I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4294 

To empower States to manage the development and production of oil and 

gas on available Federal land, to distribute revenues from oil and gas 

leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf to certain coastal States, to 

promote alternative energy development, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 

Mr. SCALISE (for himself, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Ms. CHENEY, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. 

DUNCAN, and Mr. MULLIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To empower States to manage the development and production of oil and gas on available Federal land, to distribute revenues from oil and gas leasing on the Outer 

Continental Shelf to certain coastal States, to promote 

alternative energy development, 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 ‘‘American Energy First Act’’. 

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

7 this Act is the following: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—ONSHORE OIL AND GAS 

Sec. 101. Cooperative federalism in oil and gas permitting on available Federal 

land. 

Sec. 102. Conveyance to certain States of property interest in State share of 

royalties and other payments. 

Sec. 103. Access to Federal oil and gas from non-Federal surface estate. 

Sec. 104. State and Tribal authority for hydraulic fracturing regulation. 

Sec. 105. Review of Integrated Activity Plan for the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. 

Sec. 106. Protested lease sales. 

Sec. 107. Clarification regarding liability under Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 

Sec. 108. Amendments to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. 

Sec. 109. Administrative protest process reform. 

Sec. 110. Notifications of permit to drill. 

TITLE II—OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS 

Sec. 201. Limitation of authority of the President to withdraw areas of the 

Outer Continental Shelf from oil and gas leasing. 

Sec. 202. Disposition of revenues from oil and gas leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf to Atlantic States and Alaska. 

Sec. 203. Distribution of Outer Continental Shelf revenues to Gulf producing 

States. 

Sec. 204. Addressing permits for taking of marine mammals. 

Sec. 205. Energy Development in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. 

TITLE III—ALTERNATIVE ENERGY 

Sec. 301. Geothermal, solar, and wind leasing priority areas. 

Sec. 302. Geothermal production on Federal lands. 

Sec. 303. Facilitation of coproduction of geothermal energy on oil and gas 

leases. 

Sec. 304. Noncompetitive leasing of adjoining areas for development of geothermal resources. 

Sec. 305. Application of Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act with respect to territories of the United States. 

Sec. 306. Disposition of revenues with respect to territories of the United 

States. 

Sec. 307. Wind lease sales for areas of Outer Continental Shelf. 

Sec. 308. Establishment of Coral Reef Conservation Fund. 

TITLE IV—LIMITATIONS ON LEASING MORATORIUMS 

Sec. 401. Coal leases. 

Sec. 402. Congressional authority requirement. 


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1 TITLE I—ONSHORE OIL AND GAS 

2 SEC. 101. COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM IN OIL AND GAS PER3 MITTING ON AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND. 

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

5 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating section 44 as section 48; 

7 and 

8 (2) by adding after section 43 the following new 

9 section: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 44. COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM IN OIL AND GAS PER11 MITTING ON AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND. 

12 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receipt of an applica14 tion under subsection (b), the Secretary may dele15 gate to a State exclusive authority— 

16 ‘‘(A) to issue an Application for Permit to 

17 Drill on available Federal land; or 

18 ‘‘(B) to approve drilling plans on available 

19 Federal land. 

20 ‘‘(2) SUNDRY NOTICES.—Any authorization 

21 under paragraph (1) may, upon the request of the 

22 State, include authority to process sundry notices. 

23 ‘‘(3) INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT.—Any 

24 authorization under paragraph (1) may, upon the re25 quest of the State, include authorization to inspect 


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1 and enforce an Application for Permit to Drill or 

2 drilling plan, as applicable. An authorization under 

3 paragraph (1)(A) shall not affect the ability of the 

4 Secretary to collect inspection fees under section 

5 108(d) of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Manage6 ment Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1718(d)). 

7 ‘‘(b) STATE APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION.—A State 

9 may submit an application under subparagraph (A) 

10 or (B) of subsection (a)(1) to the Secretary at such 

11 time and in such manner as the Secretary may re12 quire. 

13 ‘‘(2) CONTENT OF APPLICATION.—An applica14 tion submitted under this subsection shall include— 

15 ‘‘(A) a description of the State program 

16 that the State proposes to administer under 

17 State law, including a State drilling plan; and 

18 ‘‘(B) a statement from the Governor or At19 torney General of such State that the laws of 

20 such State provide adequate authority to carry 

21 out the State program. 

22 ‘‘(3) DEADLINE FOR APPROVAL OR DIS23 APPROVAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

24 of receipt of an application under this subsection, 


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1 the Secretary shall approve or disapprove such appli2 cation. 

3 ‘‘(4) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary 

4 may approve an application received under this sub5 section only if the Secretary has— 

6 ‘‘(A) determined that the State applicant 

7 would be at least as effective as the Secretary 

8 in issuing Applications for Permit to Drill or in 

9 approving drilling plans, as applicable; 

10 ‘‘(B) determined that the State program of 

11 the State applicant— 

12 ‘‘(i) complies with this Act; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) provides for the termination or 

14 modification of an issued Application for 

15 Permit to Drill or approved drilling plan, 

16 as applicable, for cause, including for— 

17 ‘‘(I) the violation of any condi18 tion of the issued Application for Per19 mit to Drill or approved drilling plan; 

20 ‘‘(II) obtaining the issued Appli21 cation for Permit to Drill or approved 

22 drilling plan by misrepresentation; or 

23 ‘‘(III) failure to fully disclose in 

24 the application all relevant facts; 


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1 ‘‘(C) determined that the State applicant 

2 has sufficient administrative and technical per3 sonnel and sufficient funding to carry out the 

4 State program; 

5 ‘‘(D) provided notice to the public, solicited 

6 public comment, and held a public hearing with7 in such State; 

8 ‘‘(E) determined that approval of the ap9 plication would not result in decreased royalty 

10 payments owed to the United States under sec11 tion 35(a), except as provided in subsection (e) 

12 of that section; and 

13 ‘‘(F) in the case of a State applicant seek14 ing authority under subsection (a)(3) to inspect 

15 and enforce Applications for Permit to Drill or 

16 drilling plans, as applicable, entered into a 

17 memorandum of understanding with such State 

18 applicant that delineates the Federal and State 

19 responsibilities with respect to such inspection 

20 and enforcement. 

21 ‘‘(5) DISAPPROVAL.—If the Secretary dis22 approves an application submitted under this sub23 section, then the Secretary shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) notify, in writing, such State appli25 cant of the reason for the disapproval and any 


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1 revisions or modifications necessary to obtain 

2 approval; and 

3 ‘‘(B) provide any additional information, 

4 data, or analysis upon which the disapproval is 

5 based. 

6 ‘‘(6) RESUBMITTAL OF APPLICATION.—A State 

7 may resubmit an application under this subsection 

8 at any time. 

9 ‘‘(7) STATE MEMORANDUM OF UNDER10 STANDING.—Before a State submits an application 

11 under this subsection, the Secretary may, at the re12 quest of such State, enter into a memorandum of 

13 understanding with such State regarding the pro14 posed State program— 

15 ‘‘(A) to delineate the Federal and State re16 sponsibilities for oil and gas regulations; 

17 ‘‘(B) to provide technical assistance; and 

18 ‘‘(C) to share best management practices. 

19 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE FEES FOR APPLICATIONS FOR

20 PERMIT TO DRILL.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State for which authority 

22 has been delegated under subsection (a)(1)(A) may 

23 collect a fee for each application for an Application 

24 for Permit to Drill that is submitted to the State. 


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1 ‘‘(2) NO COLLECTION OF FEE BY SEC2 RETARY.—The Secretary may not collect a fee from 

3 the applicant or from the State for an application 

4 for an Application for Permit to Drill that is sub5 mitted to a State for which authority has been dele6 gated under subsection (a)(1)(A). 

7 ‘‘(3) FEE AMOUNT.—The fee collected under 

8 paragraph (1) shall be less than or equal to the 

9 amount of the fee described in section 35(d)(2). 

10 ‘‘(4) USE.—A State shall use 100 percent of 

11 the fees collected under this subsection for the ad12 ministration of the approved State program of the 

13 State. 

14 ‘‘(d) VOLUNTARY TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—A 

15 State may voluntarily terminate any authority delegated 

16 to such State under subsection (a) upon providing written 

17 notice to the Secretary 60 days in advance of the date 

18 of termination. Upon expiration of such 60-day period, the 

19 Secretary shall resume any activities for which authority 

20 was delegated to the State under subsection (a). 

21 ‘‘(e) APPEAL OF DENIAL OF APPLICATION FOR AP22 PLICATION FOR PERMIT TO DRILL OR APPLICATION FOR

23 APPROVAL OF DRILLING PLAN.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a State for which the 

25 Secretary has delegated authority under subsection 


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1 (a)(1) denies an application for an Application for 

2 Permit to Drill or an application for approval of a 

3 drilling plan, the applicant may appeal such decision 

4 to the Department of the Interior Office of Hearings 

5 and Appeals. 

6 ‘‘(2) FEE ALLOWED.—The Secretary may 

7 charge the applicant a fee for the appeal referred to 

8 in paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION OF STATE PRO10 GRAM.— 

11 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary has rea12 son to believe that a State is not administering or 

13 enforcing an approved State program, the Secretary 

14 shall notify the relevant State regulatory authority 

15 of any possible deficiencies. 

16 ‘‘(2) STATE RESPONSE.—Not later than 30 

17 days after the date on which a State receives notifi18 cation of a possible deficiency under paragraph (1), 

19 the State shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) take appropriate action to correct the 

21 possible deficiency; and 

22 ‘‘(B) notify the Secretary of the action in 

23 writing. 

24 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On expiration of the 

2 30-day period referred to in paragraph (2), if 

3 the Secretary determines that a violation of all 

4 or any part of an approved State program has 

5 resulted from a failure of the State to admin6 ister or enforce the approved State program of 

7 the State or that the State has not dem8 onstrated its capability and intent to administer 

9 or enforce such a program, the Secretary shall 

10 issue public notice of such a determination. 

11 ‘‘(B) APPEAL.—A State may appeal the 

12 determination of the Secretary under subpara13 graph (A) in the applicable United States Dis14 trict Court. The Secretary may not resume ac15 tivities under paragraph (4) pending the resolu16 tion of the appeal. 

