tier II’’; and 

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

13 and inserting ‘‘2014’’. 

14 TITLE III—QUADRENNIAL STRA15 TEGIC FEDERAL ONSHORE 

16 ENERGY PRODUCTION STRAT17 EGY 

18 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

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

20 Energy Act of 2012’’. 

21 SEC. 302. ONSHORE DOMESTIC ENERGY PRODUCTION 

22 STRATEGIC PLAN. 

23 The Mineral Leasing Act is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating section 44 (30 U.S.C. 181 

25 note) as section 45; and 


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1 (2) by inserting after section 43 (30 U.S.C. 

2 226–3) the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 44. QUADRENNIAL STRATEGIC FEDERAL ONSHORE 

4 ENERGY PRODUCTION STRATEGY. 

5 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

7 the Secretary of the Interior. 

8 ‘‘(2) STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL ENERGY MIN9 ERALS.—The term ‘strategic and critical energy 

10 minerals’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) minerals that are necessary for the 

12 energy infrastructure of the United States, in13 cluding pipelines, refining capacity, electrical 

14 power generation and transmission, and renew15 able energy production; and 

16 ‘‘(B) minerals that are necessary to sup17 port domestic manufacturing, including mate18 rials used in energy generation, production, and 

19 transportation. 

20 ‘‘(3) STRATEGY.—The term ‘Strategy’ means 

21 the Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy Produc22 tion Strategy required under this section. 

23 ‘‘(b) STRATEGY.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta25 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture with regard to 


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1 land administered by the Forest Service, shall de2 velop and publish every 4 years a Quadrennial Fed3 eral Onshore Energy Production Strategy. 

4 ‘‘(2) ENERGY SECURITY.—The Strategy shall 

5 direct Federal land energy development and depart6 ment resource allocation to promote the energy secu7 rity of the United States. 

8 ‘‘(c) PURPOSES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In developing a Strategy, 

10 the Secretary shall consult with the Administrator of 

11 the Energy Information Administration on— 

12 ‘‘(A) the projected energy demands of the 

13 United States for the 30-year period beginning 

14 on the date of initiation of the Strategy; and 

15 ‘‘(B) how energy derived from Federal on16 shore land can place the United States on a 

17 trajectory to meet that demand during the 4- 

18 year period beginning on the date of initiation 

19 of the Strategy. 

20 ‘‘(2) ENERGY SECURITY.—The Secretary shall 

21 consider how Federal land will contribute to ensur22 ing national energy security, with a goal of increas23 ing energy independence and production, during the 

24 4-year period beginning on the date of initiation of 

25 the Strategy. 


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1 ‘‘(d) OBJECTIVES.—The Secretary shall establish a 

2 domestic strategic production objective for the develop3 ment of energy resources from Federal onshore land that 

4 is based on commercial and scientific data relating to the 

5 expected increase in— 

6 ‘‘(1) domestic production of oil and natural gas 

7 from the Federal onshore mineral estate, with a 

8 focus on land held by the Bureau of Land Manage9 ment and the Forest Service; 

10 ‘‘(2) domestic coal production from Federal 

11 land; 

12 ‘‘(3) domestic production of strategic and crit13 ical energy minerals from the Federal onshore min14 eral estate; 

15 ‘‘(4) megawatts for electricity production from 

16 each of wind, solar, biomass, hydropower, and geo17 thermal energy produced on Federal land adminis18 tered by the Bureau of Land Management and the 

19 Forest Service; 

20 ‘‘(5) unconventional energy production, such as 

21 oil shale; 

22 ‘‘(6) domestic production of oil, natural gas, 

23 coal, and other renewable sources from tribal land 

24 for any federally recognized Indian tribe that elects 


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1 to participate in facilitating energy production on 

2 the land of the Indian tribe; and 

3 ‘‘(7) domestic production of geothermal, solar, 

4 wind, or other renewable energy sources on land de5 fined as available lands under section 203 of the Ha6 waiian Homes Commission Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 109, 

7 chapter 42), and any other land considered by the 

8 Territory or State of Hawaii, as the case may be, to 

9 be available lands. 

10 ‘‘(e) METHODOLOGY.—The Secretary shall consult 

11 with the Administrator of the Energy Information Admin12 istration regarding the methodology used to arrive at the 

13 estimates made by the Secretary to carry out this section. 

14 ‘‘(f) EXPANSION OF PLAN.—The Secretary may ex15 pand a Strategy to include other energy production tech16 nology sources or advancements in energy production on 

17 Federal land. 

18 ‘‘(g) TRIBAL OBJECTIVES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of Congress 

20 that federally recognized Indian tribes may elect to 

21 set the production objectives of the Indian tribes as 

22 part of a Strategy under this section. 

23 ‘‘(2) COOPERATION.—The Secretary shall work 

24 in cooperation with any federally recognized Indian 

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1 tegic energy objectives of the Indian tribe under this 

2 subsection. 

3 ‘‘(h) EXECUTION OF STRATEGY.— 

4 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF SECRETARY CON5 CERNED.—In this subsection, the term ‘Secretary 

6 concerned’ means— 

7 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Agriculture (acting 

8 through the Chief of the Forest Service), with 

9 respect to National Forest System land; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re11 spect to land managed by the Bureau of Land 

12 Management (including land held for the ben13 efit of an Indian tribe). 

14 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL LAND.—The Secretary con15 cerned may make determinations regarding which 

16 additional land under the jurisdiction of the Sec17 retary concerned will be made available in order to 

18 meet the energy production objectives established by 

19 a Strategy. 

20 ‘‘(3) ACTIONS.—The Secretary concerned shall 

21 take all necessary actions to achieve the energy pro22 duction objectives established under this section un23 less the President determines that it is not in the 

24 national security and economic interests of the 

25 United States— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to increase Federal domestic energy 

2 production; and 

3 ‘‘(B) to decrease dependence on foreign 

4 sources of energy. 

5 ‘‘(4) LEASING.—In carrying out this subsection, 

6 the Secretary concerned shall only consider leasing 

7 Federal land available for leasing at the time the 

8 lease sale occurs. 

9 ‘‘(i) STATE, FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED INDIAN

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

11 developing a Strategy, the Secretary shall solicit the input 

12 of affected States, federally recognized Indian tribes, local 

13 governments, and the public. 

14 ‘‘(j) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit 

16 to the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

17 House of Representatives and the Committee on En18 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate an annual 

19 report describing the progress made in meeting the 

20 production goals of a Strategy. 

21 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—In a report required under 

22 this subsection, the Secretary shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) make projections for production and 

24 capacity installations; 


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1 ‘‘(B) describe any problems with leasing, 

2 permitting, siting, or production that will pre3 vent meeting the production goals of a Strat4 egy; and 

5 ‘‘(C) make recommendations to help meet 

6 any shortfalls in meeting the production goals. 

7 ‘‘(k) PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

8 STATEMENT.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

10 the date of enactment of this subsection, in accord11 ance with section 102(2)(C) of the National Envi12 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

13 4332(2)(C)), the Secretary shall complete a pro14 grammatic environmental impact statement for car15 rying out this section. 

16 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE.—The programmatic envi17 ronmental impact statement shall be considered suf18 ficient to comply with all requirements under the 

19 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

20 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for all necessary resource man21 agement and land use plans associated with the im22 plementation of a Strategy. 

23 ‘‘(l) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days be25 fore publishing a proposed Strategy under this secVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:34 Jul 28, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3445.IS S3445

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1 tion, the Secretary shall submit to Congress and the 

2 President the proposed Strategy, together with any 

3 comments received from States, federally recognized 

4 Indian tribes, and local governments. 

5 ‘‘(2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The submission 

6 shall indicate why any specific recommendation of a 

7 State, federally recognized Indian tribe, or local gov8 ernment was not accepted. 

9 ‘‘(m) ADMINISTRATION.—Nothing in this section 

10 modifies or affects any multiuse plan. 

11 ‘‘(n) FIRST STRATEGY.—Not later than 18 months 

12 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Sec13 retary shall submit to Congress the first Strategy.’’. 

14 TITLE IV—ONSHORE OIL AND 

15 GAS LEASING CERTAINTY 

16 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

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

18 Certainty for American Energy Act of 2012’’. 

19 SEC. 402. MINIMUM ACREAGE REQUIREMENT FOR ON20 SHORE LEASE SALES. 

21 Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

22 226) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘SEC. 17. (a) All lands’’ and in24 serting the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 17. LEASE OF OIL AND GAS LAND. 

