II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 351 

To authorize the exploration, leasing, development, and production of oil 

and gas in and from the western portion of the Coastal Plain of the 

State of Alaska without surface occupancy, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 15, 2011 

Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself and Mr. BEGICH) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To authorize the exploration, leasing, development, and production of oil and gas in and from the western portion 

of the Coastal Plain of the State of Alaska without 

surface occupancy, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Surface Occupancy 

5 Western Arctic Coastal Plain Domestic Energy Security 

6 Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 


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

2 Plain’’ means the area identified as the ‘‘1002 

3 Coastal Plain Area’’ on the map. 

4 (2) FINAL STATEMENT.—The term ‘‘Final 

5 Statement’’ means the final legislative environmental 

6 impact statement on the Coastal Plain, dated April 

7 1987, and prepared pursuant to— 

8 (A) section 1002 of the Alaska National 

9 Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 

10 3142); and 

11 (B) section 102(2)(C) of the National En12 vironmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

13 4332(2)(C)). 

14 (3) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en15 titled ‘‘Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’’, dated Sep16 tember 2005, and prepared by the United States Ge17 ological Survey. 

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

19 the Secretary of the Interior (or the designee of the 

20 Secretary), acting through the Director of the Bu21 reau of Land Management, in consultation with the 

22 Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

23 Service and in coordination with a State coordinator 

24 appointed by the Governor of the State of Alaska. 


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1 (5) WESTERN COASTAL PLAIN.—The term 

2 ‘‘Western Coastal Plain’’ means that area of the 

3 Coastal Plain— 

4 (A) that borders the land of the State of 

5 Alaska to the west and State of Alaska offshore 

6 waters of the Beaufort Sea on the north; and 

7 (B) from which the Secretary, in the sole 

8 discretion of the Secretary, finds oil and gas 

9 can be produced through the use of horizontal 

10 drilling or other subsurface technology from 

11 sites outside or underneath the surface of the 

12 Coastal Plain. 

13 SEC. 3. LEASING PROGRAM FOR LAND WITHIN THE WEST14 ERN COASTAL PLAIN. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

16 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized the 

17 exploration, leasing, development, and production of 

18 oil and gas from the Western Coastal Plain. 

19 (2) ACTIONS.—The Secretary shall take such 

20 actions as are necessary— 

21 (A) to establish and implement, in accord22 ance with this Act, a competitive oil and gas 

23 leasing program that will result in an environ24 mentally sound program for the exploration, deVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:16 Feb 16, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S351.IS S351

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1 velopment, and production of the oil and gas re2 sources of the Western Coastal Plain; and 

3 (B) to administer this Act through regula4 tions, lease terms, conditions, restrictions, pro5 hibitions, stipulations, and other provisions 

6 that— 

7 (i) ensure the oil and gas exploration, 

8 development, and production activities on 

9 the Western Coastal Plain will result in no 

10 significant adverse effect on fish and wild11 life, fish and wildlife habitat, subsistence 

12 resources, and the environment; 

13 (ii) prohibit surface occupancy of the 

14 Western Coastal Plain during oil and gas 

15 development and production; and 

16 (iii) require the application of the best 

17 commercially available technology for oil 

18 and gas exploration, development, and pro19 duction to all exploration, development, 

20 and production operations under this Act 

21 in a manner that ensures the receipt of 

22 fair market value by the public for the 

23 mineral resources to be leased. 

24 (b) COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS UNDER

25 CERTAIN OTHER LAWS.— 


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1 (1) COMPATIBILITY.—For purposes of the Na2 tional Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 

3 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.)— 

4 (A) the oil and gas leasing program and 

5 activities authorized by this section in the West6 ern Coastal Plain shall be considered to be com7 patible with the purposes for which the Arctic 

8 National Wildlife Refuge was established; and 

9 (B) no further findings or decisions shall 

10 be required to implement that program and 

11 those activities. 

12 (2) ADEQUACY OF DOI LEGISLATIVE ENVIRON13 MENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.—The Final State14 ment shall be considered to satisfy the requirements 

15 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

16 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) that apply with respect to 

17 prelease activities, including actions authorized to be 

18 taken by the Secretary to develop and promulgate 

19 the regulations for the establishment of a leasing 

20 program authorized by this Act before the conduct 

21 of the first lease sale. 