17 ‘‘(4) RESUMPTION BY SECRETARY.—Subject to 

18 paragraph (3)(B), 30 days after the date on which 

19 the Secretary issues the public notice described in 

20 paragraph 3(A), the Secretary shall resume any ac21 tivities for which authority was delegated to the 

22 State during the period— 

23 ‘‘(A) beginning on the date 30 days after 

24 the date on which the Secretary issues the pub25 lic notice under paragraph (3)(A); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) ending on the date on which the Sec2 retary determines that the State will administer 

3 or enforce, as applicable, such State’s approved 

4 State program. 

5 ‘‘(5) STANDING.—States with approved regu6 latory programs shall have standing to sue the Sec7 retary for any action taken under this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND.—The term 

10 ‘available Federal land’ means any Federal land 

11 that— 

12 ‘‘(A) is located within the boundaries of a 

13 State; 

14 ‘‘(B) is not held by the United States in 

15 trust for the benefit of a federally recognized 

16 Indian Tribe or a member of such an Indian 

17 Tribe; 

18 ‘‘(C) is not a unit of the National Park 

19 System; 

20 ‘‘(D) is not a unit of the National Wildlife 

21 Refuge System, except for the portion of such 

22 unit for which oil and gas drilling is allowed 

23 under law; 


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1 ‘‘(E) is not a congressionally approved wil2 derness area under the Wilderness Act (16 

3 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.); and 

4 ‘‘(F) has been identified as land available 

5 for lease or has been leased for the exploration, 

6 development, and production of oil and gas— 

7 ‘‘(i) by the Bureau of Land Manage8 ment under— 

9 ‘‘(I) a resource management plan 

10 under the process provided for in the 

11 Federal Land Policy and Management 

12 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); 

13 or 

14 ‘‘(II) an integrated activity plan 

15 with respect to the National Petro16 leum Reserve in Alaska; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) by the Forest Service under a 

18 National Forest management plan under 

19 the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re20 sources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 

21 1600 et seq.). 

22 ‘‘(2) DRILLING PLAN.—The term ‘drilling plan’ 

23 means a plan described under section 3162.3–1(e) of 

24 title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor 

25 regulation). 


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1 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION FOR PERMIT TO DRILL.— 

2 The term ‘Application for Permit to Drill’ or ‘Appli3 cations for Permit to Drill’ means a permit— 

4 ‘‘(A) that grants authority to drill for oil 

5 and gas; and 

6 ‘‘(B) for which an application has been re7 ceived that contains— 

8 ‘‘(i) a drilling plan; 

9 ‘‘(ii) a surface use plan of operations 

10 described under section 3162.3–1(f) of title 

11 43, Code of Federal Regulations (or suc12 cessor regulation); 

13 ‘‘(iii) evidence of bond coverage; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) such other information as may 

15 be required by applicable orders and no16 tices. 

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

18 the Secretary of the Interior. 

19 ‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 

20 the several States. 

21 ‘‘(6) STATE APPLICANT.—The term ‘State ap22 plicant’ means a State that has submitted an appli23 cation under subsection (b). 


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1 ‘‘(7) STATE PROGRAM.—The term ‘State pro2 gram’ means a program that provides for a State 

3 to— 

4 ‘‘(A) issue Applications for Permit to Drill 

5 or approve drilling plans, as applicable, on 

6 available Federal land; and 

7 ‘‘(B) impose sanctions for violations of 

8 State laws, regulations, or any condition of an 

9 issued Application for Permit to Drill or ap10 proved drilling plan, as applicable. 

11 ‘‘(8) SUNDRY NOTICE.—The term ‘sundry no12 tice’ means a written request— 

13 ‘‘(A) to perform work not covered under an 

14 Application for Permit to Drill or drilling plan; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(B) for a change to operations covered 

17 under a an Application for Permit to Drill or 

18 drilling plan.’’. 

19 (b) INSPECTION FEES.—Section 108 of the Federal 

20 Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 

21 1718) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(d) INSPECTION FEES FOR CERTAIN STATES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall con24 duct inspections of operations under each oil and gas 

25 lease. The Secretary shall collect annual nonrefundVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4294.IH H4294

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1 able inspection fees in the amount specified in para2 graph (2), from each designated operator under each 

3 oil and gas lease on Federal that is subject to in4 spection under subsection (b) and that is located in 

5 a State for which the Secretary has delegated au6 thority under section 44(a)(1)(A) of the Mineral 

7 Leasing Act. 

8 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—The amount of the fees col9 lected under paragraph (1) shall be— 

10 ‘‘(A) $700 for each lease or unit or 

11 communitization agreement with no active or 

12 inactive wells, but with surface use, disturbance 

13 or reclamation; 

14 ‘‘(B) $1,225 for each lease or unit or 

15 communitization agreement with 1 to 10 wells, 

16 with any combination of active or inactive wells; 

17 ‘‘(C) $4,900 for each lease or unit or 

18 communitization agreement with 11 to 50 wells, 

19 with any combination of active or inactive wells; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(D) $9,800 for each lease or unit or 

22 communitization agreement with more than 50 

23 wells, with any combination of active or inactive 

24 wells. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ONSHORE ENERGY SAFETY FUND.—There 

2 is established in the Treasury a fund, to be known 

3 as the ‘Onshore Energy Safety Fund’ (referred to in 

4 this subsection as the ‘Fund’), into which shall be 

5 deposited all amounts collected as fees under para6 graph (1) and which shall be available as provided 

7 under paragraph (4). 

8 ‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY OF FEES.—Notwithstanding 

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

10 amounts deposited in the Fund— 

11 ‘‘(A) shall be credited as offsetting collec12 tions; 

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

14 purposes of carrying out inspections of onshore 

15 oil and gas operations in those States for which 

16 the Secretary has delegated authority under 

17 section 44(a)(1)(A) of the Mineral Leasing Act; 

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

19 provided for in advance in an appropriations 

20 Act; and 

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

22 ‘‘(5) PAYMENT DUE DATE.—The Secretary 

23 shall require payment of any fee assessed under this 

24 subsection within 30 days after the Secretary proVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4294.IH H4294

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1 vides notice of the assessment of the fee after the 

2 completion of an inspection. 

3 ‘‘(6) PENALTY.—If a designated operator as4 sessed a fee under this subsection fails to pay the 

5 full amount of the fee as prescribed in this sub6 section, the Secretary may, in addition to utilizing 

7 any other applicable enforcement authority, assess 

8 civil penalties against the operator under section 109 

9 in the same manner as if this section were a mineral 

10 leasing law. 

11 ‘‘(7) NOTIFICATION TO STATE OF NONCOMPLI12 ANCE.—If, on the basis of any inspection under sub13 section (b), the Secretary determines that an oper14 ator is in noncompliance with the requirements of 

15 mineral leasing laws and this chapter, the Secretary 

16 shall notify the State of such noncompliance imme17 diately.’’. 

18 (c) EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—Section 390(a) of the 

19 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15942(a)) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘Action by the Secretary of the 

22 Interior’’ and inserting ‘‘The Secretary of the Inte23 rior,’’; 

24 (2) by inserting a comma after ‘‘Agriculture’’; 


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1 (3) by striking ‘‘with respect to any of the ac2 tivities described in subsection (b) shall be subject to 

3 a rebuttable presumption that the use of’’ and in4 serting ‘‘shall apply’’; and 

5 (4) by striking ‘‘would apply if the activity’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘for each action described in subsection (b) 

7 if the action’’. 

8 SEC. 102. CONVEYANCE TO CERTAIN STATES OF PROPERTY 

9 INTEREST IN STATE SHARE OF ROYALTIES 

10 AND OTHER PAYMENTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 35 of the Mineral Leasing 

12 Act (30 U.S.C. 191) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘shall be paid 

14 into the Treasury’’ and inserting ‘‘shall, except as 

15 provided in subsection (e), be paid into the Treas16 ury’’; 

17 (2) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ‘‘and ex18 cept as provided in subsection (e)’’ before ‘‘, any 

19 rentals’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(e) CONVEYANCE TO CERTAIN STATES OF PROP22 ERTY INTEREST IN STATE SHARE.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

24 provision of law, on request of a State and in lieu 

25 of any payments to the State under subsection (a), 


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1 the Secretary of the Interior shall convey to the 

2 State all right, title, and interest in and to the per3 centage specified in that subsection for that State 

4 that would otherwise be required to be paid into the 

5 Treasury under that subsection. 

6 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—Notwithstanding any other 

7 provision of law, after a conveyance to a State under 

8 paragraph (1), any person shall pay directly to the 

9 State any amount owed by the person for which the 

10 right, title, and interest has been conveyed to the 

11 State under this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(3) NOTICE.—The Secretary of the Interior 

13 shall promptly provide to each holder of a lease of 

14 public land to which subsection (a) applies that is lo15 cated in a State to which right, title, and interest is 

16 conveyed under this subsection notice that— 

17 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of the Interior has con18 veyed to the State all right, title, and interest 

19 in and to the amounts referred to in paragraph 

20 (1); and 

21 ‘‘(B) the leaseholder is required to pay the 

22 amounts directly to the State. 

23 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—A State that has received a 

24 conveyance under this subsection shall report month25 ly to the Office of Natural Resources Revenue of the 


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1 Department of the Interior the amount paid to such 

2 State pursuant to this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION WITH RESPECT TO FEDERAL

4 OIL AND GAS ROYALTY MANAGEMENT ACT.—With 

5 respect to the interest conveyed to a State under 

6 this subsection from sales, bonuses, royalties (includ7 ing interest charges), and rentals collected under the 

8 Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 

9 1983 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), this subsection shall 

10 only apply with respect to States for which the Sec11 retary has delegated any authority under section 

12 44(a)(1).’’. 

13 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Section 35(b) of the 

14 Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191(b)) is amended by 

15 striking ‘‘In determining’’ and inserting ‘‘Except with re16 spect to States for which the Secretary has delegated any 

17 authority under section 44(a)(1), in determining’’. 

18 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 205(f) of 

19 the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 

20 (30 U.S.C. 1735(f)) is amended by striking ‘‘All moneys’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection (e) of section 35 of 

22 the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191), all moneys’’. 


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1 SEC. 103. ACCESS TO FEDERAL OIL AND GAS FROM NON2 FEDERAL SURFACE ESTATE. 

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

4 226) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(q) NO FEDERAL PERMIT REQUIRED FOR OIL AND

6 GAS ACTIVITIES ON CERTAIN LAND.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not re8 quire an operator to obtain a Federal drilling permit 

9 for oil and gas exploration and production activities 

10 conducted on non-Federal surface estate, provided 

11 that— 

12 ‘‘(A) the United States holds an ownership 

13 interest of less than 50 percent of the sub14 surface mineral estate to be accessed by the 

15 proposed action; and 

16 ‘‘(B) the operator submits to the Secretary 

17 a State permit to conduct oil and gas explo18 ration and production activities on the non-Fed19 eral surface estate. 

