I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4304 

To make certain repeals and revisions to Federal labor laws, to decrease 

the regulatory burdens on small businesses, to provide for comprehensive 

energy reform, and to amend the securities laws to streamline access 

to capital. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 26, 2014 

Mr. SCALISE (for himself, Mrs. BLACK, Mr. MCHENRY, Mr. MULVANEY, Mr. 

BRADY of Texas, Mr. FLORES, Mr. LUETKEMEYER, Mr. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. PITTS, Mr. BYRNE, Mr. LANKFORD, Mrs. LUMMIS, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan, Mr. LAMBORN, Mrs. 

BLACKBURN, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. HUDSON, Mr. 

BARTON, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. RICE of South Carolina, Mr. BENTIVOLIO, Mr. 

SALMON, Mr. ROONEY, Mr. YOHO, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. HARRIS, 

and Mr. DESJARLAIS) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on the Budget, Small Business, Education and the Workforce, Oversight and Government Reform, the Judiciary, Energy and Commerce, 

Transportation and Infrastructure, Science, Space, and Technology, 

Rules, Financial Services, Agriculture, and Ways and Means, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To make certain repeals and revisions to Federal labor laws, 

to decrease the regulatory burdens on small businesses, 

to provide for comprehensive energy reform, and to 

amend the securities laws to streamline access to capital. 


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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Jumpstarting Oppor5 tunities with Bold Solutions Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

DIVISION I—LABOR 

TITLE I—REPEAL OF DAVIS-BACON ACT 

Sec. 101. Repeal of Davis-Bacon wage requirements. 

Sec. 102. Effective date and limitation. 

TITLE II—UNION CONTRACT NOT A BAR TO HIGHER WAGES 

Sec. 201. Payment of higher wages. 

TITLE III—REPEAL OF PROVISIONS RELATING TO OFFICIAL 

TIME OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES FOR PURPOSES OF UNION ORGANIZING 

Sec. 301. Repeal of certain provisions relating to official time of Federal employees for purposes of union organizing. 

TITLE IV—RULEMAKING, INVESTIGATIVE, AND ADJUDICATIVE 

AUTHORITY OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 

Sec. 401. Authorities of the National Labor Relations Board. 

Sec. 402. Regulations. 

DIVISION II—DEREGULATION 

TITLE V—UNIFORM COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF REGULATIONS 

Sec. 501. Uniform use of cost-benefit analysis. 

Sec. 502. Congressional review. 

TITLE VI—PERIODIC REVIEW AND TERMINATION OF 

REGULATIONS 

Sec. 601. Review of regulations. 

Sec. 602. Rules covered. 

Sec. 603. Criteria for sunset review. 

Sec. 604. Sunset review procedures. 

Sec. 605. Review deadlines for covered rules. 

Sec. 606. Sunset review notices and agency reports. 


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Sec. 607. Designation of agency regulatory review officers. 

Sec. 608. Relationship to the Administrative Procedure Act. 

Sec. 609. Effect of termination of a covered rule. 

Sec. 610. Judicial review. 

Sec. 611. Definitions. 

Sec. 612. Sunset of this title. 

TITLE VII—REGULATION COSTS TO SMALL BUSINESSES AND 

GRACE PERIOD FOR REGULATORY VIOLATIONS 

Sec. 701. Small Business Administration study on the cost of Federal regulations. 

Sec. 702. Grace period for regulatory violations. 

TITLE VIII—MAJOR RULES OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH BE 

APPROVED BY CONGRESS 

Sec. 801. Congressional review of agency rulemaking. 

Sec. 802. Budgetary effects of rules subject to section 802 of title 5, United 

States Code. 

Sec. 803. Government Accountability Office study of rules. 

TITLE IX—SIMPLIFICATION OF MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS AND 

SALES OF SMALL BUSINESS 

Sec. 901. Registration exemption for merger and acquisition brokers. 

DIVISION III—ENERGY 

TITLE X—OFFSHORE ENERGY AND JOBS ACT 

Sec. 1001. Short title. 

Subtitle A—Outer Continental Shelf Leasing Program Reforms 

Sec. 1011. Outer Continental Shelf leasing program reforms. 

Sec. 1012. Domestic oil and natural gas production goal. 

Sec. 1013. Development and submittal of new 5-year oil and gas leasing program. 

Sec. 1014. Rule of construction. 

Subtitle B—Directing the President To Conduct New OCS Sales in Virginia, 

South Carolina, and California 

Sec. 1021. Requirement to conduct proposed oil and gas Lease Sale 220 on the 

Outer Continental Shelf offshore Virginia. 

Sec. 1022. South Carolina lease sale. 

Sec. 1023. Southern California existing infrastructure lease sale. 

Sec. 1024. Environmental impact statement requirement. 

Sec. 1025. National defense. 

Sec. 1026. Opening the Eastern Gulf of Mexico for exploration. 

Subtitle C—Equitable Sharing of Outer Continental Shelf Revenues 

Sec. 1031. Disposition of Outer Continental Shelf revenues to coastal States. 

Subtitle D—Reorganization of Minerals Management Agencies of the 

Department of the Interior 


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Sec. 1041. Establishment of Under Secretary for Energy, Lands, and Minerals 

and Assistant Secretary of Ocean Energy and Safety. 

Sec. 1042. Bureau of Ocean Energy. 

Sec. 1043. Ocean Energy Safety Service. 

Sec. 1044. Office of Natural Resources Revenue. 

Sec. 1045. Ethics and drug testing. 

Sec. 1046. Abolishment of Minerals Management Service. 

Sec. 1047. Conforming amendments to Executive Schedule pay rates. 

Sec. 1048. Outer Continental Shelf Energy Safety Advisory Board. 

Sec. 1049. Outer Continental Shelf inspection fees. 

Sec. 1050. Prohibition on action based on National Ocean Policy developed 

under Executive Order No. 13547. 

Subtitle E—United States Territories 

Sec. 1061. Application of Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act with respect to 

territories of the United States. 

Subtitle F—Judicial Review 

Sec. 1071. Time for filing complaint. 

Sec. 1072. District court deadline. 

Sec. 1073. Ability to seek appellate review. 

Sec. 1074. Limitation on scope of review and relief. 

Sec. 1075. Legal fees. 

Sec. 1076. Exclusion. 

Sec. 1077. Definitions. 

Subtitle G—Miscellaneous Provisions 

Sec. 1081. Rules regarding distribution of revenues under Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006. 

Sec. 1082. Seismic testing in the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. 

Sec. 1083. Disposition of qualified outer Continental Shelf Revenues. 

TITLE XI—ALASKAN ENERGY FOR AMERICAN JOBS ACT 

Sec. 2001. Short title. 

Sec. 2002. Definitions. 

Sec. 2003. Leasing program for lands within the Coastal Plain. 

Sec. 2004. Lease sales. 

Sec. 2005. Grant of leases by the Secretary. 

Sec. 2006. Lease terms and conditions. 

Sec. 2007. Policies regarding buying, building, and working for America. 

Sec. 2008. Coastal Plain environmental protection. 

Sec. 2009. Expedited judicial review. 

Sec. 2010. Treatment of revenues. 

Sec. 2011. Rights-of-way across the Coastal Plain. 

Sec. 2012. Conveyance. 

TITLE XII—STATE CONTROL ON ALL AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND 

Sec. 3001. State control on all available Federal land. 

TITLE XIII—FEDERAL LANDS JOBS AND ENERGY SECURITY 

Subtitle A—Federal Lands Jobs and Energy Security 


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Sec. 4001. Short title. 

Sec. 4002. Policies regarding buying, building, and working for America. 

CHAPTER 1—ONSHORE OIL AND GAS PERMIT STREAMLINING

Sec. 4101. Short title. 

SUBCHAPTER A—APPLICATION FOR PERMITS TO DRILL PROCESS REFORM

Sec. 4111. Permit to drill application timeline. 

Sec. 4112. Solar and wind right-of-way rental reform. 

SUBCHAPTER B—ADMINISTRATIVE PROTEST DOCUMENTATION REFORM

Sec. 4121. Administrative protest documentation reform. 

SUBCHAPTER C—PERMIT STREAMLINING

Sec. 4131. Improve Federal energy permit coordination. 

Sec. 4132. Administration of current law. 

SUBCHAPTER D—JUDICIAL REVIEW

Sec. 4141. Definitions. 

Sec. 4142. Exclusive venue for certain civil actions relating to covered energy 

projects. 

Sec. 4143. Timely filing. 

Sec. 4144. Expedition in hearing and determining the action. 

Sec. 4145. Standard of review. 

Sec. 4146. Limitation on injunction and prospective relief. 

Sec. 4147. Limitation on attorneys’ fees. 

Sec. 4148. Legal standing. 

SUBCHAPTER E—KNOWING AMERICA’S OIL AND GAS RESOURCES

Sec. 4151. Funding oil and gas resource assessments. 

CHAPTER 2—OIL AND GAS LEASING CERTAINTY

Sec. 4161. Short title. 

Sec. 4162. Minimum acreage requirement for onshore lease sales. 

Sec. 4163. Leasing certainty. 

Sec. 4164. Leasing consistency. 

Sec. 4165. Reduce redundant policies. 

Sec. 4166. Streamlined congressional notification. 

CHAPTER 3—OIL SHALE

Sec. 4171. Short title. 

Sec. 4172. Effectiveness of oil shale regulations, amendments to resource management plans, and record of decision. 

Sec. 4173. Oil shale leasing. 

CHAPTER 4—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 4181. Rule of construction. 

Subtitle B—Planning for American Energy 

Sec. 4201. Short title. 


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Sec. 4202. Onshore domestic energy production strategic plan. 

Subtitle C—National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Access 

Sec. 4301. Short title. 

Sec. 4302. Sense of Congress and reaffirming national policy for the National 

Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. 

Sec. 4303. National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska: lease sales. 

Sec. 4304. National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska: planning and permitting 

pipeline and road construction. 

Sec. 4305. Issuance of a new integrated activity plan and environmental impact 

statement. 

Sec. 4306. Departmental accountability for development. 

Sec. 4307. Deadlines under new proposed integrated activity plan. 

Sec. 4308. Updated resource assessment. 

Subtitle D—BLM Live Internet Auctions 

Sec. 4401. Short title. 

Sec. 4402. Internet-based onshore oil and gas lease sales. 

Subtitle E—Native American Energy 

Sec. 4501. Short title. 

Sec. 4502. Appraisals. 

Sec. 4503. Standardization. 

Sec. 4504. Environmental reviews of major Federal actions on Indian lands. 

Sec. 4505. Judicial review. 

Sec. 4506. Tribal biomass demonstration project. 

Sec. 4507. Tribal resource management plans. 

Sec. 4508. Leases of restricted lands for the Navajo Nation. 

Sec. 4509. Nonapplicability of certain rules. 

Sec. 4510. Permits for incidental take. 

Sec. 4511. Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 

TITLE XIV—HYDRAULIC FRACTURING 

Subtitle A—State Authority for Hydraulic Fracturing Regulation 

Sec. 5101. Short title. 

Sec. 5102. State authority for hydraulic fracturing regulation. 

Sec. 5103. Government Accountability Office study. 

Sec. 5104. Tribal authority on trust land. 

Subtitle B—EPA Hydraulic Fracturing Research 

Sec. 5201. Short title. 

Sec. 5202. EPA hydraulic fracturing research. 

Subtitle C—Miscellaneous Provisions 

Sec. 5301. Review of State activities. 

TITLE XV—NORTHERN ROUTE APPROVAL 

Sec. 6001. Short title. 

Sec. 6002. Findings. 

Sec. 6003. Keystone XL permit approval. 

Sec. 6004. Judicial review. 


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Sec. 6005. American burying beetle. 

Sec. 6006. Right-of-way and temporary use permit. 

Sec. 6007. Permits for activities in navigable waters. 

Sec. 6008. Migratory Bird Treaty Act permit. 

Sec. 6009. Oil spill response plan disclosure. 

TITLE XVI—RELIEF FROM EPA CLIMATE CHANGE REGULATIONS 

AND FEDERAL PROHIBITIONS ON SYNTHETIC FUELS 

Sec. 7001. Repeal of EPA climate change regulation. 

Sec. 7002. Repeal of Federal ban on synthetic fuels purchasing requirement. 

Sec. 7003. Sense of Congress opposing carbon tax. 

Sec. 7004. Prohibition on use of social cost of carbon in analysis. 

TITLE XVII—ADDRESSING THE PRESIDENT’S WAR ON COAL 

Subtitle A—Management and Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals 

Sec. 8001. Short title. 

Sec. 8002. Management and disposal of coal combustion residuals. 

Sec. 8003. 2000 regulatory determination. 

Sec. 8004. Technical assistance. 

Sec. 8005. Federal Power Act. 

Subtitle B—Surface Mining Stream Buffer Zone Rule 

Sec. 8011. Short title. 

Sec. 8012. Incorporation of surface mining stream buffer zone rule into State 

programs. 

TITLE XVIII—SATISFYING ENERGY NEEDS AND SAVING THE 

ENVIRONMENT 

Sec. 9001. Short title. 

Sec. 9002. Inapplicability of certain emission limits for electric utility steam 

generating units that convert coal refuse into energy. 

TITLE XIX—NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

REORGANIZATION PLAN CODIFICATION AND COMPLEMENTS 

Sec. 10001. Short title. 

Subtitle A—Replacement of Reorganization Plan 

Sec. 10011. General functions. 

Sec. 10012. Chairman. 

Sec. 10013. Emergency authority. 

Sec. 10014. Reporting. 

Sec. 10015. Rescission of Reorganization Plan approval. 

Subtitle B—Miscellaneous 

Sec. 10021. Certification of documents transmitted to Congress. 

Sec. 10022. Time limits for Commission review of Atomic Safety and Licensing 

Board decisions. 

Sec. 10023. Allegations of wrongdoing. 

Sec. 10024. Approval of Commissioner travel. 

Sec. 10025. Implementation. 


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TITLE XX—PERMITTING FOR ONSHORE AND OFFSHORE WIND 

ENERGY 

Subtitle A—Offshore Meteorological Site Testing and Monitoring 

Sec. 11001. Short title. 

Sec. 11002. Offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring projects. 

Subtitle B—Onshore Meteorological Site Testing and Monitoring 

Sec. 11011. Short title. 

Sec. 11012. Onshore meteorological site testing and monitoring project. 

TITLE XXI—DOMESTIC PROSPERITY AND GLOBAL FREEDOM 

Sec. 12001. Short title. 

Sec. 12002. Amendments. 

Sec. 12003. Pending applications. 

DIVISION IV—ACCESS TO CAPITAL 

TITLE XXII—SMALL BUSINESS ACCESS TO CAPITAL 

Sec. 13001. Registration and reporting exemptions relating to private equity 

funds advisors. 

TITLE XXIII—COMMUNITY LENDING ENHANCEMENT AND 

REGULATORY RELIEF 

Sec. 14001. Changes required to small bank holding company policy statement 

on assessment of financial and managerial factors. 

Sec. 14002. Escrow requirements. 

Sec. 14003. Exception to annual privacy notice requirement under the GrammLeach-Bliley Act. 

Sec. 14004. Accounting principles cost-benefit requirements. 

Sec. 14005. Community bank exemption from annual management assessment 

of internal controls requirement of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 

2002. 

Sec. 14006. Certain loans included as qualified mortgages. 

Sec. 14007. Increase in small servicer exemption. 

Sec. 14008. Appraiser qualification threshold. 

Sec. 14009. Coordination among financial institutions. 

1 DIVISION I—LABOR 

2 TITLE I—REPEAL OF DAVIS3 BACON ACT 

4 SEC. 101. REPEAL OF DAVIS-BACON WAGE REQUIREMENTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter IV of chapter 31 of 

6 title 40, United States Code, is repealed. 


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1 (b) REFERENCE.—Any reference in any law to a 

2 wage requirement of subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 

3 40, United States Code, shall after the date of the enact4 ment of this title be null and void. 

5 SEC. 102. EFFECTIVE DATE AND LIMITATION. 

6 The amendment made by section 101 shall take effect 

7 30 days after the date of the enactment of this title but 

8 shall not affect any contract in existence on such date of 

9 enactment or made pursuant to invitation for bids out10 standing on such date of enactment. 

11 TITLE II—UNION CONTRACT NOT 

12 A BAR TO HIGHER WAGES 

13 SEC. 201. PAYMENT OF HIGHER WAGES. 

14 Section 9(a) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 

15 U.S.C. 159(a)) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘Representatives’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘(1) Representatives’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding a labor organization’s exclusive 

20 representation of employees in a unit, or the terms and 

21 conditions of any collective bargaining contract or agree22 ment then in effect, nothing in either— 

23 ‘‘(A) section 8(a)(1) or 8(a)(5), or 

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1 actment of the Jumpstarting Opportunities with 

2 Bold Solutions Act, 

3 shall prohibit an employer from paying an employee in the 

4 unit greater wages, pay, or other compensation for, or by 

5 reason of, his or her services as an employee of such em6 ployer, than provided for in such contract or agreement.’’. 

7 TITLE III—REPEAL OF PROVI8 SIONS RELATING TO OFFI9 CIAL TIME OF FEDERAL EM10 PLOYEES FOR PURPOSES OF 

11 UNION ORGANIZING 

12 SEC. 301. REPEAL OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS RELATING TO 

13 OFFICIAL TIME OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES 

14 FOR PURPOSES OF UNION ORGANIZING. 

15 Section 7131 of title 5, United States Code, is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (c); 

18 (2) by redesignating subsections (b) and (d) as 

19 subsections (a) and (b), respectively; and 

20 (3) in subsection (b) (as so redesignated by 

21 paragraph (2)), by striking ‘‘Except as provided in 

22 the preceding subsections of this section—’’ and in23 serting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (a)—’’. 


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1 TITLE IV—RULEMAKING, INVES2 TIGATIVE, AND ADJUDICA3 TIVE AUTHORITY OF THE NA4 TIONAL LABOR RELATIONS 

5 BOARD 

6 SEC. 401. AUTHORITIES OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELA7 TIONS BOARD. 

8 (a) DUTIES OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL AND ADMIN9 ISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES.—The National Labor Relations 

10 Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is amended— 

11 (1) in section 3(d), by striking ‘‘and issuance of 

12 complaints under section 10, and in respect of the 

13 prosecution of such complaints before the Board’’; 

14 and 

15 (2) in section 4(a), by striking the fourth sen16 tence. 

17 (b) CLARIFICATION OF THE BOARD’S RULEMAKING

18 AUTHORITY.—Section 6 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 156) is 

19 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Such rule20 making authority shall be limited to rules concerning the 

21 internal functions of the Board and the Board is prohib22 ited from promulgating rules that affect the substantive 

23 rights of any person, employer, employee, or labor organi24 zation.’’. 


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1 (c) INVESTIGATORY POWER AND ADJUDICATORY AU2 THORITY OVER UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE ALLEGA3 TIONS.—Section 10 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 60) is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘prevent any person from 

7 engaging in’’ and inserting ‘‘investigate’’; and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘This power shall’’ and all 

9 that follows through the end of the subsection; 

10 (2) in subsection (b)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘Whenever it is charged’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘Whenever it appears’’; 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘or is engaging in’’ and in14 serting ‘‘, is engaging in, or is about to engage 

15 in’’; 

16 (C) by striking ‘‘the Board, or any agent’’ 

17 and all that follows through ‘‘Provided, That no 

18 complaint shall be issued’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

19 aggrieved party may bring a civil action for 

20 such relief (including injunctions) as may be 

21 appropriate. Any such action may be brought in 

22 the district court of the United States where 

23 the violation occurred, or at the option of the 

24 parties, in the United States District Court for 


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1 the District of Columbia. No civil action may be 

2 brought’’; 

3 (D) by striking ‘‘charge with the Board 

4 and the service of a copy thereof upon the per5 son against whom such charge is made’’ and in6 serting ‘‘civil action’’; and 

7 (E) by striking ‘‘Any such complaint may 

8 be amended’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Any 

9 such proceeding shall, so far as practicable,’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘Any such proceeding shall’’; 

11 (3) by striking subsections (c) through (k) and 

12 redesignating subsection (l) as subsection (c); and 

13 (4) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘Whenever it is charged’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘Whenever it is alleged’’; 

16 (B) in the first sentence, by striking 

17 ‘‘charge’’ both places it appears and inserting 

18 ‘‘allegation’’; and 

19 (C) by striking ‘‘and that a complaint 

20 should issue, he shall’’ and all that follows 

21 through the end of the subsection and inserting 

22 ‘‘, the officer or regional attorney shall, on be23 half of the Board, submit a written summary of 

24 the findings to all parties involved in the alleged 

25 unfair labor practice.’’. 


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1 SEC. 402. REGULATIONS. 

2 Not later than 6 months after the date of the enact3 ment of this title, the National Labor Relations Board 

4 shall review and revise all regulations promulgated before 

5 such date to implement the amendments made by this 

6 title. 

7 DIVISION II—DEREGULATION 

8 TITLE V—UNIFORM COST-BEN9 EFIT ANALYSIS OF REGULA10 TIONS 

11 SEC. 501. UNIFORM USE OF COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS. 

12 Section 553 of title 5, United States Code, is amend13 ed by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(f)(1) Prior to any rulemaking under this section, 

15 an agency shall comply with the following: 

16 ‘‘(A) The agency shall identify, in the context 

17 of a coherent conceptual framework and supported 

18 with objective data— 

19 ‘‘(i) the nature and significance of the 

20 market failure, regulatory failure, or other 

21 problem that necessitates regulatory action; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the reasons why national economic 

23 and income growth, advancing technology, and 

24 other market developments will not obviate the 

25 need for the rulemaking; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the reasons why regulation at the 

2 State, local, or tribal level could not address the 

3 problem better than at the Federal level; 

4 ‘‘(iv) the reasons why reducing rather than 

5 increasing the extent or stringency of existing 

6 Federal regulation would not address the prob7 lem better; and 

8 ‘‘(v) the particular authority by which the 

9 agency may take action. 

10 ‘‘(B) Before the agency increases the extent or 

11 stringency of regulation based on its determinations 

12 pursuant to subparagraph (A), it shall— 

13 ‘‘(i) set an achievable objective for its regu14 latory action and identify the metrics by which 

15 the agency will measure progress toward the ob16 jective; 

17 ‘‘(ii) issue a notice of inquiry seeking pub18 lic comment on the identification of a new ob19 jective under clause (i); and 

20 ‘‘(iii) give notice to the committees of Con21 gress with jurisdiction over the subject matter 

22 of the rule. 

23 ‘‘(C) The agency, if the agency is not seeking 

24 to repeal a rule, shall develop at least 3 distinct reg25 ulatory options, in addition to not regulating, that 


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1 the agency estimates will provide the greatest bene2 fits for the least cost in meeting the regulatory ob3 jective set under subparagraph (B) and, in devel4 oping such regulatory options, shall apply the fol5 lowing principles: 

6 ‘‘(i) The agency shall assume that individ7 uals are rational and not qualify that assump8 tion unless the agency— 

9 ‘‘(I) has conclusive evidence of a detri10 mental systematic behavioral bias; and 

11 ‘‘(II) can devise behavioral regulatory 

12 options that do not preclude any choices of 

13 market participants. 

14 ‘‘(ii) The agency shall, to the extent prac15 ticable, attempt to engage private incentives to 

16 solve a problem and not supplant private incen17 tives any more than necessary. 

18 ‘‘(iii) The agency shall consider the adverse 

19 effects that mandates and prohibitions may 

20 have on innovation, economic growth, and em21 ployment. 

22 ‘‘(iv) An agency’s risk assessment shall be 

23 confined to its jurisdiction, subject to specific 

24 regulatory authority. Agency assessments of the 

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1 fects shall follow standardized parameters, as2 sumptions, and methodologies. An agency also 

3 shall provide analyses of increases in risks, 

4 whatever their nature, produced by the regu5 latory options under consideration. 