2 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—All land’’; and 

4 (2) in subsection (a) (as amended by paragraph 

5 (1)), by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM ACREAGE REQUIREMENT FOR

7 ONSHORE LEASE SALES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In conducting lease 

9 sales under this section, each year, the Sec10 retary shall offer for sale not less than 25 per11 cent of the annual nominated acreage not pre12 viously made available for lease. 

13 ‘‘(B) REVIEW.—The offering of acreage of14 fered for lease under this paragraph shall not 

15 be subject to review. 

16 ‘‘(C) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS.—Acreage 

17 offered for lease under this paragraph shall be 

18 eligible for categorical exclusions under section 

19 390 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

20 U.S.C. 15942), except that extraordinary cir21 cumstances shall not be required for a categor22 ical exclusion under this paragraph. 

23 ‘‘(D) LEASING.—In carrying out this sub24 section, the Secretary shall only consider leas25 ing of Federal land that is available for leasing 

26 at the time the lease sale occurs.’’. 


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1 SEC. 403. LEASING CERTAINTY AND CONSISTENCY. 

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

3 226(a)) (as amended by section 402) is amended by add4 ing at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(3) LEASING CERTAINTY.— 

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

7 not withdraw approval of any covered energy 

8 project involving a lease under this Act without 

9 finding a violation of the terms of the lease by 

10 the lessee. 

11 ‘‘(B) DELAY.—The Secretary shall not in12 fringe on lease rights under leases issued under 

13 this Act by indefinitely delaying issuance of 

14 project approvals, drilling and seismic permits, 

15 and rights-of-way for activities under a lease. 

16 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY OF NOMINATED

17 AREAS.—Not later than 18 months after an 

18 area is designated as open under the applicable 

19 land use plan, the Secretary shall make avail20 able nominated areas for lease under paragraph 

21 (2). 

22 ‘‘(D) ISSUANCE OF LEASES.—Notwith23 standing any other provision of law, the Sec24 retary shall issue all leases sold under this Act 

25 not later than 60 days after the last payment 

26 is made. 


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1 ‘‘(E) CANCELLATION OR WITHDRAWAL OF

2 LEASE PARCELS.—The Secretary shall not can3 cel or withdraw any lease parcel after a com4 petitive lease sale has occurred and a winning 

5 bidder has submitted the last payment for the 

6 parcel. 

7 ‘‘(F) APPEALS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

9 shall complete the review of any appeal of 

10 a lease sale under this Act not later than 

11 60 days after the receipt of the appeal. 

12 ‘‘(ii) CONSTRUCTIVE APPROVAL.—If 

13 the review of an appeal is not conducted in 

14 accordance with clause (i), the appeal shall 

15 be considered approved. 

16 ‘‘(G) ADDITIONAL STIPULATIONS.—The 

17 Secretary may not add any additional lease 

18 stipulation for a parcel after the parcel is sold 

19 unless the Secretary— 

20 ‘‘(i) consults with the lessee and ob21 tains the approval of the lessee; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) determines that the stipulation is 

23 an emergency action that is necessary to 

24 conserve the resources of the United 

25 States. 


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1 ‘‘(4) LEASING CONSISTENCY.—A Federal land 

2 manager shall comply with applicable resource man3 agement plans and continue to actively lease in 

4 areas designated as open when resource manage5 ment plans are being amended or revised, until a 

6 new record of decision is signed.’’. 

7 SEC. 404. REDUCTION OF REDUNDANT POLICIES. 

8 Bureau of Land Management Instruction Memo9 randum 2010–117 shall have no force or effect. 

10 TITLE V—STREAMLINED 

11 ENERGY PERMITTING 

12 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE. 

13 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Streamlining Permit14 ting of American Energy Act of 2012’’. 

15 Subtitle A—Application for Permits 

16 to Drill Process Reform 

17 SEC. 511. PERMIT TO DRILL APPLICATION TIMELINE. 

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

19 226(p)) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and insert20 ing the following: 

21 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS FOR PERMITS TO DRILL RE22 FORM AND PROCESS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara24 graph (B), the Secretary shall decide whether 

25 to issue a permit to drill not later than 30 days 


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1 after the date on which the application for the 

2 permit is received by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXTENSIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

5 may extend the period described in sub6 paragraph (A) for up to 2 periods of 15 

7 days each, if the Secretary gives written 

8 notice of the delay to the applicant. 

9 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—The notice shall— 

10 ‘‘(I) be in the form of a letter 

11 from the Secretary or a designee of 

12 the Secretary; and 

13 ‘‘(II) include— 

14 ‘‘(aa) the names and posi15 tions of the persons processing 

16 the application; 

17 ‘‘(bb) the specific reasons 

18 for the delay; and 

19 ‘‘(cc) a specific date on 

20 which a final decision on the ap21 plication is expected. 

22 ‘‘(C) NOTICE OF REASONS FOR DENIAL.— 

23 If the application is denied, the Secretary shall 

24 provide the applicant— 

25 ‘‘(i) a written notice that provides— 


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1 ‘‘(I) clear and comprehensive rea2 sons why the application was not ac3 cepted; and 

4 ‘‘(II) detailed information con5 cerning any deficiencies; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) an opportunity to remedy any de7 ficiencies. 

8 ‘‘(D) APPLICATION CONSIDERED AP9 PROVED.—If the Secretary has not made a de10 cision on the application by the end of the 60- 

11 day period beginning on the date the applica12 tion for the permit is received by the Secretary, 

13 the application shall be considered approved un14 less applicable reviews under the National Envi15 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 

16 et seq.) or the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

17 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) are incomplete. 

18 ‘‘(E) DENIAL OF PERMIT.—If the Sec19 retary decides not to issue a permit to drill 

20 under this paragraph, the Secretary shall— 

21 ‘‘(i) provide to the applicant a descrip22 tion of the reasons for the denial of the 

23 permit; 

24 ‘‘(ii) allow the applicant to resubmit 

25 an application for a permit to drill during 


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1 the 10-day period beginning on the date 

2 the applicant receives the description of 

3 the denial from the Secretary; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) issue or deny any resubmitted 

5 application not later than 10 days after the 

6 date the application is submitted to the 

7 Secretary. 

8 ‘‘(F) FEE.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clauses 

10 (ii) and (iii) and notwithstanding any other 

11 provision of law, the Secretary shall collect 

12 a single $6,500 permit processing fee per 

13 application from each applicant at the time 

14 the final decision is made whether to issue 

15 a permit under this paragraph. 

16 ‘‘(ii) RESUBMITTED APPLICATIONS.— 

17 The fee described in clause (i) shall not 

18 apply to any resubmitted application. 

19 ‘‘(iii) TREATMENT OF PERMIT PROC20 ESSING FEE.—Subject to appropriation, of 

21 all fees collected under this paragraph, 50 

22 percent shall be transferred to the field of23 fice where the fees are collected and used 

24 to process leases, permits, and appeals 

25 under this Act.’’. 


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1 SEC. 512. SOLAR AND WIND RIGHT-OF-WAY RENTAL RE2 FORM. 

3 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each fis4 cal year, of fees collected as annual wind energy and solar 

5 energy right-of-way authorization fees required under sec6 tion 504(g) of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

7 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1764(g)), 50 percent shall be re8 tained by the Secretary of the Interior to be used, subject 

9 to appropriation— 

10 (1) by the Bureau of Land Management to 

11 process permits, right-of-way applications, and other 

12 activities necessary for renewable development; and 

13 (2) at the option of the Secretary of the Inte14 rior, by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 

15 or other Federal agencies involved in wind and solar 

16 permitting reviews to facilitate the processing of 

17 wind energy and solar energy permit applications on 

18 Bureau of Land Management land. 

19 Subtitle B—Administrative Appeal 

20 Documentation Reform 

21 SEC. 521. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL DOCUMENTATION RE22 FORM. 

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

24 226(p)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(4) APPEAL FEE.— 


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

2 collect a $5,000 documentation fee to accom3 pany each appeal of an action on a lease, right4 of-way, or application for permit to drill. 

5 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF FEES.—Subject to 

6 appropriation, of all fees collected under this 

7 paragraph, 50 percent shall remain in the field 

8 office where the fees are collected and used to 

9 process appeals.’’. 