20 ‘‘(2) NO FEDERAL ACTION.—Oil and gas explo21 ration and production activities carried out under 

22 paragraph (1)— 

23 ‘‘(A) shall require no additional Federal 

24 action; 

25 ‘‘(B) may commence 30 days after submis26 sion of the State permit to the Secretary; 


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1 ‘‘(C) are categorically excluded from any 

2 further analysis and documentation under the 

3 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

4 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

5 ‘‘(D) shall not require any analysis under 

6 section 106 of the National Historic Preserva7 tion Act of 1966, as amended (54 U.S.C. 

8 306108); and 

9 ‘‘(E) shall not require any analysis, assess10 ment, or consultation under section 7 of the 

11 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

12 1536). 

13 ‘‘(3) ROYALTIES AND PRODUCTION ACCOUNT14 ABILITY.—(A) Nothing in this subsection shall affect 

15 the amount of royalties due to the United States 

16 under this Act from the production of oil and gas, 

17 or alter the Secretary’s authority to conduct audits 

18 and collect civil penalties pursuant to the Federal 

19 Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 

20 U.S.C. 1711 et seq.). 

21 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may conduct on-site reviews 

22 and inspections to ensure proper accountability, 

23 measurement, and reporting of production of Fed24 eral oil and gas, and payment of royalties. 


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1 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTIONS.—This subsection shall not 

2 apply to actions on Indian lands or resources man3 aged in trust for the benefit of Indian tribes.’’. 

4 SEC. 104. STATE AND TRIBAL AUTHORITY FOR HYDRAULIC 

5 FRACTURING REGULATION. 

6 The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is 

7 amended by inserting after section 44 (as added by section 

8 101) the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 45. STATE AND TRIBAL AUTHORITY FOR HYDRAULIC 

10 FRACTURING REGULATION. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior 

12 shall not enforce any Federal regulation, guidance, or per13 mit requirement regarding hydraulic fracturing relating to 

14 oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on or under 

15 any land in any State that has regulations, guidance, or 

16 permit requirements for that activity. 

17 ‘‘(b) STATE AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of the Inte18 rior shall defer to State regulations, guidance, and permit 

19 requirements for all activities regarding hydraulic frac20 turing relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activi21 ties on Federal land. 

22 ‘‘(c) TRANSPARENCY OF STATE REGULATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall submit to 

24 the Bureau of Land Management a copy of the reg25 ulations of such State that apply to hydraulic fracVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4294.IH H4294

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1 turing operations on Federal land, including those 

2 that require disclosure of chemicals used in hydrau3 lic fracturing operations. 

4 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary of the In5 terior shall make available to the public on the 

6 website of the Secretary the regulations submitted 

7 under paragraph (1). 

8 ‘‘(d) TRIBAL AUTHORITY ON TRUST LAND.—The 

9 Secretary of the Interior shall not enforce any Federal reg10 ulation, guidance, or permit requirement with respect to 

11 hydraulic fracturing on any land held in trust or restricted 

12 status for the benefit of a federally recognized Indian 

13 Tribe or a member of such an Indian Tribe, except with 

14 the express consent of the beneficiary on whose behalf 

15 such land is held in trust or restricted status. 

16 ‘‘(e) HYDRAULIC FRACTURING DEFINED.—In this 

17 section the term ‘hydraulic fracturing’ means the process 

18 of creating small cracks, or fractures, in underground geo19 logical formations for well stimulation purposes of bring20 ing hydrocarbons into the wellbore and to the surface for 

21 capture.’’. 

22 SEC. 105. REVIEW OF INTEGRATED ACTIVITY PLAN FOR 

23 THE NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN 

24 ALASKA. 

25 The Secretary of the Interior shall— 


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1 (1) conduct a review of the National Petroleum 

2 Reserve–Alaska Final Integrated Activity Plan/Envi3 ronmental Impact Statement, for which notice of 

4 availability was published in the Federal Register on 

5 December 28, 2012 (77 Fed. Reg. 76515), to deter6 mine which lands within the National Petroleum Re7 serve in Alaska should be made available for oil and 

8 gas leasing; and 

9 (2) make available the lands described in para10 graph (1) for oil and gas leasing. 

11 SEC. 106. PROTESTED LEASE SALES. 

12 Section 17(b)(1)(A) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

13 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘The Sec14 retary shall resolve any protest to a lease sale within 60 

15 days following such payment.’’ after ‘‘annual rental for the 

16 first lease year.’’. 

17 SEC. 107. CLARIFICATION REGARDING LIABILITY UNDER 

18 MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY ACT. 

19 Section 6 of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 

20 U.S.C. 707) is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(e) This Act shall not be construed to prohibit any 

23 activity proscribed by section 2 of this Act that is acci24 dental or incidental to the presence or operation of an oth25 erwise lawful activity.’’. 


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1 SEC. 108. AMENDMENTS TO THE ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 

2 2005. 

3 Section 390 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

4 U.S.C. 15942) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 390. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT RE6 VIEW. 

7 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT RE8 VIEW.—Action by the Secretary of the Interior, in man9 aging the public lands, or the Secretary of Agriculture, 

10 in managing National Forest System lands, with respect 

11 to any of the activities described in subsection (d) shall 

12 be categorically excluded from any further analysis and 

13 documentation under the National Environmental Policy 

14 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) if the activity is 

15 conducted pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

16 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) for the purpose of exploration or devel17 opment of oil or gas. 

18 ‘‘(b) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—Use of a categor19 ical exclusion created in this section— 

20 ‘‘(1) shall not require a finding of no extraor21 dinary circumstances; and 

22 ‘‘(2) shall be effective for the full term of the 

23 authorized permit or approval. 

24 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—This section shall not apply to 

25 an action of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary 


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1 of Agriculture on Indian lands or resources managed in 

2 trust for the benefit of Indian Tribes. 

3 ‘‘(d) ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED.—The activities re4 ferred to in subsection (a) are: 

5 ‘‘(1) Reinstating a lease pursuant to section 31 

6 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 188). 

7 ‘‘(2) The following activities, provided that any 

8 new surface disturbance is contiguous with the foot9 print of the original authorization and does not ex10 ceed 20 acres or the acreage evaluated in a docu11 ment previously prepared under section 102(2)(C) of 

12 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

13 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) with respect to such activity, 

14 whichever is greater: 

15 ‘‘(A) Drilling an oil or gas well at a well 

16 pad site at which drilling has occurred pre17 viously. 

18 ‘‘(B) Expansion of an existing oil or gas 

19 well pad site to accommodate an additional well. 

20 ‘‘(C) Expansion or modification of an ex21 isting oil or gas well pad site, road, pipeline, fa22 cility, or utilities submitted in a sundry notice. 

23 ‘‘(3) Drilling of an oil or gas well at a new well 

24 pad site, provided that the new surface disturbance 

25 does not exceed 20 acres or the acreage evaluated in 


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1 a document previously prepared under section 

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

3 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) with respect to such 

4 activity, whichever is greater. 

5 ‘‘(4) Construction or realignment of a road, 

6 pipeline, or utilities within an existing right-of-way 

7 or within a right-of-way corridor established in a 

8 land use plan. 

9 ‘‘(5) The following activities when conducted 

10 from non-Federal surface into federally owned min11 erals, provided that the operator submits to the Sec12 retary concerned certification of a surface use agree13 ment with the non-Federal landowner: 

14 ‘‘(A) Drilling an oil or gas well at a well 

15 pad site at which drilling has occurred pre16 viously. 

17 ‘‘(B) Expansion of an existing oil or gas 

18 well pad site to accommodate an additional well. 

19 ‘‘(C) Expansion or modification of an ex20 isting oil or gas well pad site, road, pipeline, fa21 cilities or utilities submitted in a sundry notice. 

22 ‘‘(6) Drilling of an oil or gas well from non23 Federal surface and non-Federal subsurface into 

24 Federal mineral estate. 


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1 ‘‘(7) Construction of up to 1 mile of new road 

2 on Federal or non-Federal surface, not to exceed 2 

3 miles in total. 

4 ‘‘(8) Construction of up to 3 miles of individual 

5 pipelines or utilities, regardless of surface owner6 ship.’’. 

7 SEC. 109. ADMINISTRATIVE PROTEST PROCESS REFORM. 

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

9 226) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(q) PROTEST FILING FEE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before processing any pro12 test filed under this section, the Secretary shall col13 lect a filing fee from the protestor to recover the 

14 cost for processing documents filed for each adminis15 trative protest. 

16 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—The filing fee shall be cal17 culated as follows: 

18 ‘‘(A) For each protest filed in a submission 

19 not exceeding 10 pages in length, the base filing 

20 fee shall be $150. 

21 ‘‘(B) For each submission exceeding 10 

22 pages in length, an addition to the base filing 

23 fee, an assessment of $5 per page in excess of 

24 10 pages shall apply. 


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1 ‘‘(C) For protests that include more than 

2 one oil and gas lease parcel, right-of-way, or ap3 plication for permit to drill in a submission, an 

4 additional assessment of $10 per additional 

5 lease parcel, right-of-way, or application for 

6 permit to drill shall apply. 

7 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENT.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on January 

9 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

10 shall adjust the filing fees established in this 

11 subsection to whole dollar amounts to reflect 

12 changes in the Producer Price Index, as pub13 lished by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, for 

14 the previous 12 months. 

15 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION OF ADJUSTED FILING

16 FEES.—At least 30 days before the filing fees 

17 as adjusted under this paragraph take effect, 

18 the Secretary shall publish notification of the 

19 adjustment of such fees in the Federal Reg20 ister.’’. 

21 SEC. 110. NOTIFICATIONS OF PERMIT TO DRILL. 

22 The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is 

23 amended by inserting after section 45, as added by section 

24 104, the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 46. NOTIFICATIONS OF PERMIT TO DRILL. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

3 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 

4 establish procedures by which an operator may conduct 

5 drilling and production activities on available Federal land 

6 and non-Federal land that is located in a State to which 

7 the Secretary has not delegated exclusive authority under 

8 section 44(a)(1) after sending to the Secretary a notifica9 tion of permit to drill under this section in lieu of obtain10 ing an Application for Permit to Drill. 