6 ‘‘(v) The agency shall avoid incongruities 

7 and duplication in regulation at the Federal, 

8 State, local, and tribal levels. 

9 ‘‘(vi) The agency shall compare and con10 trast the regulatory options developed and ex11 plain how each would meet the regulatory objec12 tive set pursuant to subparagraph (B). 

13 ‘‘(D) The agency shall estimate the costs and 

14 benefits of each regulatory option developed, not15 withstanding any provision of law that prohibits the 

16 agency from using costs in rulemaking, at least to 

17 the extent that the agency is able to— 

18 ‘‘(i) exclude options whose costs exceed 

19 their benefits; 

20 ‘‘(ii) rank the options by cost from lowest 

21 to highest; 

22 ‘‘(iii) estimate the monetary cost of any 

23 adverse effects on private property rights, iden24 tify the categories of persons who experience a 

25 net loss from a regulatory option, and explain 


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1 why the negative effects cannot be lessened or 

2 avoided; 

3 ‘‘(iv) establish whether the cost of an op4 tion exceeds $50,000,000 for any 12-month pe5 riod, except that the dollar amount shall be ad6 justed annually for inflation based on the GDP 

7 deflator, and the President may order that a 

8 lower dollar amount be used for a particular pe9 riod; and 

10 ‘‘(v) identify the key uncertainties and as11 sumptions that drive the results and provide an 

12 analysis of how the ranking of the options and 

13 the threshold determination under clause (iv) 

14 may change if key assumptions are changed. 

15 ‘‘(E) The estimates pursuant to subparagraph 

16 (D) shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) follow the methodology established 

18 pursuant to paragraph (2)(A); 

19 ‘‘(ii) to the maximum extent practicable, 

20 comply with any guidelines issued by the Ad21 ministrator of the Office of Information and 

22 Regulatory Affairs pertaining to cost-benefit 

23 analysis; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) include, at a minimum— 

25 ‘‘(I) agency administrative costs; 


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1 ‘‘(II) United States private sector 

2 compliance costs; 

3 ‘‘(III) Federal, State, local, and tribal 

4 compliance costs; 

5 ‘‘(IV) Federal, State, local, and tribal 

6 revenue impacts; 

7 ‘‘(V) impacts from the regulatory op8 tions developed on United States industries 

9 in the role of suppliers and consumers to 

10 each industry substantially affected, espe11 cially in terms of employment, costs, vol12 ume and quality of output, and prices; 

13 ‘‘(VI) nationwide impacts on overall 

14 economic output, productivity, consumer 

15 and producer prices; 

16 ‘‘(VII) international competitiveness 

17 of United States companies; and 

18 ‘‘(VIII) distortions in incentives and 

19 markets, including an estimate of the re20 sulting loss to the United States economy. 

21 ‘‘(F) The agency shall publish for public com22 ment all analyses, documentation, and data under 

23 subparagraphs (A) through (D) for a public com24 ment period of at least 30 days (subject to applica25 ble limitations under law, including laws protecting 


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1 privacy, trade secrets, and intellectual property) and 

2 correct deficiencies or omissions that the agency be3 comes aware of before choosing a rule to propose. 

4 ‘‘(2)(A) Beginning not later than the date that is 180 

5 days after the effective date of this section— 

6 ‘‘(i) each agency shall, by rule, establish and 

7 maintain the specific cost-benefit analysis method8 ology appropriate to the functions and responsibil9 ities of that agency and establish an appropriate pe10 riod for review of new rules to assess the cost effec11 tiveness of each such new rule at achieving the ob12 jective identified under paragraph (1)(B)(i) the new 

13 rule was intended to address; 

14 ‘‘(ii) the methodology so established shall— 

15 ‘‘(I) include the standardized parameters, 

16 assumptions, and methodologies for agency as17 sessments of risk under paragraph (1)(C)(iv); 

18 ‘‘(II) comply, to the maximum extent prac19 ticable, with technical standards for methodolo20 gies and assumptions issued by the Adminis21 trator for the Office of Information and Regu22 latory Affairs; 

23 ‘‘(III) include the scope of benefits and 

24 costs consistent with the framework used and 


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1 the metrics identified in the establishment of 

2 the regulatory objective under paragraph (1); 

3 ‘‘(IV) not include consideration of inci4 dental benefits but only those benefits that were 

5 considered in the establishment of the regu6 latory objective; 

7 ‘‘(V) limit consideration of costs and bene8 fits to costs and benefits that accrue to the pop9 ulation of the United States; 

10 ‘‘(VI) constrain the agency from presuming 

11 that continued augmentation or tightening of 

12 mandates and additional prohibitions cause 

13 benefits and costs to change linearly but deter14 mine at what point benefits will rise less than, 

15 and costs will rise more than, proportionally; 

16 ‘‘(VII) include comparison of incremental 

17 benefits to incremental costs from any action 

18 the agency considers taking and refrain from 

19 actions whose incremental benefits do not ex20 ceed their incremental costs; and 

21 ‘‘(VIII) include analysis of effects on pri22 vate incentives and possible unintended con23 sequences; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) the agency shall adhere to the method25 ology so established in all rulemakings. 


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1 ‘‘(B) If the agency does not select the least-cost regu2 latory option as its proposed rule, the agency shall justify 

3 its selection, explaining— 

4 ‘‘(i) how that selection furthers other goals or 

5 requirements relevant to regulating matters within 

6 the agency’s jurisdiction and why these should over7 ride cost savings; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) why each of the other regulatory options 

9 not chosen would not sufficiently further such other 

10 goals or requirements. 

11 ‘‘(C) If the agency makes a determination under 

12 paragraph (1)(D) that the monetized cost of a rule exceeds 

13 the applicable monetary limit under clause (iv) of such 

14 paragraph for any 12-month period, the agency head 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) first issue an advanced notice of proposed 

17 rulemaking; 

18 ‘‘(ii) provide notice to the appropriate Congres19 sional committees and keep such committees in20 formed of the status of the rulemaking; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) ensure that— 

22 ‘‘(I) the agency shall notify the Adminis23 trator of the Small Business Administration, 

24 the Director of the Office of Management and 

25 Budget, and affected parties, and provide each 


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1 such person with information on the potential 

2 effects of the proposed rule on affected parties 

3 and the type of affected parties that might be 

4 affected; 

5 ‘‘(II) not later than 15 days after the date 

6 of receipt of the materials described in sub7 clause (I), the Director, in consultation with the 

8 Administrator, shall identify representatives of 

9 affected parties, 25 percent of which shall rep10 resent small business concerns (as such term is 

11 defined in section 3(a) of the Small Business 

12 Act), when possible, and all the major stake13 holders shall have the opportunity to obtain ad14 vice and recommendations about the potential 

15 effects of the proposed rule; 

16 ‘‘(III) the agency shall convene a review 

17 panel consisting wholly of full-time Federal offi18 cers, employees, and contractors in the agency 

19 responsible for the proposed rule, the Director, 

20 the Administrator, and the representatives of 

21 affected parties identified pursuant to subclause 

22 (II); 

23 ‘‘(IV) the agency shall conduct a detailed 

24 analysis of the costs and benefits of the regu25 latory option it is advancing, and, in doing so— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) the agency shall consider the 

2 cumulative and interactive costs of regu3 latory requirements of Federal, State, 

4 local, tribal, and (where applicable) inter5 national regulations; and 

6 ‘‘(bb) the agency shall identify the key 

7 uncertainties and assumptions that drive 

8 the results and provide an analysis of how 

9 the ranking of the regulatory options 

10 changes if the key assumptions are 

11 changed; 

12 ‘‘(V) the panel shall review agency material 

13 prepared in connection with this subsection, in14 cluding any draft proposed rule, and review the 

15 advice and recommendations of each affected 

16 party representative identified; 

17 ‘‘(VI) not later than 60 days after the date 

18 the agency convenes a review panel pursuant to 

19 subclause (III), the review panel shall report on 

20 the comments of the affected party representa21 tives and its findings as to issues related to the 

22 provisions of this subsection, and such report 

23 shall be made public as part of the rulemaking 

24 record; 


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1 ‘‘(VII) where appropriate, the agency shall 

2 modify the proposed rule or the cost-benefit 

3 analysis under subclause (IV) based on the re4 port under subclause (VI); 

5 ‘‘(VIII) subject to applicable limitations 

6 under law, including laws protecting privacy, 

7 trade secrets, and intellectual property, the 

8 agency shall publish for comment all analyses, 

9 documentation, and data under this paragraph 

10 for a public comment period of at least 30 days 

11 and correct deficiencies or omissions that the 

12 agency becomes aware of before adopting a pro13 posed rule; and 

14 ‘‘(IX) affected parties, including State, 

15 local, or tribal governments, and other stake16 holders may participate in the rulemaking by 

17 means such as— 

18 ‘‘(aa) the publication of advanced and 

19 general notices of proposed rulemaking in 

20 publications likely to be obtained by af21 fected parties; 

22 ‘‘(bb) the direct notification of inter23 ested affected parties; 

24 ‘‘(cc) the conduct of open conferences 

25 or public hearings including soliciting and 


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1 receiving comments over computer net2 works; and 

3 ‘‘(dd) reducing the cost or complexity 

4 of procedural rules to ease participation in 

5 the rulemaking. 

6 ‘‘(D) Every 4 years the agency shall conduct a review 

7 of all rules of the agency in effect and determine based 

8 on objective data whether its rules are working as in9 tended, furthering their objectives, imposing unanticipated 

10 costs, and generating a net benefit or not, and shall amend 

11 such rules if appropriate. The agency shall report to Con12 gress the findings of each such review. 

13 ‘‘(E) Any person may petition an agency to amend 

14 an existing rule made prior to the establishment of meth15 odology under this paragraph, and, if the agency denies 

16 such a petition, that denial shall be subject to review under 

17 chapter 7 of this title. 

18 ‘‘(F) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in19 cluding any provision of law that explicitly prohibits the 

20 use of cost-benefit analysis in rulemaking, an agency shall 

21 conduct cost-benefit analyses and report to Congress the 

22 findings with specific recommendations for how to lower 

23 regulatory costs by amending the statutes prohibiting the 

24 use thereof. 

25 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the term ‘regulatory options’ means any 

2 action an agency may take to address an objective 

3 identified under paragraph (1)(B)(i), including the 

4 option not to act; 

5 ‘‘(B) the term ‘private incentives’ means finan6 cial gains or losses that motivate actions by private 

7 individuals and businesses, and does not include any 

8 law or regulation that prescribes private actions or 

9 outcomes; and 

10 ‘‘(C) the term ‘incidental benefit’ means a 

11 claimed benefit outside the specific regulatory objec12 tive or objectives identified under paragraph 

13 (1)(B)(i) a rule is intended to address as identified 

14 in paragraph (1)(A). 

15 ‘‘(4) All determinations made under this subsection 

16 shall be subject to review under chapter 7.’’. 

17 SEC. 502. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW. 

18 Section 801(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, is 

19 amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(C) The Comptroller General shall exam21 ine the cost-benefit analysis for compliance with 

22 the requirements of section 553(f), including 

23 the agency methodology established under sec24 tion 553(f)(2)(A). 


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1 ‘‘(D) The Comptroller General shall exam2 ine any risk analysis under section 

3 553(f)(1)(C)(iv) pertaining to the cost-benefit 

4 analysis for compliance with the requirements 

5 of section 553(f). 

6 ‘‘(E) The Comptroller General also shall 

7 examine the agencies’ quadrennial regulatory 

8 reviews for consistency with the requirements of 

9 section 553(f) and report to Congress on the re10 sults.’’. 

11 TITLE VI—PERIODIC REVIEW 

12 AND TERMINATION OF REGU13 LATIONS 

14 SEC. 601. REVIEW OF REGULATIONS. 

15 A covered rule shall be subject to review in accord16 ance with this title. Upon completion of such review, the 

17 agency which has jurisdiction over such rule shall— 

18 (1) issue a final report under section 406(c)(2) 

19 continuing such rule, or 

20 (2) conduct a rulemaking in accordance with 

21 section 406(d) to modify, consolidate with another 

22 rule, or terminate such rule. 

23 SEC. 602. RULES COVERED. 

24 (a) COVERED RULES.—For purposes of this title, a 

25 covered rule is a rule that— 


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1 (1) is determined by the Administrator to be a 

2 significant rule under subsection (b); or 

3 (2) is any other rule designated by the agency 

4 which has jurisdiction over such rule or the Adminis5 trator under this title for sunset review. 

6 (b) SIGNIFICANT RULES.—For purposes of this title, 

7 a significant rule is a rule that the Administrator deter8 mines— 

9 (1) has resulted in or is likely to result in an 

10 annual effect on the economy of $100,000,000 or 

11 more; 

12 (2) is a major rule; or 

13 (3) was issued pursuant to a significant regu14 latory action, as that term is defined in Executive 

15 Order 12866 (as in effect on the first date that Ex16 ecutive order was in effect). 

17 (c) PUBLIC PETITIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any person adversely af19 fected by a rule that is not a significant rule may 

20 submit a petition to the agency which has jurisdic21 tion over the rule requesting that such agency des22 ignate the rule for sunset review. Such agency shall 

23 designate the rule for sunset review unless such 

24 agency determines that it would not be in the public 

25 interest to conduct a sunset review of the rule. In 


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1 making such determination, such agency shall take 

2 into account the number and nature of other peti3 tions received on the same rule and whether or not 

4 such petitions have been denied. 

5 (2) FORM AND CONTENT OF PETITION.—A pe6 tition under paragraph (1)— 

7 (A) shall be in writing, but is not otherwise 

8 required to be in any particular form; and 

9 (B) shall identify the rule for which sunset 

10 review is requested with reasonable specificity 

11 and state on its face that the petitioner seeks 

12 sunset review of the rule. 

13 (3) RESPONSE REQUIRED FOR NONCOMPLYING

14 PETITIONS.—If an agency determines that a petition 

15 does not meet the requirements of this subsection, 

16 the agency shall provide a response to the petitioner 

17 within 30 days after receiving the petition, notifying 

18 the petitioner of the problem and providing informa19 tion on how to formulate a petition that meets those 

20 requirements. 

21 (4) DECISION WITHIN 90 DAYS.—Within the 90- 

22 day period beginning on the date of receiving a peti23 tion that meets the requirements of this subsection, 

24 the agency shall transmit a response to the peti25 tioner stating whether the petition was granted or 


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1 denied, except that the agency may extend such pe2 riod by a total of not more than 30 days. 

3 (5) PETITIONS DEEMED GRANTED FOR SUB4 STANTIAL INEXCUSABLE DELAY.—A petition for 

5 sunset review of a rule is deemed to have been 

6 granted by an agency, and such agency is deemed to 

7 have designated the rule for sunset review, if a court 

8 finds there is a substantial and inexcusable delay, 

9 beyond the period specified in paragraph (4), in no10 tifying the petitioner of the agency’s determination 

11 to grant or deny the petition. 

12 (6) PUBLIC LOG.—Each agency shall maintain 

13 a public log of petitions submitted under this sub14 section, that includes the status or disposition of 

15 each petition. 

16 (d) CONGRESSIONAL REQUESTS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—An appropriate committee of 

18 the Congress, or a majority of the majority party 

19 members or a majority of nonmajority party mem20 bers of such committee, may request in writing that 

21 the Administrator designate any rule that is not a 

22 significant rule for sunset review. The Administrator 

23 shall designate such rule for sunset review within 30 

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1 istrator determines that it would not be in the public 

2 interest to conduct a sunset review of such rule. 

3 (2) NOTICE OF DENIAL.—If the Administrator 

4 denies a congressional request under this subsection, 

5 the Administrator shall transmit to the congressional 

6 committee making the request a notice stating the 

7 reasons for the denial. 

8 (e) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE OF DESIGNATION FOR

9 SUNSET REVIEW.—After designating a rule under sub10 section (c) or (d) for sunset review, the agency or the Ad11 ministrator shall promptly publish a notice of that des12 ignation in the Federal Register. 

13 SEC. 603. CRITERIA FOR SUNSET REVIEW. 

14 (a) COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER LAWS.—In order for 

15 any rule subject to sunset review to continue without 

16 change or to be modified or consolidated in accordance 

17 with this title, such rule must be authorized by law and 

18 meet all applicable requirements that would apply if it 

19 were issued as a new rule pursuant to section 553 of title 

20 5, United States Code, or other statutory rulemaking pro21 cedures required for that rule. For purposes of this sec22 tion, the term ‘‘applicable requirements’’ includes any re23 quirement for cost-benefit analysis and any requirement 

24 for standardized risk analysis and risk assessment. 


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1 (b) GOVERNING LAW.—If there is a conflict between 

2 applicable requirements and an Act under which a rule 

3 was issued, the conflict shall be resolved in the same man4 ner as such conflict would be resolved if the agency were 

5 issuing a new rule. 

6 SEC. 604. SUNSET REVIEW PROCEDURES. 

7 (a) FUNCTIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.— 

8 (1) NOTICE OF RULES SUBJECT TO REVIEW.— 

9 (A) INVENTORY AND FIRST LIST.—Within 

10 6 months after the date of the enactment of 

11 this title, the Administrator shall conduct an in12 ventory of existing rules and publish a first list 

13 of covered rules. The list shall— 

14 (i) specify the particular group to 

15 which each significant rule is assigned 

16 under paragraph (2), and state the review 

17 deadline for all significant rules in each 

18 such group; and 

19 (ii) include other rules subject to sun20 set review for any other reason, and state 

21 the review deadline for each such rule. 

22 (B) SUBSEQUENT LISTS.—After publica23 tion of the first list under subparagraph (A), 

24 the Administrator shall publish an updated list 


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1 of covered rules at least annually, specifying the 

2 review deadline for each rule on the list. 

3 (2) GROUPING OF SIGNIFICANT RULES IN FIRST

4 LIST.— 

5 (A) STAGGERED REVIEW.—The Adminis6 trator shall assign each significant rule in effect 

7 on the date of enactment of this title to one of 

8 4 groups established by the Administrator to 

9 permit orderly and prioritized sunset reviews, 

10 and specify for each group an initial review 

11 deadline in accordance with section 405(a)(1). 

12 (B) PRIORITIZATIONS.—In determining 

13 which rules shall be given priority in time in 

14 that assignment, the Administrator shall con15 sult with appropriate agencies, and shall 

16 prioritize rule based on— 

17 (i) the grouping of related rules in ac18 cordance with paragraph (3); 

19 (ii) the extent of the cost of each rule 

20 and on the regulated community and the 

21 public, with priority in time given to those 

22 rules that impose the greatest cost; 

23 (iii) consideration of the views of reg24 ulated persons, including State and local 

25 governments; 


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1 (iv) whether a particular rule has re2 cently been subject to cost-benefit analysis 

3 and risk assessment, with priority in time 

4 given to those rules that have not been 

5 subject to such analysis and assessment; 

6 (v) whether a particular rule was 

7 issued under a statutory provision that 

8 provides relatively greater discretion to an 

9 official in issuing the rule, with priority in 

10 time given to those rules that were issued 

11 under provisions that provide relatively 

12 greater discretion; 

13 (vi) the burden of reviewing each rule 

14 on the reviewing agency; and 

15 (vii) the need for orderly processing 

16 and the timely completion of the sunset re17 views of existing rules. 

18 (3) GROUPING OF RELATED RULES.—The Ad19 ministrator shall group related rules under para20 graph (2) (and designate other rules) for simulta21 neous sunset review based upon their subject matter 

22 similarity, functional interrelationships, and other 

23 relevant factors to ensure comprehensive and coordi24 nated review of redundant, overlapping, and con25 flicting rules and requirements. The Administrator 


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1 shall ensure simultaneous sunset reviews of covered 

2 rules without regard to whether they were issued by 

3 the same agency, and shall designate any other rule 

4 for sunset review that is necessary for a comprehen5 sive sunset review whether or not such other rule is 

6 otherwise a covered rule under this title. 

7 (4) GUIDANCE.—The Administrator shall pro8 vide timely guidance to agencies on the conduct of 

9 sunset reviews and the preparation of sunset review 

10 notices and reports required by this title to ensure 

11 uniform, complete, and timely sunset reviews and to 

12 ensure notice and opportunity for public comment 

13 consistent with section 406. 

14 (5) REVIEW AND EVALUATION OF REPORTS.— 

15 The Administrator shall review and evaluate each 

16 preliminary and final report submitted by the agency 

17 pursuant to this section. Within 90 days after re18 ceiving a preliminary report, the Administrator shall 

19 transmit comments to the head of the agency re20 garding— 

21 (A) the quality of the analysis in the re22 port, including whether the agency has properly 

23 applied section 403; 

24 (B) the consistency of the agency’s pro25 posed action with actions of other agencies; and 


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1 (C) whether the rule should be continued 

2 without change, modified, consolidated with an3 other rule, or terminated. 

4 (b) AGENCY SUNSET REVIEW PROCEDURE.— 

5 (1) SUNSET REVIEW NOTICE.—At least 30 

6 months before the review deadline under section 

7 405(a) for a covered rule issued by an agency, the 

8 agency shall— 

9 (A) publish a sunset review notice in ac10 cordance with section 406(a) in the Federal 

11 Register and, to the extent reasonable and 

12 practicable, in other publications or media that 

13 are designed to reach those persons most af14 fected by the covered rule; and 

15 (B) request the views of the Administrator 

16 and the appropriate committees of the Congress 

17 on whether to continue without change, modify, 

18 consolidate, or terminate the covered rule. 

19 (2) PRELIMINARY REPORT.—In reviewing a cov20 ered rule, the agency shall— 

21 (A) consider public comments and other 

22 recommendations generated by a sunset review 

23 notice under paragraph (1); and 

24 (B) at least 1 year before the review dead25 line under section 405(a) for the covered rule, 


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1 publish in the Federal Register, in accordance 

2 with section 406(b), and transmit to the Ad3 ministrator and the appropriate committees of 

4 the Congress a preliminary report. 

5 (3) FINAL REPORT.—The agency shall consider 

6 the public comments and other recommendations 

7 generated by the preliminary report under para8 graph (2) for a covered rule, and shall consult with 

9 the appropriate committees of the Congress before 

10 issuing a final report. At least 90 days before the re11 view deadline of the covered rule, the agency shall 

12 publish in the Federal Register, in accordance with 

13 section 406(c)(2) or 406(d), and transmit a final re14 port to the Administrator and the appropriate com15 mittees of the Congress. 

16 (4) OPEN PROCEDURES REGARDING SUNSET

17 REVIEW.—In any sunset review conducted pursuant 

18 to this title, the agency conducting the review shall 

19 make a written record describing the subject of all 

20 contacts the agency or Administrator made with 

21 non-governmental persons outside the agency relat22 ing to such review. The written record of such con23 tact shall be made available, upon request, to the 

24 public. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVENESS OF AGENCY RECOMMENDA2 TION.—If a final report under subsection (b)(3) rec3 ommends that a covered rule should be continued without 

4 change, the covered rule shall be continued. If a final re5 port under subsection (b)(3) recommends that a covered 

6 rule should be modified, consolidated with another rule, 

7 or terminated, the rule may be modified, so consolidated, 

8 or terminated in accordance with section 406(d). 

9 (d) PRESERVATION OF INDEPENDENCE OF FEDERAL

10 BANK REGULATORY AGENCIES.—The head of any appro11 priate Federal banking agency (as that term is defined 

12 in section 3(q) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 

13 U.S.C. 1813(q))), the Federal Housing Finance Board, 

14 the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office 

15 of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight shall have the 

16 authority with respect to that agency that would otherwise 

17 be granted under section 405(a)(2)(B) to the Adminis18 trator or other officer designated by the President. 