10 Subtitle C—Permit Streamlining 

11 SEC. 531. FEDERAL ENERGY PERMIT COORDINATION. 

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) ENERGY PROJECTS.—The term ‘‘energy 

14 projects’’ means oil, coal, natural gas, and renewable 

15 energy projects. 

16 (2) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Project’’ means the 

17 Federal Permit Streamlining Project established 

18 under subsection (b). 

19 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of the Interior. 

21 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

22 a Federal Permit Streamlining Project in each Bureau of 

23 Land Management field office with responsibility for 

24 issuing permits for energy projects on Federal land. 

25 (c) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.— 


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

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

3 shall enter into a memorandum of understanding to 

4 carry out this section with— 

5 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

6 (B) the Administrator of the Environ7 mental Protection Agency; and 

8 (C) the Secretary of the Army, acting 

9 through the Chief of Engineers. 

10 (2) STATE PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary 

11 may request the Governor of any State with energy 

12 projects on Federal land to be a signatory to the 

13 memorandum of understanding. 

14 (d) DESIGNATION OF QUALIFIED STAFF.— 

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

16 the date of the signing of the memorandum of un17 derstanding under subsection (c), all Federal signa18 tory parties shall, if appropriate, assign to each of 

19 the Bureau of Land Management field offices an 

20 employee who has expertise in the regulatory issues 

21 relating to the office in which the employee is em22 ployed, including, as applicable, particular expertise 

23 in— 

24 (A) the consultations and the preparation 

25 of biological opinions under section 7 of the EnVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:34 Jul 28, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3445.IS S3445

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1 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

2 1536); 

3 (B) permits under section 404 of Federal 

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

5 (C) regulatory matters under the Clean Air 

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

7 (D) planning under the National Forest 

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

9 seq.); and 

10 (E) the preparation of analyses under the 

11 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

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

13 (2) DUTIES.—Each employee assigned under 

14 paragraph (1) shall— 

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

16 of assignment, report to the Bureau of Land 

17 Management Field Managers in the office to 

18 which the employee is assigned; 

19 (B) be responsible for all issues relating to 

20 the energy projects that arise under the au21 thorities of the home office of the employee; and 

22 (C) participate as part of the team of per23 sonnel working on proposed energy projects, 

24 planning, and environmental analyses on Fed25 eral land. 


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1 (e) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Secretary shall 

2 assign to each Bureau of Land Management field office 

3 identified under subsection (b) any additional personnel 

4 that are necessary to ensure the effective approval and im5 plementation of energy projects administered by the Bu6 reau of Land Management field offices, including inspec7 tion and enforcement relating to energy development on 

8 Federal land, in accordance with the multiple-use require9 ments of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

10 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 

11 (f) FUNDING.—Funding for the additional personnel 

12 shall be derived from the Department of the Interior re13 forms made by sections 511, 512, and 521 and the amend14 ments made by those sections. 

15 (g) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section af16 fects— 

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

18 or 

19 (2) any delegation of authority made by the 

20 head of a Federal agency whose employees are par21 ticipating in the Project. 

22 SEC. 532. ADMINISTRATION OF CURRENT LAW. 

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1 dinary circumstances in administering section 390 of the 

2 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15942). 

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

4 WORKING FOR AMERICA. 

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

6 Congress that— 

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

8 United States domestic energy sector that, in turn, 

9 helps to reinvigorate American manufacturing, 

10 transportation, and service sectors by employing the 

11 vast talents of United States workers to assist in the 

12 development of energy from domestic sources; and 

13 (2) Congress will monitor the deployment of 

14 personnel and material onshore under this title to 

15 encourage the development of American technology 

16 and manufacturing to enable United States workers 

17 to benefit from this title through good jobs and ca18 reers, as well as the establishment of important in19 dustrial facilities to support expanded access to 

20 American energy resources. 

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

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

23 United States workers and equipment manufactured in 

24 the United States in all construction related to mineral 

25 resource development under this title. 


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1 Subtitle D—Judicial Review 

2 SEC. 541. DEFINITIONS. 

3 In this title: 

4 (1) COVERED CIVIL ACTION.—The term ‘‘cov5 ered civil action’’ means a civil action containing a 

6 claim under section 702 of title 5, United States 

7 Code, regarding agency action (as defined for the 

8 purposes of that section) affecting a covered energy 

9 project on Federal land. 

10 (2) COVERED ENERGY PROJECT.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered en12 ergy project’’ means the leasing of Federal land 

13 of the United States for the exploration, devel14 opment, production, processing, or transmission 

15 of oil, natural gas, wind, or any other source of 

16 energy, and any action under such a lease. 

17 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘covered en18 ergy project’’ does not include any disputes be19 tween the parties to a lease regarding the obli20 gations under the lease, including regarding any 

21 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 

4 United States district court for the district in which the 

5 project or leases exist or are proposed. 

6 SEC. 543. TIMELY FILING. 

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

8 action shall be filed not later than 90 days after the date 

9 of the final Federal agency action to which the covered 

10 civil action relates. 

11 SEC. 544. EXPEDITION IN HEARING AND DETERMINING THE 

12 ACTION. 

13 A court shall endeavor to hear and determine any 

14 covered civil action as expeditiously as practicable. 

15 SEC. 545. STANDARD OF REVIEW. 

16 In any judicial review of a covered civil action— 

17 (1) administrative findings and conclusions re18 lating to the challenged Federal action or decision 

19 shall be presumed to be correct; and 

20 (2) the presumption may be rebutted only by 

21 the preponderance of the evidence contained in the 

22 administrative record. 


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1 SEC. 546. LIMITATION ON INJUNCTION AND PROSPECTIVE 

2 RELIEF. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—In a covered civil action, a court 

4 shall not grant or approve any prospective relief unless 

5 the court finds that the relief— 

6 (1) is narrowly drawn; 

7 (2) extends no further than necessary to correct 

8 the violation of a legal requirement; and 

9 (3) is the least intrusive means necessary to 

10 correct the violation. 

11 (b) PRELIMINARY INJUNCTIONS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—A court shall limit the dura13 tion of a preliminary injunction to halt a covered en14 ergy project to not more than 60 days, unless the 

15 court finds clear reasons to extend the injunction. 

16 (2) EXTENSIONS.—Extensions under paragraph 

17 (1) shall— 

18 (A) only be in 30-day increments; and 

19 (B) require action by the court to renew 

20 the injunction. 

21 SEC. 547. LIMITATION ON ATTORNEYS’ FEES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Sections 504 of title 5 and 2412 

23 of title 28, United States Code (commonly known as the 

24 ‘‘Equal Access to Justice Act’’), shall not apply to a cov25 ered civil action. 


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1 (b) ATTORNEY’S FEES AND COURT COSTS.—A party 

2 in a covered civil action shall not receive payment from 

3 the Federal Government for attorney’s fees, expenses, or 

4 other court costs. 

5 SEC. 548. LEGAL STANDING. 

6 A challenger filing an appeal with the Interior Board 

7 of Land Appeals shall meet the same standing require8 ments as a challenger before a United States district 

9 court. 

10 TITLE VI—EXPEDITIOUS OIL 

11 AND GAS LEASING PROGRAM 

12 IN NATIONAL PETROLEUM 

13 RESERVE IN ALASKA 

14 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. 

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

16 Reserve Alaska Access Act’’. 

17 SEC. 602. SENSE OF CONGRESS REAFFIRMING NATIONAL 

18 POLICY REGARDING NATIONAL PETROLEUM 

19 RESERVE IN ALASKA. 

20 It is the sense of Congress that— 

21 (1) the National Petroleum Reserve in the 

22 State of Alaska (referred to in this title as the ‘‘Re23 serve’’) remains explicitly designated, both in name 

24 and legal status, for purposes of providing oil and 

25 natural gas resources to the United States; and 


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

2 advance oil and gas development within the Reserve 

3 by facilitating the expeditious exploration, produc4 tion, and transportation of oil and natural gas from 

5 and through the Reserve. 

6 SEC. 603. COMPETITIVE LEASING OF OIL AND GAS. 

7 Section 107 of the Naval Petroleum Reserves Produc8 tion Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6506a) is amended by strik9 ing subsection (a) and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(a) COMPETITIVE LEASING.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall con12 duct an expeditious program of competitive leasing 

13 of oil and gas in the Reserve in accordance with this 

14 Act. 

15 ‘‘(2) INCLUSIONS.—The program under this 

16 subsection shall include at least 1 lease sale annually 

17 in each area of the Reserve that is most likely to 

18 produce commercial quantities of oil and natural gas 

19 for each of calendar years 2011 through 2021.’’. 