11 ‘‘(b) CONTENT OF NOTIFICATION.—To be considered 

12 a complete notification of permit to drill under this sec13 tion, an operator shall include in the notification of permit 

14 to drill submitted under this section— 

15 ‘‘(1) a notification of permit to drill form; 

16 ‘‘(2) a surface use plan of operations; 

17 ‘‘(3) a drilling plan; 

18 ‘‘(4) a well plat certified by a registered sur19 veyor; 

20 ‘‘(5) an operator certification; 

21 ‘‘(6) evidence of bond coverage; and 

22 ‘‘(7) a notification of permit to drill fee in an 

23 amount to be determined by the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(c) JUSTIFICATIONS FOR OBJECTION.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro26 vided in this subsection, the Secretary may not obVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4294.IH H4294

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1 ject to a notification of permit to drill under this 

2 section if the notification— 

3 ‘‘(A) demonstrates that the drilling oper4 ations described in the notification of permit to 

5 drill will be located in— 

6 ‘‘(i) a developed field, where there are 

7 existing oil and gas wells within a 5-mile 

8 radius and for which an approved land use 

9 plan or environmental review was prepared 

10 within the last 10 years under the National 

11 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

12 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) that analyzed such 

13 drilling operations as a reasonably foresee14 able activity; 

15 ‘‘(ii) a location or well pad site at 

16 which drilling has occurred within 10 years 

17 before the date of spudding the well and 

18 the proposed operations do not increase 

19 the surface disturbance on the location or 

20 well pad site; 

21 ‘‘(iii) an area consisting of individual 

22 surface disturbances of less than 10 acres 

23 and the total surface disturbance on the 

24 lease is not greater than 150 acres and for 

25 which an approved land use plan or enviVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4294.IH H4294

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1 ronmental review was prepared within the 

2 last 10 years under the National Environ3 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

4 4321 et seq.) that analyzed such drilling 

5 operations as a reasonably foreseeable ac6 tivity; 

7 ‘‘(iv) an area consisting of Federal 

8 mineral interests that is located within the 

9 boundaries of a communitization agree10 ment or unit agreement which contains 

11 minerals leased by a State or private min12 eral owner for which a drilling permit has 

13 been approved by a State regulatory agen14 cy; or 

15 ‘‘(v) an area in which a categorical ex16 clusion under the National Environmental 

17 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

18 seq.) applies for oil and gas drilling or re19 entry activities; or 

20 ‘‘(B) includes— 

21 ‘‘(i) an environmental review that con22 cludes that actions described in the notifi23 cation of permit to drill pose no significant 

24 effects on the human environment or 

25 threatened or endangered species; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an archeological review that con2 cludes that actions described in the notifi3 cation of permit to drill pose no significant 

4 effects on cultural or historic properties or 

5 resources. 

6 ‘‘(2) ENDANGERED SPECIES PROTECTION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para8 graph (1), the Secretary shall object to a notifi9 cation of permit to drill if the activity described 

10 in such notification of permit to drill is likely to 

11 jeopardize the continued existence of a species 

12 that is a threatened species or endangered spe13 cies under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

14 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) or result in the de15 struction or adverse modification of critical 

16 habitat of such species. 

17 ‘‘(B) WITHDRAWAL OF OBJECTION.—The 

18 Secretary may withdraw an objection under 

19 subparagraph (A) if the operator consults with 

20 the Secretary on such objection and places con21 ditions on the notification of permit to drill suf22 ficient to comply with the Endangered Species 

23 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

24 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para2 graph (1), the Secretary shall object to a notifi3 cation of permit to drill if the activity described 

4 in such notification of permit to drill is likely to 

5 affect properties listed, or eligible for listing, in 

6 the National Register of Historic Places under 

7 section 306108 of title 54, United States Code 

8 (commonly known as the National Historic 

9 Preservation Act of 1966). 

10 ‘‘(B) WITHDRAWAL OF OBJECTION.—The 

11 Secretary may withdraw an objection under 

12 subparagraph (A) if the operator consults with 

13 the Secretary on such objection and places con14 ditions on the notification of permit to drill suf15 ficient to comply with section 306108 of title 

16 54, United States Code (commonly known as 

17 the National Historic Preservation Act of 

18 1966). 

19 ‘‘(d) OBJECTION OR NO ACTION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION OF INCOMPLETE NOTIFICA21 TION.—Not later than 15 days after receipt of a no22 tification of permit to drill, or a revised notification 

23 of permit to drill, from an operator under this sec24 tion, the Secretary shall notify the operator in writVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4294.IH H4294

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1 ing if the notification of permit to drill is not com2 plete. 

3 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION OF OBJECTIONS.—The Sec4 retary shall notify an operator of any objections to 

5 the notification of permit to drill not later than 45 

6 days after receipt of a complete notification of per7 mit to drill from an operator under this section. 

8 ‘‘(3) NO ACTION REQUIRED.—If the Secretary 

9 has not notified an operator under either paragraph 

10 (1) or paragraph (2) within 45 days after receipt of 

11 a notification of permit to drill from the operator 

12 under this section, the operator may, without further 

13 action from the Secretary, conduct the drilling and 

14 production activities for which the notification of 

15 permit to drill was submitted. 

16 ‘‘(4) OPPORTUNITY TO RESUBMIT NOTIFICA17 TION.—If the Secretary notifies an operator under 

18 paragraph (1) of an incomplete notification or para19 graph (2) of an objection, the Secretary shall allow 

20 the operator to address such incomplete notification 

21 or objection and revise and resubmit the notification 

22 of permit to drill. 

23 ‘‘(5) OPPORTUNITY TO RESUBMIT NOTIFICA24 TION AS APPLICATION FOR PERMIT TO DRILL.—If 

25 the Secretary notifies an operator under paragraph 


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1 (2) of an objection, the Secretary shall allow the op2 erator to resubmit such information in the form of 

3 an Application for Permit to Drill. 

4 ‘‘(e) NOTIFICATION FEE.—The Secretary may not 

5 charge an operator under this section a fee for submitting 

6 a notification of permit to drill greater than the fee the 

7 Secretary charges an applicant for an Application for Per8 mit to Drill. 

9 ‘‘(f) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An environmental review or 

11 archeological review described in subsection 

12 (c)(1)(B) may be completed by a third-party con13 tractor approved by the Secretary or pursuant to a 

14 memorandum of understanding between the operator 

15 and the Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(2) FIELD WORK AUTHORIZATION.—The Sec17 retary shall issue a field work authorization to a 

18 third-party contractor for the purposes of paragraph 

19 (1) within a reasonable time. 

20 ‘‘(3) REQUEST FOR CONCURRENCE.—The Sec21 retary shall allow a third-party contractor to submit 

22 a request to the State Historic Preservation Office 

23 on behalf of the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(g) ADDITIONAL SURFACE USE PERMITS.—The 

25 Secretary may not require an operator that has submitted 


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1 a notification of permit to drill for which the Secretary 

2 did not object to obtain a surface use permit for an action 

3 included in the notification of permit to drill. 

4 ‘‘(h) SITE INSPECTION.—The Secretary may not re5 quire an operator that has submitted a notification of per6 mit to drill for which the Secretary did not object to sub7 mit to a site inspection before commencement of the activi8 ties described in the notification of permit to drill. 

9 ‘‘(i) FEDERAL ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary may 

10 conduct inspections of and evaluate activities described in 

11 a notification of permit to drill for purposes of bringing 

12 an enforcement action. The Secretary may suspend en13 forcement proceedings if the operator modifies its activi14 ties to comply with the notification of permit to drill or 

15 obtains an Application for Permit to Drill for such activi16 ties. 

17 ‘‘(j) APPLICATION OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRON18 MENTAL POLICY ACT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) NO ACTION BY SECRETARY.—The decision 

20 by the Secretary to take no action under subsection 

21 (c)(1)(B)(2) shall not constitute a major Federal ac22 tion under section 102(2)(C) of the National Envi23 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

24 4332(2)(C)). 


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1 ‘‘(2) DEVELOPMENT OF REGULATIONS.—The 

2 development of any regulation pursuant to this sec3 tion shall constitute a major Federal action under 

4 section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 

5 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). 

6 ‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘Application for 

8 Permit to Drill’, ‘applications for Permit to Drill’, 

9 ‘available Federal land’, and ‘drilling plan’ have the 

10 meaning given those terms in section 44. 

11 ‘‘(2) SURFACE USE PLAN OF OPERATION.—The 

12 term ‘surface use plan of operation’ means a plan 

13 containing— 

14 ‘‘(A) the road and drill pad location; 

15 ‘‘(B) details of pad construction; 

16 ‘‘(C) methods for containment and disposal 

17 of waste material; 

18 ‘‘(D) plans for reclamation of the surface; 

19 ‘‘(E) any other information specified in ap20 plicable orders or notices; and 

21 ‘‘(F) any other pertinent data as the Sec22 retary may require.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—OFFSHORE OIL AND 

2 GAS 

3 SEC. 201. LIMITATION OF AUTHORITY OF THE PRESIDENT 

4 TO WITHDRAW AREAS OF THE OUTER CONTI5 NENTAL SHELF FROM OIL AND GAS LEASING. 

6 (a) LIMITATION ON WITHDRAWAL FROM DISPOSI7 TION OF LANDS ON THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.— 

8 Section 12 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

9 U.S.C. 1341) is amended by amending subsection (a) to 

10 read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(a) LIMITATION ON WITHDRAWAL.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro13 vided in this section, no lands of the outer Conti14 nental Shelf may be withdrawn from disposition ex15 cept by an Act of Congress. 

16 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARIES.—The 

17 President may withdraw from disposition any of the 

18 unleased lands of the outer Continental Shelf located 

19 in a national marine sanctuary designated in accord20 ance with the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 

21 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) or otherwise by statute. 

22 ‘‘(3) EXISTING WITHDRAWALS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except for the with24 drawals listed in subparagraph (B), any with25 drawal from disposition of lands on the outer 


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1 Continental Shelf before the date of the enact2 ment of this subsection shall have no force or 

3 effect. 

4 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—Subparagraph (A) 

5 shall not apply to the following withdrawals: 

6 ‘‘(i) Any withdrawal in a national ma7 rine sanctuary designated in accordance 

8 with the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. 

9 ‘‘(ii) Any withdrawal in a national 

10 monument declared under section 320301 

11 of title 54, United States Code, or the Act 

12 of June 8, 1906 (ch. 3060; 34 Stat. 225). 