19 SEC. 605. REVIEW DEADLINES FOR COVERED RULES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this title, the re21 view deadline of a covered rule is as follows: 

22 (1) EXISTING SIGNIFICANT RULES.—For a sig23 nificant rule in effect on the date of the enactment 

24 of this title, the initial review deadline is the last day 

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1 ning on the date of the enactment of this title, as 

2 specified by the Administrator under section 

3 404(a)(2)(A). For any significant rule that 6 months 

4 after the date of enactment is not assigned to such 

5 a group specified under section 404(a)(2)(A), the 

6 initial review deadline is the last day of the 4-year 

7 period beginning on the date of enactment of this 

8 title. 

9 (2) NEW SIGNIFICANT RULES.—For a signifi10 cant rule that first takes effect after the date of the 

11 enactment of this title, the initial review deadline is 

12 the last day of either— 

13 (A) the 3-year period beginning on the 

14 date the rule takes effect, or 

15 (B) if the Administrator determines as 

16 part of the rulemaking process that the rule is 

17 issued pursuant to negotiated rulemaking pro18 cedures or that compliance with the rule re19 quires substantial capital investment, the 7-year 

20 period beginning on the date the rule takes ef21 fect. 

22 (3) RULES COVERED PURSUANT TO PUBLIC PE23 TITION OR CONGRESSIONAL REQUEST.—For any rule 

24 subject to sunset review pursuant to a public peti25 tion under section 402(c) or a congressional request 


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1 under section 402(d), the initial review deadline is 

2 the last day of the 3-year period beginning on— 

3 (A) the date the agency or Administrator 

4 so designates the rule for review; or 

5 (B) the date of issuance of a final court 

6 order that the agency is deemed to have des7 ignated the rule for sunset review. 

8 (4) RELATED RULE DESIGNATED FOR RE9 VIEW.—For a rule that the Administrator designates 

10 under section 404(a)(3) for sunset review because it 

11 is related to another covered rule and that is 

12 grouped with that other rule for simultaneous re13 view, the initial review deadline is the same as the 

14 review deadline for that other rule. 

15 (b) TEMPORARY EXTENSION.—The review deadline 

16 under subsection (a) for a covered rule may be extended 

17 by the Administrator for not more than 6 months by pub18 lishing notice thereof in the Federal Register that de19 scribes reasons why the temporary extension is necessary 

20 to respond to or prevent an emergency situation. 

21 (c) DETERMINATIONS WHERE RULES HAVE BEEN

22 AMENDED.—For purposes of this title, if various provi23 sions of a covered rule were issued at different times, then 

24 the rule as a whole shall be treated as if it were issued 

25 on the later of— 


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1 (1) the date of issuance of the provision of the 

2 rule that was issued first; or 

3 (2) the date the most recent review and revision 

4 of the rule under this title was completed. 

5 SEC. 606. SUNSET REVIEW NOTICES AND AGENCY REPORTS. 

6 (a) SUNSET REVIEW NOTICES.—The sunset review 

7 notice under section 404(b)(1) for a rule shall— 

8 (1) request comments regarding whether the 

9 rule should be continued without change, modified, 

10 consolidated with another rule, or terminated; 

11 (2) if applicable, request comments regarding 

12 whether the rule meets the applicable Federal cost13 benefit and risk assessment criteria; and 

14 (3) solicit comments about the past implemen15 tation and effects of the rule, including— 

16 (A) the direct and indirect costs incurred 

17 because of the rule, including the net reduction 

18 in the value of private property (whether real, 

19 personal, tangible, or intangible), and whether 

20 the incremental benefits of the rule exceeded 

21 the incremental costs of the rule, both generally 

22 and regarding each of the specific industries 

23 and sectors it covers; 

24 (B) whether the rule as a whole, or any 

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1 necessary, whether by change of technology, the 

2 marketplace, or otherwise; 

3 (C) the extent to which the rule or infor4 mation required to comply with the rule dupli5 cated, conflicted, or overlapped with require6 ments under rules of other agencies; 

7 (D) in the case of a rule addressing a risk 

8 to health or safety or the environment, what the 

9 perceived risk was at the time of issuance and 

10 to what extent the risk predictions were accu11 rate; 

12 (E) whether the rule unnecessarily im13 peded domestic or international competition or 

14 unnecessarily intruded on free market forces, 

15 and whether the rule unnecessarily interfered 

16 with opportunities or efforts to transfer to the 

17 private sector duties carried out by the Govern18 ment; 

19 (F) whether, and to what extent, the rule 

20 imposed unfunded mandates on, or otherwise 

21 affected, State and local governments; 

22 (G) whether compliance with the rule re23 quired substantial capital investment and 

24 whether terminating the rule on the next review 


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1 deadline would create an unfair advantage to 

2 those who are not in compliance with it; 

3 (H) whether the rule constituted the least 

4 cost method of achieving its objective consistent 

5 with the criteria of the Act under which the 

6 rule was issued, and to what extent the rule 

7 provided flexibility to those who were subject to 

8 it; 

9 (I) whether the rule was worded simply 

10 and clearly, including clear identification of 

11 those who were subject to the rule; 

12 (J) whether the rule created negative unin13 tended consequences; 

14 (K) the extent to which information re15 quirements under the rule can be reduced; and 

16 (L) the extent to which the rule has con17 tributed positive benefits, particularly health or 

18 safety or environmental benefits. 

19 (b) PRELIMINARY REPORTS ON SUNSET REVIEWS.— 

20 The preliminary report under section 404(b)(2) on the 

21 sunset review of a rule shall request public comments and 

22 contain— 

23 (1) specific requests for factual findings and 

24 recommended legal conclusions regarding the appli25 cation of section 403 to the rule, the continued need 


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1 for the rule, and whether the rule duplicates func2 tions of another rule; 

3 (2) a request for comments on whether the rule 

4 should be continued without change, modified, con5 solidated with another rule, or terminated; and 

6 (3) if consolidation or modification of the rule 

7 is recommended, suggestions for the proposed text of 

8 the consolidated or modified rule. 

9 (c) FINAL REPORTS ON SUNSET REVIEWS.—The re10 port under section 404(b)(3) on the sunset review of a 

11 rule shall— 

12 (1) contain the factual findings and legal con13 clusions of the agency conducting the review regard14 ing the application of section 403 to the rule and the 

15 agency’s proposed recommendation as to whether 

16 the rule should be continued without change, modi17 fied, consolidated with another rule, or terminated; 

18 (2) in the case of a rule that the agency pro19 poses to continue without change, so state; 

20 (3) in the case of a rule that the agency pro21 poses to modify or consolidate with another rule, 

22 contain— 

23 (A) a notice of proposed rulemaking under 

24 section 553 of title 5, United States Code or 


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1 under other statutory rulemaking procedures 

2 required for that rule; and 

3 (B) the text of the rule as so modified or 

4 consolidated; and 

5 (4) in the case of a rule that the agency pro6 poses to terminate, contain a notice of proposed 

7 rulemaking for termination consistent with para8 graph (3)(A). 

9 A final report described in paragraph (2) shall be pub10 lished in the Federal Register. 

11 (d) RULEMAKING.—The final report under subsection 

12 (c)(3) or (c)(4) shall be published in the Federal Register 

13 and its publication shall constitute publication of the no14 tice required by subsection (c)(3)(A). After publication of 

15 the final report under subsection (c)(3) or (c)(4) on a sun16 set review of a rule, the agency which conducted such re17 view shall conduct the rulemaking which is called for in 

18 such report. 

19 (e) LEGISLATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS.—In any case 

20 in which the head of an agency determines that a rule 

21 in a final report under subsection (c)(3) or (c)(4) cannot 

22 be changed, modified, or consolidated with another rule 

23 without legislative action, such head shall include in such 

24 final report a description of what legislative changes are 


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1 required to implement the recommendations in such final 

2 report with regard to such rule. 

3 SEC. 607. DESIGNATION OF AGENCY REGULATORY REVIEW 

4 OFFICERS. 

5 The head of each agency shall designate an officer 

6 of the agency as the Regulatory Review Officer of the 

7 agency. The Regulatory Review Officer of an agency shall 

8 be responsible for the implementation of this title by the 

9 agency and shall report directly to the head of the agency 

10 and the Administrator with respect to that responsibility. 

11 SEC. 608. RELATIONSHIP TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCE12 DURE ACT. 

13 Nothing in this title is intended to supersede the pro14 visions of chapters 5, 6, and 7 of title 5, United States 

15 Code. 

16 SEC. 609. EFFECT OF TERMINATION OF A COVERED RULE. 

17 (a) EFFECT OF TERMINATION, GENERALLY.—If a 

18 covered rule is terminated pursuant to this title— 

19 (1) this title shall not be construed to prevent 

20 the President or an agency from exercising any au21 thority that otherwise exists to implement the stat22 ute under which the rule was issued; 

23 (2) in an agency proceeding or court action be24 tween an agency and a non-agency party, the rule 

25 shall be given no conclusive legal effect but may be 


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1 submitted as evidence of prior agency practice and 

2 procedure; and 

3 (3) this title shall not be construed to prevent 

4 the continuation or institution of any enforcement 

5 action that is based on a violation of the rule that 

6 occurred before the effectiveness of the rule termi7 nated. 

8 (b) EFFECT ON DEADLINES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection 

10 (a), any deadline for, relating to, or involving any 

11 action dependent upon, any rule terminated under 

12 this title is suspended until the agency that issued 

13 the rule issues a new rule on the same matter, un14 less otherwise provided by a law. 

15 (2) DEADLINE DEFINED.—In this subsection, 

16 the term ‘‘deadline’’ means any date certain for ful17 filling any obligation or exercising any authority es18 tablished by or under any Federal rule, or by or 

19 under any court order implementing any Federal 

20 rule. 

21 SEC. 610. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—A denial or substantial inexcus23 able delay in granting or denying a petition under section 

24 402(c) shall be considered final agency action subject to 

25 review under section 702 of title 5, United States Code. 


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1 A denial of a congressional request under section 402(d) 

2 shall not be subject to judicial review. 

3 (b) TIME LIMITATION ON FILING A CIVIL ACTION.— 

4 Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, an action 

5 seeking judicial review of a final agency action under this 

6 title may not be brought— 

7 (1) in the case of a final agency action denying 

8 a public petition under section 402(c) or continuing 

9 without change, modifying, consolidating, or termi10 nating a covered rule, more than 30 days after the 

11 date of that agency action; or 

12 (2) in the case of an action challenging a delay 

13 in deciding on a petition for a rule under section 

14 402(c), more than 1 year after the period applicable 

15 to the rule under section 402(c)(4). 

16 (c) AVAILABILITY OF JUDICIAL REVIEW UNAF17 FECTED.—Except to the extent that there is a direct con18 flict with the provisions of this title, nothing in this title 

19 is intended to affect the availability or standard of judicial 

20 review for agency regulatory action. 

21 SEC. 611. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this title, the following definitions apply: 

23 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis24 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Office of InVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:41 Mar 28, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4304.IH H4304

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1 formation and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of 

2 Management and Budget. 

3 (2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 

4 meaning given that term in section 551(1) of title 5, 

5 United States Code. 

6 (3) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEE OF THE CON7 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committee of the 

8 Congress’’ means, with respect to a rule, each stand9 ing committee of Congress having authority under 

10 the Rules of the House of Representatives or the 

11 Senate to report a bill to amend the provision of law 

12 under which the rule is issued. 

13 (4) MAJOR RULE.—The term ‘‘major rule’’ 

14 means any rule that the Administrator of the Office 

15 of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office 

16 of Management and Budget finds has resulted in or 

17 is likely to result in— 

18 (A) an annual effect on the economy of 

19 $100,000,000 or more; 

20 (B) a major increase in costs or prices for 

21 consumers, individual industries, Federal, 

22 State, or local government agencies, or geo23 graphic regions; or 

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1 novation, or on the ability of United States2 based enterprises to compete with foreign-based 

3 enterprises in domestic and export markets. 

4 (5) RULE.— 

5 (A) GENERAL RULE.—Subject to subpara6 graph (B), the term ‘‘rule’’ means any agency 

7 statement of general applicability and future ef8 fect, including agency guidance documents, de9 signed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law 

10 or policy, or describing the procedures or prac11 tices of an agency, or intended to assist in such 

12 actions, but does not include— 

13 (i) regulations or other agency state14 ments issued in accordance with formal 

15 rulemaking provisions of sections 556 and 

16 557 of title 5, United States Code, or in 

17 accordance with other statutory formal 

18 rulemaking procedures required for such 

19 regulations or statements; 

20 (ii) regulations or other agency state21 ments that are limited to agency organiza22 tion, management, or personnel matters; 

23 (iii) regulations or other agency state24 ments issued with respect to a military or 


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1 foreign affairs function of the United 

2 States; 

3 (iv) regulations, statements, or other 

4 agency actions that are reviewed and usu5 ally modified each year (or more fre6 quently), or are reviewed regularly and 

7 usually modified based on changing eco8 nomic or seasonal conditions; 

9 (v) regulations or other agency actions 

10 that grant an approval, license, permit, 

11 registration, or similar authority or that 

12 grant or recognize an exemption or relieve 

13 a restriction, or any agency action nec14 essary to permit new or improved applica15 tions of technology or to allow the manu16 facture, distribution, sale, or use of a sub17 stance or product; and 

18 (vi) regulations or other agency state19 ments that the Administrator certifies in 

20 writing are necessary for the enforcement 

21 of the Federal criminal laws. 

22 (B) SCOPE OF A RULE.—For purposes of 

23 this title, each set of rules designated in the 

24 Code of Federal Regulations as a part shall be 

25 treated as one rule. Each set of rules that do 


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1 not appear in the Code of Federal Regulations 

2 and that are comparable to a part of that Code 

3 under guidelines established by the Adminis4 trator shall be treated as one rule. 

5 (6) SUNSET REVIEW.—The term ‘‘sunset re6 view’’ means a review of the rule under this title. 

7 SEC. 612. SUNSET OF THIS TITLE. 

8 This title shall have no force or effect after the 10- 

9 year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 

10 title. 

11 TITLE VII—REGULATION COSTS 

12 TO SMALL BUSINESSES AND 

13 GRACE PERIOD FOR REGU14 LATORY VIOLATIONS 

15 SEC. 701. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION STUDY ON 

16 THE COST OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that is 1 

18 year after the date of enactment of this title, and annually 

19 thereafter, the Administrator shall conduct an annual 

20 study of the total costs to small business concerns of Fed21 eral regulations and the amount that such total costs have 

22 increased over the prior year. 

23 (b) REQUIREMENT.—In conducting each study re24 quired under subsection (a), the Administrator shall use 

25 the best available estimates of the costs and the benefits, 


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1 disaggregated by the agency issuing the regulation, of 

2 each major rule (as defined in section 804 of title 5, 

3 United States Code) made after the date of the study in 

4 the prior year resulting in a net cost to small business 

5 concerns during the period to which the report pertains, 

6 and of the cumulative costs of such rules. Such estimates 

7 may include estimates produced under the terms of Execu8 tive Order 12866. 

9 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after com10 pleting a study required by this section, the Administrator 

11 shall submit to the Committee on Small Business of the 

12 House of Representatives and the Committee on Small 

13 Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report on 

14 the findings of that study. 

15 (d) FUNDING.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall 

17 carry out this section using unobligated funds other18 wise made available to the Administration. 

19 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING FUND20 ING.—It is the sense of Congress that no additional 

21 funds should be made available to the Administra22 tion to carry out this title. 

23 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 


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1 (1) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration 

3 and the Administrator thereof, respectively; and 

4 (2) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 

5 same meaning as in section 3 of the Small Business 

6 Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 

7 SEC. 702. GRACE PERIOD FOR REGULATORY VIOLATIONS. 

8 Section 558 of title 5, United States Code, is amend9 ed by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(d) Before any enforcement action is taken on any 

11 sanction on a business for any violation of a rule or pursu12 ant to an adjudication an agency shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) not later than 10 business days after the 

14 date on which the agency determines that a sanction 

15 may be imposed on the business, provide notice to 

16 the business that, if the business is a small business 

17 as defined in subsection (k), the small business may 

18 be subject to a sanction at the end of the grace pe19 riod described in paragraph (3); 

20 ‘‘(2) delay any further action for a period of 15 

21 calendar days; 

22 ‘‘(3) for any small business, defer any further 

23 action for a period of not less than 6 months, less 

24 the 15 days described in paragraph (2), which shall 

25 be extended by an additional period of 3 months on 


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1 application by the small business demonstrating rea2 sonable efforts made in good faith to remedy the vio3 lation or other conduct giving rise to the sanction; 

4 ‘‘(4) make a further determination after the pe5 riod described in paragraph (3) as to whether or not 

6 the small business would still be subject to the sanc7 tion as of the end of that period; 

8 ‘‘(5) if the determination under paragraph (4) 

9 is that the small business would not be subject to 

10 the sanction, waive the sanction; and 

11 ‘‘(6) if notice is given more than 10 business 

12 days after the date on which the agency determines 

13 that a sanction may be imposed on the business, and 

14 the agency determines that the same sanction may 

15 have been imposed on the business 10 business days 

16 prior to the date of the notice, that date of notice 

17 shall be the effective date commencing the grace pe18 riod described in paragraph (3). 

19 ‘‘(e) The grace period described by subsection (d) 

20 shall be applicable only once per business per rule, but 

21 shall cover subsequent violations of the same rule until it 

22 expires. 

23 ‘‘(f) The grace period described by subsection (d) 

24 shall not apply to a violation that puts anyone in imminent 


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1 danger, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health 

2 Act (29 U.S.C. 662 et seq.). 

3 ‘‘(g) Nothing in subsection (d) shall be construed to 

4 prevent a small business from appealing any sanction im5 posed in accordance with the procedures of the agency, 

6 or from seeking review under chapter 7 of this title. 

7 ‘‘(h) Any sanction by an agency on a small business 

8 for any violation of a rule or pursuant to an adjudication, 

9 absent proof of written notice of the sanction and the date 

10 on which the agency determined that a sanction may be 

11 imposed, or in violation of subsection (d)(3), shall be null 

12 and void. 

13 ‘‘(i) Federal agencies shall report annually to the Om14 budsman on the utilization of this directive and disclose 

15 the penalty mitigation for small businesses. 

16 ‘‘(j) The Ombudsman shall include in its annual re17 port to Congress the agency reports described by sub18 section (i) and a summary of the findings. 

19 ‘‘(k) For purposes of this section— 

20 ‘‘(1) term ‘small business’ is defined as any sole 

21 proprietorship, partnership, corporation, limited li22 ability company, or other business entity, that— 

23 ‘‘(A) had less than $10,000,000 in gross 

24 receipts in the preceding calendar year; 


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1 ‘‘(B) is considered a ‘small-business con2 cern’ as such term is defined pursuant to Sec3 tion 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

4 632(a)); 

5 ‘‘(C) employed fewer than 200 individuals 

6 in the preceding calendar year; or 

7 ‘‘(D) had CPI adjusted gross receipts of 

8 less than $10,000,000 in the preceding year; 

9 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Ombudsman’ has the same 

10 meaning given such term in section 30(a) of the 

11 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657(a)); 

12 ‘‘(3) the term ‘consumer price index’ means the 

13 consumer price index for all urban consumers pub14 lished by the Department of Labor; and 

15 ‘‘(4) the term ‘CPI adjusted gross receipts’ 

16 means the amount of gross receipts, divided by the 

17 consumer price index for calendar year 2012, and 

18 multiplied by the consumer price index for the pre19 ceding calendar year, rounded to the nearest mul20 tiple of $100,000 (or, if midway between multiples 

21 of $100,000, to the next higher multiple of 

22 $100,000).’’. 


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1 TITLE VIII—MAJOR RULES OF 

2 THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH BE 

3 APPROVED BY CONGRESS 

4 SEC. 801. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY RULE5 MAKING. 

6 Chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

7 to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘CHAPTER 8—CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW 

9 OF AGENCY RULEMAKING 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘801. Congressional review. 

‘‘802. Congressional approval procedure for major rules. 

‘‘803. Congressional disapproval procedure for nonmajor rules. 

‘‘804. Definitions. 

‘‘805. Judicial review. 

‘‘806. Exemption for monetary policy. 

‘‘807. Effective date of certain rules. 

10 ‘‘§ 801. Congressional review 

11 ‘‘(a)(1)(A) Before a rule may take effect, the Federal 

12 agency promulgating such rule shall submit to each House 

13 of the Congress and to the Comptroller General a report 

14 containing— 

15 ‘‘(i) a copy of the rule; 

16 ‘‘(ii) a concise general statement relating to the 

17 rule; 

18 ‘‘(iii) a classification of the rule as a major or 

19 nonmajor rule, including an explanation of the clas20 sification specifically addressing each criteria for a 


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1 major rule contained within clauses (i) through (iii) 

2 of section 804(2)(A) or within section 804(2)(B); 

3 ‘‘(iv) a list of any other related regulatory ac4 tions taken by or that will be taken by the Federal 

5 agency promulgating the rule that are intended to 

6 implement the same statutory provision or regu7 latory objective as well as the individual and aggre8 gate economic effects of those actions; 

9 ‘‘(v) a list of any other related regulatory ac10 tions taken by or that will be taken by any other 

11 Federal agency with authority to implement the 

12 same statutory provision or regulatory objective that 

13 are intended to implement such provision or objec14 tive, of which the Federal agency promulgating the 

15 rule is aware, as well as the individual and aggre16 gate economic effects of those actions; and 

17 ‘‘(vi) the proposed effective date of the rule. 

18 ‘‘(B) On the date of the submission of the report 

19 under subparagraph (A), the Federal agency promulgating 

20 the rule shall submit to the Comptroller General and make 

21 available to each House of Congress— 

22 ‘‘(i) a complete copy of the cost-benefit analysis 

23 of the rule, if any, including an analysis of any jobs 

24 added or lost, differentiating between public and pri25 vate sector jobs; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the agency’s actions pursuant to sections 

2 603, 604, 605, 607, and 609 of this title; 

3 ‘‘(iii) the agency’s actions pursuant to sections 

4 202, 203, 204, and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates 

5 Reform Act of 1995; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) any other relevant information or require7 ments under any other Act and any relevant Execu8 tive orders. 

9 ‘‘(C) Upon receipt of a report submitted under sub10 paragraph (A), each House shall provide copies of the re11 port to the chairman and ranking member of each stand12 ing committee with jurisdiction under the rules of the 

13 House of Representatives or the Senate to report a bill 

14 to amend the provision of law under which the rule is 

15 issued. 

16 ‘‘(2)(A) The Comptroller General shall provide a re17 port on each major rule to the committees of jurisdiction 

18 by the end of 15 calendar days after the submission or 

19 publication date. The report of the Comptroller General 

20 shall include an assessment of the agency’s compliance 

21 with procedural steps required by paragraph (1)(B) and 

22 an assessment of whether the major rule imposes any new 

23 limits or mandates on private-sector activity. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Federal agencies shall cooperate with the Comp2 troller General by providing information relevant to the 

3 Comptroller General’s report under subparagraph (A). 

4 ‘‘(3) A major rule relating to a report submitted 

5 under paragraph (1) shall take effect upon enactment of 

6 a joint resolution of approval described in section 802 or 

7 as provided for in the rule following enactment of a joint 

8 resolution of approval described in section 802, whichever 

9 is later. 

10 ‘‘(4) A nonmajor rule shall take effect as provided 

11 by section 803 after submission to Congress under para12 graph (1). 

13 ‘‘(5) If a joint resolution of approval relating to a 

14 major rule is not enacted within the period provided in 

15 subsection (b)(2), then a joint resolution of approval relat16 ing to the same rule may not be considered under this 

17 chapter in the same Congress by either the House of Rep18 resentatives or the Senate. 