20 SEC. 604. PLANNING AND PERMITTING PIPELINE AND 

21 ROAD CONSTRUCTION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi23 sion of law, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation 

24 with the Secretary of Transportation, shall facilitate and 

25 ensure permits, in an environmentally responsible manner, 


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1 for all surface development activities, including for the 

2 construction of pipelines and roads, necessary— 

3 (1) to develop and bring into production any 

4 areas within the Reserve that are subject to oil and 

5 gas leases; and 

6 (2) to transport oil and gas from and through 

7 the Reserve to existing transportation or processing 

8 infrastructure on the North Slope of Alaska. 

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

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

12 (1) EXISTING LEASES.—Each permit for con13 struction relating to the transportation of oil and 

14 natural gas produced under existing Federal oil and 

15 gas leases with respect to which the Secretary of the 

16 Interior has issued a permit to drill shall be ap17 proved by not later than 60 days after the date of 

18 enactment of this Act. 

19 (2) REQUESTED PERMITS.—Each permit for 

20 construction for transportation of oil and natural 

21 gas produced under Federal oil and gas leases shall 

22 be approved by not later than 180 days after the 

23 date of submission to the Secretary of a request for 

24 a permit to drill. 


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

2 the Reserve, not later than 270 days after the date of en3 actment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall 

4 submit to Congress a plan for approved rights-of-way for 

5 a plan for pipeline, road, and any other surface infrastruc6 ture that may be necessary infrastructure to ensure that 

7 all leasable tracts in the Reserve are located within 25 

8 miles of an approved road and pipeline right-of-way that 

9 can serve future development of the Reserve. 

10 SEC. 605. DEPARTMENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR DEVEL11 OPMENT. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior 

14 shall promulgate regulations to establish clear require15 ments to ensure that the Department of the Interior is 

16 supporting development of oil and gas leases in the Re17 serve. 

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

19 promulgated pursuant to this section shall— 

20 (1) require the Secretary of the Interior to re21 spond, acknowledging receipt of any permit applica22 tion for development, by not later than 5 business 

23 days after the date of receipt of the application; and 

24 (2) establish a timeline for the processing of 

25 each such application that— 


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1 (A) specifies deadlines for decisions and 

2 actions regarding permit applications; and 

3 (B) provides that the period for issuing 

4 each permit after the date of submission of the 

5 application shall not exceed 60 days, absent the 

6 concurrence of the applicant. 

7 (c) ACTIONS REQUIRED FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY

8 WITH DEADLINES.—If the Secretary of the Interior fails 

9 to comply with any deadline described in subsection (b) 

10 with respect to a permit application, the Secretary shall 

11 notify the applicant not less frequently than once every 

12 5 days with specific information regarding— 

13 (1) the reasons for the permit delay; 

14 (2) the name of each specific office of the De15 partment of the Interior responsible for— 

16 (A) issuing the permit; or 

17 (B) monitoring the permit delay; and 

18 (3) an estimate of the date on which the permit 

19 will be issued. 

20 (d) ADDITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—Not later than 

21 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec22 retary of the Interior, after consultation with the State 

23 of Alaska and after providing notice and an opportunity 

24 for public comment, shall approve right-of-way corridors 

25 for the construction of 2 separate additional bridges and 


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1 pipeline rights-of-way to help facilitate timely oil and gas 

2 development of the Reserve. 

3 SEC. 606. UPDATED RESOURCE ASSESSMENT. 

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

5 complete a comprehensive assessment of all technically re6 coverable fossil fuel resources within the Reserve, includ7 ing all conventional and unconventional oil and natural 

8 gas. 

9 (b) COOPERATION AND CONSULTATION.—The re10 source assessment under subsection (a) shall be carried 

11 out by the United States Geological Survey in cooperation 

12 and consultation with the State of Alaska and the Amer13 ican Association of Petroleum Geologists. 

14 (c) TIMING.—The resource assessment under sub15 section (a) shall be completed by not later than 2 years 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

17 (d) FUNDING.—In carrying out this section, the 

18 United States Geological Survey may cooperatively use re19 sources and funds provided by the State of Alaska. 

20 SEC. 607. COLVILLE RIVER DELTA DESIGNATION. 

21 The designation by the Environmental Protection 

22 Agency of the Colville River Delta as an aquatic resource 

23 of national importance shall have no force or effect on this 

24 title or an amendment made by this title. 


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1 TITLE VII—INTERNET-BASED 

2 ONSHORE OIL AND GAS 

3 LEASE SALES 

4 SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE. 

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

6 Auctions Act’’. 

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

8 SALES. 

9 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 17(b)(1) of the Min10 eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)) is amended— 

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

12 by striking ‘‘Lease sales’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as 

13 provided in subparagraph (C), lease sales’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(C) In order to diversify and expand the United 

16 States onshore leasing program to ensure the best return 

17 to Federal taxpayers, to reduce fraud, and to secure the 

18 leasing process, the Secretary may conduct onshore lease 

19 sales through Internet-based bidding methods, each of 

20 which shall be completed by not later than 7 days after 

21 the date of initiation of the sale.’’. 

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

23 Internet-based lease sale conducted pursuant to subpara24 graph (C) of section 17(b)(1) of the Mineral Leasing Act 

25 (30 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)) (as added by subsection (a)), the 


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1 Secretary of the Interior shall conduct, and submit to Con2 gress a report describing the results of, an analysis of the 

3 first 10 such lease sales, including— 

4 (1) estimates of increases or decreases in the 

5 lease sales, as compared to sales conducted by oral 

6 bidding, in— 

7 (A) the number of bidders; 

8 (B) the average amount of the bids; 

9 (C) the highest amount of the bids; and 

10 (D) the lowest amount of the bids; 

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

12 the Department of the Interior as a result of the 

13 sales, as compared to sales conducted by oral bid14 ding; and 

15 (3) an evaluation of the demonstrated or ex16 pected effectiveness of different structures for lease 

17 sales, which may— 

18 (A) provide an opportunity to better maxi19 mize bidder participation; 

20 (B) ensure the highest return to Federal 

21 taxpayers; 

22 (C) minimize opportunities for fraud or 

23 collusion; and 

24 (D) ensure the security and integrity of 

25 the leasing process. 


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1 TITLE VIII—ADVANCING 

2 OFFSHORE WIND PRODUCTION 

3 SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Wind Production Act’’. 

6 SEC. 802. OFFSHORE METEOROLOGICAL SITE TESTING AND 

7 MONITORING PROJECTS. 

8 (a) DEFINITION OF OFFSHORE METEOROLOGICAL

9 SITE TESTING AND MONITORING PROJECT.—In this sec10 tion, the term ‘‘offshore meteorological site testing and 

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

12 the waters of the outer Continental Shelf (as defined in 

13 section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

14 U.S.C. 1331)) and administered by the Department of the 

15 Interior to test or monitor weather (including energy pro16 vided by weather, such as wind, tidal, current, and solar 

17 energy) using towers, buoys, or other temporary ocean in18 frastructure, that— 

19 (1) causes— 

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

21 disruption at the location of each meteorological 

22 tower or other device; and 

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

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1 fected by the project (including hazards to navi2 gation); 

3 (2) is decommissioned not more than 5 years 

4 after the date of commencement of the project, in5 cluding— 

6 (A) removal of towers, buoys, or other tem7 porary ocean infrastructure from the project 

8 site; and 

9 (B) restoration of the project site to ap10 proximately the original condition of the site; 

11 and 

12 (3) provides meteorological information ob13 tained by the project to the Secretary of the Inte14 rior. 

15 (b) OFFSHORE METEOROLOGICAL PROJECT PERMIT16 TING.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte18 rior shall require, by regulation, that any applicant 

19 seeking to conduct an offshore meteorological site 

20 testing and monitoring project shall obtain a permit 

21 and right-of-way for the project in accordance with 

22 this subsection. 

23 (2) PERMIT AND RIGHT-OF-WAY TIMELINE AND

24 CONDITIONS.— 


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1 (A) DEADLINE FOR APPROVAL.—The Sec2 retary shall decide whether to issue a permit 

3 and right-of-way for an offshore meteorological 

4 site testing and monitoring project by not later 

5 than 30 days after the date of receipt of a rel6 evant application. 

