IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 205 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 

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

Resources 

AN ACT 

To amend the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 

to permanently extend the moratorium on leasing in certain areas of the Gulf of Mexico. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting and Secur3 ing Florida’s Coastline Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF MORATORIUM ON 

5 LEASING IN CERTAIN AREAS OF THE GULF 

6 OF MEXICO. 

7 Section 104(a) of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security 

8 Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note) is amended by striking 

9 ‘‘Effective during’’ and all that follows through ‘‘the Sec10 retary’’ and inserting ‘‘The Secretary’’. 

11 SEC. 3. PRODUCTION SAFETY SYSTEMS AND WELL CON12 TROL. 

13 Subparts D, E, F, G, H, and Q of section 250 of 

14 title 30, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on Jan15 uary 1, 2018), shall have the same force and effect of law 

16 as if such subparts had been enacted by an Act of Con17 gress. 

18 SEC. 4. INSPECTION FEE COLLECTION. 

19 Section 22 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

20 (43 U.S.C. 1348) is amended by adding at the end the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(g) INSPECTION FEES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the 

24 Interior shall collect from the operators of facilities 

25 subject to inspection under subsection (c) non-re26 fundable fees for such inspections— 


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1 ‘‘(A) at an aggregate level equal to the 

2 amount necessary to offset the annual expenses 

3 of inspections of outer Continental Shelf facili4 ties (including mobile offshore drilling units) by 

5 the Secretary of the Interior; and 

6 ‘‘(B) using a schedule that reflects the dif7 ferences in complexity among the classes of fa8 cilities to be inspected. 

9 ‘‘(2) OCEAN ENERGY SAFETY FUND.—There is 

10 established in the Treasury a fund, to be known as 

11 the ‘Ocean Energy Safety Fund’ (referred to in this 

12 subsection as the ‘Fund’), into which shall be depos13 ited all amounts collected as fees under paragraph 

14 (1) and which shall be available as provided under 

15 paragraph (3). 

16 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF FEES.—Notwithstanding 

17 section 3302 of title 31, United States Code, all 

18 amounts deposited in the Fund— 

19 ‘‘(A) shall be credited as offsetting collec20 tions; 

21 ‘‘(B) shall be available for expenditure for 

22 purposes of carrying out inspections of outer 

23 Continental Shelf facilities (including mobile 

24 offshore drilling units) and the administration 

25 of the inspection program under this section; 


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1 ‘‘(C) shall be available only to the extent 

2 provided for in advance in an appropriations 

3 Act; and 

4 ‘‘(D) shall remain available until expended. 

5 ‘‘(4) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—For each 

6 fiscal year beginning after fiscal year 2020, the Sec7 retary shall adjust each dollar amount specified in 

8 this subsection for inflation based on the change in 

9 the Consumer Price Index from fiscal year 2020. 

10 ‘‘(5) ANNUAL FEES.—Annual fees shall be col11 lected under this subsection for facilities that are 

12 above the waterline, excluding drilling rigs, and are 

13 in place at the start of the fiscal year. Fees for fiscal 

14 year 2020 shall be— 

15 ‘‘(A) $11,500 for facilities with no wells, 

16 but with processing equipment or gathering 

17 lines; 

18 ‘‘(B) $18,500 for facilities with 1 to 10 

19 wells, with any combination of active or inactive 

20 wells; and 

21 ‘‘(C) $34,500 for facilities with more than 

22 10 wells, with any combination of active or in23 active wells. 

24 ‘‘(6) FEES FOR DRILLING RIGS.—Fees shall be 

25 collected under this subsection for drilling rigs on a 


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1 per inspection basis. Fees for fiscal year 2020 shall 

2 be— 

3 ‘‘(A) $33,500 per inspection for rigs oper4 ating in water depths of 500 feet or more; and 

5 ‘‘(B) $18,500 per inspection for rigs oper6 ating in water depths of less than 500 feet. 

7 ‘‘(7) FEES FOR NON-RIG UNITS.—Fees shall be 

8 collected under this subsection for well operations 

9 conducted via non-rig units as outlined in subparts 

10 D, E, F, and Q of part 250 of title 30, Code of Fed11 eral Regulations, on a per inspection basis. Fees for 

12 fiscal year 2020 shall be— 

13 ‘‘(A) $13,260 per inspection for non-rig 

14 units operating in water depths of 2,500 feet or 

15 more; 

16 ‘‘(B) $11,530 per inspection for non-rig 

17 units operating in water depths between 500 

18 and 2,499 feet; and 

19 ‘‘(C) $4,470 per inspection for non-rig 

20 units operating in water depths of less than 500 

21 feet. 

22 ‘‘(8) BILLING.—The Secretary shall bill des23 ignated operators under paragraph (5) annually, 

24 with payment required within 30 days of billing. The 

25 Secretary shall bill designated operators under paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H205.RFS H205

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1 graph (6) within 30 days of the end of the month 

2 in which the inspection occurred, with payment re3 quired within 30 days after billing.’’. 

4 SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

5 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

6 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

7 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

8 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

9 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

10 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro11 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

12 vote on passage. 

13 SEC. 6. STUDY ON BSEE OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS OPER14 ATIONS INSPECTION PROGRAM. 

15 The Secretary of the Interior shall contract with the 

16 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medi17 cine to complete, not later than 21 months after the date 

18 of the enactment of this Act, the study entitled ‘‘Review 

19 and Update of Bureau of Safety and Environmental En20 forcement Offshore Oil and Gas Operations Inspection 

21 Program’’ that the Secretary of the Interior had preVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H205.RFS H205

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1 viously contracted with the National Academies of 

2 Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to complete. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 11, 

2019. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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