19 ‘‘(b)(1) A major rule shall not take effect unless the 

20 Congress enacts a joint resolution of approval described 

21 under section 802. 

22 ‘‘(2) If a joint resolution described in subsection (a) 

23 is not enacted into law by the end of 70 session days or 

24 legislative days, as applicable, beginning on the date on 

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1 ceived by Congress (excluding days either House of Con2 gress is adjourned for more than 3 days during a session 

3 of Congress), then the rule described in that resolution 

4 shall be deemed not to be approved and such rule shall 

5 not take effect. 

6 ‘‘(c)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

7 section (except subject to paragraph (3)), a major rule 

8 may take effect for one 90-calendar-day period if the 

9 President makes a determination under paragraph (2) and 

10 submits written notice of such determination to the Con11 gress. 

12 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) applies to a determination made 

13 by the President by Executive order that the major rule 

14 should take effect because such rule is— 

15 ‘‘(A) necessary because of an imminent threat 

16 to health or safety or other emergency; 

17 ‘‘(B) necessary for the enforcement of criminal 

18 laws; 

19 ‘‘(C) necessary for national security; or 

20 ‘‘(D) issued pursuant to any statute imple21 menting an international trade agreement. 

22 ‘‘(3) An exercise by the President of the authority 

23 under this subsection shall have no effect on the proce24 dures under section 802. 


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1 ‘‘(d)(1) In addition to the opportunity for review oth2 erwise provided under this chapter, in the case of any rule 

3 for which a report was submitted in accordance with sub4 section (a)(1)(A) during the period beginning on the date 

5 occurring— 

6 ‘‘(A) in the case of the Senate, 60 session days, 

7 or 

8 ‘‘(B) in the case of the House of Representa9 tives, 60 legislative days, 

10 before the date the Congress is scheduled to adjourn a 

11 session of Congress through the date on which the same 

12 or succeeding Congress first convenes its next session, sec13 tions 802 and 803 shall apply to such rule in the suc14 ceeding session of Congress. 

15 ‘‘(2)(A) In applying sections 802 and 803 for pur16 poses of such additional review, a rule described under 

17 paragraph (1) shall be treated as though— 

18 ‘‘(i) such rule were published in the Federal 

19 Register on— 

20 ‘‘(I) in the case of the Senate, the 15th 

21 session day, or 

22 ‘‘(II) in the case of the House of Rep23 resentatives, the 15th legislative day, 

24 after the succeeding session of Congress first con25 venes; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a report on such rule were submitted to 

2 Congress under subsection (a)(1) on such date. 

3 ‘‘(B) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed 

4 to affect the requirement under subsection (a)(1) that a 

5 report shall be submitted to Congress before a rule can 

6 take effect. 

7 ‘‘(3) A rule described under paragraph (1) shall take 

8 effect as otherwise provided by law (including other sub9 sections of this section). 

10 ‘‘§ 802. Congressional approval procedure for major 

11 rules 

12 ‘‘(a)(1) For purposes of this section, the term ‘joint 

13 resolution’ means only a joint resolution addressing a re14 port classifying a rule as major pursuant to section 

15 801(a)(1)(A)(iii) that— 

16 ‘‘(A) bears no preamble; 

17 ‘‘(B) bears the following title (with blanks filled 

18 as appropriate): ‘Approving the rule submitted by 

19 lll relating to lll.’; 

20 ‘‘(C) includes after its resolving clause only the 

21 following (with blanks filled as appropriate): ‘That 

22 Congress approves the rule submitted by lll re23 lating to lll.’; and 

24 ‘‘(D) is introduced pursuant to paragraph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(2) After a House of Congress receives a report 

2 classifying a rule as major pursuant to section 

3 801(a)(1)(A)(iii), the majority leader of that House (or 

4 his or her respective designee) shall introduce (by request, 

5 if appropriate) a joint resolution described in paragraph 

6 (1)— 

7 ‘‘(A) in the case of the House of Representa8 tives, within three legislative days; and 

9 ‘‘(B) in the case of the Senate, within three ses10 sion days. 

11 ‘‘(3) A joint resolution described in paragraph (1) 

12 shall not be subject to amendment at any stage of pro13 ceeding. 

14 ‘‘(b) A joint resolution described in subsection (a) 

15 shall be referred in each House of Congress to the commit16 tees having jurisdiction over the provision of law under 

17 which the rule is issued. 

18 ‘‘(c) In the Senate, if the committee or committees 

19 to which a joint resolution described in subsection (a) has 

20 been referred have not reported it at the end of 15 session 

21 days after its introduction, such committee or committees 

22 shall be automatically discharged from further consider23 ation of the resolution and it shall be placed on the cal24 endar. A vote on final passage of the resolution shall be 

25 taken on or before the close of the 15th session day after 


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1 the resolution is reported by the committee or committees 

2 to which it was referred, or after such committee or com3 mittees have been discharged from further consideration 

4 of the resolution. 

5 ‘‘(d)(1) In the Senate, when the committee or com6 mittees to which a joint resolution is referred have re7 ported, or when a committee or committees are discharged 

8 (under subsection (c)) from further consideration of a 

9 joint resolution described in subsection (a), it is at any 

10 time thereafter in order (even though a previous motion 

11 to the same effect has been disagreed to) for a motion 

12 to proceed to the consideration of the joint resolution, and 

13 all points of order against the joint resolution (and against 

14 consideration of the joint resolution) are waived. The mo15 tion is not subject to amendment, or to a motion to post16 pone, or to a motion to proceed to the consideration of 

17 other business. A motion to reconsider the vote by which 

18 the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in 

19 order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration of the 

20 joint resolution is agreed to, the joint resolution shall re21 main the unfinished business of the Senate until disposed 

22 of. 

23 ‘‘(2) In the Senate, debate on the joint resolution, 

24 and on all debatable motions and appeals in connection 

25 therewith, shall be limited to not more than 2 hours, which 


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1 shall be divided equally between those favoring and those 

2 opposing the joint resolution. A motion to further limit 

3 debate is in order and not debatable. An amendment to, 

4 or a motion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the 

5 consideration of other business, or a motion to recommit 

6 the joint resolution is not in order. 

7 ‘‘(3) In the Senate, immediately following the conclu8 sion of the debate on a joint resolution described in sub9 section (a), and a single quorum call at the conclusion of 

10 the debate if requested in accordance with the rules of the 

11 Senate, the vote on final passage of the joint resolution 

12 shall occur. 

13 ‘‘(4) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating 

14 to the application of the rules of the Senate to the proce15 dure relating to a joint resolution described in subsection 

16 (a) shall be decided without debate. 

17 ‘‘(e) In the House of Representatives, if any com18 mittee to which a joint resolution described in subsection 

19 (a) has been referred has not reported it to the House 

20 at the end of 15 legislative days after its introduction, 

21 such committee shall be discharged from further consider22 ation of the joint resolution, and it shall be placed on the 

23 appropriate calendar. On the second and fourth Thursdays 

24 of each month it shall be in order at any time for the 

25 Speaker to recognize a Member who favors passage of a 


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1 joint resolution that has appeared on the calendar for at 

2 least 5 legislative days to call up that joint resolution for 

3 immediate consideration in the House without intervention 

4 of any point of order. When so called up a joint resolution 

5 shall be considered as read and shall be debatable for 1 

6 hour equally divided and controlled by the proponent and 

7 an opponent, and the previous question shall be considered 

8 as ordered to its passage without intervening motion. It 

9 shall not be in order to reconsider the vote on passage. 

10 If a vote on final passage of the joint resolution has not 

11 been taken by the third Thursday on which the Speaker 

12 may recognize a Member under this subsection, such vote 

13 shall be taken on that day. 

14 ‘‘(f)(1) If, before passing a joint resolution described 

15 in subsection (a), one House receives from the other a 

16 joint resolution having the same text, then— 

17 ‘‘(A) the joint resolution of the other House 

18 shall not be referred to a committee; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the procedure in the receiving House shall 

20 be the same as if no joint resolution had been re21 ceived from the other House until the vote on pas22 sage, when the joint resolution received from the 

23 other House shall supplant the joint resolution of 

24 the receiving House. 


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1 ‘‘(2) This subsection shall not apply to the House of 

2 Representatives if the joint resolution received from the 

3 Senate is a revenue measure. 

4 ‘‘(g) If either House has not taken a vote on final 

5 passage of the joint resolution by the last day of the period 

6 described in section 801(b)(2), then such vote shall be 

7 taken on that day. 

8 ‘‘(h) This section and section 803 are enacted by 

9 Congress— 

10 ‘‘(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

11 the Senate and House of Representatives, respec12 tively, and as such is deemed to be part of the rules 

13 of each House, respectively, but applicable only with 

14 respect to the procedure to be followed in that 

15 House in the case of a joint resolution described in 

16 subsection (a) and superseding other rules only 

17 where explicitly so; and 

18 ‘‘(2) with full recognition of the Constitutional 

19 right of either House to change the rules (so far as 

20 they relate to the procedure of that House) at any 

21 time, in the same manner and to the same extent as 

22 in the case of any other rule of that House. 


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1 ‘‘§ 803. Congressional disapproval procedure for 

2 nonmajor rules 

3 ‘‘(a) For purposes of this section, the term ‘joint res4 olution’ means only a joint resolution introduced in the 

5 period beginning on the date on which the report referred 

6 to in section 801(a)(1)(A) is received by Congress and 

7 ending 60 days thereafter (excluding days either House 

8 of Congress is adjourned for more than 3 days during a 

9 session of Congress), the matter after the resolving clause 

10 of which is as follows: ‘That Congress disapproves the 

11 nonmajor rule submitted by the lll relating to 

12 lll, and such rule shall have no force or effect.’ (The 

13 blank spaces being appropriately filled in). 

14 ‘‘(b) A joint resolution described in subsection (a) 

15 shall be referred to the committees in each House of Con16 gress with jurisdiction. 

17 ‘‘(c) In the Senate, if the committee to which is re18 ferred a joint resolution described in subsection (a) has 

19 not reported such joint resolution (or an identical joint 

20 resolution) at the end of 15 session days after the date 

21 of introduction of the joint resolution, such committee may 

22 be discharged from further consideration of such joint res23 olution upon a petition supported in writing by 30 Mem24 bers of the Senate, and such joint resolution shall be 

25 placed on the calendar. 


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1 ‘‘(d)(1) In the Senate, when the committee to which 

2 a joint resolution is referred has reported, or when a com3 mittee is discharged (under subsection (c)) from further 

4 consideration of a joint resolution described in subsection 

5 (a), it is at any time thereafter in order (even though a 

6 previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed to) 

7 for a motion to proceed to the consideration of the joint 

8 resolution, and all points of order against the joint resolu9 tion (and against consideration of the joint resolution) are 

10 waived. The motion is not subject to amendment, or to 

11 a motion to postpone, or to a motion to proceed to the 

12 consideration of other business. A motion to reconsider the 

13 vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall 

14 not be in order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration 

15 of the joint resolution is agreed to, the joint resolution 

16 shall remain the unfinished business of the Senate until 

17 disposed of. 

18 ‘‘(2) In the Senate, debate on the joint resolution, 

19 and on all debatable motions and appeals in connection 

20 therewith, shall be limited to not more than 10 hours, 

21 which shall be divided equally between those favoring and 

22 those opposing the joint resolution. A motion to further 

23 limit debate is in order and not debatable. An amendment 

24 to, or a motion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to 


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1 the consideration of other business, or a motion to recom2 mit the joint resolution is not in order. 

3 ‘‘(3) In the Senate, immediately following the conclu4 sion of the debate on a joint resolution described in sub5 section (a), and a single quorum call at the conclusion of 

6 the debate if requested in accordance with the rules of the 

7 Senate, the vote on final passage of the joint resolution 

8 shall occur. 

9 ‘‘(4) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating 

10 to the application of the rules of the Senate to the proce11 dure relating to a joint resolution described in subsection 

12 (a) shall be decided without debate. 

13 ‘‘(e) In the Senate the procedure specified in sub14 section (c) or (d) shall not apply to the consideration of 

15 a joint resolution respecting a nonmajor rule— 

16 ‘‘(1) after the expiration of the 60 session days 

17 beginning with the applicable submission or publica18 tion date, or 

19 ‘‘(2) if the report under section 801(a)(1)(A) 

20 was submitted during the period referred to in sec21 tion 801(d)(1), after the expiration of the 60 session 

22 days beginning on the 15th session day after the 

23 succeeding session of Congress first convenes. 

24 ‘‘(f) If, before the passage by one House of a joint 

25 resolution of that House described in subsection (a), that 


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1 House receives from the other House a joint resolution 

2 described in subsection (a), then the following procedures 

3 shall apply: 

4 ‘‘(1) The joint resolution of the other House 

5 shall not be referred to a committee. 

6 ‘‘(2) With respect to a joint resolution described 

7 in subsection (a) of the House receiving the joint 

8 resolution— 

9 ‘‘(A) the procedure in that House shall be 

10 the same as if no joint resolution had been re11 ceived from the other House; but 

12 ‘‘(B) the vote on final passage shall be on 

13 the joint resolution of the other House. 

14 ‘‘§ 804. Definitions 

15 ‘‘For purposes of this chapter— 

16 ‘‘(1) The term ‘Federal agency’ means any 

17 agency as that term is defined in section 551(1). 

18 ‘‘(2) The term ‘major rule’ means any rule, in19 cluding an interim final rule, that the Administrator 

20 of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs 

21 of the Office of Management and Budget finds— 

22 ‘‘(A) has resulted in or is likely to result 

23 in— 

24 ‘‘(i) an annual effect on the economy 

25 of $50,000,000 or more; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a major increase in costs or 

2 prices for consumers, individual industries, 

3 Federal, State, or local government agen4 cies, or geographic regions; or 

5 ‘‘(iii) significant adverse effects on 

6 competition, employment, investment, pro7 ductivity, innovation, or on the ability of 

8 United States-based enterprises to compete 

9 with foreign-based enterprises in domestic 

10 and export markets; 

11 ‘‘(B) is made by the Administrator of the 

12 Environmental Protection Agency and that 

13 would have a significant impact on a substan14 tial number of agricultural entities, as deter15 mined by the Secretary of Agriculture (who 

16 shall publish such determination in the Federal 

17 Register); 

18 ‘‘(C) is a rule that implements or provides 

19 for the imposition or collection of a carbon tax; 

20 or 

21 ‘‘(D) is made under the Patient Protection 

22 and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111– 

23 148). 

24 ‘‘(3) The term ‘nonmajor rule’ means any rule 

25 that is not a major rule. 


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1 ‘‘(4) The term ‘rule’ has the meaning given 

2 such term in section 551, except that such term does 

3 not include any rule of particular applicability, in4 cluding a rule that approves or prescribes for the fu5 ture rates, wages, prices, services, or allowances 

6 therefore, corporate or financial structures, reorga7 nizations, mergers, or acquisitions thereof, or ac8 counting practices or disclosures bearing on any of 

9 the foregoing. 

10 ‘‘(5) The term ‘submission date or publication 

11 date’, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, 

12 means— 

13 ‘‘(A) in the case of a major rule, the date 

14 on which the Congress receives the report sub15 mitted under section 801(a)(1); and 

16 ‘‘(B) in the case of a nonmajor rule, the 

17 later of— 

18 ‘‘(i) the date on which the Congress 

19 receives the report submitted under section 

20 801(a)(1); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the nonmajor 

22 rule is published in the Federal Register, if 

23 so published. 

24 ‘‘(6) The term ‘agricultural entity’ means any 

25 entity involved in or related to agricultural enterVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:41 Mar 28, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4304.IH H4304

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1 prise, including enterprises that are engaged in the 

2 business of production of food and fiber, ranching 

3 and raising of livestock, aquaculture, and all other 

4 farming and agricultural related industries. 

5 ‘‘(7) The term ‘carbon tax’ means a fee, levy, 

6 or price on— 

7 ‘‘(A) emissions, including carbon dioxide 

8 emissions generated by the burning of coal, nat9 ural gas, or oil; or 

10 ‘‘(B) coal, natural gas, or oil based on 

11 emissions, including carbon dioxide emissions 

12 that would be generated through the fuel’s com13 bustion. 

14 ‘‘§ 805. Judicial review 

15 ‘‘(a) No determination, finding, action, or omission 

16 under this chapter shall be subject to judicial review. 

17 ‘‘(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a court may de18 termine whether a Federal agency has completed the nec19 essary requirements under this chapter for a rule to take 

20 effect. 

21 ‘‘(c) The enactment of a joint resolution of approval 

22 under section 802 shall not be interpreted to serve as a 

23 grant or modification of statutory authority by Congress 

24 for the promulgation of a rule, shall not extinguish or af25 fect any claim, whether substantive or procedural, against 


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1 any alleged defect in a rule, and shall not form part of 

2 the record before the court in any judicial proceeding con3 cerning a rule except for purposes of determining whether 

4 or not the rule is in effect. 

5 ‘‘§ 806. Exemption for monetary policy 

6 ‘‘Nothing in this chapter shall apply to rules that con7 cern monetary policy proposed or implemented by the 

8 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the 

9 Federal Open Market Committee. 

10 ‘‘§ 807. Effective date of certain rules 

11 ‘‘Notwithstanding section 801— 

12 ‘‘(1) any rule that establishes, modifies, opens, 

13 closes, or conducts a regulatory program for a com14 mercial, recreational, or subsistence activity related 

15 to hunting, fishing, or camping; or 

16 ‘‘(2) any rule other than a major rule which an 

17 agency for good cause finds (and incorporates the 

18 finding and a brief statement of reasons therefore in 

19 the rule issued) that notice and public procedure 

20 thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary 

21 to the public interest, 

22 shall take effect at such time as the Federal agency pro23 mulgating the rule determines.’’. 


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1 SEC. 802. BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF RULES SUBJECT TO 

2 SECTION 802 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES 

3 CODE. 

4 Section 257(b)(2) of the Balanced Budget and Emer5 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following new subparagraph: 

7 ‘‘(E) BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF RULES

8 SUBJECT TO SECTION 802 OF TITLE 5, UNITED

9 STATES CODE.—Any rules subject to the con10 gressional approval procedure set forth in sec11 tion 802 of chapter 8 of title 5, United States 

12 Code, affecting budget authority, outlays, or re13 ceipts shall be assumed to be effective unless it 

14 is not approved in accordance with such sec15 tion.’’. 

16 SEC. 803. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY 

17 OF RULES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 

19 United States shall conduct a study to determine, as of 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act— 

21 (1) how many rules (as such term is defined in 

22 section 804 of title 5, United States Code) were in 

23 effect; 

24 (2) how many major rules (as such term is de25 fined in section 804 of title 5, United States Code) 

26 were in effect; and 


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1 (3) the total estimated economic cost imposed 

2 by all such rules. 

3 (b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

4 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 

5 the United States shall submit a report to Congress that 

6 contains the findings of the study conducted under sub7 section (a). 

8 TITLE IX—SIMPLIFICATION OF 

9 MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS 

10 AND SALES OF SMALL BUSI11 NESS 

12 SEC. 901. REGISTRATION EXEMPTION FOR MERGER AND 

13 ACQUISITION BROKERS. 

14 (a) REGISTRATION EXEMPTION.—Section 15(b) of 

15 the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78o(b)) 

16 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(13) REGISTRATION EXEMPTION FOR MERGER

18 AND ACQUISITION BROKERS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

20 subparagraph (B), an M&A broker shall be ex21 empt from registration under this section. 

22 ‘‘(B) EXCLUDED ACTIVITIES.—An M&A 

23 broker is not exempt from registration under 

24 this paragraph if such broker does any of the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Directly or indirectly, in connec2 tion with the transfer of ownership of an 

3 eligible privately held company, receives, 

4 holds, transmits, or has custody of the 

5 funds or securities to be exchanged by the 

6 parties to the transaction. 

7 ‘‘(ii) Engages on behalf of an issuer in 

8 a public offering of any class of securities 

9 that is registered, or is required to be reg10 istered, with the Commission under section 

11 12 or with respect to which the issuer files, 

12 or is required to file, periodic information, 

13 documents, and reports under subsection 

14 (d). 

15 ‘‘(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

16 in this paragraph shall be construed to limit 

17 any other authority of the Commission to ex18 empt any person, or any class of persons, from 

19 any provision of this title, or from any provision 

20 of any rule or regulation thereunder. 

21 ‘‘(D) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(i) CONTROL.—The term ‘control’ 

23 means the power, directly or indirectly, to 

24 direct the management or policies of a 

25 company, whether through ownership of 


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1 securities, by contract, or otherwise. There 

2 is a presumption of control for any person 

3 who— 

4 ‘‘(I) is a director, general part5 ner, member or manager of a limited 

6 liability company, or officer exercising 

7 executive responsibility (or has similar 

8 status or functions); 

9 ‘‘(II) has the right to vote 20 

10 percent or more of a class of voting 

11 securities or the power to sell or direct 

12 the sale of 20 percent or more of a 

13 class of voting securities; or 

14 ‘‘(III) in the case of a partner15 ship or limited liability company, has 

16 the right to receive upon dissolution, 

17 or has contributed, 20 percent or 

18 more of the capital. 

19 ‘‘(ii) ELIGIBLE PRIVATELY HELD

20 COMPANY.—The term ‘eligible privately 

21 held company’ means a company that 

22 meets both of the following conditions: 

23 ‘‘(I) The company does not have 

24 any class of securities registered, or 

25 required to be registered, with the 


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1 Commission under section 12 or with 

2 respect to which the company files, or 

3 is required to file, periodic informa4 tion, documents, and reports under 

5 subsection (d). 

6 ‘‘(II) In the fiscal year ending 

7 immediately before the fiscal year in 

8 which the services of the M&A broker 

9 are initially engaged with respect to 

10 the securities transaction, the com11 pany meets either or both of the fol12 lowing conditions (determined in ac13 cordance with the historical financial 

14 accounting records of the company): 

15 ‘‘(aa) The earnings of the 

16 company before interest, taxes, 

17 depreciation, and amortization 

18 are less than $25,000,000. 

19 ‘‘(bb) The gross revenues of 

20 the company are less than 

21 $250,000,000. 

22 ‘‘(iii) M&A BROKER.—The term ‘M&A 

23 broker’ means a broker, and any person 

24 associated with a broker, engaged in the 

25 business of effecting securities transactions 


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1 solely in connection with the transfer of 

2 ownership of an eligible privately held com3 pany, regardless of whether the broker acts 

4 on behalf of a seller or buyer, through the 

5 purchase, sale, exchange, issuance, repur6 chase, or redemption of, or a business com7 bination involving, securities or assets of 

8 the eligible privately held company, if the 

9 broker reasonably believes that— 

10 ‘‘(I) upon consummation of the 

11 transaction, any person acquiring se12 curities or assets of the eligible pri13 vately held company, acting alone or 

14 in concert, will control and, directly or 

15 indirectly, will be active in the man16 agement of the eligible privately held 

17 company or the business conducted 

18 with the assets of the eligible privately 

19 held company; and 

20 ‘‘(II) if any person is offered se21 curities in exchange for securities or 

22 assets of the eligible privately held 

23 company, such person will, prior to 

24 becoming legally bound to consum25 mate the transaction, receive or have 


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1 reasonable access to the most recent 

2 year-end balance sheet, income state3 ment, statement of changes in finan4 cial position, and statement of owner’s 

5 equity of the issuer of the securities 

6 offered in exchange, and, if the finan7 cial statements of the issuer are au8 dited, the related report of the inde9 pendent auditor, a balance sheet 

10 dated not more than 120 days before 

11 the date of the offer, and information 

12 pertaining to the management, busi13 ness, results of operations for the pe14 riod covered by the foregoing financial 

15 statements, and material loss contin16 gencies of the issuer. 