22 (c) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE AND LOCAL AUTHOR23 ITY.—Nothing in this Act expands or limits any State or 

24 local regulatory authority. 

25 (d) REGULATIONS.— 


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

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

3 shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary 

4 to carry out this Act. 

5 (2) REVISION OF REGULATIONS.—The Sec6 retary shall periodically review and, as appropriate, 

7 revise the rules and regulations promulgated under 

8 paragraph (1) to reflect any significant biological, 

9 environmental, or engineering data that come to the 

10 attention of the Secretary. 

11 SEC. 4. LEASE SALES. 

12 (a) QUALIFIED LESSEES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), land may be leased under this Act to any 

15 person qualified to obtain a lease for deposits of oil 

16 and gas under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

17 181 et seq.). 

18 (2) EXCLUSION.—Land may not be leased 

19 under this Act to any person prohibited from partici20 pation in a lease sale under section 1002(e)(2)(C) of 

21 the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation 

22 Act (16 U.S.C. 3142(e)(2)(C)). 

23 (b) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall, by regula24 tion, establish procedures for— 


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1 (1) receipt and consideration of sealed nomina2 tions for any area in the Western Coastal Plain for 

3 inclusion in, or exclusion from, a lease sale; 

4 (2) the holding of lease sales after the nomina5 tion process described in paragraph (1); and 

6 (3) public notice of, and comment on, designa7 tion of areas to be included in, or excluded from, a 

8 lease sale. 

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

10 this Act shall be by sealed competitive cash bonus bids. 

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

12 first lease sale under this Act, the Secretary shall offer 

13 for lease those tracts the Secretary considers to have the 

14 greatest potential for the discovery of hydrocarbons, tak15 ing into consideration nominations received pursuant to 

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

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

18 shall— 

19 (1) not later than 18 months after the date of 

20 enactment of this Act, conduct the first lease sale 

21 under this Act; 

22 (2) not later than 2 years after the first lease 

23 sale, conduct a second lease sale under this Act; and 

24 (3) conduct additional sales at appropriate in25 tervals if, as determined by the Secretary, sufficient 


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1 interest in development exists to warrant the con2 duct of the additional sales. 

3 SEC. 5. GRANT OF LEASES BY THE SECRETARY. 

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

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

6 may grant to the highest responsible qualified bidder in 

7 a lease sale conducted pursuant to section 4 a lease for 

8 any land on the Western Coastal Plain. 

9 (b) SUBSEQUENT TRANSFERS.— 

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

11 Act may be sold, exchanged, assigned, sublet, or oth12 erwise transferred except with the approval of the 

13 Secretary. 

14 (2) CONDITION FOR APPROVAL.—Before grant15 ing any approval under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

16 shall consult with, and give due consideration to the 

17 opinion of, the Attorney General. 

18 SEC. 6. LEASE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—An oil or gas lease issued pursu20 ant to this Act shall— 

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

less than 121 22 ⁄2 percent of the quantity or value of 

23 the production removed or sold from the lease, as 

24 determined by the Secretary in accordance with regVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:16 Feb 16, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S351.IS S351

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1 ulations applicable to other Federal oil and gas 

2 leases; 

3 (2) provide that the Secretary may close, on a 

4 seasonal basis, such portions of the Western Coastal 

5 Plain to exploratory drilling activities as are nec6 essary to protect caribou calving areas and other 

7 species of fish and wildlife; 

8 (3) require that each lessee of land within the 

9 Western Coastal Plain shall be fully responsible and 

10 liable for the reclamation of land within the Western 

11 Coastal Plain and any other Federal land that is ad12 versely affected in connection with exploration activi13 ties conducted under the lease and within the West14 ern Coastal Plain by the lessee or by any of the sub15 contractors or agents of the lessee; 

16 (4) provide that the lessee may not delegate or 

17 convey, by contract or otherwise, the reclamation re18 sponsibility and liability described in paragraph (3) 

19 to another person without the express written ap20 proval of the Secretary; 

21 (5) contain terms and conditions relating to 

22 protection of fish and wildlife, fish and wildlife habi23 tat, subsistence resources, and the environment as 

24 required under section 3(a)(2); 


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

2 and contractor of a lessee, shall use the best efforts 

3 of the lessee to provide a fair share of employment 

4 and contracting for Alaska Natives and Alaska Na5 tive Corporations from throughout the State, as de6 termined by the level of obligation previously agreed 

7 to in the Federal Agreement; and 

8 (7) contain such other provisions as the Sec9 retary determines to be necessary to ensure compli10 ance with this Act, including regulations promul11 gated under this Act. 