13 ‘‘(iii) Any withdrawal in the North 

14 Aleutian Basin Planning Area, including 

15 Bristol Bay.’’. 

16 (b) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH

17 MARINE NATIONAL MONUMENTS.—Section 320301 of 

18 title 54, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

19 end the following: 

20 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON MARINE NATIONAL MONU21 MENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sub23 sections (a) and (b), the President may not declare 

24 or reserve any ocean waters (as such term is defined 

25 in section 3 of the Marine Protection, Research, and 


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1 Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1402)) or lands 

2 beneath ocean waters as a national monument. 

3 ‘‘(2) MARINE NATIONAL MONUMENTS DES4 IGNATED BEFORE THE DATE OF THE ENACTMENT

5 OF THIS SUBSECTION.—This subsection shall not af6 fect any national monument designated by the Presi7 dent before the date of the enactment of this Act.’’. 

8 SEC. 202. DISPOSITION OF REVENUES FROM OIL AND GAS 

9 LEASING ON THE OUTER CONTINENTAL 

10 SHELF TO ATLANTIC STATES AND ALASKA. 

11 Section 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

12 (43 U.S.C. 1338) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘All rentals’’ and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 

16 this section, all rentals’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘(b) DISTRIBUTION OF REVENUE TO PRODUCING

19 STATES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

21 ‘‘(A) COVERED PLANNING AREA.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

23 (ii), the term ‘covered planning area’ 

24 means each of the following planning 

25 areas, as such planning areas are generally 


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1 depicted in the later of the 2017–2022 

2 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leas3 ing Proposed Final Program, dated No4 vember 2016, or a subsequent oil and gas 

5 leasing program developed under section 

6 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

7 Act (43 U.S.C. 1344): 

8 ‘‘(I) Mid-Atlantic. 

9 ‘‘(II) South Atlantic. 

10 ‘‘(III) Any planning area located 

11 off the coast of Alaska. 

12 ‘‘(ii) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘cov13 ered planning area’ does not include any 

14 area in the Atlantic— 

15 ‘‘(I) north of the southernmost 

16 lateral seaward administrative bound17 ary of the State of Maryland; or 

18 ‘‘(II) south of the northernmost 

19 lateral seaward administrative bound20 ary of the State of Florida. 

21 ‘‘(B) PRODUCING STATE.—The term ‘pro22 ducing State’ means each of the following 

23 States: 

24 ‘‘(i) Virginia. 

25 ‘‘(ii) North Carolina. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) South Carolina. 

2 ‘‘(iv) Georgia. 

3 ‘‘(v) Alaska. 

4 ‘‘(C) QUALIFIED REVENUES.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘quali6 fied revenues’ means revenues derived from 

7 rentals, royalties, bonus bids, and other 

8 sums due and payable to the United States 

9 under oil and gas leases entered into on or 

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act 

11 for an area in a covered planning area. 

12 ‘‘(ii) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘quali13 fied revenues’ does not include— 

14 ‘‘(I) revenues from the forfeiture 

15 of a bond or other surety securing ob16 ligations other than royalties, civil 

17 penalties, or royalties taken by the 

18 Secretary in-kind and not sold; 

19 ‘‘(II) revenues generated from 

20 leases subject to section 8(g); and 

21 ‘‘(III) the portion of rental reve22 nues in excess of those that would 

23 have been collected at the rental rates 

24 in effect before August 5, 1993. 

25 ‘‘(2) DEPOSIT OF QUALIFIED REVENUES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) PHASE I.—With respect to qualified 

2 revenues under leases awarded under the first 

3 leasing program approved under section 18(a) 

4 that takes effect after the date of the enact5 ment of this section, the Secretary of the Treas6 ury shall deposit or allocate, as applicable— 

7 ‘‘(i) 87.5 percent into the general 

8 fund of the Treasury; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) 12.5 percent to States in accord10 ance with paragraph (3). 

11 ‘‘(B) PHASE II.—With respect to qualified 

12 revenues under leases awarded under the sec13 ond leasing program approved under section 

14 18(a) that takes effect after the date of the en15 actment of this section, the Secretary of the 

16 Treasury shall deposit or allocate, as applica17 ble— 

18 ‘‘(i) 75 percent into the general fund 

19 of the Treasury; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) 25 percent to States in accord21 ance with paragraph (3). 

22 ‘‘(C) PHASE III.—With respect to qualified 

23 revenues under leases awarded under the third 

24 leasing program approved under section 18(a) 

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1 ment of this section and under any such leasing 

2 program subsequent to such third leasing pro3 gram, the Secretary of the Treasury shall de4 posit or allocate, as applicable— 

5 ‘‘(i) 50 percent into the general fund 

6 of the Treasury; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) 50 percent into a special account 

8 in the Treasury from which the Secretary 

9 of the Treasury shall disburse— 

10 ‘‘(I) 75 percent to States in ac11 cordance with paragraph (3); and 

12 ‘‘(II) 25 percent to the Secretary 

13 of the Interior for units of the Na14 tional Park System. 

15 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION TO PRODUCING STATES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara17 graphs (B) and (C), the Secretary of the Treas18 ury shall allocate the qualified revenues distrib19 uted to States under paragraph (2) to each pro20 ducing State in an amount based on a formula 

21 established by the Secretary of the Interior, by 

22 regulation, that— 

23 ‘‘(i) is inversely proportional to the re24 spective distances between— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the point on the coastline of 

2 the producing State that is closest to 

3 the geographical center of the applica4 ble leased tract; and 

5 ‘‘(II) the geographical center of 

6 that leased tract; 

7 ‘‘(ii) does not allocate qualified reve8 nues to any producing State that is further 

9 than 200 nautical miles from the leased 

10 tract; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) allocates not less than 10 per12 cent of qualified revenues to each pro13 ducing State that is 200 or fewer nautical 

14 miles from the leased tract. 

15 ‘‘(B) PAYMENTS TO NONCONTIGUOUS

16 COASTAL STATES.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—With respect to 

18 each producing State that is a noncontig19 uous coastal State, the Secretary of the 

20 Treasury shall pay 20 percent of the allo21 cable share of such State determined under 

22 this paragraph to the coastal political sub23 divisions of such State. 

24 ‘‘(ii) ALLOCATION.—The amount paid 

25 by the Secretary of the Treasury to coastal 


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1 political subdivisions under this subpara2 graph shall be allocated to each coastal po3 litical subdivision in accordance with sub4 paragraphs (B) and (E) of section 

5 31(b)(4). 

6 ‘‘(iii) DEFINITION OF COASTAL POLIT7 ICAL SUBDIVISION.—In this subparagraph, 

8 the term ‘coastal political subdivision’ 

9 means— 

10 ‘‘(I) a county-equivalent subdivi11 sion of a State for which— 

12 ‘‘(aa) all or part lies within 

13 the coastal zone of the State (as 

14 defined in section 304 of the 

15 Coastal Zone Management Act of 

16 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453)); and 

17 ‘‘(bb) the closest coastal 

18 point is not more than 200 nau19 tical miles from the geographical 

20 center of any leased tract on the 

21 outer Continental Shelf; or 

22 ‘‘(II) a municipal subdivision of a 

23 State for which— 

24 ‘‘(aa) the closest point is 

25 more than 200 nautical miles 


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1 from the geographical center of a 

2 leased tract on the outer Conti3 nental Shelf; and 

4 ‘‘(bb) the State has deter5 mined to be a significant staging 

6 area for oil and gas servicing, 

7 supply vessels, operations, sup8 pliers, or workers. 

9 ‘‘(C) PAYMENTS TO CONTIGUOUS COASTAL

10 STATES.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—With respect to 

12 each producing State that is a contiguous 

13 coastal State, the Secretary of the Treas14 ury shall pay— 

15 ‘‘(I) 50 percent of the allocable 

16 share of such State determined under 

17 this paragraph to the State treasury 

18 to be used by the State in accordance 

19 with clause (ii); 

20 ‘‘(II) 25 percent of the allocable 

21 share of such State determined under 

22 this paragraph to coastal towns; and 

23 ‘‘(III) 25 percent of the allocable 

24 share of such State determined under 

25 this paragraph to coastal counties. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds received 

2 by a producing State under clause (i)(I) 

3 shall be used by such State— 

4 ‘‘(I) to enhance State land and 

5 water conservation efforts, particu6 larly in inlets, waterways, and beach7 es; 

8 ‘‘(II) for the purposes of beach 

9 nourishment and coastline enhance10 ments; 

11 ‘‘(III) for the protection of coast12 al wildlife; 

13 ‘‘(IV) to support estuary health 

14 and aquaculture management; 

15 ‘‘(V) for dredging and port infra16 structure development; 

17 ‘‘(VI) grants to support the geo18 logical and geophysical sciences or pe19 troleum engineering programs or de20 partments at institutions of higher 

21 education (as such term is defined in 

22 section 101 of the Higher Education 

23 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) that 

24 are accredited by the Accreditation 

25 Board for Engineering and TechVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4294.IH H4294

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1 nology and located within the pro2 ducing State; or 

3 ‘‘(VII) for any other purpose that 

4 enhances coastal communities, as de5 termined by the Governor of the pro6 ducing State. 

7 ‘‘(iii) DEFINITION OF COASTAL

8 TOWN.—In this subparagraph, the term 

9 ‘coastal town’ means an economic and resi10 dential center not more than 20 miles from 

11 the coast of the producing State. 

12 ‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATION.—Amounts made avail13 able under paragraph (2)(B) shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) be made available, without further 

15 appropriation, in accordance with this sub16 section; 

17 ‘‘(B) remain available until expended; 

18 ‘‘(C) be in addition to any amounts appro19 priated under— 

20 ‘‘(i) chapter 2003 of title 54, United 

21 States Code; 

22 ‘‘(ii) any other provision of this Act; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(iii) any other provision of law; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) be made available during the fiscal 

2 year immediately following the fiscal year in 

3 which such amounts were received.’’. 

4 SEC. 203. DISTRIBUTION OF OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 

5 REVENUES TO GULF PRODUCING STATES. 

6 Section 105 of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security 

7 Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘50’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘37.5’’; and 

11 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

12 (i) by striking ‘‘50’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘62.5’’; 

14 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

15 ‘‘75’’ and inserting ‘‘80’’; and 

16 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

17 ‘‘25’’ and inserting ‘‘20’’; and 

18 (2) by striking subsection (f). 

19 SEC. 204. ADDRESSING PERMITS FOR TAKING OF MARINE 

20 MAMMALS. 

21 Section 101(a)(5)(D) of the Marine Mammal Protec22 tion Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1371(a)(5)(D)) is amended 

23 as follows: 

24 (1) In clause (i)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘citizens of the United 

2 States’’ and inserting ‘‘persons’’; 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘within a specific geo4 graphic region’’; 

5 (C) by striking ‘‘of small numbers’’; 

6 (D) by striking ‘‘such citizens’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘such persons’’; and 

8 (E) by striking ‘‘within that region’’. 