17 ‘‘(E) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—On the date that 

19 is 5 years after the date of the enactment 

20 of the Small Business Mergers, Acquisi21 tions, Sales, and Brokerage Simplification 

22 Act of 2014, and every 5 years thereafter, 

23 each dollar amount in subparagraph 

24 (D)(ii)(II) shall be adjusted by— 


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1 ‘‘(I) dividing the annual value of 

2 the Employment Cost Index For 

3 Wages and Salaries, Private Industry 

4 Workers (or any successor index), as 

5 published by the Bureau of Labor 

6 Statistics, for the calendar year pre7 ceding the calendar year in which the 

8 adjustment is being made by the an9 nual value of such index (or suc10 cessor) for the calendar year ending 

11 December 31, 2012; and 

12 ‘‘(II) multiplying such dollar 

13 amount by the quotient obtained 

14 under subclause (I). 

15 ‘‘(ii) ROUNDING.—Each dollar 

16 amount determined under clause (i) shall 

17 be rounded to the nearest multiple of 

18 $100,000.’’. 

19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This title and any amend20 ment made by this title shall take effect on the date that 

21 is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 DIVISION III—ENERGY 

2 TITLE X—OFFSHORE ENERGY 

3 AND JOBS ACT 

4 SEC. 1001. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Offshore Energy and 

6 Jobs Act’’. 

7 Subtitle A—Outer Continental 

8 Shelf Leasing Program Reforms 

9 SEC. 1011. OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LEASING PRO10 GRAM REFORMS. 

11 Section 18(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

12 Act (43 U.S.C. 1344(a)) is amended by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(5)(A) In each oil and gas leasing program 

15 under this section, the Secretary shall make avail16 able for leasing and conduct lease sales including at 

17 least 50 percent of the available unleased acreage 

18 within each outer Continental Shelf planning area 

19 considered to have the largest undiscovered, tech20 nically recoverable oil and gas resources (on a total 

21 btu basis) based upon the most recent national geo22 logic assessment of the outer Continental Shelf, with 

23 an emphasis on offering the most geologically pro24 spective parts of the planning area. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall include in each pro2 posed oil and gas leasing program under this section 

3 any State subdivision of an outer Continental Shelf 

4 planning area that the Governor of the State that 

5 represents that subdivision requests be made avail6 able for leasing. The Secretary may not remove such 

7 a subdivision from the program until publication of 

8 the final program, and shall include and consider all 

9 such subdivisions in any environmental review con10 ducted and statement prepared for such program 

11 under section 102(2) of the National Environmental 

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

13 ‘‘(C) In this paragraph the term ‘available un14 leased acreage’ means that portion of the outer Con15 tinental Shelf that is not under lease at the time of 

16 a proposed lease sale, and that has not otherwise 

17 been made unavailable for leasing by law. 

18 ‘‘(6)(A) In the 5-year oil and gas leasing pro19 gram, the Secretary shall make available for leasing 

20 any outer Continental Shelf planning areas that— 

21 ‘‘(i) are estimated to contain more than 

22 2,500,000,000 barrels of oil; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) are estimated to contain more than 

24 7,500,000,000,000 cubic feet of natural gas. 


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1 ‘‘(B) To determine the planning areas described 

2 in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall use the 

3 document entitled ‘Minerals Management Service 

4 Assessment of Undiscovered Technically Recoverable 

5 Oil and Gas Resources of the Nation’s Outer Conti6 nental Shelf, 2006’.’’. 

7 SEC. 1012. DOMESTIC OIL AND NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION 

8 GOAL. 

9 Section 18(b) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

10 Act (43 U.S.C. 1344(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(b) DOMESTIC OIL AND NATURAL GAS PRODUC12 TION GOAL.—– 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In developing a 5-year oil 

14 and gas leasing program, and subject to paragraph 

15 (2), the Secretary shall determine a domestic stra16 tegic production goal for the development of oil and 

17 natural gas as a result of that program. Such goal 

18 shall be— 

19 ‘‘(A) the best estimate of the possible in20 crease in domestic production of oil and natural 

21 gas from the outer Continental Shelf; 

22 ‘‘(B) focused on meeting domestic demand 

23 for oil and natural gas and reducing the de24 pendence of the United States on foreign en25 ergy; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) focused on the production increases 

2 achieved by the leasing program at the end of 

3 the 15-year period beginning on the effective 

4 date of the program. 

5 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM GOAL.—For purposes of the 5- 

6 year oil and gas leasing program, the production 

7 goal referred to in paragraph (1) shall be an in8 crease by 2032 of— 

9 ‘‘(A) no less than 3,000,000 barrels in the 

10 amount of oil produced per day; and 

11 ‘‘(B) no less than 10,000,000,000 cubic 

12 feet in the amount of natural gas produced per 

13 day. 

14 ‘‘(3) REPORTING.—The Secretary shall report 

15 annually, beginning at the end of the 5-year period 

16 for which the program applies, to the Committee on 

17 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 

18 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re19 sources of the Senate on the progress of the pro20 gram in meeting the production goal. The Secretary 

21 shall identify in the report projections for production 

22 and any problems with leasing, permitting, or pro23 duction that will prevent meeting the goal.’’. 


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1 SEC. 1013. DEVELOPMENT AND SUBMITTAL OF NEW 5-YEAR 

2 OIL AND GAS LEASING PROGRAM. 

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

4 shall— 

5 (1) by not later than July 15, 2014, publish 

6 and submit to Congress a new proposed oil and gas 

7 leasing program under section 18 of the Outer Con8 tinental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) for the 

9 5-year period beginning on such date and ending 

10 July 15, 2020; and 

11 (2) by not later than July 15, 2015, approve a 

12 final oil and gas leasing program under such section 

13 for such period. 

14 (b) CONSIDERATION OF ALL AREAS.—In preparing 

15 such program the Secretary shall include consideration of 

16 areas of the Continental Shelf off the coasts of all States 

17 (as such term is defined in section 2 of that Act, as 

18 amended by this title), that are subject to leasing under 

19 this title. 

20 (c) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 18(d)(3) of 

21 the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

22 1344(d)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘or after eighteen 

23 months following the date of enactment of this section, 

24 whichever first occurs,’’. 


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1 SEC. 1014. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

2 Nothing in this title shall be construed to authorize 

3 the issuance of a lease under the Outer Continental Shelf 

4 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) to any person des5 ignated for the imposition of sanctions pursuant to— 

6 (1) the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (50 U.S.C. 

7 1701 note), the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Ac8 countability and Divestiture Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 

9 8501 et seq.), the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria 

10 Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8701 et 

11 seq.), section 1245 of the National Defense Author12 ization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8513a), 

13 or the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act 

14 of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8801 et seq.); 

15 (2) Executive Order No. 13622 (July 30, 

16 2012), Executive Order No. 13628 (October 9, 

17 2012), or Executive Order No. 13645 (June 3, 

18 2013); 

19 (3) Executive Order No. 13224 (September 23, 

20 2001) or Executive Order No. 13338 (May 11, 

21 2004); or 

22 (4) the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sov23 ereignty Restoration Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 2151 

24 note). 


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1 Subtitle B—Directing the President 

2 To Conduct New OCS Sales in 

3 Virginia, South Carolina, and 

4 California 

5 SEC. 1021. REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT PROPOSED OIL 

6 AND GAS LEASE SALE 220 ON THE OUTER 

7 CONTINENTAL SHELF OFFSHORE VIRGINIA. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the exclusion of 

9 Lease Sale 220 in the Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil 

10 & Gas Leasing Program 2012–2017, the Secretary of the 

11 Interior shall conduct offshore oil and gas Lease Sale 220 

12 under section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

13 (43 U.S.C. 1337) as soon as practicable, but not later 

14 than one year after the date of enactment of this Act. 

15 (b) REQUIREMENT TO MAKE REPLACEMENT LEASE

16 BLOCKS AVAILABLE.—For each lease block in a proposed 

17 lease sale under this section for which the Secretary of 

18 Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, 

19 under the Memorandum of Agreement referred to in sec20 tion 1025(b), issues a statement proposing deferral from 

21 a lease offering due to defense-related activities that are 

22 irreconcilable with mineral exploration and development, 

23 the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Sec24 retary of Defense, shall make available in the same lease 

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1 ning area that is acceptable for oil and gas exploration 

2 and production in order to mitigate conflict. 

3 (c) BALANCING MILITARY AND ENERGY PRODUC4 TION GOALS.—In recognition that the Outer Continental 

5 Shelf oil and gas leasing program and the domestic energy 

6 resources produced therefrom are integral to national se7 curity, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 

8 Defense shall work jointly in implementing this section in 

9 order to ensure achievement of the following common 

10 goals: 

11 (1) Preserving the ability of the Armed Forces 

12 of the United States to maintain an optimum state 

13 of readiness through their continued use of the 

14 Outer Continental Shelf. 

15 (2) Allowing effective exploration, development, 

16 and production of our Nation’s oil, gas, and renew17 able energy resources. 

18 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) LEASE SALE 220.—The term ‘‘Lease Sale 

20 220’’ means such lease sale referred to in the Re21 quest for Comments on the Draft Proposed 5-Year 

22 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing 

23 Program for 2010–2015 and Notice of Intent To 

24 Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 


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1 for the Proposed 5-Year Program published January 

2 21, 2009 (74 Fed. Reg. 3631). 

3 (2) VIRGINIA LEASE SALE PLANNING AREA.— 

4 The term ‘‘Virginia lease sale planning area’’ means 

5 the area of the outer Continental Shelf (as that term 

6 is defined in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

7 (33 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.)) that is bounded by— 

8 (A) a northern boundary consisting of a 

9 straight line extending from the northernmost 

10 point of Virginia’s seaward boundary to the 

11 point on the seaward boundary of the United 

12 States exclusive economic zone located at 37 de13 grees 17 minutes 1 second North latitude, 71 

14 degrees 5 minutes 16 seconds West longitude; 

15 and 

16 (B) a southern boundary consisting of a 

17 straight line extending from the southernmost 

18 point of Virginia’s seaward boundary to the 

19 point on the seaward boundary of the United 

20 States exclusive economic zone located at 36 de21 grees 31 minutes 58 seconds North latitude, 71 

22 degrees 30 minutes 1 second West longitude. 

23 SEC. 1022. SOUTH CAROLINA LEASE SALE. 

24 Notwithstanding inclusion of the South Atlantic 

25 Outer Continental Shelf Planning Area in the Final Outer 


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1 Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program 2012–2017, 

2 the Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a lease sale not 

3 later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this 

4 Act for areas off the coast of South Carolina determined 

5 by the Secretary to have the most geologically promising 

6 hydrocarbon resources and constituting not less than 25 

7 percent of the leasable area within the South Carolina off8 shore administrative boundaries depicted in the notice en9 titled ‘‘Federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Adminis10 trative Boundaries Extending from the Submerged Lands 

11 Act Boundary seaward to the Limit of the United States 

12 Outer Continental Shelf’’, published January 3, 2006 (71 

13 Fed. Reg. 127). 

14 SEC. 1023. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EXISTING INFRASTRUC15 TURE LEASE SALE. 

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

17 offer for sale leases of tracts in the Santa Maria and 

18 Santa Barbara/Ventura Basins of the Southern California 

19 OCS Planning Area as soon as practicable, but not later 

20 than December 31, 2014. 

21 (b) USE OF EXISTING STRUCTURES OR ONSHORE22 BASED DRILLING.—The Secretary of the Interior shall in23 clude in leases offered for sale under this lease sale such 

24 terms and conditions as are necessary to require that de25 velopment and production may occur only from offshore 


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1 infrastructure in existence on the date of the enactment 

2 of this Act or from onshore-based, extended-reach drilling. 

3 SEC. 1024. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT RE4 QUIREMENT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of this title, the 

6 Secretary of the Interior shall prepare a multisale environ7 mental impact statement under section 102 of the Na8 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) 

9 for all lease sales required under this subtitle. 

10 (b) ACTIONS TO BE CONSIDERED.—Notwithstanding 

11 section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

12 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332), in such statement— 

13 (1) the Secretary is not required to identify 

14 nonleasing alternative courses of action or to analyze 

15 the environmental effects of such alternative courses 

16 of action; and 

17 (2) the Secretary shall only— 

18 (A) identify a preferred action for leasing 

19 and not more than one alternative leasing pro20 posal; and 

21 (B) analyze the environmental effects and 

22 potential mitigation measures for such pre23 ferred action and such alternative leasing pro24 posal. 


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1 SEC. 1025. NATIONAL DEFENSE. 

2 (a) NATIONAL DEFENSE AREAS.—This title does not 

3 affect the existing authority of the Secretary of Defense, 

4 with the approval of the President, to designate national 

5 defense areas on the Outer Continental Shelf pursuant to 

6 section 12(d) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

7 (43 U.S.C. 1341(d)). 

8 (b) PROHIBITION ON CONFLICTS WITH MILITARY

9 OPERATIONS.—No person may engage in any exploration, 

10 development, or production of oil or natural gas on the 

11 Outer Continental Shelf under a lease issued under this 

12 title that would conflict with any military operation, as 

13 determined in accordance with the Memorandum of Agree14 ment between the Department of Defense and the Depart15 ment of the Interior on Mutual Concerns on the Outer 

16 Continental Shelf signed July 20, 1983, and any revision 

17 or replacement for that agreement that is agreed to by 

18 the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Interior 

19 after that date but before the date of issuance of the lease 

20 under which such exploration, development, or production 

21 is conducted. 

22 SEC. 1026. OPENING THE EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO FOR 

23 EXPLORATION. 

24 (a) REPEAL.—Section 104 of the Gulf of Mexico En25 ergy Security Act of 2006 (title I of division C of Public 

26 Law 109–432; 43 U.S.C. 1331 note) is repealed. 


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1 (b) EXCHANGES NOT AFFECTED.—Subsection (a) of 

2 this section shall not affect any exchange made before the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 Subtitle C—Equitable Sharing of 

5 Outer Continental Shelf Revenues 

6 SEC. 1031. DISPOSITION OF OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 

7 REVENUES TO COASTAL STATES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9 of the Outer Conti9 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1338) is amended— 

10 (1) in the existing text— 

11 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘All 

12 rentals,’’ and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(c) DISPOSITION OF REVENUE UNDER OLD

14 LEASES.—All rentals,’’; and 

15 (B) in subsection (c) (as designated by the 

16 amendment made by subparagraph (A) of this 

17 paragraph), by striking ‘‘for the period from 

18 June 5, 1950, to date, and thereafter’’ and in19 serting ‘‘in the period beginning June 5, 1950, 

20 and ending on the date of enactment of the Off21 shore Energy and Jobs Act’’; 

22 (2) by adding after subsection (c) (as so des23 ignated) the following: 

24 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘coastal 

2 State’ includes a territory of the United States. 

3 ‘‘(2) NEW LEASING REVENUES.—The term ‘new 

4 leasing revenues’— 

5 ‘‘(A) means amounts received by the 

6 United States as bonuses, rents, and royalties 

7 under leases for oil and gas, wind, tidal, or 

8 other energy exploration, development, and pro9 duction on new areas of the outer Continental 

10 Shelf that are authorized to be made available 

11 for leasing as a result of enactment of the Off12 shore Energy and Jobs Act and leasing under 

13 that Act; and 

14 ‘‘(B) does not include amounts received by 

15 the United States under any lease of an area lo16 cated in the boundaries of the Central Gulf of 

17 Mexico and Western Gulf of Mexico Outer Con18 tinental Shelf Planning Areas on the date of en19 actment of the Offshore Energy and Jobs Act, 

20 including a lease issued before, on, or after 

21 such date of enactment.’’; and 

22 (3) by inserting before subsection (c) (as so 

23 designated) the following: 

24 ‘‘(a) PAYMENT OF NEW LEASING REVENUES TO

25 COASTAL STATES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), of the amount of new leasing revenues re3 ceived by the United States each fiscal year, 37.5 

4 percent shall be allocated and paid in accordance 

5 with subsection (b) to coastal States that are af6 fected States with respect to the leases under which 

7 those revenues are received by the United States. 

8 ‘‘(2) PHASE-IN.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

10 subparagraph (B), paragraph (1) shall be ap11 plied— 

12 ‘‘(i) with respect to new leasing reve13 nues under leases awarded under the first 

14 leasing program under section 18(a) that 

15 takes effect after the date of enactment of 

16 the Offshore Energy and Jobs Act, by sub17 stituting ‘12.5 percent’ for ‘37.5 percent’; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(ii) with respect to new leasing reve20 nues under leases awarded under the sec21 ond leasing program under section 18(a) 

22 that takes effect after the date of enact23 ment of the Offshore Energy and Jobs 

24 Act, by substituting ‘25 percent’ for ‘37.5 

25 percent’. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTED LEASE SALES.—This 

2 paragraph shall not apply with respect to any 

3 lease issued under title II of the Offshore En4 ergy and Jobs Act. 

5 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION OF PAYMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of new leasing 

7 revenues received by the United States with respect 

8 to a leased tract that are required to be paid to 

9 coastal States in accordance with this subsection 

10 each fiscal year shall be allocated among and paid 

11 to coastal States that are within 200 miles of the 

12 leased tract, in amounts that are inversely propor13 tional to the respective distances between the point 

14 on the coastline of each such State that is closest to 

15 the geographic center of the lease tract, as deter16 mined by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM ALLOCATION.— 

18 The amount allocated to a coastal State under para19 graph (1) each fiscal year with respect to a leased 

20 tract shall be— 

21 ‘‘(A) in the case of a coastal State that is 

22 the nearest State to the geographic center of 

23 the leased tract, not less than 25 percent of the 

24 total amounts allocated with respect to the 

25 leased tract; 


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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of any other coastal State, 

2 not less than 10 percent, and not more than 15 

3 percent, of the total amounts allocated with re4 spect to the leased tract; and 

5 ‘‘(C) in the case of a coastal State that is 

6 the only coastal State within 200 miles of a 

7 leased tract, 100 percent of the total amounts 

8 allocated with respect to the leased tract. 

9 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION.—Amounts allocated to 

10 a coastal State under this subsection— 

11 ‘‘(A) shall be available to the coastal State 

12 without further appropriation; 

13 ‘‘(B) shall remain available until expended; 

14 ‘‘(C) shall be in addition to any other 

15 amounts available to the coastal State under 

16 this Act; and 

17 ‘‘(D) shall be distributed in the fiscal year 

18 following receipt. 

19 ‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

21 subparagraph (B), a coastal State may use 

22 funds allocated and paid to it under this sub23 section for any purpose as determined by the 

24 laws of that State. 


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1 ‘‘(B) RESTRICTION ON USE FOR MATCH2 ING.—Funds allocated and paid to a coastal 

3 State under this subsection may not be used as 

4 matching funds for any other Federal pro5 gram.’’. 

6 (b) LIMITATION ON APPLICATION.—This section and 

7 the amendment made by this section shall not affect the 

8 application of section 105 of the Gulf of Mexico Energy 

9 Security Act of 2006 (title I of division C of Public Law 

10 109–432; (43 U.S.C. 1331 note)), as in effect before the 

11 enactment of this Act, with respect to revenues received 

12 by the United States under oil and gas leases issued for 

13 tracts located in the Western and Central Gulf of Mexico 

14 Outer Continental Shelf Planning Areas, including such 

15 leases issued on or after the date of the enactment of this 

16 Act. 

17 Subtitle D—Reorganization of Min18 erals Management Agencies of 

19 the Department of the Interior 

20 SEC. 1041. ESTABLISHMENT OF UNDER SECRETARY FOR 

21 ENERGY, LANDS, AND MINERALS AND ASSIST22 ANT SECRETARY OF OCEAN ENERGY AND 

23 SAFETY. 

24 There shall be in the Department of the Interior— 


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1 (1) an Under Secretary for Energy, Lands, and 

2 Minerals, who shall— 

3 (A) be appointed by the President, by and 

4 with the advise and consent of the Senate; 

5 (B) report to the Secretary of the Interior 

6 or, if directed by the Secretary, to the Deputy 

7 Secretary of the Interior; 

8 (C) be paid at the rate payable for level III 

9 of the Executive Schedule; and 

10 (D) be responsible for— 

11 (i) the safe and responsible develop12 ment of our energy and mineral resources 

13 on Federal lands in appropriate accordance 

14 with United States energy demands; and 

15 (ii) ensuring multiple-use missions of 

16 the Department of the Interior that pro17 mote the safe and sustained development 

18 of energy and minerals resources on public 

19 lands (as that term is defined in the Fed20 eral Land Policy and Management Act of 

21 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)); 

22 (2) an Assistant Secretary of Ocean Energy 

23 and Safety, who shall— 

24 (A) be appointed by the President, by and 

25 with the advise and consent of the Senate; 


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1 (B) report to the Under Secretary for En2 ergy, Lands, and Minerals; 

3 (C) be paid at the rate payable for level IV 

4 of the Executive Schedule; and 

5 (D) be responsible for ensuring safe and 

6 efficient development of energy and minerals on 

7 the Outer Continental Shelf of the United 

8 States; and 

9 (3) an Assistant Secretary of Land and Min10 erals Management, who shall— 

11 (A) be appointed by the President, by and 

12 with the advise and consent of the Senate; 

13 (B) report to the Under Secretary for En14 ergy, Lands, and Minerals; 

15 (C) be paid at the rate payable for level IV 

16 of the Executive Schedule; and 

17 (D) be responsible for ensuring safe and 

18 efficient development of energy and minerals on 

19 public lands and other Federal onshore lands 

20 under the jurisdiction of the Department of the 

21 Interior, including implementation of the Min22 eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) and 

23 the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation 

24 Act (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) and administra25 tion of the Office of Surface Mining. 


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1 SEC. 1042. BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

3 Department of the Interior a Bureau of Ocean Energy (re4 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Bureau’’), which shall— 

5 (1) be headed by a Director of Ocean Energy 

6 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Director’’); and 

7 (2) be administered under the direction of the 

8 Assistant Secretary of Ocean Energy and Safety. 

9 (b) DIRECTOR.— 

10 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Director shall be ap11 pointed by the Secretary of the Interior. 

12 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall be 

13 compensated at the rate provided for level V of the 

14 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, 

15 United States Code. 

16 (c) DUTIES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte18 rior shall carry out through the Bureau all func19 tions, powers, and duties vested in the Secretary re20 lating to the administration of a comprehensive pro21 gram of offshore mineral and renewable energy re22 sources management. 

23 (2) SPECIFIC AUTHORITIES.—The Director 

24 shall promulgate and implement regulations— 

25 (A) for the proper issuance of leases for 

26 the exploration, development, and production of 


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1 nonrenewable and renewable energy and min2 eral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf; 

3 (B) relating to resource identification, ac4 cess, evaluation, and utilization; 

5 (C) for development of leasing plans, lease 

6 sales, and issuance of leases for such resources; 

7 and 

8 (D) regarding issuance of environmental 

9 impact statements related to leasing and post 

10 leasing activities including exploration, develop11 ment, and production, and the use of third 

12 party contracting for necessary environmental 

13 analysis for the development of such resources. 

14 (3) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not carry 

15 out through the Bureau any function, power, or duty 

16 that is— 

17 (A) required by section 1043 to be carried 

18 out through the Ocean Energy Safety Service; 

19 or 

20 (B) required by section 1044 to be carried 

21 out through the Office of Natural Resources 

22 Revenue. 

23 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES OF LAND MANAGEMENT

24 AGENCIES.—Nothing in this section shall affect the au25 thorities of the Bureau of Land Management under the 


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1 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

2 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) or of the Forest Service under the 

3 National Forest Management Act of 1976 (Public Law 

4 94–588). 