12 (b) PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary, 

13 as a term and condition of each lease under this Act, and 

14 in recognizing the proprietary interest of the Federal Gov15 ernment in labor stability and in the ability of construction 

16 labor and management to meet the particular needs and 

17 conditions of projects to be developed under the leases 

18 issued pursuant to this Act (including the special concerns 

19 of the parties to those leases), shall require that each les20 see, and each agent and contractor of a lessee, under this 

21 Act negotiate to obtain a project labor agreement for the 

22 employment of laborers and mechanics on production, 

23 maintenance, and construction under the lease. 

24 SEC. 7. EXPEDITED JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

25 (a) FILING OF COMPLAINTS.— 


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1 (1) DEADLINE.—A complaint seeking judicial 

2 review of a provision of this Act or an action of the 

3 Secretary under this Act shall be filed— 

4 (A) except as provided in subparagraph 

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

6 date on which the action being challenged was 

7 carried out; or 

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

9 on grounds arising after the 90-day period de10 scribed in subparagraph (A), by not later than 

11 90 days after the date on which the complain12 ant knew or reasonably should have known 

13 about the grounds for the complaint. 

14 (2) VENUE.—A complaint seeking judicial re15 view of a provision of this Act or an action of the 

16 Secretary under this Act shall be filed in the United 

17 States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 

18 Circuit. 

19 (3) SCOPE.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Judicial review of a de21 cision of the Secretary relating to a lease sale 

22 under this Act (including an environmental 

23 analysis of such a lease sale) shall be— 

24 (i) limited to a review of whether the 

25 decision is in accordance with this Act; and 


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1 (ii) based on the administrative record 

2 of the decision. 

3 (B) PRESUMPTIONS.—Any identification 

4 by the Secretary of a preferred course of action 

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

6 Secretary of environmental effects, under this 

7 Act shall be presumed to be correct unless prov8 en otherwise by clear and convincing evidence. 

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

10 the Secretary that is subject to judicial review under this 

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

12 or criminal proceeding for enforcement. 

13 SEC. 8. LOCAL GOVERNMENT IMPACT AID AND COMMU14 NITY SERVICE ASSISTANCE. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

17 in the Treasury a fund to be known as the ‘‘Coastal 

18 Plain Local Government Impact Aid Assistance 

19 Fund’’ (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Fund’’) 

20 to offset any planning, land use-related, or service21 related impacts of offshore development caused by 

22 this Act. 

23 (2) DEPOSITS.—The Secretary of the Treasury 

24 shall deposit into the Fund, $15,000,000 each year 

25 from the amount available under section 9(1). 


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1 (b) ASSISTANCE.—The Governor of Alaska, in co2 operation with the Mayor of the North Slope Borough, 

3 shall use amounts in the Fund to provide assistance to 

4 the North Slope Borough, Alaska, the City of Kaktovik, 

5 Alaska, and any other borough, municipal subdivision, vil6 lage, or other community in the State of Alaska that is 

7 directly impacted by exploration for, or the production of, 

8 oil or gas on or near the Coastal Plain under this Act, 

9 or any Alaska Native Regional Corporation acting on be10 half of the villages and communities within its region 

11 whose land lies along the right of way of the Trans Alaska 

12 Pipeline System, as determined by the Governor. 

13 (c) APPLICATION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—To receive assistance under 

15 subsection (b), a community or Regional Corporation 

16 described in that subsection shall submit to the Gov17 ernor, or to the Mayor of the North Slope Borough, 

18 an application in such time, in such manner, and 

19 containing such information as the Governor may re20 quire. 

21 (2) ACTION BY NORTH SLOPE BOROUGH.—The 

22 Mayor of the North Slope Borough shall submit to 

23 the Governor each application received under para24 graph (1) as soon as practicable after the date on 

25 which the application is received. 