9 (2) In clause (ii)— 

10 (A) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘, and 

11 other means of effecting the least practicable 

12 impact on such species or stock and its habi13 tat’’; 

14 (B) in subclause (III), by striking ‘‘re15 quirements pertaining to the monitoring and re16 porting of such taking by harassment, includ17 ing’’ and inserting ‘‘efficient and practical re18 quirements pertaining to the monitoring of such 

19 taking by harassment while the activity is being 

20 conducted and the reporting of such taking, in21 cluding, as the Secretary determines nec22 essary,’’; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘Any condition imposed pursuant to subclause (I), (II), 

25 or (III) may not result in more than a minor change to 


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1 the specified activity and may not alter the basic design, 

2 location, scope, duration, or timing of the specified activ3 ity.’’. 

4 (3) In clause (iii), by striking ‘‘receiving an ap5 plication under this subparagraph’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘an application is accepted or required to be consid7 ered complete under subclause (I)(aa), (II)(aa), or 

8 (IV) of clause (viii), as applicable,’’. 

9 (4) In clause (vi), by striking ‘‘a determination 

10 of ‘least practicable adverse impact on such species 

11 or stock’ under clause (i)(I)’’ and inserting ‘‘condi12 tions imposed under subclause (I), (II), or (III) of 

13 clause (ii)’’. 

14 (5) By adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(viii)(I) The Secretary shall— 

16 ‘‘(aa) accept as complete a written request for 

17 authorization under this subparagraph for incidental 

18 taking described in clause (i), by not later than 45 

19 days after the date of submission of the request; or 

20 ‘‘(bb) provide to the requester, by not later than 

21 15 days after the date of submission of the request, 

22 a written notice describing any additional informa23 tion required to complete the request. 

24 ‘‘(II) If the Secretary provides notice under subclause 

25 (I)(bb), the Secretary shall, by not later than 30 days after 


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1 the date of submission of the additional information de2 scribed in the notice— 

3 ‘‘(aa) accept the written request for authoriza4 tion under this subparagraph for incidental taking 

5 described in clause (i); or 

6 ‘‘(bb) deny the request and provide the re7 quester a written explanation of the reasons for the 

8 denial. 

9 ‘‘(III) The Secretary may not make a second request 

10 for information, request that the requester withdraw and 

11 resubmit the request, or otherwise delay a decision on the 

12 request. 

13 ‘‘(IV) If the Secretary fails to respond to a request 

14 for authorization under this subparagraph in the manner 

15 provided in subclause (I) or (II), the request shall be con16 sidered to be complete. 

17 ‘‘(ix)(I) At least 90 days before the expiration of any 

18 authorization issued under this subparagraph, the holder 

19 of such authorization may apply for a one-year extension 

20 of such authorization. The Secretary shall grant such ex21 tension within 14 days after the date of such request on 

22 the same terms and without further review if there has 

23 been no substantial change in the activity carried out 

24 under such authorization nor in the status of the marine 

25 mammal species or stock, as applicable, as reported in the 


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1 final annual stock assessment reports for such species or 

2 stock. 

3 ‘‘(II) In subclause (I) the term ‘substantial change’ 

4 means a change that prevents the Secretary from making 

5 the required findings to issue an authorization under 

6 clause (i) with respect to such species or stock. 

7 ‘‘(III) The Secretary shall notify the applicant of 

8 such substantial changes with specificity and in writing 

9 within 14 days after the applicant’s submittal of the exten10 sion request. 

11 ‘‘(x) If the Secretary fails to make the required find12 ings and, as appropriate, issue the authorization within 

13 120 days after the application is accepted or required to 

14 be considered complete under subclause (I)(aa), (II)(aa), 

15 or (III) of clause (viii), as applicable, the authorization 

16 is deemed to have been issued on the terms stated in the 

17 application and without further process or restrictions 

18 under this Act. 

19 ‘‘(xi) Any taking of a marine mammal in compliance 

20 with an authorization under this subparagraph is exempt 

21 from the prohibition on taking in section 9 of the Endan22 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1538). Any Federal 

23 agency authorizing, funding, or carrying out an action 

24 that results in such taking, and any agency action author25 izing such taking, is exempt from the requirement to conVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4294.IH H4294

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1 sult regarding potential impacts to marine mammal spe2 cies or designated critical habitat under section 7(a)(2) 

3 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)).’’. 

4 SEC. 205. ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN THE EASTERN GULF 

5 OF MEXICO. 

6 (a) COMPATIBILITY BETWEEN MILITARY MISSION

7 AND OIL AND GAS OPERATIONS.— 

8 (1) UPDATING MEMORANDUM OF AGREE9 MENT.—Not later than 270 days after the date of 

10 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Inte11 rior and the Secretary of Defense shall update the 

12 memorandum of agreement entitled ‘‘Memorandum 

13 of Agreement Between the Department of Defense 

14 and the Department of the Interior on Mutual con15 cerns on the Outer Continental Shelf’’ to ensure 

16 compatibility between the military mission and oil 

17 and gas operations in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. 

18 (2) RESERVATIONS.—Nothing in this section 

19 shall be construed to affect section 12 of the Outer 

20 Continental Shelf Lands Act (42 U.S.C. 1341). 

21 (3) EXISTING LEASES.—The stipulations and 

22 restrictions developed under this subsection shall not 

23 apply to existing leases in the Eastern Planning 

24 Area. 

25 (b) DIRECTED LEASE SALES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the omis2 sion of any of these areas from the National Outer 

3 Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program ap4 proved by the Secretary of the Interior under section 

5 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

6 U.S.C. 1344), as in effect at the time of the lease 

7 sale, but subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, 

8 the Secretary shall offer the following areas for oil 

9 and gas leasing under such Act: 

10 (A) All acreage of the Eastern Planning 

11 Area that is not subject to subsection (a) of 

12 section 104 of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Secu13 rity Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note), as such 

14 Act was in effect on the date of the enactment 

15 of this Act, by holding at least two lease sales 

16 before December 31, 2021. 

17 (B) All acreage of the Eastern Planning 

18 Area by holding at least one additional sale 

19 after June 30, 2022 and before December 31, 

20 2022, and at least two additional sales each 

21 subsequent year. 

22 (2) NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT

23 REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary and all other Fed24 eral officials shall complete all actions required by 

25 section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 


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1 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) with re2 spect to such lease sales by not later than one year 

3 before the final lease sale conducted under para4 graph (1). 

5 (3) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term 

6 ‘‘Eastern Planning Area’’ means the Eastern Gulf of 

7 Mexico Planning Area of the Outer Continental 

8 Shelf, as designated in the document entitled 

9 ‘‘2019–2024 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil 

10 and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program’’, dated 

11 January 2018. 

12 (c) LEASE TERMS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 

14 8(b) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

15 U.S.C. 1337(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(2) be for an initial period of— 

17 ‘‘(A) five years, except as provided in sub18 paragraphs (B) and (C); 

19 ‘‘(B) not to exceed ten years if the Sec20 retary finds that such longer period is necessary 

21 to encourage exploration and development in 

22 areas because of unusually deep water or other 

23 unusually adverse conditions, except as provided 

24 in subparagraph (C); or 


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1 ‘‘(C) for leases located in water depths of 

2 greater than 1,500 meters, 15 years, and as 

3 long thereafter as oil or gas is produced from 

4 the area in paying quantities or drilling or well 

5 reworking operations approved by the Secretary 

6 are conducted thereon.’’. 

7 (2) EXTENSION OF EXISTING LEASES.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days after 

9 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec10 retary of the Interior shall issue regulations 

11 under which the Secretary may extend by five 

12 years the term of an oil and gas lease under the 

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

14 1344) for a tract located in water deeper than 

15 1,500 meters. 

16 (B) APPLICATION; PAYMENT.—Regulations 

17 issued under this paragraph shall require— 

18 (i) submission of an application for 

19 such extension; and 

20 (ii) payment of a minimum bid 

21 amount. 

22 (C) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not 

23 extend the term of a lease under this paragraph 

24 more than once. 


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1 (d) REPORT.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 

2 submit a report to the House Committee on Natural Re3 sources and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural 

4 Resources regarding options for sharing the revenues pro5 duced in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Area with 

6 the Gulf States consistent with the revenue sharing for7 mulas under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 

8 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note) as amended by this Act. The 

9 report shall include analysis of potential economic benefits 

10 to the Gulf States and recommendations for authorizing 

11 the use of these revenues for coastal restoration, recov12 ering endangered species, coral restoration, and mitigation 

13 of harmful algal blooms. 

14 TITLE III—ALTERNATIVE 

15 ENERGY 

16 SEC. 301. GEOTHERMAL, SOLAR, AND WIND LEASING PRI17 ORITY AREAS. 

18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘‘covered land’’ 

20 means land that is— 

21 (A) Federal land; and 

22 (B) not excluded from the development of 

23 geothermal energy under— 


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1 (i) a land use plan established under 

2 the Federal Land Policy and Management 

3 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); or 

4 (ii) any other Federal law. 

5 (2) PRIORITY AREA; DESIGNATED LEASING

6 AREAS.—The terms ‘‘priority area’’ and ‘‘Designated 

7 Leasing Areas’’ mean covered land identified by the 

8 land use planning process of the Bureau of Land 

9 Management as being a preferred location for a re10 newable energy project for solar, wind, or geo11 thermal energy. 

12 (b) DESIGNATION OF GEOTHERMAL, SOLAR, AND

13 WIND LEASING PRIORITY AREAS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta15 tion with the Secretary of Energy, shall establish 

16 priority areas on covered land for geothermal, solar, 

17 and wind energy projects. 

18 (2) DEADLINE.— 

19 (A) GEOTHERMAL AND WIND ENERGY.— 

20 With respect to geothermal and wind energy, 

21 the Secretary shall establish priority areas as 

22 soon as practicable, but not later than 5 years 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

24 (B) SOLAR ENERGY.—For solar energy, 

25 solar Designated Leasing Areas, including the 


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1 solar energy zones established by the 2012 

2 western solar plan of the Bureau of Land Man3 agement and any subsequent land use plan 

4 amendments, shall be considered to be priority 

5 areas for solar energy projects. The Secretary 

6 shall establish additional solar priority areas as 

7 soon as practicable, but not later than 3 years 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 (c) CRITERIA FOR SELECTION.—In determining 

10 which covered lands to designate as geothermal, solar, and 

11 wind leasing priority areas under subsection (b), the Sec12 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall 

13 consider if— 

14 (1) the covered land is preferable for geo15 thermal, solar, and wind leasing; 

16 (2) production of geothermal, solar, and wind 

17 energy on such land is economically viable, including 

18 if such land has access to methods of energy trans19 mission; and 

20 (3) the designation would be in compliance with 

21 section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage22 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712), including sub23 section (c)(9) of that section. 