5 SEC. 1043. OCEAN ENERGY SAFETY SERVICE. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

7 Department of the Interior an Ocean Energy Safety Serv8 ice (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Service’’), which 

9 shall— 

10 (1) be headed by a Director of Energy Safety 

11 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Director’’); and 

12 (2) be administered under the direction of the 

13 Assistant Secretary of Ocean Energy and Safety. 

14 (b) DIRECTOR.— 

15 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Director shall be ap16 pointed by the Secretary of the Interior. 

17 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall be 

18 compensated at the rate provided for level V of the 

19 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, 

20 United States Code. 

21 (c) DUTIES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte23 rior shall carry out through the Service all functions, 

24 powers, and duties vested in the Secretary relating 

25 to the administration of safety and environmental 


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1 enforcement activities related to offshore mineral 

2 and renewable energy resources on the Outer Conti3 nental Shelf pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf 

4 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) including the 

5 authority to develop, promulgate, and enforce regu6 lations to ensure the safe and sound exploration, de7 velopment, and production of mineral and renewable 

8 energy resources on the Outer Continental Shelf in 

9 a timely fashion. 

10 (2) SPECIFIC AUTHORITIES.—The Director 

11 shall be responsible for all safety activities related to 

12 exploration and development of renewable and min13 eral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf, in14 cluding— 

15 (A) exploration, development, production, 

16 and ongoing inspections of infrastructure; 

17 (B) the suspending or prohibiting, on a 

18 temporary basis, any operation or activity, in19 cluding production under leases held on the 

20 Outer Continental Shelf, in accordance with 

21 section 5(a)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf 

22 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1334(a)(1)); 

23 (C) cancelling any lease, permit, or right24 of-way on the Outer Continental Shelf, in ac25 cordance with section 5(a)(2) of the Outer ConVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:41 Mar 28, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00110 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4304.IH H4304

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1 tinental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

2 1334(a)(2)); 

3 (D) compelling compliance with applicable 

4 Federal laws and regulations relating to worker 

5 safety and other matters; 

6 (E) requiring comprehensive safety and en7 vironmental management programs for persons 

8 engaged in activities connected with the explo9 ration, development, and production of mineral 

10 or renewable energy resources; 

11 (F) developing and implementing regula12 tions for Federal employees to carry out any in13 spection or investigation to ascertain compli14 ance with applicable regulations, including 

15 health, safety, or environmental regulations; 

16 (G) implementing the Offshore Technology 

17 Research and Risk Assessment Program under 

18 section 21 of the Outer Continental Shelf 

19 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1347); 

20 (H) summoning witnesses and directing 

21 the production of evidence; 

22 (I) levying fines and penalties and disquali23 fying operators; 

24 (J) carrying out any safety, response, and 

25 removal preparedness functions; and 


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1 (K) the processing of permits, exploration 

2 plans, development plans. 

3 (d) EMPLOYEES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 

5 that the inspection force of the Bureau consists of 

6 qualified, trained employees who meet qualification 

7 requirements and adhere to the highest professional 

8 and ethical standards. 

9 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The qualification re10 quirements referred to in paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) shall be determined by the Secretary, 

12 subject to subparagraph (B); and 

13 (B) shall include— 

14 (i) three years of practical experience 

15 in oil and gas exploration, development, or 

16 production; or 

17 (ii) a degree in an appropriate field of 

18 engineering from an accredited institution 

19 of higher learning. 

20 (3) ASSIGNMENT.—In assigning oil and gas in21 spectors to the inspection and investigation of indi22 vidual operations, the Secretary shall give due con23 sideration to the extent possible to their previous ex24 perience in the particular type of oil and gas oper25 ation in which such inspections are to be made. 


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1 (4) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—The Director shall 

2 require that an individual to be hired as an inspec3 tion officer undergo an employment investigation 

4 (including a criminal history record check). 

5 (5) LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS.—Individuals 

6 hired as inspectors must be able to read, speak, and 

7 write English well enough to— 

8 (A) carry out written and oral instructions 

9 regarding the proper performance of inspection 

10 duties; and 

11 (B) write inspection reports and state12 ments and log entries in the English language. 

13 (6) VETERANS PREFERENCE.—The Director 

14 shall provide a preference for the hiring of an indi15 vidual as a inspection officer if the individual is a 

16 member or former member of the Armed Forces and 

17 is entitled, under statute, to retired, retirement, or 

18 retainer pay on account of service as a member of 

19 the Armed Forces. 

20 (7) ANNUAL PROFICIENCY REVIEW.— 

21 (A) ANNUAL PROFICIENCY REVIEW.—The 

22 Director shall provide that an annual evaluation 

23 of each individual assigned inspection duties is 

24 conducted and documented. 


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1 (B) CONTINUATION OF EMPLOYMENT.—An 

2 individual employed as an inspector may not 

3 continue to be employed in that capacity unless 

4 the evaluation demonstrates that the indi5 vidual— 

6 (i) continues to meet all qualifications 

7 and standards; 

8 (ii) has a satisfactory record of per9 formance and attention to duty based on 

10 the standards and requirements in the in11 spection program; and 

12 (iii) demonstrates the current knowl13 edge and skills necessary to courteously, 

14 vigilantly, and effectively perform inspec15 tion functions. 

16 (8) LIMITATION ON RIGHT TO STRIKE.—Any 

17 individual that conducts permitting or inspections 

18 under this section may not participate in a strike, or 

19 assert the right to strike. 

20 (9) PERSONNEL AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding 

21 any other provision of law, the Director may employ, 

22 appoint, discipline and terminate for cause, and fix 

23 the compensation, terms, and conditions of employ24 ment of Federal service for individuals as the em25 ployees of the Service in order to restore and mainVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:41 Mar 28, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00114 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4304.IH H4304

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1 tain the trust of the people of the United States in 

2 the accountability of the management of our Na3 tion’s energy safety program. 

4 (10) TRAINING ACADEMY.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es6 tablish and maintain a National Offshore En7 ergy Safety Academy (referred to in this para8 graph as the ‘‘Academy’’) as an agency of the 

9 Ocean Energy Safety Service. 

10 (B) FUNCTIONS OF ACADEMY.—The Sec11 retary, through the Academy, shall be respon12 sible for— 

13 (i) the initial and continued training 

14 of both newly hired and experienced off15 shore oil and gas inspectors in all aspects 

16 of health, safety, environmental, and oper17 ational inspections; 

18 (ii) the training of technical support 

19 personnel of the Bureau; 

20 (iii) any other training programs for 

21 offshore oil and gas inspectors, Bureau 

22 personnel, Department personnel, or other 

23 persons as the Secretary shall designate; 

24 and 


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1 (iv) certification of the successful 

2 completion of training programs for newly 

3 hired and experienced offshore oil and gas 

4 inspectors. 

5 (C) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—In performing func7 tions under this paragraph, and subject to 

8 clause (ii), the Secretary may enter into 

9 cooperative educational and training agree10 ments with educational institutions, related 

11 Federal academies, other Federal agencies, 

12 State governments, safety training firms, 

13 and oil and gas operators and related in14 dustries. 

15 (ii) TRAINING REQUIREMENT.—Such 

16 training shall be conducted by the Acad17 emy in accordance with curriculum needs 

18 and assignment of instructional personnel 

19 established by the Secretary. 

20 (11) USE OF DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL.—In 

21 performing functions under this subsection, the Sec22 retary shall use, to the extent practicable, the facili23 ties and personnel of the Department of the Interior. 

24 The Secretary may appoint or assign to the Acad25 emy such officers and employees as the Secretary 


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1 considers necessary for the performance of the du2 ties and functions of the Academy. 

3 (12) ADDITIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

5 work with appropriate educational institutions, 

6 operators, and representatives of oil and gas 

7 workers to develop and maintain adequate pro8 grams with educational institutions and oil and 

9 gas operators that are designed— 

10 (i) to enable persons to qualify for po11 sitions in the administration of this title; 

12 and 

13 (ii) to provide for the continuing edu14 cation of inspectors or other appropriate 

15 Department of the Interior personnel. 

16 (B) FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL ASSIST17 ANCE.—The Secretary may provide financial 

18 and technical assistance to educational institu19 tions in carrying out this paragraph. 

20 (e) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not carry out 

21 through the Service any function, power, or duty that is— 

22 (1) required by section 1042 to be carried out 

23 through Bureau of Ocean Energy; or 

24 (2) required by section 1044 to be carried out 

25 through the Office of Natural Resources Revenue. 


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1 SEC. 1044. OFFICE OF NATURAL RESOURCES REVENUE. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

3 Department of the Interior an Office of Natural Resources 

4 Revenue (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Office’’) to 

5 be headed by a Director of Natural Resources Revenue 

6 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Director’’). 

7 (b) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall be ap9 pointed by the Secretary of the Interior. 

10 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall be 

11 compensated at the rate provided for Level V of the 

12 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, 

13 United States Code. 

14 (c) DUTIES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte16 rior shall carry out, through the Office, all functions, 

17 powers, and duties vested in the Secretary and relat18 ing to the administration of offshore royalty and rev19 enue management functions. 

20 (2) SPECIFIC AUTHORITIES.—The Secretary 

21 shall carry out, through the Office, all functions, 

22 powers, and duties previously assigned to the Min23 erals Management Service (including the authority 

24 to develop, promulgate, and enforce regulations) re25 garding offshore royalty and revenue collection; roy26 alty and revenue distribution; auditing and compliVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:41 Mar 28, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00118 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4304.IH H4304

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1 ance; investigation and enforcement of royalty and 

2 revenue regulations; and asset management for on3 shore and offshore activities. 

4 (d) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not carry out 

5 through the Office any function, power, or duty that is— 

6 (1) required by section 1042 to be carried out 

7 through Bureau of Ocean Energy; or 

8 (2) required by section 1043 to be carried out 

9 through the Ocean Energy Safety Service. 

10 SEC. 1045. ETHICS AND DRUG TESTING. 

11 (a) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary of the Interior 

12 shall certify annually that all Department of the Interior 

13 officers and employees having regular, direct contact with 

14 lessees, contractors, concessionaires, and other businesses 

15 interested before the Government as a function of their 

16 official duties, or conducting investigations, issuing per17 mits, or responsible for oversight of energy programs, are 

18 in full compliance with all Federal employee ethics laws 

19 and regulations under the Ethics in Government Act of 

20 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) and part 2635 of title 5, Code of 

21 Federal Regulations, and all guidance issued under sub22 section (c). 

23 (b) DRUG TESTING.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

24 random drug testing program of all Department of the 

25 Interior personnel referred to in subsection (a). 


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1 (c) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 90 days after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 

3 supplementary ethics and drug testing guidance for the 

4 employees for which certification is required under sub5 section (a). The Secretary shall update the supplementary 

6 ethics guidance not less than once every 3 years there7 after. 

8 SEC. 1046. ABOLISHMENT OF MINERALS MANAGEMENT 

9 SERVICE. 

10 (a) ABOLISHMENT.—The Minerals Management 

11 Service is abolished. 

12 (b) COMPLETED ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Completed administrative 

14 actions of the Minerals Management Service shall 

15 not be affected by the enactment of this Act, but 

16 shall continue in effect according to their terms until 

17 amended, modified, superseded, terminated, set 

18 aside, or revoked in accordance with law by an offi19 cer of the United States or a court of competent ju20 risdiction, or by operation of law. 

21 (2) COMPLETED ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION DE22 FINED.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the term 

23 ‘‘completed administrative action’’ includes orders, 

24 determinations, memoranda of understanding, 

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1 sonnel actions, permits, agreements, grants, con2 tracts, certificates, licenses, registrations, and privi3 leges. 

4 (c) PENDING PROCEEDINGS.—Subject to the author5 ity of the Secretary of the Interior and the officers of the 

6 Department of the Interior under this title— 

7 (1) pending proceedings in the Minerals Man8 agement Service, including notices of proposed rule9 making, and applications for licenses, permits, cer10 tificates, grants, and financial assistance, shall con11 tinue, notwithstanding the enactment of this title or 

12 the vesting of functions of the Service in another 

13 agency, unless discontinued or modified under the 

14 same terms and conditions and to the same extent 

15 that such discontinuance or modification could have 

16 occurred if this title had not been enacted; and 

17 (2) orders issued in such proceedings, and ap18 peals therefrom, and payments made pursuant to 

19 such orders, shall issue in the same manner and on 

20 the same terms as if this title had not been enacted, 

21 and any such orders shall continue in effect until 

22 amended, modified, superseded, terminated, set 

23 aside, or revoked by an officer of the United States 

24 or a court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation 

25 of law. 


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1 (d) PENDING CIVIL ACTIONS.—Subject to the au2 thority of the Secretary of the Interior or any officer of 

3 the Department of the Interior under this title, pending 

4 civil actions shall continue notwithstanding the enactment 

5 of this Act, and in such civil actions, proceedings shall be 

6 had, appeals taken, and judgments rendered and enforced 

7 in the same manner and with the same effect as if such 

8 enactment had not occurred. 

9 (e) REFERENCES.—References relating to the Min10 erals Management Service in statutes, Executive orders, 

11 rules, regulations, directives, or delegations of authority 

12 that precede the effective date of this title are deemed to 

13 refer, as appropriate, to the Department, to its officers, 

14 employees, or agents, or to its corresponding organiza15 tional units or functions. Statutory reporting requirements 

16 that applied in relation to the Minerals Management Serv17 ice immediately before the effective date of this title shall 

18 continue to apply. 

19 SEC. 1047. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO EXECUTIVE 

20 SCHEDULE PAY RATES. 

21 (a) UNDER SECRETARY FOR ENERGY, LANDS, AND

22 MINERALS.—Section 5314 of title 5, United States Code, 

23 is amended by inserting after the item relating to ‘‘Under 

24 Secretaries of the Treasury (3).’’ the following: 


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1 ‘‘Under Secretary for Energy, Lands, and Min2 erals, Department of the Interior.’’. 

3 (b) ASSISTANT SECRETARIES.—Section 5315 of title 

4 5, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Assistant 

5 Secretaries of the Interior (6).’’ and inserting the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘Assistant Secretaries, Department of the Inte8 rior (7).’’. 

9 (c) DIRECTORS.—Section 5316 of title 5, United 

10 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Director, Bureau of 

11 Mines, Department of the Interior.’’ and inserting the fol12 lowing new items: 

13 ‘‘Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy, Depart14 ment of the Interior. 

15 ‘‘Director, Ocean Energy Safety Service, De16 partment of the Interior. 

17 ‘‘Director, Office of Natural Resources Rev18 enue, Department of the Interior.’’. 

19 SEC. 1048. OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF ENERGY SAFETY 

20 ADVISORY BOARD. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior 

22 shall establish, under the Federal Advisory Committee 

23 Act, an Outer Continental Shelf Energy Safety Advisory 

24 Board (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Board’’)— 


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1 (1) to provide the Secretary and the Directors 

2 established by this title with independent scientific 

3 and technical advice on safe, responsible, and timely 

4 mineral and renewable energy exploration, develop5 ment, and production activities; and 

6 (2) to review operations of the National Off7 shore Energy Health and Safety Academy estab8 lished under section 1043(d), including submitting 

9 to the Secretary recommendations of curriculum to 

10 ensure training scientific and technical advance11 ments. 

12 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

13 (1) SIZE.—The Board shall consist of not more 

14 than 11 members, who— 

15 (A) shall be appointed by the Secretary 

16 based on their expertise in oil and gas drilling, 

17 well design, operations, well containment and 

18 oil spill response; and 

19 (B) must have significant scientific, engi20 neering, management, and other credentials and 

21 a history of working in the field related to safe 

22 energy exploration, development, and produc23 tion activities. 

24 (2) CONSULTATION AND NOMINATIONS.—The 

25 Secretary shall consult with the National Academy 


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1 of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineer2 ing to identify potential candidates for the Board 

3 and shall take nominations from the public. 

4 (3) TERM.—The Secretary shall appoint Board 

5 members to staggered terms of not more than 4 

6 years, and shall not appoint a member for more 

7 than 2 consecutive terms. 

8 (4) BALANCE.—In appointing members to the 

9 Board, the Secretary shall ensure a balanced rep10 resentation of industry and research interests. 

11 (c) CHAIR.—The Secretary shall appoint the Chair 

12 for the Board from among its members. 

13 (d) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet not less than 

14 3 times per year and shall host, at least once per year, 

15 a public forum to review and assess the overall energy 

16 safety performance of Outer Continental Shelf mineral 

17 and renewable energy resource activities. 

18 (e) OFFSHORE DRILLING SAFETY ASSESSMENTS

19 AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—As part of its duties under 

20 this section, the Board shall, by not later than 180 days 

21 after the date of enactment of this section and every 5 

22 years thereafter, submit to the Secretary a report that— 

23 (1) assesses offshore oil and gas well control 

24 technologies, practices, voluntary standards, and 

25 regulations in the United States and elsewhere; and 


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1 (2) as appropriate, recommends modifications 

2 to the regulations issued under this title to ensure 

3 adequate protection of safety and the environment, 

4 including recommendations on how to reduce regula5 tions and administrative actions that are duplicative 

6 or unnecessary. 

7 (f) REPORTS.—Reports of the Board shall be sub8 mitted by the Board to the Committee on Natural Re9 sources of the House of Representatives and the Com10 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

11 and made available to the public in electronically acces12 sible form. 

13 (g) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members of the Board, 

14 other than full-time employees of the Federal Government, 

15 while attending meeting of the Board or while otherwise 

16 serving at the request of the Secretary or the Director 

17 while serving away from their homes or regular places of 

18 business, may be allowed travel expenses, including per 

19 diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 

20 of title 5, United States Code, for individuals in the Gov21 ernment serving without pay. 

22 SEC. 1049. OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF INSPECTION FEES. 

23 Section 22 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

24 (43 U.S.C. 1348) is amended by adding at the end of the 

25 section the following: 


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1 ‘‘(g) INSPECTION FEES.— 

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

3 Interior shall collect from the operators of facilities 

4 subject to inspection under subsection (c) non-re5 fundable fees for such inspections— 

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

7 amount necessary to offset the annual expenses 

8 of inspections of outer Continental Shelf facili9 ties (including mobile offshore drilling units) by 

10 the Department of the Interior; and 

11 ‘‘(B) using a schedule that reflects the dif12 ferences in complexity among the classes of fa13 cilities to be inspected. 

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

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

16 the ‘Ocean Energy Enforcement Fund’ (referred to 

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

18 deposited all amounts collected as fees under para19 graph (1) and which shall be available as provided 

20 under paragraph (3). 

21 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF FEES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec23 tion 3302 of title 31, United States Code, all 

24 amounts deposited in the Fund— 


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1 ‘‘(i) shall be credited as offsetting col2 lections; 

3 ‘‘(ii) shall be available for expenditure 

4 for purposes of carrying out inspections of 

5 outer Continental Shelf facilities (including 

6 mobile offshore drilling units) and the ad7 ministration of the inspection program 

8 under this section; 

9 ‘‘(iii) shall be available only to the ex10 tent provided for in advance in an appro11 priations Act; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) shall remain available until ex13 pended. 

14 ‘‘(B) USE FOR FIELD OFFICES.—Not less 

15 than 75 percent of amounts in the Fund may 

16 be appropriated for use only for the respective 

17 Department of the Interior field offices where 

18 the amounts were originally assessed as fees. 

19 ‘‘(4) INITIAL FEES.—Fees shall be established 

20 under this subsection for the fiscal year in which 

21 this subsection takes effect and the subsequent 10 

22 years, and shall not be raised without advise and 

23 consent of the Congress, except as determined by the 

24 Secretary to be appropriate as an adjustment equal 

25 to the percentage by which the Consumer Price 


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1 Index for the month of June of the calendar year 

2 preceding the adjustment exceeds the Consumer 

3 Price Index for the month of June of the calendar 

4 year in which the claim was determined or last ad5 justed. 

6 ‘‘(5) ANNUAL FEES.—Annual fees shall be col7 lected under this subsection for facilities that are 

8 above the waterline, excluding drilling rigs, and are 

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

10 year 2014 shall be— 

11 ‘‘(A) $10,500 for facilities with no wells, 

12 but with processing equipment or gathering 

13 lines; 

14 ‘‘(B) $17,000 for facilities with 1 to 10 

15 wells, with any combination of active or inactive 

16 wells; and 

17 ‘‘(C) $31,500 for facilities with more than 

18 10 wells, with any combination of active or in19 active wells. 

20 ‘‘(6) FEES FOR DRILLING RIGS.—Fees for drill21 ing rigs shall be assessed under this subsection for 

22 all inspections completed in fiscal years 2015 

23 through 2024. Fees for fiscal year 2015 shall be— 


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1 ‘‘(A) $30,500 per inspection for rigs oper2 ating in water depths of 1,000 feet or more; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(B) $16,700 per inspection for rigs oper5 ating in water depths of less than 1,000 feet. 

6 ‘‘(7) BILLING.—The Secretary shall bill des7 ignated operators under paragraph (5) within 60 

8 days after the date of the inspection, with payment 

9 required within 30 days of billing. The Secretary 

10 shall bill designated operators under paragraph (6) 

11 within 30 days of the end of the month in which the 

12 inspection occurred, with payment required within 

13 30 days after billing. 

14 ‘‘(8) SUNSET.—No fee may be collected under 

15 this subsection for any fiscal year after fiscal year 

16 2024. 

17 ‘‘(9) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 

19 days after the end of each fiscal year beginning 

20 with fiscal year 2014, the Secretary shall sub21 mit to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

22 Resources of the Senate and the Committee on 

23 Natural Resources of the House of Representa24 tives a report on the operation of the Fund dur25 ing the fiscal year. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each report shall in2 clude, for the fiscal year covered by the report, 

3 the following: 

4 ‘‘(i) A statement of the amounts de5 posited into the Fund. 

6 ‘‘(ii) A description of the expenditures 

7 made from the Fund for the fiscal year, in8 cluding the purpose of the expenditures 

9 and the additional hiring of personnel. 

10 ‘‘(iii) A statement of the balance re11 maining in the Fund at the end of the fis12 cal year. 

13 ‘‘(iv) An accounting of pace of permit 

14 approvals. 

15 ‘‘(v) If fee increases are proposed 

16 after the initial 10-year period referred to 

17 in paragraph (5), a proper accounting of 

18 the potential adverse economic impacts 

19 such fee increases will have on offshore 

20 economic activity and overall production, 

21 conducted by the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(vi) Recommendations to increase 

23 the efficacy and efficiency of offshore in24 spections. 


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1 ‘‘(vii) Any corrective actions levied 

2 upon offshore inspectors as a result of any 

3 form of misconduct.’’. 

4 SEC. 1050. PROHIBITION ON ACTION BASED ON NATIONAL 

5 OCEAN POLICY DEVELOPED UNDER EXECU6 TIVE ORDER NO. 13547. 

7 (a) PROHIBITION.—The Bureau of Ocean Energy 

8 and the Ocean Energy Safety Service may not develop, 

9 propose, finalize, administer, or implement, any limitation 

10 on activities under their jurisdiction as a result of the 

11 coastal and marine spatial planning component of the Na12 tional Ocean Policy developed under Executive Order No. 

13 13547. 

14 (b) REPORT ON EXPENDITURES.—Not later than 60 

15 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the President 

16 shall submit a report to the Committee on Natural Re17 sources of the House of Representatives and the Com18 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

19 identifying all Federal expenditures in fiscal years 2012, 

20 2013, and 2014, by the Bureau of Ocean Energy and the 

21 Ocean Energy Safety Service and their predecessor agen22 cies, by agency, account, and any pertinent subaccounts, 

23 for the development, administration, or implementation of 

24 the coastal and marine spatial planning component of the 

25 National Ocean Policy developed under Executive Order 


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1 No. 13547, including staff time, travel, and other related 

2 expenses. 