7 (B) PUBLIC COMMENT AND CONSULTA8 TION.—During the 30-day period referred to in 

9 subparagraph (A) with respect to an application 

10 for a permit and right-of-way under this sub11 section, the Secretary shall— 

12 (i) provide an opportunity for submis13 sion of comments regarding the application 

14 by the public; and 

15 (ii) consult with the Secretary of De16 fense, the Commandant of the Coast 

17 Guard, and the heads of other Federal, 

18 State, and local agencies that would be af19 fected by the issuance of the permit and 

20 right-of-way. 

21 (C) DENIAL OF PERMIT; OPPORTUNITY TO

22 REMEDY DEFICIENCIES.—If an application is 

23 denied under this subsection, the Secretary 

24 shall provide to the applicant— 

25 (i) in writing— 


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1 (I) a list of clear and comprehen2 sive reasons why the application was 

3 denied; and 

4 (II) detailed information con5 cerning any deficiencies in the appli6 cation; and 

7 (ii) an opportunity to remedy those 

8 deficiencies. 

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.—Any informa14 tion provided to the Secretary of the Interior under sub15 section (a)(3) shall be— 

16 (1) treated by the Secretary as proprietary in17 formation; and 

18 (2) protected against disclosure. 

19 TITLE IX—CRITICAL MINERALS 

20 SEC. 901. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this title: 

22 (1) APPLICABLE COMMITTEES.—The term ‘‘ap23 plicable committees’’ means— 

24 (A) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

25 Resources of the Senate; 


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1 (B) the Committee on Natural Resources 

2 of the House of Representatives; 

3 (C) the Committee on Energy and Com4 merce of the House of Representatives; and 

5 (D) the Committee on Science, Space, and 

6 Technology of the House of Representatives. 

7 (2) CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY.—The term 

8 ‘‘clean energy technology’’ means a technology re9 lated to the production, use, transmission, storage, 

10 control, or conservation of energy that— 

11 (A) reduces the need for additional energy 

12 supplies by using existing energy supplies with 

13 greater efficiency or by transmitting, distrib14 uting, storing, or transporting energy with 

15 greater effectiveness in or through the infra16 structure of the United States; 

17 (B) diversifies the sources of energy supply 

18 of the United States to strengthen energy secu19 rity and to increase supplies with a favorable 

20 balance of environmental effects if the entire 

21 technology system is considered; or 

22 (C) contributes to a stabilization of atmos23 pheric greenhouse gas concentrations through 

24 reduction, avoidance, or sequestration of en25 ergy-related greenhouse gas emissions. 


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1 (3) CRITICAL MINERAL.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘critical min3 eral’’ means any mineral designated as a crit4 ical mineral pursuant to section 902. 

5 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘critical 

6 mineral’’ does not include coal, oil, natural gas, 

7 or any other fossil fuels. 

8 (4) CRITICAL MINERAL MANUFACTURING.—The 

9 term ‘‘critical mineral manufacturing’’ means— 

10 (A) the production, processing, refining, 

11 alloying, separation, concentration, magnetic 

12 sintering, melting, or beneficiation of critical 

13 minerals within the United States; 

14 (B) the fabrication, assembly, or produc15 tion, within the United States, of clean energy 

16 technologies (including technologies related to 

17 wind, solar, and geothermal energy, efficient 

18 lighting, electrical superconducting materials, 

19 permanent magnet motors, batteries, and other 

20 energy storage devices), military equipment, 

21 and consumer electronics, or components nec22 essary for applications; or 

23 (C) any other value-added, manufacturing24 related use of critical minerals undertaken with25 in the United States. 


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1 (5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

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

3 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

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

5 (6) MILITARY EQUIPMENT.—The term ‘‘mili6 tary equipment’’ means equipment used directly by 

7 the Armed Forces to carry out military operations. 

8 (7) RARE EARTH ELEMENT.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘rare earth 

10 element’’ means the chemical elements in the 

11 periodic table from lanthanum (atomic number 

12 57) up to and including lutetium (atomic num13 ber 71). 

14 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘rare earth 

15 element’’ includes the similar chemical elements 

16 yttrium (atomic number 39) and scandium 

17 (atomic number 21). 

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

19 the Secretary of the Interior— 

20 (A) acting through the Director of the 

21 United States Geological Survey; and 

22 (B) in consultation with (as appropriate)— 

23 (i) the Secretary of Energy; 

24 (ii) the Secretary of Defense; 

25 (iii) the Secretary of Commerce; 


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1 (iv) the Secretary of State; 

2 (v) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

3 (vi) the United States Trade Rep4 resentative; and 

5 (vii) the heads of other applicable 

6 Federal agencies. 

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

8 (A) a State; 

9 (B) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

10 and 

11 (C) any other territory or possession of the 

12 United States. 

13 (10) VALUE-ADDED.—The term ‘‘value-added’’ 

14 means, with respect to an activity, an activity that 

15 changes the form, fit, or function of a product, serv16 ice, raw material, or physical good so that the result17 ant market price is greater than the cost of making 

18 the changes. 

19 (11) WORKING GROUP.—The term ‘‘Working 

20 Group’’ means the Critical Minerals Working Group 

21 established under section 905(a). 

22 SEC. 902. DESIGNATIONS. 

23 (a) DRAFT METHODOLOGY.—Not later than 30 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

25 publish in the Federal Register for public comment a draft 


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1 methodology for determining which minerals qualify as 

2 critical minerals based on an assessment of whether the 

3 minerals are— 

4 (1) subject to potential supply restrictions (in5 cluding restrictions associated with foreign political 

6 risk, abrupt demand growth, military conflict, and 

7 anti-competitive or protectionist behaviors); and 

8 (2) important in use (including clean energy 

9 technology-, defense-, agriculture-, and health care10 related applications). 

11 (b) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—If available data is in12 sufficient to provide a quantitative basis for the method13 ology developed under this section, qualitative evidence 

14 may be used. 

15 (c) FINAL METHODOLOGY.—After reviewing public 

16 comments on the draft methodology under subsection (a) 

17 and updating the draft methodology as appropriate, the 

18 Secretary shall enter into an arrangement with the Na19 tional Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of 

20 Engineering to obtain, not later than 120 days after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act— 

22 (1) a review of the methodology; and 

23 (2) recommendations for improving the method24 ology. 


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1 (d) FINAL METHODOLOGY.—After reviewing the rec2 ommendations under subsection (c), not later than 150 

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

4 shall publish in the Federal Register a description of the 

5 final methodology for determining which minerals qualify 

6 as critical minerals. 

7 (e) DESIGNATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall pub9 lish in the Federal Register a list of minerals designated 

10 as critical, pursuant to the final methodology under sub11 section (d), for purposes of carrying out this title. 

12 (f) SUBSEQUENT REVIEW.—The methodology and 

13 designations developed under subsections (d) and (e) shall 

14 be updated at least every 5 years, or in more regular inter15 vals if considered appropriate by the Secretary. 

16 (g) NOTICE.—On finalization of the methodology 

17 under subsection (d), the list under subsection (e), or any 

18 update to the list under subsection (f), the Secretary shall 

19 submit to the applicable committees written notice of the 

20 action. 

21 SEC. 903. POLICY. 

22 (a) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States to 

23 promote an adequate, reliable, domestic, and stable supply 

24 of critical minerals, produced in an environmentally re25 sponsible manner, in order to strengthen and sustain the 


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1 economic security, and the manufacturing, industrial, en2 ergy, technological, and competitive stature, of the United 

3 States. 

4 (b) COORDINATION.—The President, acting through 

5 the Executive Office of the President, shall coordinate the 

6 actions of Federal agencies under this and other Acts— 

7 (1) to encourage Federal agencies to facilitate 

8 the availability, development, and environmentally 

9 responsible production of domestic resources to meet 

10 national critical minerals needs; 

11 (2) to minimize duplication, needless paper12 work, and delays in the administration of applicable 

13 laws (including regulations) and the issuance of per14 mits and authorizations necessary to explore for, de15 velop, and produce critical minerals and to construct 

16 and operate critical mineral manufacturing facilities 

17 in an environmentally responsible manner; 

18 (3) to promote the development of economically 

19 stable and environmentally responsible domestic crit20 ical mineral production and manufacturing; 

21 (4) to establish an analytical and forecasting 

22 capability for identifying critical mineral demand, 

23 supply, and other market dynamics relevant to policy 

24 formulation so that informed actions may be taken 

25 to avoid supply shortages, mitigate price volatility, 


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1 and prepare for demand growth and other market 

2 shifts; 

3 (5) to strengthen educational and research ca4 pabilities and workforce training; 

5 (6) to bolster international cooperation through 

6 technology transfer, information sharing, and other 

7 means; 

8 (7) to promote the efficient production, use, 

9 and recycling of critical minerals; 

10 (8) to develop alternatives to critical minerals; 

11 and 

12 (9) to establish contingencies for the production 

13 of, or access to, critical minerals for which viable 

14 sources do not exist within the United States. 