24 (d) REVIEW AND MODIFICATION.—Not less fre25 quently than once every 5 years, the Secretary shall— 


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1 (1) review covered land and, if appropriate, 

2 make additional designations of geothermal, solar, 

3 and wind leasing priority areas; and 

4 (2) review each area designated as a geo5 thermal, solar, or wind energy leasing priority area 

6 under this section, and, if appropriate, remove such 

7 designation. 

8 (e) COMPLIANCE WITH THE NATIONAL ENVIRON9 MENTAL POLICY ACT.—For the purposes of this section, 

10 compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act 

11 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall be accomplished— 

12 (1) with respect to geothermal energy, by sup13 plementing the October 2008 final programmatic en14 vironmental impact statement for geothermal leasing 

15 in the Western United States and incorporating any 

16 additional regional analyses that have been com17 pleted by Federal agencies since such programmatic 

18 environmental impact statement was finalized; 

19 (2) with respect to solar energy, by supplement20 ing the July 2012 final programmatic environmental 

21 impact statement for solar energy development and 

22 incorporating any additional regional analyses that 

23 have been completed by Federal agencies since such 

24 programmatic environmental impact statement was 

25 finalized; and 


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1 (3) with respect to wind energy, by supplement2 ing the July 2005 final programmatic environmental 

3 impact statement for wind energy development and 

4 incorporating any additional regional analyses that 

5 have been completed by Federal agencies since such 

6 programmatic environmental impact statement was 

7 finalized. 

8 (f) ADDITIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—If the 

9 Secretary determines that additional environmental review 

10 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

11 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) is necessary for a proposed renewable 

12 energy project, the Secretary shall— 

13 (1) rely on the analysis in the programmatic en14 vironmental impact statement conducted under sub15 section (e), to the maximum extent practicable when 

16 analyzing the potential impacts of the project; 

17 (2) complete any environmental review docu18 ment in not more than 364 days; and 

19 (3) limit any review documents to 150 pages in 

20 length. 

21 SEC. 302. GEOTHERMAL PRODUCTION ON FEDERAL LANDS. 

22 The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 

23 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 30. GEOTHERMAL EXPLORATION TEST PROJECTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF GEOTHERMAL EXPLORATION

3 TEST PROJECT.—In this section, the term ‘geothermal ex4 ploration test project’ means the drilling of a well to test 

5 or explore for geothermal resources on lands for which the 

6 Secretary has issued a lease under this Act, that— 

7 ‘‘(1) is carried out by the holder of the lease; 

8 ‘‘(2) causes— 

9 ‘‘(A) less than 5 acres of soil or vegetation 

10 disruption at the location of each geothermal 

11 exploration well; and 

12 ‘‘(B) not more than an additional 5 acres 

13 of soil or vegetation disruption during access or 

14 egress to the test site; 

15 ‘‘(3) is developed— 

16 ‘‘(A) less than 9 inches in diameter; 

17 ‘‘(B) in a manner that does not require 

18 off-road motorized access other than to and 

19 from the well site along an identified off-road 

20 route; 

21 ‘‘(C) without construction of new roads 

22 other than upgrading of existing drainage cross23 ings for safety purposes; 

24 ‘‘(D) with the use of rubber-tired digging 

25 or drilling equipment vehicles; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) without the use of high-pressure well 

2 stimulation; 

3 ‘‘(4) is completed in less than 90 days, includ4 ing the removal of any surface infrastructure from 

5 the site; and 

6 ‘‘(5) requires the restoration of the project site 

7 within 3 years of the date of first exploration drilling 

8 to approximately the condition that existed at the 

9 time the project began, unless the site is subse10 quently used as part of energy development under 

11 the lease. 

12 ‘‘(b) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Unless extraordinary cir14 cumstances exist, a project that the Secretary deter15 mines under subsection (c) is a geothermal explo16 ration test project shall be categorically excluded 

17 from the requirements for an environmental assess18 ment or an environmental impact statement under 

19 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

20 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) or section 1508.4 of title 40, 

21 Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regula22 tion). 

23 ‘‘(2) EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES DEFINI24 TION.—In this subsection, the term ‘extraordinary 

25 circumstances’ has the same meaning given such 


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1 term in the Department of the Interior Depart2 mental Manual, 516 DM 2.3A(3) and 516 DM 2, 

3 Appendix 2 (or successor provisions). 

4 ‘‘(c) PROCESS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE NOTICE.—A 

6 leaseholder shall provide notice to the Secretary of 

7 the leaseholder’s intent to carry out a geothermal ex8 ploration test project at least 30 days before the 

9 date on which drilling under the project will begin. 

10 ‘‘(2) REVIEW AND DETERMINATION.—Not later 

11 than 10 days after receipt of a notice of intent 

12 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, with re13 spect to the project described in the notice of in14 tent— 

15 ‘‘(A) determine if the project qualifies for 

16 a categorical exclusion under subsection (b); 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(B) notify the leaseholder of such deter19 mination. 

20 ‘‘(3) OPPORTUNITY TO REMEDY.—If the Sec21 retary determines under paragraph (2)(A) that the 

22 project does not qualify for a categorical exclusion 

23 under subsection (b), the Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) include in such notice clear and de2 tailed findings on any deficiencies in the project 

3 that resulted in such determination; and 

4 ‘‘(B) allow the leaseholder to remedy any 

5 such deficiencies and resubmit the notice of in6 tent under paragraph (1).’’. 

7 SEC. 303. FACILITATION OF COPRODUCTION OF GEO8 THERMAL ENERGY ON OIL AND GAS LEASES. 

9 Section 4(b) of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 

10 (30 U.S.C. 1003(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(4) LAND SUBJECT TO OIL AND GAS LEASE.— 

13 Land under an oil and gas lease issued pursuant to 

14 the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or 

15 the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 

16 U.S.C. 351 et seq.) that is subject to an approved 

17 application for permit to drill and from which oil 

18 and gas production is occurring may be available for 

19 noncompetitive leasing under subsection (c) by the 

20 holder of the oil and gas lease— 

21 ‘‘(A) on a determination that geothermal 

22 energy will be produced from a well producing 

23 or capable of producing oil and gas; and 

24 ‘‘(B) in order to provide for the coproduc25 tion of geothermal energy with oil and gas.’’. 


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1 SEC. 304. NONCOMPETITIVE LEASING OF ADJOINING 

2 AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF GEOTHERMAL 

3 RESOURCES. 

4 Section 4(b) of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 

5 (30 U.S.C. 1003(b)) is further amended by adding at the 

6 end the following: 

7 ‘‘(5) ADJOINING LAND.— 

8 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(i) FAIR MARKET VALUE PER

10 ACRE.—The term ‘fair market value per 

11 acre’ means a dollar amount per acre 

12 that— 

13 ‘‘(I) except as provided in this 

14 clause, shall be equal to the market 

15 value per acre (taking into account 

16 the determination under subparagraph 

17 (B)(iii) regarding a valid discovery on 

18 the adjoining land) as determined by 

19 the Secretary under regulations issued 

20 under this paragraph; 

21 ‘‘(II) shall be determined by the 

22 Secretary with respect to a lease 

23 under this paragraph, by not later 

24 than the end of the 180-day period 

25 beginning on the date the Secretary 


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1 receives an application for the lease; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(III) shall be not less than the 

4 greater of— 

5 ‘‘(aa) 4 times the median 

6 amount paid per acre for all land 

7 leased under this Act during the 

8 preceding year; or 

9 ‘‘(bb) $50. 

10 ‘‘(ii) INDUSTRY STANDARDS.—The 

11 term ‘industry standards’ means the stand12 ards by which a qualified geothermal pro13 fessional assesses whether downhole or 

14 flowing temperature measurements with 

15 indications of permeability are sufficient to 

16 produce energy from geothermal resources, 

17 as determined through flow or injection 

18 testing or measurement of lost circulation 

19 while drilling. 

20 ‘‘(iii) QUALIFIED FEDERAL LAND.— 

21 The term ‘qualified Federal land’ means 

22 land that is otherwise available for leasing 

23 under this Act. 

24 ‘‘(iv) QUALIFIED GEOTHERMAL PRO25 FESSIONAL.—The term ‘qualified geoVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4294.IH H4294

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1 thermal professional’ means an individual 

2 who is an engineer or geoscientist in good 

3 professional standing with at least 5 years 

4 of experience in geothermal exploration, 

5 development, or project assessment. 

6 ‘‘(v) QUALIFIED LESSEE.—The term 

7 ‘qualified lessee’ means a person who may 

8 hold a geothermal lease under this Act (in9 cluding applicable regulations). 

10 ‘‘(vi) VALID DISCOVERY.—The term 

11 ‘valid discovery’ means a discovery of a 

12 geothermal resource by a new or existing 

13 slim hole or production well, that exhibits 

14 downhole or flowing temperature measure15 ments with indications of permeability that 

16 are sufficient to meet industry standards. 

17 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY.—An area of qualified 

18 Federal land that adjoins other land for which 

19 a qualified lessee holds a legal right to develop 

20 geothermal resources may be available for a 

21 noncompetitive lease under this section to the 

22 qualified lessee at the fair market value per 

23 acre, if— 

24 ‘‘(i) the area of qualified Federal 

25 land— 


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1 ‘‘(I) consists of not less than 1 

2 acre and not more than 640 acres; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(II) is not already leased under 

5 this Act or nominated to be leased 

6 under subsection (a); 

7 ‘‘(ii) the qualified lessee has not pre8 viously received a noncompetitive lease 

9 under this paragraph in connection with 

10 the valid discovery for which data has been 

11 submitted under clause (iii)(I); and 

12 ‘‘(iii) sufficient geological and other 

13 technical data prepared by a qualified geo14 thermal professional has been submitted by 

15 the qualified lessee to the applicable Fed16 eral land management agency that would 

17 lead individuals who are experienced in the 

18 subject matter to believe that— 

19 ‘‘(I) there is a valid discovery of 

20 geothermal resources on the land for 

21 which the qualified lessee holds the 

22 legal right to develop geothermal re23 sources; and 

24 ‘‘(II) that geothermal feature ex25 tends into the adjoining areas. 