3 Subtitle E—United States 

4 Territories 

5 SEC. 1061. APPLICATION OF OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 

6 LANDS ACT WITH RESPECT TO TERRITORIES 

7 OF THE UNITED STATES. 

8 Section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

9 (43 U.S.C. 1331) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (a), by inserting after ‘‘con11 trol’’ the following: ‘‘or lying within the United 

12 States exclusive economic zone and the Continental 

13 Shelf adjacent to any territory of the United 

14 States’’; 

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

16 the semicolon at the end; 

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

18 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

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

21 United States.’’. 

22 Subtitle F—Judicial Review 

23 SEC. 1071. TIME FOR FILING COMPLAINT. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any cause of action that arises 

25 from a covered energy decision must be filed not later than 


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1 the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of the 

2 covered energy decision. Any cause of action not filed with3 in this time period shall be barred. 

4 (b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 

5 a cause of action brought by a party to a covered energy 

6 lease. 

7 SEC. 1072. DISTRICT COURT DEADLINE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—All proceedings that are subject 

9 to section 1071— 

10 (1) shall be brought in the United States dis11 trict court for the district in which the Federal prop12 erty for which a covered energy lease is issued is lo13 cated or the United States District Court of the Dis14 trict of Columbia; 

15 (2) shall be resolved as expeditiously as pos16 sible, and in any event not more than 170 days after 

17 such cause or claim is filed; and 

18 (3) shall take precedence over all other pending 

19 matters before the district court. 

20 (b) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH DEADLINE.—If an 

21 interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order has not 

22 been issued by the district court by the deadline described 

23 under this section, the cause or claim shall be dismissed 

24 with prejudice and all rights relating to such cause or 

25 claim shall be terminated. 


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1 SEC. 1073. ABILITY TO SEEK APPELLATE REVIEW. 

2 An interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order 

3 of the district court in a proceeding that is subject to sec4 tion 1071 may be reviewed by the United States Court 

5 of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Dis6 trict of Columbia Circuit shall resolve any such appeal as 

7 expeditiously as possible and, in any event, not more than 

8 180 days after such interlocutory or final judgment, de9 cree, or order of the district court was issued. 

10 SEC. 1074. LIMITATION ON SCOPE OF REVIEW AND RELIEF. 

11 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE FINDINGS AND CONCLU12 SIONS.—In any judicial review of any Federal action under 

13 this subtitle, any administrative findings and conclusions 

14 relating to the challenged Federal action shall be pre15 sumed to be correct unless shown otherwise by clear and 

16 convincing evidence contained in the administrative 

17 record. 

18 (b) LIMITATION ON PROSPECTIVE RELIEF.—In any 

19 judicial review of any action, or failure to act, under this 

20 subtitle, the Court shall not grant or approve any prospec21 tive relief unless the Court finds that such relief is nar22 rowly drawn, extends no further than necessary to correct 

23 the violation of a Federal law requirement, and is the least 

24 intrusive means necessary to correct the violation con25 cerned. 


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1 SEC. 1075. LEGAL FEES. 

2 Any person filing a petition seeking judicial review 

3 of any action, or failure to act, under this subtitle who 

4 is not a prevailing party shall pay to the prevailing parties 

5 (including intervening parties), other than the United 

6 States, fees and other expenses incurred by that party in 

7 connection with the judicial review, unless the Court finds 

8 that the position of the person was substantially justified 

9 or that special circumstances make an award unjust. 

10 SEC. 1076. EXCLUSION. 

11 This subtitle shall not apply with respect to disputes 

12 between the parties to a lease issued pursuant to an au13 thorizing leasing statute regarding the obligations of such 

14 lease or the alleged breach thereof. 

15 SEC. 1077. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this subtitle, the following definitions apply: 

17 (1) COVERED ENERGY DECISION.—The term 

18 ‘‘covered energy decision’’ means any action or deci19 sion by a Federal official regarding the issuance of 

20 a covered energy lease. 

21 (2) COVERED ENERGY LEASE.—The term ‘‘cov22 ered energy lease’’ means any lease under this title 

23 or under an oil and gas leasing program under this 

24 title. 


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1 Subtitle G—Miscellaneous 

2 Provisions 

3 SEC. 1081. RULES REGARDING DISTRIBUTION OF REVE4 NUES UNDER GULF OF MEXICO ENERGY SE5 CURITY ACT OF 2006. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

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

8 shall issue rules to provide more clarity, certainty, and sta9 bility to the revenue streams contemplated by the Gulf of 

10 Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 

11 note). 

12 (b) CONTENTS.—The rules shall include clarification 

13 of the timing and methods of disbursements of funds 

14 under section 105(b)(2) of such Act. 

15 SEC. 1082. SEISMIC TESTING IN THE ATLANTIC OUTER CON16 TINENTAL SHELF. 

17 Not later than December 31, 2014, the Bureau of 

18 Ocean Energy Management shall publish a record of deci19 sion on the Atlantic G&G Programmatic Final Environ20 mental Impact Statement. 

21 SEC. 1083. DISPOSITION OF QUALIFIED OUTER CONTI22 NENTAL SHELF REVENUES. 

23 The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 

24 (title I of division C of Public Law 109–432; (43 U.S.C. 

25 1331 note)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘2016’’ each place it appears 

2 and inserting ‘‘2014’’; and 

3 (2) by striking section 105(f). 

4 TITLE XI—ALASKAN ENERGY 

5 FOR AMERICAN JOBS ACT 

6 SEC. 2001. SHORT TITLE. 

7 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Alaskan Energy for 

8 American Jobs Act’’. 

9 SEC. 2002. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this title: 

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

12 Plain’’ means that area described in appendix I to 

13 part 37 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations. 

14 (2) PEER REVIEWED.—The term ‘‘peer re15 viewed’’ means reviewed— 

16 (A) by individuals chosen by the National 

17 Academy of Sciences with no contractual rela18 tionship with, or those who have no application 

19 for a grant or other funding pending with, the 

20 Federal agency with leasing jurisdiction; or 

21 (B) if individuals described in subpara22 graph (A) are not available, by the top individ23 uals in the specified biological fields, as deter24 mined by the National Academy of Sciences. 


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1 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’, except 

2 as otherwise provided, means the Secretary of the 

3 Interior or the Secretary’s designee. 

4 SEC. 2003. LEASING PROGRAM FOR LANDS WITHIN THE 

5 COASTAL PLAIN. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall take such ac7 tions as are necessary— 

8 (1) to establish and implement, in accordance 

9 with this title and acting through the Director of the 

10 Bureau of Land Management in consultation with 

11 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

12 Service, a competitive oil and gas leasing program 

13 that will result in the exploration, development, and 

14 production of the oil and gas resources of the Coast15 al Plain; and 

16 (2) to administer the provisions of this title 

17 through regulations, lease terms, conditions, restric18 tions, prohibitions, stipulations, and other provisions 

19 that ensure the oil and gas exploration, development, 

20 and production activities on the Coastal Plain will 

21 result in no significant adverse effect on fish and 

22 wildlife, their habitat, subsistence resources, and the 

23 environment, including, in furtherance of this goal, 

24 by requiring the application of the best commercially 

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1 velopment, and production to all exploration, devel2 opment, and production operations under this title 

3 in a manner that ensures the receipt of fair market 

4 value by the public for the mineral resources to be 

5 leased. 

6 (b) REPEAL OF EXISTING RESTRICTION.— 

7 (1) REPEAL.—Section 1003 of the Alaska Na8 tional Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 

9 3143) is repealed. 

10 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

11 contents in section 1 of such Act is amended by 

12 striking the item relating to section 1003. 

13 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS UNDER CER14 TAIN OTHER LAWS.— 

15 (1) COMPATIBILITY.—For purposes of the Na16 tional Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 

17 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.), the oil and gas 

18 leasing program and activities authorized by this 

19 section in the Coastal Plain are deemed to be com20 patible with the purposes for which the Arctic Na21 tional Wildlife Refuge was established, and no fur22 ther findings or decisions are required to implement 

23 this determination. 

24 (2) ADEQUACY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE

25 INTERIOR’S LEGISLATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT


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1 STATEMENT.—The ‘‘Final Legislative Environ2 mental Impact Statement’’ (April 1987) on the 

3 Coastal Plain prepared pursuant to section 1002 of 

4 the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation 

5 Act (16 U.S.C. 3142) and section 102(2)(C) of the 

6 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

7 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) is deemed to satisfy the require8 ments under the National Environmental Policy Act 

9 of 1969 that apply with respect to prelease activities 

10 under this title, including actions authorized to be 

11 taken by the Secretary to develop and promulgate 

12 the regulations for the establishment of a leasing 

13 program authorized by this title before the conduct 

14 of the first lease sale. 

15 (3) COMPLIANCE WITH NEPA FOR OTHER AC16 TIONS.—Before conducting the first lease sale under 

17 this title, the Secretary shall prepare an environ18 mental impact statement under the National Envi19 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 with respect to the ac20 tions authorized by this title that are not referred to 

21 in paragraph (2). Notwithstanding any other law, 

22 the Secretary is not required to identify nonleasing 

23 alternative courses of action or to analyze the envi24 ronmental effects of such courses of action. The Sec25 retary shall only identify a preferred action for such 


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1 leasing and a single leasing alternative, and analyze 

2 the environmental effects and potential mitigation 

3 measures for those two alternatives. The identifica4 tion of the preferred action and related analysis for 

5 the first lease sale under this title shall be completed 

6 within 18 months after the date of enactment of this 

7 Act. The Secretary shall only consider public com8 ments that specifically address the Secretary’s pre9 ferred action and that are filed within 20 days after 

10 publication of an environmental analysis. Notwith11 standing any other law, compliance with this para12 graph is deemed to satisfy all requirements for the 

13 analysis and consideration of the environmental ef14 fects of proposed leasing under this title. 

15 (d) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE AND LOCAL AUTHOR16 ITY.—Nothing in this title shall be considered to expand 

17 or limit State and local regulatory authority. 

18 (e) SPECIAL AREAS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, after con20 sultation with the State of Alaska, the city of 

21 Kaktovik, and the North Slope Borough, may des22 ignate up to a total of 45,000 acres of the Coastal 

23 Plain as a Special Area if the Secretary determines 

24 that the Special Area is of such unique character 

25 and interest so as to require special management 


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1 and regulatory protection. The Secretary shall des2 ignate as such a Special Area the Sadlerochit Spring 

3 area, comprising approximately 4,000 acres. 

4 (2) MANAGEMENT.—Each such Special Area 

5 shall be managed so as to protect and preserve the 

6 area’s unique and diverse character including its 

7 fish, wildlife, and subsistence resource values. 

8 (3) EXCLUSION FROM LEASING OR SURFACE

9 OCCUPANCY.—The Secretary may exclude any Spe10 cial Area from leasing. If the Secretary leases a Spe11 cial Area, or any part thereof, for purposes of oil 

12 and gas exploration, development, production, and 

13 related activities, there shall be no surface occu14 pancy of the lands comprising the Special Area. 

15 (4) DIRECTIONAL DRILLING.—Notwithstanding 

16 the other provisions of this subsection, the Secretary 

17 may lease all or a portion of a Special Area under 

18 terms that permit the use of horizontal drilling tech19 nology from sites on leases tracts located outside the 

20 Special Area. 

21 (f) LIMITATION ON CLOSED AREAS.—The Sec22 retary’s sole authority to close lands within the Coastal 

23 Plain to oil and gas leasing and to exploration, develop24 ment, and production is that set forth in this title. 

25 (g) REGULATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pre2 scribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry 

3 out this title, including regulations relating to pro4 tection of the fish and wildlife, their habitat, subsist5 ence resources, and environment of the Coastal 

6 Plain, by no later than 15 months after the date of 

7 enactment of this Act. 

8 (2) REVISION OF REGULATIONS.—The Sec9 retary shall, through a rulemaking conducted in ac10 cordance with section 553 of title 5, United States 

11 Code, periodically review and, if appropriate, revise 

12 the regulations issued under subsection (a) to reflect 

13 a preponderance of the best available scientific evi14 dence that has been peer reviewed and obtained by 

15 following appropriate, documented scientific proce16 dures, the results of which can be repeated using 

17 those same procedures. 

18 SEC. 2004. LEASE SALES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Lands may be leased under this 

20 title to any person qualified to obtain a lease for deposits 

21 of oil and gas under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

22 181 et seq.). 

23 (b) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall, by regula24 tion and no later than 180 days after the date of enact25 ment of this title, establish procedures for— 


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

3 in, or exclusion (as provided in subsection (c)) from, 

4 a lease sale; 

5 (2) the holding of lease sales after such nomina6 tion process; and 

7 (3) public notice of and comment on designa8 tion of areas to be included in, or excluded from, a 

9 lease sale. 

10 (c) LEASE SALE BIDS.—Lease sales under this title 

11 may be conducted through an Internet leasing program, 

12 if the Secretary determines that such a system will result 

13 in savings to the taxpayer, an increase in the number of 

14 bidders participating, and higher returns than oral bidding 

15 or a sealed bidding system. 

16 (d) SALE ACREAGES AND SCHEDULE.— 

17 (1) The Secretary shall offer for lease under 

18 this title those tracts the Secretary considers to have 

19 the greatest potential for the discovery of hydro20 carbons, taking into consideration nominations re21 ceived pursuant to subsection (b)(1). 

22 (2) The Secretary shall offer for lease under 

23 this title no less than 50,000 acres for lease within 

24 22 months after the date of the enactment of this 

25 title. 


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1 (3) The Secretary shall offer for lease under 

2 this title no less than an additional 50,000 acres at 

3 6-, 12-, and 18-month intervals following offering 

4 under paragraph (2). 

5 (4) The Secretary shall conduct four additional 

6 sales under the same terms and schedule no later 

7 than two years after the date of the last sale under 

8 paragraph (3), if sufficient interest in leasing exists 

9 to warrant, in the Secretary’s judgment, the conduct 

10 of such sales. 

11 (5) The Secretary shall evaluate the bids in 

12 each sale and issue leases resulting from such sales, 

13 within 90 days after the date of the completion of 

14 such sale. 

15 SEC. 2005. GRANT OF LEASES BY THE SECRETARY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may grant to the 

17 highest responsible qualified bidder in a lease sale con18 ducted under section 2004 any lands to be leased on the 

19 Coastal Plain upon payment by the such bidder of such 

20 bonus as may be accepted by the Secretary. 

21 (b) SUBSEQUENT TRANSFERS.—No lease issued 

22 under this title may be sold, exchanged, assigned, sublet, 

23 or otherwise transferred except with the approval of the 

24 Secretary. Prior to any such approval the Secretary shall 


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1 consult with, and give due consideration to the views of, 

2 the Attorney General. 

3 SEC. 2006. LEASE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. 

4 An oil or gas lease issued under this title shall— 

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

less than 121 6 ⁄2 percent in amount or value of the 

7 production removed or sold under the lease, as de8 termined by the Secretary under the regulations ap9 plicable to other Federal oil and gas leases; 

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

11 seasonal basis, portions of the Coastal Plain to ex12 ploratory drilling activities as necessary to protect 

13 caribou calving areas and other species of fish and 

14 wildlife based on a preponderance of the best avail15 able scientific evidence that has been peer reviewed 

16 and obtained by following appropriate, documented 

17 scientific procedures, the results of which can be re18 peated using those same procedures; 

19 (3) require that the lessee of lands within the 

20 Coastal Plain shall be fully responsible and liable for 

21 the reclamation of lands within the Coastal Plain 

22 and any other Federal lands that are adversely af23 fected in connection with exploration, development, 

24 production, or transportation activities conducted 

25 under the lease and within the Coastal Plain by the 


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1 lessee or by any of the subcontractors or agents of 

2 the lessee; 

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

4 convey, by contract or otherwise, the reclamation re5 sponsibility and liability to another person without 

6 the express written approval of the Secretary; 

7 (5) provide that the standard of reclamation for 

8 lands required to be reclaimed under this title shall 

9 be, as nearly as practicable, a condition capable of 

10 supporting the uses which the lands were capable of 

11 supporting prior to any exploration, development, or 

12 production activities, or upon application by the les13 see, to a higher or better use as certified by the Sec14 retary; 

15 (6) contain terms and conditions relating to 

16 protection of fish and wildlife, their habitat, subsist17 ence resources, and the environment as required 

18 pursuant to section 2003(a)(2); 

19 (7) provide that the lessee, its agents, and its 

20 contractors use best efforts to provide a fair share, 

21 as determined by the level of obligation previously 

22 agreed to in the 1974 agreement implementing sec23 tion 29 of the Federal Agreement and Grant of 

24 Right-of-Way for the Operation of the Trans-Alaska 

25 Pipeline, of employment and contracting for Alaska 


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1 Natives and Alaska Native corporations from 

2 throughout the State; 

3 (8) prohibit the export of oil produced under 

4 the lease; and 

5 (9) contain such other provisions as the Sec6 retary determines necessary to ensure compliance 

7 with this title and the regulations issued under this 

8 title. 

9 SEC. 2007. POLICIES REGARDING BUYING, BUILDING, AND 

10 WORKING FOR AMERICA. 

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

12 Congress that— 

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

14 United States domestic energy sector that, in turn, 

15 helps to reinvigorate American manufacturing, 

16 transportation, and service sectors by employing the 

17 vast talents of United States workers to assist in the 

18 development of energy from domestic sources; and 

19 (2) Congress will monitor the deployment of 

20 personnel and material onshore and offshore to en21 courage the development of American technology 

22 and manufacturing to enable United States workers 

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1 dustrial facilities to support expanded access to 

2 American resources. 

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

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

5 United States workers and equipment manufactured in 

6 the United States in all construction related to mineral 

7 development on the Coastal Plain. 

8 SEC. 2008. COASTAL PLAIN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. 

9 (a) NO SIGNIFICANT ADVERSE EFFECT STANDARD

10 TO GOVERN AUTHORIZED COASTAL PLAIN ACTIVITIES.— 

11 The Secretary shall, consistent with the requirements of 

12 section 2003, administer this title through regulations, 

13 lease terms, conditions, restrictions, prohibitions, stipula14 tions, and other provisions that— 

15 (1) ensure the oil and gas exploration, develop16 ment, and production activities on the Coastal Plain 

17 will result in no significant adverse effect on fish 

18 and wildlife, their habitat, and the environment; 

19 (2) require the application of the best commer20 cially available technology for oil and gas explo21 ration, development, and production on all new ex22 ploration, development, and production operations; 

23 and 

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1 cilities, including airstrips and any areas covered by 

2 gravel berms or piers for support of pipelines, does 

3 not exceed 10,000 acres on the Coastal Plain for 

4 each 100,000 acres of area leased. 

5 (b) SITE-SPECIFIC ASSESSMENT AND MITIGATION.— 

6 The Secretary shall also require, with respect to any pro7 posed drilling and related activities, that— 

8 (1) a site-specific analysis be made of the prob9 able effects, if any, that the drilling or related activi10 ties will have on fish and wildlife, their habitat, sub11 sistence resources, and the environment; 

12 (2) a plan be implemented to avoid, minimize, 

13 and mitigate (in that order and to the extent prac14 ticable) any significant adverse effect identified 

15 under paragraph (1); and 

16 (3) the development of the plan shall occur 

17 after consultation with the agency or agencies hav18 ing jurisdiction over matters mitigated by the plan. 

19 (c) REGULATIONS TO PROTECT COASTAL PLAIN

20 FISH AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES, SUBSISTENCE USERS, 

21 AND THE ENVIRONMENT.—Before implementing the leas22 ing program authorized by this title, the Secretary shall 

23 prepare and promulgate regulations, lease terms, condi24 tions, restrictions, prohibitions, stipulations, and other 

25 measures designed to ensure that the activities undertaken 


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1 on the Coastal Plain under this title are conducted in a 

2 manner consistent with the purposes and environmental 

3 requirements of this title. 

4 (d) COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL AND STATE ENVI5 RONMENTAL LAWS AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The 

6 proposed regulations, lease terms, conditions, restrictions, 

7 prohibitions, and stipulations for the leasing program 

8 under this title shall require compliance with all applicable 

9 provisions of Federal and State environmental law, and 

10 shall also require the following: 

11 (1) Standards at least as effective as the safety 

12 and environmental mitigation measures set forth in 

13 items 1 through 29 at pages 167 through 169 of the 

14 ‘‘Final Legislative Environmental Impact State15 ment’’ (April 1987) on the Coastal Plain. 

16 (2) Seasonal limitations on exploration, develop17 ment, and related activities, where necessary, to 

18 avoid significant adverse effects during periods of 

19 concentrated fish and wildlife breeding, denning, 

20 nesting, spawning, and migration based on a prepon21 derance of the best available scientific evidence that 

22 has been peer reviewed and obtained by following 

23 appropriate, documented scientific procedures, the 

24 results of which can be repeated using those same 

25 procedures. 


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1 (3) That exploration activities, except for sur2 face geological studies, be limited to the period be3 tween approximately November 1 and May 1 each 

4 year and that exploration activities shall be sup5 ported, if necessary, by ice roads, winter trails with 

6 adequate snow cover, ice pads, ice airstrips, and air 

7 transport methods, except that such exploration ac8 tivities may occur at other times if the Secretary 

9 finds that such exploration will have no significant 

10 adverse effect on the fish and wildlife, their habitat, 

11 and the environment of the Coastal Plain. 

12 (4) Design safety and construction standards 

13 for all pipelines and any access and service roads, 

14 that— 

15 (A) minimize, to the maximum extent pos16 sible, adverse effects upon the passage of mi17 gratory species such as caribou; and 

18 (B) minimize adverse effects upon the flow 

19 of surface water by requiring the use of cul20 verts, bridges, and other structural devices. 

21 (5) Prohibitions on general public access and 

22 use on all pipeline access and service roads. 

23 (6) Stringent reclamation and rehabilitation re24 quirements, consistent with the standards set forth 

25 in this title, requiring the removal from the Coastal 


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1 Plain of all oil and gas development and production 

2 facilities, structures, and equipment upon completion 

3 of oil and gas production operations, except that the 

4 Secretary may exempt from the requirements of this 

5 paragraph those facilities, structures, or equipment 

6 that the Secretary determines would assist in the 

7 management of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 

8 and that are donated to the United States for that 

9 purpose. 

10 (7) Appropriate prohibitions or restrictions on 

11 access by all modes of transportation. 

12 (8) Appropriate prohibitions or restrictions on 

13 sand and gravel extraction. 

14 (9) Consolidation of facility siting. 

15 (10) Appropriate prohibitions or restrictions on 

16 use of explosives. 

17 (11) Avoidance, to the extent practicable, of 

18 springs, streams, and river systems; the protection 

19 of natural surface drainage patterns, wetlands, and 

20 riparian habitats; and the regulation of methods or 

21 techniques for developing or transporting adequate 

22 supplies of water for exploratory drilling. 

23 (12) Avoidance or minimization of air traffic-re24 lated disturbance to fish and wildlife. 


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1 (13) Treatment and disposal of hazardous and 

2 toxic wastes, solid wastes, reserve pit fluids, drilling 

3 muds and cuttings, and domestic wastewater, includ4 ing an annual waste management report, a haz5 ardous materials tracking system, and a prohibition 

6 on chlorinated solvents, in accordance with applica7 ble Federal and State environmental law. 

8 (14) Fuel storage and oil spill contingency plan9 ning. 

10 (15) Research, monitoring, and reporting re11 quirements. 

12 (16) Field crew environmental briefings. 

13 (17) Avoidance of significant adverse effects 

14 upon subsistence hunting, fishing, and trapping by 

15 subsistence users. 

16 (18) Compliance with applicable air and water 

17 quality standards. 