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1 (3) ASSISTANCE OF GOVERNOR.—The Governor 

2 shall assist communities in submitting applications 

3 under this subsection to the maximum extent prac4 ticable. 

5 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—A community or Regional Cor6 poration that receives funds under subsection (b) may use 

7 the funds— 

8 (1) to plan for mitigation, implement a mitiga9 tion plan, or maintain a mitigation project to ad10 dress the potential effects of oil and gas exploration 

11 and development on environmental, social, cultural, 

12 recreational, and subsistence resources of the com13 munity; 

14 (2) to develop, carry out, and maintain— 

15 (A) a project to provide new or expanded 

16 public facilities; or 

17 (B) services to address the needs and prob18 lems associated with the effects described in 

19 paragraph (1), including firefighting, police, 

20 water and waste treatment, first responder, res21 cue, and other medical services; 

22 (3) to compensate residents of the Coastal 

23 Plain or nearby waters for significant damage to en24 vironmental, social, cultural, recreation, or subsist25 ence resources; and 


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1 (4) in the City of Kaktovik, Alaska— 

2 (A) to develop a mechanism for providing 

3 members of the Kaktovikmiut Inupiat commu4 nity an opportunity— 

5 (i) to monitor development in or near 

6 the Coastal Plain; and 

7 (ii) to provide information and rec8 ommendations based on traditional knowl9 edge; and 

10 (B) to establish a local coordination office, 

11 to be managed by the Mayor of the North Slope 

12 Borough, in coordination with the City of 

13 Kaktovik, Alaska— 

14 (i) to coordinate with and advise de15 velopers on local conditions and the history 

16 of areas affected by development; 

17 (ii) to collect from residents of the 

18 Coastal Plain information regarding the 

19 impacts of development on fish, wildlife, 

20 whales, other marine mammals, habitats, 

21 subsistence resources, and the environment 

22 of the Coastal Plain; and 

23 (iii) to ensure that the information 

24 collected under clause (ii) is submitted to 

25 any appropriate Federal agency. 


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1 SEC. 9. ALLOCATION OF REVENUES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi3 sion of law, of the amount of adjusted bonus, rental, and 

4 royalty revenues from Federal oil and gas leasing and op5 erations authorized under this Act— 

6 (1) 50 percent shall be paid semiannually to the 

7 State of Alaska; and 

8 (2) 50 percent shall be allocated in accordance 

9 with subsection (b). 

10 (b) ALLOCATION OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—Any 

11 amounts made available under subsection (a)(2), plus an 

12 appropriated amount equal to the amount of Federal in13 come tax attributable to sales of oil and gas produced from 

14 operations described in subsection (a), shall be deposited 

15 in an account in the Treasury which shall be available, 

16 without further appropriation or fiscal year limitation, 

17 each fiscal year as follows: 

18 (1) $15,000,000 shall be deposited by the Sec19 retary of the Treasury into the Fund created under 

20 section 8(a)(1). 

21 (2) The remainder shall be available as follows: 

22 (A) Twenty-five percent shall be available 

23 to the Department of Energy to carry out alter24 native energy programs established under the 

25 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801 et 

26 seq.), the Energy Independence and Security 


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1 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17001 et seq.), or an 

2 amendment made by either of those Acts, as de3 termined by the Secretary of Energy. 

4 (B) Ten percent shall be available to the 

5 Department of Health and Human Services to 

6 provide low-income home energy assistance 

7 under title XXVI of the Omnibus Budget Rec8 onciliation Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621 et 

9 seq.). 

10 (C) Ten percent shall be available to the 

11 Department of Energy to carry out the Weath12 erization Assistance Program for Low-Income 

13 Persons established under part A of title IV of 

14 the Energy Conservation and Production Act 

15 (42 U.S.C. 6861 et seq.). 

16 (D) Ten percent shall be available to the 

17 Department of the Interior for award to wildlife 

18 habitat and fish and game programs authorized 

19 by the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration 

20 Act (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.) and the Dingell21 Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act) (com22 monly known as the ‘‘Wallop-Breaux Act’’) (16 

23 U.S.C. 777 et seq.). 


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1 (E) The balance shall be deposited into the 

2 Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. 

Æ 


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