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1 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF FAIR MARKET

2 VALUE.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

4 shall— 

5 ‘‘(I) publish a notice of any re6 quest to lease land under this para7 graph; 

8 ‘‘(II) determine fair market value 

9 for purposes of this paragraph in ac10 cordance with procedures for making 

11 those determinations that are estab12 lished by regulations issued by the 

13 Secretary; 

14 ‘‘(III) provide to a qualified les15 see and publish, with an opportunity 

16 for public comment for a period of 30 

17 days, any proposed determination 

18 under this subparagraph of the fair 

19 market value of an area that the 

20 qualified lessee seeks to lease under 

21 this paragraph; and 

22 ‘‘(IV) provide to the qualified les23 see and any adversely affected party 

24 the opportunity to appeal the final de25 termination of fair market value in an 


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1 administrative proceeding before the 

2 applicable Federal land management 

3 agency, in accordance with applicable 

4 law (including regulations). 

5 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION ON NOMINATION.— 

6 After publication of a notice of request to 

7 lease land under this paragraph, the Sec8 retary may not accept under subsection (a) 

9 any nomination of the land for leasing un10 less the request has been denied or with11 drawn. 

12 ‘‘(iii) ANNUAL RENTAL.—For pur13 poses of section 5(a)(3), a lease awarded 

14 under this paragraph shall be considered a 

15 lease awarded in a competitive lease sale. 

16 ‘‘(D) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 270 

17 days after the date of enactment of this para18 graph, the Secretary shall issue regulations to 

19 carry out this paragraph.’’. 

20 SEC. 305. APPLICATION OF OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 

21 LANDS ACT WITH RESPECT TO TERRITORIES 

22 OF THE UNITED STATES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2 of the Outer Conti24 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331) is amended— 

25 (1) in paragraph (a)— 


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1 (A) by inserting after ‘‘control’’ the fol2 lowing: ‘‘or lying within the exclusive economic 

3 zone of the United States and the outer Conti4 nental Shelf adjacent to any territory or posses5 sion of the United States’’; and 

6 (B) by adding at the end before the semi7 colon the following: ‘‘, except that such term 

8 shall not include any area conveyed by Congress 

9 to a territorial government for administration’’; 

10 (2) in paragraph (p), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

11 the semicolon at the end; 

12 (3) in paragraph (q), by striking the period at 

13 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(r) The term ‘State’ includes each territory of the 

16 United States.’’. 

17 (b) EXCLUSIONS.—Section 18 of the Outer Conti18 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) is amended by 

19 adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(i) This section shall not apply to the scheduling of 

21 lease sales in the outer Continental Shelf adjacent to the 

22 territories and possessions of the United States.’’. 


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1 SEC. 306. DISPOSITION OF REVENUES WITH RESPECT TO 

2 TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 

3 Section 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

4 (43 U.S.C. 1338) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘All rentals’’ and inserting the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 

8 law, all rentals’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘(b) DISPOSITION OF REVENUES TO TERRITORIES

11 OF THE UNITED STATES.—Of the rentals, royalties, and 

12 other sums paid to the Secretary under this Act from a 

13 lease for an area of land on the outer Continental Shelf 

14 adjacent to a territory and lying within the exclusive eco15 nomic zone of the United States pertaining to such terri16 tory, and not otherwise obligated or appropriated— 

17 ‘‘(1) 50 percent shall be deposited in the Treas18 ury and credited to miscellaneous receipts; 

19 ‘‘(2) 12.5 percent shall be deposited in the 

20 Coral Reef Conservation Fund established under 

21 section 211 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 

22 2000; and 

23 ‘‘(3) 37.5 percent shall be disbursed to terri24 tories of the United States in an amount for each 

25 territory (based on a formula established by the Sec26 retary by regulation) that is inversely proportional to 


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1 the respective distance between the point on the 

2 coastline of the territory that is closest to the geo3 graphic center of the applicable leased tract and the 

4 geographic center of the leased tract.’’. 

5 SEC. 307. WIND LEASE SALES FOR AREAS OF OUTER CONTI6 NENTAL SHELF. 

7 (a) CONDITIONAL WIND LEASE SALES IN TERRI8 TORIES OF THE UNITED STATES.—The Outer Continental 

9 Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) is amended by 

10 adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 33. WIND LEASE SALES FOR AREAS OF OUTER CONTI12 NENTAL SHELF. 

13 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary may conduct 

14 wind lease sales on the outer Continental Shelf. 

15 ‘‘(b) WIND LEASE SALE PROCEDURE.—Any wind 

16 lease sale conducted under this section shall be considered 

17 a lease under section 8(p). 

18 ‘‘(c) WIND LEASE SALES OFF COASTS OF TERRI19 TORIES OF THE UNITED STATES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) STUDY ON FEASIBILITY OF CONDUCTING

21 WIND LEASE SALES.— 

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

23 conduct a study on the feasibility, including the 

24 technological and long-term economic feasibility, 

25 of conducting wind lease sales on an area of the 


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1 outer Continental Shelf within the territorial ju2 risdiction of American Samoa, Guam, the 

3 Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and 

4 the Virgin Islands of the United States. 

5 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the 

6 study required in paragraph (A), the Secretary 

7 shall consult— 

8 ‘‘(i) the National Renewable Energy 

9 Laboratory of the Department of Energy; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the Governor of each of Amer12 ican Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana 

13 Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Is14 lands of the United States. 

15 ‘‘(C) PUBLICATION.—The study required 

16 in paragraph (A) shall be published in the Fed17 eral Register for public comment for not fewer 

18 than 60 days. 

19 ‘‘(D) SUBMISSION OF RESULTS.—Not later 

20 than 18 months after the date of the enactment 

21 of this section, the Secretary shall submit the 

22 results of the study conducted under subpara23 graph (A) to: 

24 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Energy and 

25 Natural Resources of the Senate; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Natural Re2 sources of the House of Representatives; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(iii) each of the delegates or resident 

5 commissioner to the House of Representa6 tives from American Samoa, Guam, the 

7 Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, 

8 and the Virgin Islands of the United 

9 States, respectively. 

10 ‘‘(E) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The study 

11 required under subparagraph (A) and results 

12 submitted under subparagraph (C) shall be 

13 made readily available on a public Government 

14 internet website. 

15 ‘‘(2) CALL FOR INFORMATION AND NOMINA16 TIONS.—The Secretary shall issue a call for informa17 tion and nominations for proposed wind lease sales 

18 for areas determined to be feasible under the study 

19 conducted under paragraph (1). 

20 ‘‘(3) CONDITIONAL WIND LEASE SALES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each territory, 

22 the Secretary shall conduct not less than 1 wind 

23 lease sale on an area of the outer Continental 

24 Shelf within the territorial jurisdiction of such 


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1 territory that meets each of the following cri2 teria: 

3 ‘‘(i) The study required under para4 graph (1)(A) concluded that a wind lease 

5 sale on the area is feasible. 

6 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary has determined 

7 that the call for information has generated 

8 sufficient interest for the area. 

9 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary has consulted 

10 with the Secretary of Defense regarding 

11 such a sale. 

12 ‘‘(iv) The Secretary has consulted 

13 with the Governor of the territory regard14 ing the suitability of the area for wind en15 ergy development. 

16 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If no area of the outer 

17 Continental Shelf within the territorial jurisdic18 tion of a territory meets each of the criteria in 

19 clauses (i) through (iii) of subparagraph (A), 

20 the requirement under subparagraph (A) shall 

21 not apply to such territory.’’. 


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1 SEC. 308. ESTABLISHMENT OF CORAL REEF CONSERVA2 TION FUND. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Coral Reef Conservation Act 

4 of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 211. CORAL REEF CONSERVATION FUND. 

7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

8 Treasury the Coral Reef Conservation Fund, hereafter re9 ferred to as the Fund. 

10 ‘‘(b) DEPOSITS.—For each fiscal year, there shall be 

11 deposited in the Fund the portion of such revenues due 

12 and payable to the United States under subsection (b)(2) 

13 of section 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

14 U.S.C. 1338). 

15 ‘‘(c) USES.—Amounts deposited in the Fund under 

16 this section and appropriated to the Secretary of Com17 merce under subsection (f) shall be used by the Secretary 

18 of Commerce to carry out the Coral Reef Conservation Act 

19 of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.), with priority given to 

20 carrying out sections 204 and 206 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

21 6403 and 6405). 

22 ‘‘(d) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts deposited in the Fund 

23 shall remain in the Fund until appropriated by Congress. 

24 ‘‘(e) REPORTING.—The President shall include with 

25 the proposed budget for the United States Government 

26 submitted to Congress for a fiscal year a comprehensive 


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1 statement of deposits into the Fund during the previous 

2 fiscal year and estimated requirements during the fol3 lowing fiscal year for appropriations from the Fund. 

4 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated from the Fund to the 

6 Secretary of Commerce, an amount equal to the amount 

7 deposited in the Fund in the previous fiscal year. 

8 ‘‘(g) NO LIMITATION.—Appropriations from the 

9 Fund pursuant to this section may be made without fiscal 

10 year limitation.’’. 

11 (b) RENAMING OF EXISTING FUND.—Section 205 of 

12 the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6404) 

13 is amended— 

14 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘CORAL REEF

15 CONSERVATION FUND’’ and inserting ‘‘CORAL

16 REEF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP’’; 

17 (2) in subsection (a)— 

18 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

19 ‘‘FUND’’ and inserting ‘‘PUBLIC-PRIVATE

20 PARTNERSHIP’’; and 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘, hereafter referred to as 

22 the Fund,’’; and 

23 (3) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Fund’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘separate interest bearing account’’. 


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1 TITLE IV—LIMITATIONS ON 

2 LEASING MORATORIUMS 

3 SEC. 401. COAL LEASES. 

4 Section 2(a)(1) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

5 U.S.C. 202a(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘in his discre6 tion, upon the request of any qualified applicant or on his 

7 own motion from time to time’’ and inserting ‘‘at the Sec8 retary’s discretion or upon the request of any qualified ap9 plicant’’. 

10 SEC. 402. CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORITY REQUIREMENT. 

11 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec12 retary of the Interior may not declare a moratorium on 

13 the leasing of Federal lands, including on the Outer Conti14 nental Shelf, for the drilling, mining, or collection of oil, 

15 gas, or coal, or related activities unless such moratorium 

16 is authorized by an Act of Congress. 

Æ 


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