15 SEC. 904. RESOURCE ASSESSMENT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, in consultation with applica18 ble State (including geological surveys), local, academic, 

19 industry, and other entities, the Secretary shall complete 

20 a comprehensive national assessment of each critical min21 eral that— 

22 (1) identifies and quantifies known critical min23 eral resources, using all available public and private 

24 information and datasets, including exploration his25 tories; 


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1 (2) estimates the cost of production of the crit2 ical mineral resources identified and quantified 

3 under this section, using all available public and pri4 vate information and datasets, including exploration 

5 histories; 

6 (3) provides a quantitative and qualitative as7 sessment of undiscovered critical mineral resources 

8 throughout the United States, including probability 

9 estimates of tonnage and grade, using all available 

10 public and private information and datasets, includ11 ing exploration histories; 

12 (4) provides qualitative information on the envi13 ronmental attributes of the critical mineral resources 

14 identified under this section; and 

15 (5) pays particular attention to the identifica16 tion and quantification of critical mineral resources 

17 on Federal land that is open to location and entry 

18 for exploration, development, and other uses. 

19 (b) FIELD WORK.—If existing information and 

20 datasets prove insufficient to complete the assessment 

21 under this section and there is no reasonable opportunity 

22 to obtain the information and datasets from nongovern23 mental entities, the Secretary may carry out field work 

24 (including drilling, remote sensing, geophysical surveys, 

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1 ysis) to supplement existing information and datasets 

2 available for determining the existence of critical minerals 

3 on— 

4 (1) Federal land that is open to location and 

5 entry for exploration, development, and other uses; 

6 (2) tribal land, at the request and with the 

7 written permission of the Indian tribe with jurisdic8 tion over the land; and 

9 (3) State land, at the request and with the writ10 ten permission of the Governor of the State. 

11 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—At the request of the 

12 Governor of a State or an Indian tribe, the Secretary may 

13 provide technical assistance to State governments and In14 dian tribes conducting critical mineral resource assess15 ments on non-Federal land. 

16 (d) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

17 make grants to State governments, or Indian tribes and 

18 economic development entities of Indian tribes, to cover 

19 the costs associated with assessments of critical mineral 

20 resources on State or tribal land, as applicable. 

21 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

23 the applicable committees a report describing the results 

24 of the assessment conducted under this section. 

25 (f) PRIORITIZATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may sequence 

2 the completion of resource assessments for each crit3 ical mineral such that critical materials considered 

4 to be most critical under the methodology estab5 lished pursuant to section 902 are completed first. 

6 (2) REPORTING.—If the Secretary sequences 

7 the completion of resource assessments for each crit8 ical material, the Secretary shall submit a report 

9 under subsection (e) on an iterative basis over the 

10 4-year period beginning on the date of enactment of 

11 this Act. 

12 (g) UPDATES.—The Secretary shall periodically up13 date the assessment conducted under this section based 

14 on— 

15 (1) the generation of new information or 

16 datasets by the Federal Government; or 

17 (2) the receipt of new information or datasets 

18 from critical mineral producers, State geological sur19 veys, academic institutions, trade associations, or 

20 other entities or individuals. 

21 SEC. 905. PERMITTING. 

22 (a) CRITICAL MINERALS WORKING GROUP.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established within 

24 the Department of the Interior a working group to 

25 be known as the ‘‘Critical Minerals Working 


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1 Group’’, which shall report to the President and the 

2 applicable committees through the Secretary. 

3 (2) COMPOSITION.—The Working Group shall 

4 be composed of the following: 

5 (A) The Secretary of the Interior (or a 

6 designee), who shall serve as chair of the Work7 ing Group. 

8 (B) A Presidential designee from the Exec9 utive Office of the President, who shall serve as 

10 vice-chair of the Working Group. 

11 (C) The Secretary of Energy (or a des12 ignee). 

13 (D) The Secretary of Agriculture (or a 

14 designee). 

15 (E) The Secretary of Defense (or a des16 ignee). 

17 (F) The Secretary of Commerce (or a des18 ignee). 

19 (G) The Secretary of State (or a designee). 

20 (H) The United States Trade Representa21 tive (or a designee). 

22 (I) The Administrator of the Environ23 mental Protection Agency (or a designee). 

24 (J) The Chief of Engineers of the Corps of 

25 Engineers (or a designee). 


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1 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Working Group shall oper2 ate in consultation with private sector, academic, and 

3 other applicable stakeholders with experience related to— 

4 (1) critical minerals exploration; 

5 (2) critical minerals permitting; 

6 (3) critical minerals production; and 

7 (4) critical minerals manufacturing. 

8 (c) DUTIES.—The Working Group shall— 

9 (1) facilitate Federal agency efforts to optimize 

10 efficiencies associated with the permitting of activi11 ties that will increase exploration and development 

12 of domestic critical minerals, while maintaining envi13 ronmental standards; 

14 (2) facilitate Federal agency review of laws (in15 cluding regulations) and policies that discourage in16 vestment in exploration and development of domestic 

17 critical minerals; 

18 (3) assess whether Federal policies adversely 

19 impact the global competitiveness of the domestic 

20 critical minerals exploration and development sector 

21 (including taxes, fees, regulatory burdens, and ac22 cess restrictions); 

23 (4) evaluate the sufficiency of existing mecha24 nisms for the provision of tenure on Federal land 

25 and the role of the mechanisms in attracting capital 


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1 investment for the exploration and development of 

2 domestic critical minerals; and 

3 (5) generate such other information and take 

4 such other actions as the Working Group considers 

5 appropriate to achieve the policy described in section 

6 903(a). 

7 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 300 days after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act, the Working Group shall submit 

9 to the applicable committees a report that— 

10 (1) describes the results of actions taken under 

11 subsection (c); 

12 (2) evaluates the amount of time typically re13 quired (including the range derived from minimum 

14 and maximum durations, mean, median, variance, 

15 and other statistical measures or representations) to 

16 complete each step (including those aspects outside 

17 the control of the executive branch of the Federal 

18 Government, such as judicial review, applicant deci19 sions, or State and local government involvement) 

20 associated with the processing of applications, oper21 ating plans, leases, licenses, permits, and other use 

22 authorizations for critical mineral-related activities 

23 on Federal land, which shall serve as a baseline for 

24 the performance metric developed and finalized 

25 under subsections (e) and (f), respectively; 


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1 (3) identifies measures (including regulatory 

2 changes and legislative proposals) that would opti3 mize efficiencies, while maintaining environmental 

4 standards, associated with the permitting of activi5 ties that will increase exploration and development 

6 of domestic critical minerals; and 

7 (4) identifies options (including cost recovery 

8 paid by applicants) for ensuring adequate staffing of 

9 divisions, field offices, or other entities responsible 

10 for the consideration of applications, operating 

11 plans, leases, licenses, permits, and other use au12 thorizations for critical mineral-related activities on 

13 Federal land. 

14 (e) DRAFT PERFORMANCE METRIC.—Not later than 

15 330 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and on 

16 completion of the report required under subsection (d), the 

17 Working Group shall publish in the Federal Register for 

18 public comment a draft description of a performance met19 ric for evaluating the progress made by the executive 

20 branch of the Federal Government on matters within the 

21 control of that branch towards optimizing efficiencies, 

22 while maintaining environmental standards, associated 

23 with the permitting of activities that will increase explo24 ration and development of domestic critical minerals. 


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1 (f) FINAL PERFORMANCE METRIC.—Not later than 

2 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and after 

3 consideration of any public comments received under sub4 section (e), the Working Group shall publish in the Fed5 eral Register a description of the final performance metric. 

6 (g) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after 

7 the date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, 

8 using the final performance metric under subsection (f), 

9 the Working Group shall submit to the applicable commit10 tees, as part of the budget request of the Department of 

11 the Interior for each fiscal year, each report that— 

12 (1) describes the progress made by the execu13 tive branch of the Federal Government on matters 

14 within the control of that branch towards optimizing 

15 efficiencies, while maintaining environmental stand16 ards, associated with the permitting of activities that 

17 will increase exploration and development of domes18 tic critical minerals; and 

19 (2) compares the United States to other coun20 tries in terms of permitting efficiency, environmental 

21 standards, and other criteria relevant to a globally 

22 competitive economic sector. 

23 (h) REPORT OF SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRA24 TION.—Not later than 300 days after the date of enact25 ment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business 


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1 Administration shall submit to the applicable committees 

2 a report that assesses the performance of Federal agencies 

3 in— 

4 (1) complying with chapter 6 of title 5, United 

5 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Regulatory 

6 Flexibility Act’’), in promulgating regulations appli7 cable to the critical minerals industry; and 

8 (2) performing an analysis of regulations appli9 cable to the critical minerals industry that may be 

10 outmoded, inefficient, duplicative, or excessively bur11 densome. 

12 (i) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section af14 fects any judicial review of an agency action under 

15 any other provision of law. 

16 (2) CONSTRUCTION.—This section— 

17 (A) is intended to improve the internal 

18 management of the Federal Government; and 

19 (B) does not create any right or benefit, 

20 substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or 

21 equity by a party against the United States (in22 cluding an agency, instrumentality, officer, or 

23 employee) or any other person. 


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1 SEC. 906. RECYCLING AND ALTERNATIVES. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Energy 

3 shall conduct a program of research and development to 

4 promote the efficient production, use, and recycling of, 

5 and alternatives to, critical minerals. 

6 (b) COOPERATION.—In carrying out the program, the 

7 Secretary of Energy shall cooperate with appropriate— 

8 (1) Federal agencies and National Laboratories; 

9 (2) critical mineral producers; 

10 (3) critical mineral manufacturers; 

11 (4) trade associations; 

12 (5) academic institutions; 

13 (6) small businesses; and 

14 (7) other relevant entities or individuals. 

15 (c) ACTIVITIES.—Under the program, the Secretary 

16 of Energy shall carry out activities that include the identi17 fication and development of— 

18 (1) advanced critical mineral production or 

19 processing technologies that decrease the environ20 mental impact, and costs of production, of such ac21 tivities; 

22 (2) techniques and practices that minimize or 

23 lead to more efficient use of critical minerals; 

24 (3) techniques and practices that facilitate the 

25 recycling of critical minerals, including options for 


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1 improving the rates of collection of post-consumer 

2 products containing critical minerals; 

3 (4) commercial markets, advanced storage 

4 methods, energy applications, and other beneficial 

5 uses of critical minerals processing byproducts; and 

6 (5) alternative minerals, metals, and materials, 

7 particularly those available in abundance within the 

8 United States and not subject to potential supply re9 strictions, that lessen the need for critical minerals. 

10 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act and every 5 years thereafter, the 

12 Secretaries shall submit to the applicable committees a re13 port summarizing the activities, findings, and progress of 

14 the program. 

15 SEC. 907. ANALYSIS AND FORECASTING. 

16 (a) CAPABILITIES.—In order to evaluate existing crit17 ical mineral policies and inform future actions that may 

18 be taken to avoid supply shortages, mitigate price vola19 tility, and prepare for demand growth and other market 

20 shifts, the Secretary, in consultation with academic insti21 tutions, the Energy Information Administration, and oth22 ers in order to maximize the application of existing com23 petencies related to developing and maintaining computer24 models and similar analytical tools, shall conduct and pub25 lish the results of an annual report that includes— 


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1 (1) as part of the annually published Mineral 

2 Commodity Summaries from the United States Geo3 logical Survey, a comprehensive review of critical 

4 mineral production, consumption, and recycling pat5 terns, including— 

6 (A) the quantity of each critical mineral 

7 domestically produced during the preceding 

8 year; 

9 (B) the quantity of each critical mineral 

10 domestically consumed during the preceding 

11 year; 

12 (C) market price data for each critical 

13 mineral; 

14 (D) an assessment of— 

15 (i) critical mineral requirements to 

16 meet the national security, energy, eco17 nomic, industrial, technological, and other 

18 needs of the United States during the pre19 ceding year; 

20 (ii) the reliance of the United States 

21 on foreign sources to meet those needs 

22 during the preceding year; and 

23 (iii) the implications of any supply 

24 shortages, restrictions, or disruptions dur25 ing the preceding year; 


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1 (E) the quantity of each critical mineral 

2 domestically recycled during the preceding year; 

3 (F) the market penetration during the pre4 ceding year of alternatives to each critical min5 eral; 

6 (G) a discussion of applicable international 

7 trends associated with the discovery, produc8 tion, consumption, use, costs of production, 

9 prices, and recycling of each critical mineral as 

10 well as the development of alternatives to crit11 ical minerals; and 

12 (H) such other data, analyses, and evalua13 tions as the Secretary finds are necessary to 

14 achieve the purposes of this section; and 

15 (2) a comprehensive forecast, entitled the ‘‘An16 nual Critical Minerals Outlook’’, of projected critical 

17 mineral production, consumption, and recycling pat18 terns, including— 

19 (A) the quantity of each critical mineral 

20 projected to be domestically produced over the 

21 subsequent 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year periods; 

22 (B) the quantity of each critical mineral 

23 projected to be domestically consumed over the 

24 subsequent 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year periods; 


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1 (C) market price projections for each crit2 ical mineral, to the maximum extent practicable 

3 and based on the best available information; 

4 (D) an assessment of— 

5 (i) critical mineral requirements to 

6 meet projected national security, energy, 

7 economic, industrial, technological, and 

8 other needs of the United States; 

9 (ii) the projected reliance of the 

10 United States on foreign sources to meet 

11 those needs; and 

12 (iii) the projected implications of po13 tential supply shortages, restrictions, or 

14 disruptions; 

15 (E) the quantity of each critical mineral 

16 projected to be domestically recycled over the 

17 subsequent 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year periods; 

18 (F) the market penetration of alternatives 

19 to each critical mineral projected to take place 

20 over the subsequent 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year 

21 periods; 

22 (G) a discussion of reasonably foreseeable 

23 international trends associated with the dis24 covery, production, consumption, use, costs of 

25 production, prices, and recycling of each critical 


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1 mineral as well as the development of alter2 natives to critical minerals; and 

3 (H) such other projections relating to each 

4 critical mineral as the Secretary determines to 

5 be necessary to achieve the purposes of this sec6 tion. 

7 (b) PROPRIETARY INFORMATION.—In preparing a re8 port described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall ensure 

9 that— 

10 (1) no person uses the information and data 

11 collected for the report for a purpose other than the 

12 development of or reporting of aggregate data in a 

13 manner such that the identity of the person who 

14 supplied the information is not discernible and is not 

15 material to the intended uses of the information; 

16 (2) no person discloses any information or data 

17 collected for the report unless the information or 

18 data has been transformed into a statistical or ag19 gregate form that does not allow the identification of 

20 the person who supplied particular information; and 

21 (3) procedures are established to require the 

22 withholding of any information or data collected for 

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1 tion, including any trade secrets or other confiden2 tial information. 

3 SEC. 908. EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE. 

4 (a) WORKFORCE ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 300 

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

6 of Labor (in consultation with the Secretary of the Inte7 rior, the Director of the National Science Foundation, and 

8 employers in the critical minerals sector) shall submit to 

9 Congress an assessment of the domestic availability of 

10 technically trained personnel necessary for critical mineral 

11 assessment, production, manufacturing, recycling, anal12 ysis, forecasting, education, and research, including an 

13 analysis of— 

14 (1) skills that are in the shortest supply as of 

15 the date of the assessment; 

16 (2) skills that are projected to be in short sup17 ply in the future; 

18 (3) the demographics of the critical minerals in19 dustry and how the demographics will evolve under 

20 the influence of factors such as an aging workforce; 

21 (4) the effectiveness of training and education 

22 programs in addressing skills shortages; 

23 (5) opportunities to hire locally for new and ex24 isting critical mineral activities; 


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1 (6) the sufficiency of personnel within relevant 

2 areas of the Federal Government for achieving the 

3 policy described in section 903(a); and 

4 (7) the potential need for new training pro5 grams to have a measurable effect on the supply of 

6 trained workers in the critical minerals industry. 

7 (b) CURRICULUM STUDY.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Sec9 retary of Labor shall jointly enter into an arrange10 ment with the National Academy of Sciences and the 

11 National Academy of Engineering under which the 

12 Academies shall coordinate with the National 

13 Science Foundation on conducting a study— 

14 (A) to design an interdisciplinary program 

15 on critical minerals that will support the critical 

16 mineral supply chain and improve the ability of 

17 the United States to increase domestic, critical 

18 mineral exploration, development, and manufac19 turing; 

20 (B) to address undergraduate and grad21 uate education, especially to assist in the devel22 opment of graduate level programs of research 

23 and instruction that lead to advanced degrees 

24 with an emphasis on the critical mineral supply 

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1 mestic, critical mineral exploration, develop2 ment, and manufacturing; 

3 (C) to develop guidelines for proposals 

4 from institutions of higher education with sub5 stantial capabilities in the required disciplines 

6 to improve the critical mineral supply chain and 

7 advance the capacity of the United States to in8 crease domestic, critical mineral exploration, de9 velopment, and manufacturing; and 

10 (D) to outline criteria for evaluating per11 formance and recommendations for the amount 

12 of funding that will be necessary to establish 

13 and carry out the grant program described in 

14 subsection (c). 

15 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

17 submit to Congress a description of the results of 

18 the study required under paragraph (1). 

19 (c) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

20 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary and the 

21 National Science Foundation shall jointly conduct a 

22 competitive grant program under which institutions 

23 of higher education may apply for and receive 4-year 

24 grants for— 


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1 (A) startup costs for newly designated fac2 ulty positions in integrated critical mineral edu3 cation, research, innovation, training, and work4 force development programs consistent with 

5 subsection (b); 

6 (B) internships, scholarships, and fellow7 ships for students enrolled in critical mineral 

8 programs; and 

9 (C) equipment necessary for integrated 

10 critical mineral innovation, training, and work11 force development programs. 

12 (2) RENEWAL.—A grant under this subsection 

13 shall be renewable for up to 2 additional 3-year 

14 terms based on performance criteria outlined under 

15 subsection (b)(1)(D). 

16 SEC. 909. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State, in co18 ordination with the Secretary, shall carry out a program 

19 to promote international cooperation on critical mineral 

20 supply chain issues with allies of the United States. 

21 (b) ACTIVITIES.—Under the program, the Secretary 

22 of State may work with allies of the United States— 

23 (1) to increase the global, responsible produc24 tion of critical minerals, if a determination is made 

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1 duction capacity for the critical minerals within the 

2 United States; 

3 (2) to improve the efficiency and environmental 

4 performance of extraction techniques; 

5 (3) to increase the recycling of, and deployment 

6 of alternatives to, critical minerals; 

7 (4) to assist in the development and transfer of 

8 critical mineral extraction, processing, and manufac9 turing technologies that would have a beneficial im10 pact on world commodity markets and the environ11 ment; 

12 (5) to strengthen and maintain intellectual 

13 property protections; and 

14 (6) to facilitate the collection of information 

15 necessary for analyses and forecasts conducted pur16 suant to section 907. 

17 SEC. 910. REPEAL, AUTHORIZATION, AND OFFSET. 

18 (a) REPEAL.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The National Critical Mate20 rials Act of 1984 (30 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) is re21 pealed. 

22 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3(d) 

23 of the National Superconductivity and Competitive24 ness Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 5202(d)) is amended 

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1 ance of the National Critical Materials Council as 

2 specified in the National Critical Materials Act of 

3 1984 (30 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.),’’. 

4 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

5 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title and 

6 the amendments made by this title $30,000,000. 

7 (c) AUTHORIZATION OFFSET.—Section 207(c) of the 

8 Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 

9 U.S.C. 17022(c)) is amended by inserting before the pe10 riod at the end the following: ‘‘, except that the amount 

11 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section not 

12 appropriated as of the date of enactment of the Domestic 

13 Energy and Jobs Act shall be reduced by $30,000,000’’. 

14 TITLE X—MISCELLANEOUS 

15 SEC. 1001. LIMITATION ON TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS 

16 UNDER THE SOLID MINERALS LEASING PRO17 GRAM. 

18 The Secretary of the Interior may not transfer to the 

19 Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 

20 any responsibility or authority to perform any function 

21 performed on the day before the date of enactment of this 

22 Act under the solid minerals leasing program of the De23 partment of the Interior, including— 

24 (1) any function under— 


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1 (A) sections 2318 through 2352 of the Re2 vised Statutes (commonly known as the ‘‘Min3 ing Law of 1872’’) (30 U.S.C. 21 et seq.); 

4 (B) the Act of July 31, 1947 (commonly 

5 known as the ‘‘Materials Act of 1947’’) (30 

6 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

7 (C) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

8 181 et seq.); or 

9 (D) the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired 

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

11 (2) any function relating to management of 

12 mineral development on Federal land and acquired 

13 land under section 302 of the Federal Land Policy 

14 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1732); 

15 and 

16 (3) any function performed under the mining 

17 law administration program of the Bureau of Land 

18 Management. 

19 SEC. 1002. AMOUNT OF DISTRIBUTED QUALIFIED OUTER 

20 CONTINENTAL SHELF REVENUES. 

21 Section 105(f)(1) of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Secu22 rity Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note; Public Law 109– 

23 432) is amended by striking ‘‘2055’’ and inserting ‘‘2022, 

24 and shall not exceed $750,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

25 2023 through 2055’’. 


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1 SEC. 1003. LEASE SALE 220 AND OTHER LEASE SALES OFF 

2 THE COAST OF VIRGINIA. 

3 (a) INCLUSION IN LEASING PROGRAMS.—The Sec4 retary of the Interior shall— 

5 (1) as soon as practicable after, but not later 

6 than 10 days after, the date of enactment of this 

7 Act, revise the proposed outer Continental Shelf oil 

8 and gas leasing program for the 2012–2017 period 

9 to include in the program Lease Sale 220 off the 

10 coast of Virginia; and 

11 (2) include the outer Continental Shelf off the 

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

13 year period after the 2012–2017 period. 

14 (b) CONDUCT OF LEASE SALE.—As soon as prac15 ticable, but not later than 1 year, after the date of enact16 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall carry 

17 out under section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

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

19 (c) BALANCING MILITARY AND ENERGY PRODUC20 TION GOALS.— 

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

22 outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing program 

23 and the domestic energy resources produced under 

24 that program are integral to national security, the 

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1 fense shall work jointly in implementing this sec2 tion— 

3 (A) to preserve the ability of the Armed 

4 Forces to maintain an optimum state of readi5 ness through their continued use of energy re6 sources of the outer Continental Shelf; and 

7 (B) to allow effective exploration, develop8 ment, and production of the oil, gas, and renew9 able energy resources of the United States. 

10 (2) PROHIBITION ON CONFLICTS WITH MILI11 TARY OPERATIONS.—No person may engage in any 

12 exploration, development, or production of oil or nat13 ural gas off the coast of Virginia that would conflict 

14 with any military operation, as determined in ac15 cordance with— 

16 (A) the agreement entitled ‘‘Memorandum 

17 of Agreement between the Department of De18 fense and the Department of the Interior on 

19 Mutual Concerns on the Outer Continental 

20 Shelf’’ signed July 20, 1983; and 

21 (B) any revision to, or replacement of, the 

22 agreement described in subparagraph (A) that 

23 is agreed to by the Secretary of Defense and 

24 the Secretary of the Interior after July 20, 

25 1983, but before the date of issuance of the 


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1 lease under which the exploration, development, 

2 or production is conducted. 

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 outer 

7 Continental Shelf under section 12(d) of the Outer 

8 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1341(d)). 

9 SEC. 1004. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO ISSUE REGULA10 TIONS UNDER THE SURFACE MINING CON11 TROL AND RECLAMATION ACT OF 1977. 

12 The Secretary of the Interior may not, before Decem13 ber 31, 2013, issue or approve any proposed or final regu14 lation under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation 

15 Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) that would— 

16 (1) adversely impact employment in coal mines 

17 in the United States; 

18 (2) cause a reduction in revenue received by the 

19 Federal Government or any State, tribal, or local 

20 government, by reducing, through regulation, the 

21 quantity of coal in the United States that is avail22 able for mining; 

23 (3) reduce the quantity of coal available for do24 mestic consumption or for export; 


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1 (4) designate any area as unsuitable for surface 

2 coal mining and reclamation operations; or 

3 (5) expose the United States to liability for tak4 ing the value of privately owned coal through regula5 tion. 

Æ 


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