18 (19) Appropriate seasonal and safety zone des19 ignations around well sites, within which subsistence 

20 hunting and trapping shall be limited. 

21 (20) Reasonable stipulations for protection of 

22 cultural and archeological resources. 

23 (21) All other protective environmental stipula24 tions, restrictions, terms, and conditions deemed 

25 necessary by the Secretary. 


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1 (e) CONSIDERATIONS.—In preparing and promul2 gating regulations, lease terms, conditions, restrictions, 

3 prohibitions, and stipulations under this section, the Sec4 retary shall consider the following: 

5 (1) The stipulations and conditions that govern 

6 the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska leasing pro7 gram, as set forth in the 1999 Northeast National 

8 Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Final Integrated Activity 

9 Plan/Environmental Impact Statement. 

10 (2) The environmental protection standards 

11 that governed the initial Coastal Plain seismic explo12 ration program under parts 37.31 to 37.33 of title 

13 50, Code of Federal Regulations. 

14 (3) The land use stipulations for exploratory 

15 drilling on the KIC–ASRC private lands that are set 

16 forth in appendix 2 of the August 9, 1983, agree17 ment between Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and 

18 the United States. 

19 (f) FACILITY CONSOLIDATION PLANNING.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, after 

21 providing for public notice and comment, prepare 

22 and update periodically a plan to govern, guide, and 

23 direct the siting and construction of facilities for the 

24 exploration, development, production, and transpor25 tation of Coastal Plain oil and gas resources. 


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1 (2) OBJECTIVES.—The plan shall have the fol2 lowing objectives: 

3 (A) Avoiding unnecessary duplication of fa4 cilities and activities. 

5 (B) Encouraging consolidation of common 

6 facilities and activities. 

7 (C) Locating or confining facilities and ac8 tivities to areas that will minimize impact on 

9 fish and wildlife, their habitat, and the environ10 ment. 

11 (D) Utilizing existing facilities wherever 

12 practicable. 

13 (E) Enhancing compatibility between wild14 life values and development activities. 

15 (g) ACCESS TO PUBLIC LANDS.—The Secretary 

16 shall— 

17 (1) manage public lands in the Coastal Plain 

18 subject to section 811 of the Alaska National Inter19 est Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3121); and 

20 (2) ensure that local residents shall have rea21 sonable access to public lands in the Coastal Plain 

22 for traditional uses. 

23 SEC. 2009. EXPEDITED JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

24 (a) FILING OF COMPLAINT.— 


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1 (1) DEADLINE.—Subject to paragraph (2), any 

2 complaint seeking judicial review— 

3 (A) of any provision of this title shall be 

4 filed by not later than 1 year after the date of 

5 enactment of this Act; or 

6 (B) of any action of the Secretary under 

7 this title shall be filed— 

8 (i) except as provided in clause (ii), 

9 within the 90-day period beginning on the 

10 date of the action being challenged; or 

11 (ii) in the case of a complaint based 

12 solely on grounds arising after such period, 

13 within 90 days after the complainant knew 

14 or reasonably should have known of the 

15 grounds for the complaint. 

16 (2) VENUE.—Any complaint seeking judicial re17 view of any provision of this title or any action of 

18 the Secretary under this title may be filed only in 

19 the United States Court of Appeals for the District 

20 of Columbia. 

21 (3) LIMITATION ON SCOPE OF CERTAIN RE22 VIEW.—Judicial review of a Secretarial decision to 

23 conduct a lease sale under this title, including the 

24 environmental analysis thereof, shall be limited to 

25 whether the Secretary has complied with this title 


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1 and shall be based upon the administrative record of 

2 that decision. The Secretary’s identification of a pre3 ferred course of action to enable leasing to proceed 

4 and the Secretary’s analysis of environmental effects 

5 under this title shall be presumed to be correct un6 less shown otherwise by clear and convincing evi7 dence to the contrary. 

8 (b) LIMITATION ON OTHER REVIEW.—Actions of the 

9 Secretary with respect to which review could have been 

10 obtained under this section shall not be subject to judicial 

11 review in any civil or criminal proceeding for enforcement. 

12 (c) LIMITATION ON ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COURT

13 COSTS.—No person seeking judicial review of any action 

14 under this title shall receive payment from the Federal 

15 Government for their attorneys’ fees and other court costs, 

16 including under any provision of law enacted by the Equal 

17 Access to Justice Act (5 U.S.C. 504 note). 

18 SEC. 2010. TREATMENT OF REVENUES. 

19 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 50 per20 cent of the amount of bonus, rental, and royalty revenues 

21 from Federal oil and gas leasing and operations author22 ized under this title shall be deposited in the Treasury. 

23 SEC. 2011. RIGHTS-OF-WAY ACROSS THE COASTAL PLAIN. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall issue rights25 of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain for the 


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1 transportation of oil and gas produced under leases under 

2 this title— 

3 (1) except as provided in paragraph (2), under 

4 section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

5 185), without regard to title XI of the Alaska Na6 tional Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 

7 3161 et seq.); and 

8 (2) under title XI of the Alaska National Inter9 est Lands Conservation Act (30 U.S.C. 3161 et 

10 seq.), for access authorized by sections 1110 and 

11 1111 of that Act (16 U.S.C. 3170 and 3171). 

12 (b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Secretary shall 

13 include in any right-of-way or easement issued under sub14 section (a) such terms and conditions as may be necessary 

15 to ensure that transportation of oil and gas does not result 

16 in a significant adverse effect on the fish and wildlife, sub17 sistence resources, their habitat, and the environment of 

18 the Coastal Plain, including requirements that facilities be 

19 sited or designed so as to avoid unnecessary duplication 

20 of roads and pipelines. 

21 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall include in 

22 regulations under section 2003(g) provisions granting 

23 rights-of-way and easements described in subsection (a) 

24 of this section. 


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1 SEC. 2012. CONVEYANCE. 

2 In order to maximize Federal revenues by removing 

3 clouds on title to lands and clarifying land ownership pat4 terns within the Coastal Plain, the Secretary, notwith5 standing section 1302(h)(2) of the Alaska National Inter6 est Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3192(h)(2)), shall 

7 convey— 

8 (1) to the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation the 

9 surface estate of the lands described in paragraph 1 

10 of Public Land Order 6959, to the extent necessary 

11 to fulfill the Corporation’s entitlement under sec12 tions 12 and 14 of the Alaska Native Claims Settle13 ment Act (43 U.S.C. 1611 and 1613) in accordance 

14 with the terms and conditions of the Agreement be15 tween the Department of the Interior, the United 

16 States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of 

17 Land Management, and the Kaktovik Inupiat Cor18 poration dated January 22, 1993; and 

19 (2) to the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation 

20 the remaining subsurface estate to which it is enti21 tled pursuant to the August 9, 1983, agreement be22 tween the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and the 

23 United States of America. 


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1 TITLE XII—STATE CONTROL ON 

2 ALL AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND 

3 SEC. 3001. STATE CONTROL ON ALL AVAILABLE FEDERAL 

4 LAND. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND.—The term 

7 ‘‘available Federal land’’ means any Federal land 

8 that, as of May 31, 2013— 

9 (A) is located within the boundaries of a 

10 State; 

11 (B) is not held by the United States in 

12 trust for the benefit of a federally recognized 

13 Indian tribe; 

14 (C) is not a unit of the National Park Sys15 tem; 

16 (D) is not a unit of the National Wildlife 

17 Refuge System; and 

18 (E) is not a Congressionally designated 

19 wilderness area. 

20 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of the Interior. 

22 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

23 (A) a State; and 

24 (B) the District of Columbia. 

25 (b) STATE PROGRAMS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State— 

2 (A) may establish a program covering the 

3 leasing and permitting processes, regulatory re4 quirements, and any other provisions by which 

5 the State would exercise its rights on available 

6 Federal land in the State; and 

7 (B) as a condition of certification under 

8 subsection (c)(2) shall submit a declaration to 

9 the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, 

10 and Energy that a program under subpara11 graph (A) has been established or amended. 

12 (2) AMENDMENT OF PROGRAMS.—A State may 

13 amend a program developed and certified under this 

14 section at any time. 

15 (3) CERTIFICATION OF AMENDED PROGRAMS.— 

16 Any program amended under paragraph (2) shall be 

17 certified under subsection (c)(2). 

18 (c) LEASING, PERMITTING, AND REGULATORY PRO19 GRAMS.— 

20 (1) SATISFACTION OF FEDERAL REQUIRE21 MENTS.—Each program certified under this section 

22 shall be considered to satisfy all applicable require23 ments of Federal law (including regulations), includ24 ing— 


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1 (A) the National Environmental Policy Act 

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

3 (B) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

4 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and 

5 (C) the National Historic Preservation Act 

6 (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). 

7 (2) FEDERAL CERTIFICATION AND TRANSFER

8 OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS.—Upon submission of a 

9 declaration by a State under subsection (b)(1)(B)— 

10 (A) the program under subsection 

11 (b)(1)(A) shall be certified; and 

12 (B) the State shall receive all rights from 

13 the Federal Government to develop all resources 

14 covered by the program. 

15 (3) ISSUANCE OF PERMITS AND LEASES.—If a 

16 State elects to issue a permit or lease for the devel17 opment of any resource on any available Federal 

18 land within the borders of the State in accordance 

19 with a program certified under paragraph (2), the 

20 permit or lease shall be considered to meet all appli21 cable requirements of Federal law (including regula22 tions). 

23 (d) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Activities carried out in ac24 cordance with this title shall not be subject to judicial re25 view. 


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1 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT.—Activities 

2 carried out in accordance with this title shall not be sub3 ject to subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 

4 5, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Adminis5 trative Procedure Act’’). 

6 TITLE XIII—FEDERAL LANDS 

7 JOBS AND ENERGY SECURITY 

8 Subtitle A—Federal Lands Jobs 

9 and Energy Security 

10 SEC. 4001. SHORT TITLE. 

11 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Lands 

12 Jobs and Energy Security Act’’. 

13 SEC. 4002. POLICIES REGARDING BUYING, BUILDING, AND 

14 WORKING FOR AMERICA. 

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

16 Congress that— 

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

18 United States domestic energy sector that, in turn, 

19 helps to reinvigorate American manufacturing, 

20 transportation, and service sectors by employing the 

21 vast talents of United States workers to assist in the 

22 development of energy from domestic sources; 

23 (2) to ensure a robust onshore energy produc24 tion industry and ensure that the benefits of devel25 opment support local communities, under this title, 


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1 the Secretary shall make every effort to promote the 

2 development of onshore American energy, and shall 

3 take into consideration the socioeconomic impacts, 

4 infrastructure requirements, and fiscal stability for 

5 local communities located within areas containing 

6 onshore energy resources; and 

7 (3) the Congress will monitor the deployment of 

8 personnel and material onshore to encourage the de9 velopment of American manufacturing to enable 

10 United States workers to benefit from this subtitle 

11 through good jobs and careers, as well as the estab12 lishment of important industrial facilities to support 

13 expanded access to American resources. 

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

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

16 United States workers and equipment manufactured in 

17 the United States in all construction related to mineral 

18 resource development under this subtitle. 

19 CHAPTER 1—ONSHORE OIL AND GAS 

20 PERMIT STREAMLINING 

21 SEC. 4101. SHORT TITLE. 

22 This chapter may be cited as the ‘‘Streamlining Per23 mitting of American Energy Act of 2014’’. 


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1 Subchapter A—Application for Permits To 

2 Drill Process Reform 

3 SEC. 4111. PERMIT TO DRILL APPLICATION TIMELINE. 

4 Section 17(p)(2) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

5 U.S.C. 226(p)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS FOR PERMITS TO DRILL RE7 FORM AND PROCESS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) TIMELINE.—The Secretary shall de9 cide whether to issue a permit to drill within 30 

10 days after receiving an application for the per11 mit. The Secretary may extend such period for 

12 up to 2 periods of 15 days each, if the Sec13 retary has given written notice of the delay to 

14 the applicant. The notice shall be in the form 

15 of a letter from the Secretary or a designee of 

16 the Secretary, and shall include the names and 

17 titles of the persons processing the application, 

18 the specific reasons for the delay, and a specific 

19 date a final decision on the application is ex20 pected. 

21 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF REASONS FOR DENIAL.— 

22 If the application is denied, the Secretary shall 

23 provide the applicant— 

24 ‘‘(i) in writing, clear and comprehen25 sive reasons why the application was not 


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1 accepted and detailed information con2 cerning any deficiencies; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) an opportunity to remedy any de4 ficiencies. 

5 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION DEEMED APPROVED.— 

6 If the Secretary has not made a decision on the 

7 application by the end of the 60-day period be8 ginning on the date the application is received 

9 by the Secretary, the application is deemed ap10 proved, except in cases in which existing reviews 

11 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

12 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) or Endangered 

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

14 are incomplete. 

15 ‘‘(D) DENIAL OF PERMIT.—If the Sec16 retary decides not to issue a permit to drill in 

17 accordance with subparagraph (A), the Sec18 retary shall— 

19 ‘‘(i) provide to the applicant a descrip20 tion of the reasons for the denial of the 

21 permit; 

22 ‘‘(ii) allow the applicant to resubmit 

23 an application for a permit to drill during 

24 the 10-day period beginning on the date 


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1 the applicant receives the description of 

2 the denial from the Secretary; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) issue or deny any resubmitted 

4 application not later than 10 days after the 

5 date the application is submitted to the 

6 Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(E) FEE.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

9 any other law, the Secretary shall collect a 

10 single $6,500 permit processing fee per ap11 plication from each applicant at the time 

12 the final decision is made whether to issue 

13 a permit under subparagraph (A). This fee 

14 shall not apply to any resubmitted applica15 tion. 

16 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT OF PERMIT PROC17 ESSING FEE.—Of all fees collected under 

18 this paragraph, 50 percent shall be trans19 ferred to the field office where they are col20 lected and used to process protests, leases, 

21 and permits under this Act subject to ap22 propriation.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4112. SOLAR AND WIND RIGHT-OF-WAY RENTAL RE2 FORM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), and 

4 notwithstanding any other provision of law, of fees col5 lected each fiscal year as annual wind energy and solar 

6 energy right-of-way authorization fees required under sec7 tion 504(g) of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

8 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1764(g))— 

9 (1) no less than 25 percent shall be available, 

10 subject to appropriation, for use for solar and wind 

11 permitting and management activities by Depart12 ment of the Interior field offices responsible for the 

13 land where the fees were collected; 

14 (2) no less than 25 percent shall be available, 

15 subject to appropriation, for Bureau of Land Man16 agement solar and wind permit approval activities; 

17 and 

18 (3) no less than 25 percent shall be available, 

19 subject to appropriation, to the Secretary of the In20 terior for department-wide solar and wind permitting 

21 activities. 

22 (b) LIMITATION.—The amount used under subsection 

23 (a) each fiscal year shall not exceed $5,000,000. 


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1 Subchapter B—Administrative Protest 

2 Documentation Reform 

3 SEC. 4121. ADMINISTRATIVE PROTEST DOCUMENTATION 

4 REFORM. 

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

6 226(p)) is further amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(4) PROTEST FEE.— 

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

10 collect a $5,000 documentation fee to accom11 pany each protest for a lease, right-of-way, or 

12 application for permit to drill. 

13 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF FEES.—Of all fees 

14 collected under this paragraph, 50 percent shall 

15 remain in the field office where they are col16 lected and used to process protests subject to 

17 appropriation.’’. 

18 Subchapter C—Permit Streamlining 

19 SEC. 4131. IMPROVE FEDERAL ENERGY PERMIT COORDINA20 TION. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior 

22 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall estab23 lish a Federal Permit Streamlining Project (referred to 

24 in this section as the ‘‘Project’’) in every Bureau of Land 


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1 Management field office with responsibility for permitting 

2 energy projects on Federal land. 

3 (b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

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

5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

6 shall enter into a memorandum of understanding for 

7 purposes of this section with— 

8 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

9 (B) the Administrator of the Environ10 mental Protection Agency; and 

11 (C) the Chief of the Army Corps of Engi12 neers. 

13 (2) STATE PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary 

14 may request that the Governor of any State with en15 ergy projects on Federal lands to be a signatory to 

16 the memorandum of understanding. 

17 (c) DESIGNATION OF QUALIFIED STAFF.— 

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

19 the date of the signing of the memorandum of un20 derstanding under subsection (b), all Federal signa21 tory parties shall, if appropriate, assign to each of 

22 the Bureau of Land Management field offices an 

23 employee who has expertise in the regulatory issues 

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1 ployed, including, as applicable, particular expertise 

2 in— 

3 (A) the consultations and the preparation 

4 of biological opinions under section 7 of the En5 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

6 1536); 

7 (B) permits under section 404 of Federal 

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

9 (C) regulatory matters under the Clean Air 

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

11 (D) planning under the National Forest 

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

13 seq.); and 

14 (E) the preparation of analyses under the 

15 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

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

17 (2) DUTIES.—Each employee assigned under 

18 paragraph (1) shall— 

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

20 of assignment, report to the Bureau of Land 

21 Management Field Managers in the office to 

22 which the employee is assigned; 

23 (B) be responsible for all issues relating to 

24 the energy projects that arise under the au25 thorities of the employee’s home agency; and 


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1 (C) participate as part of the team of per2 sonnel working on proposed energy projects, 

3 planning, and environmental analyses on Fed4 eral lands. 

5 (d) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Secretary shall 

6 assign to each Bureau of Land Management field office 

7 identified in subsection (a) any additional personnel that 

8 are necessary to ensure the effective approval and imple9 mentation of energy projects administered by the Bureau 

10 of Land Management field offices, including inspection 

11 and enforcement relating to energy development on Fed12 eral land, in accordance with the multiple use mandate 

13 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 

14 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 

15 (e) FUNDING.—Funding for the additional personnel 

16 shall come from the Department of the Interior reforms 

17 identified in sections 4111, 4112, and 4121. 

18 (f) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section af19 fects— 

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

21 or 

22 (2) any delegation of authority made by the 

23 head of a Federal agency whose employees are par24 ticipating in the Project. 


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1 (g) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section the 

2 term ‘‘energy projects’’ includes oil, natural gas, coal, and 

3 other energy projects as defined by the Secretary. 

4 SEC. 4132. ADMINISTRATION OF CURRENT LAW. 

5 Notwithstanding any other law, the Secretary of the 

6 Interior shall not require a finding of extraordinary cir7 cumstances in administering section 390 of the Energy 

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

9 Subchapter D—Judicial Review 

10 SEC. 4141. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this subchapter— 

12 (1) the term ‘‘covered civil action’’ means a civil 

13 action containing a claim under section 702 of title 

14 5, United States Code, regarding agency action (as 

15 defined for the purposes of that section) affecting a 

16 covered energy project on Federal lands of the 

17 United States; and 

18 (2) the term ‘‘covered energy project’’ means 

19 the leasing of Federal lands of the United States for 

20 the exploration, development, production, processing, 

21 or transmission of oil, natural gas, wind, or any 

22 other source of energy, and any action under such 

23 a lease, except that the term does not include any 

24 disputes between the parties to a lease regarding the 


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1 obligations under such lease, including regarding 

2 any alleged breach of the lease. 

3 SEC. 4142. EXCLUSIVE VENUE FOR CERTAIN CIVIL ACTIONS 

4 RELATING TO COVERED ENERGY PROJECTS. 

5 Venue for any covered civil action shall lie in the dis6 trict court where the project or leases exist or are pro7 posed. 

8 SEC. 4143. TIMELY FILING. 

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

10 action must be filed no later than the end of the 90-day 

11 period beginning on the date of the final Federal agency 

12 action to which it relates. 

13 SEC. 4144. EXPEDITION IN HEARING AND DETERMINING 

14 THE ACTION. 

15 The court shall endeavor to hear and determine any 

16 covered civil action as expeditiously as possible. 

17 SEC. 4145. STANDARD OF REVIEW. 

18 In any judicial review of a covered civil action, admin19 istrative findings and conclusions relating to the chal20 lenged Federal action or decision shall be presumed to be 

21 correct, and the presumption may be rebutted only by the 

22 preponderance of the evidence contained in the adminis23 trative record. 


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1 SEC. 4146. LIMITATION ON INJUNCTION AND PROSPECTIVE 

2 RELIEF. 

3 In a covered civil action, the court shall not grant 

4 or approve any prospective relief unless the court finds 

5 that such relief is narrowly drawn, extends no further than 

6 necessary to correct the violation of a legal requirement, 

7 and is the least intrusive means necessary to correct that 

8 violation. In addition, courts shall limit the duration of 

9 preliminary injunctions to halt covered energy projects to 

10 no more than 60 days, unless the court finds clear reasons 

11 to extend the injunction. In such cases of extensions, such 

12 extensions shall only be in 30-day increments and shall 

13 require action by the court to renew the injunction. 

14 SEC. 4147. LIMITATION ON ATTORNEYS’ FEES. 

15 Sections 504 of title 5, United States Code, and 2412 

16 of title 28, United States Code (together commonly called 

17 the Equal Access to Justice Act), do not apply to a covered 

18 civil action, nor shall any party in such a covered civil ac19 tion receive payment from the Federal Government for 

20 their attorneys’ fees, expenses, and other court costs. 

21 SEC. 4148. LEGAL STANDING. 

22 Challengers filing appeals with the Department of the 

23 Interior Board of Land Appeals shall meet the same 

24 standing requirements as challengers before a United 

25 States district court. 


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1 Subchapter E—Knowing America’s Oil and 

2 Gas Resources 

3 SEC. 4151. FUNDING OIL AND GAS RESOURCE ASSESS4 MENTS. 

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

6 provide matching funding for joint projects with States to 

7 conduct oil and gas resource assessments on Federal lands 

8 with significant oil and gas potential. 

9 (b) COST SHARING.—The Federal share of the cost 

10 of activities under this section shall not exceed 50 percent. 

11 (c) RESOURCE ASSESSMENT.—Any resource assess12 ment under this section shall be conducted by a State, in 

13 consultation with the United States Geological Survey. 

14 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

15 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

16 out this section a total of $50,000,000 for fiscal years 

17 2014 through 2017. 

18 CHAPTER 2—OIL AND GAS LEASING 

19 CERTAINTY 

20 SEC. 4161. SHORT TITLE. 

21 This chapter may be cited as the ‘‘Providing Leasing 

22 Certainty for American Energy Act of 2014’’. 


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1 SEC. 4162. MINIMUM ACREAGE REQUIREMENT FOR ON2 SHORE LEASE SALES. 

3 In conducting lease sales as required by section 17(a) 

4 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(a)), each year 

5 the Secretary of the Interior shall perform the following: 

6 (1) The Secretary shall offer for sale no less 

7 than 25 percent of the annual nominated acreage 

8 not previously made available for lease. Acreage of9 fered for lease pursuant to this paragraph shall not 

10 be subject to protest and shall be eligible for cat11 egorical exclusions under section 390 of the Energy 

12 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15942), except that 

13 it shall not be subject to the test of extraordinary 

14 circumstances. 

15 (2) In administering this section, the Secretary 

16 shall only consider leasing of Federal lands that are 

17 available for leasing at the time the lease sale oc18 curs. 

19 SEC. 4163. LEASING CERTAINTY. 

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

21 226(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘All lands’’, 

22 and by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary shall not withdraw any cov24 ered energy project issued under this Act without finding 

25 a violation of the terms of the lease by the lessee. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall not infringe upon lease 

2 rights under leases issued under this Act by indefinitely 

3 delaying issuance of project approvals, drilling and seismic 

4 permits, and rights of way for activities under such a 

5 lease. 

6 ‘‘(C) No later than 18 months after an area is des7 ignated as open under the current land use plan the Sec8 retary shall make available nominated areas for lease 

9 under the criteria in section 2. 

10 ‘‘(D) Notwithstanding any other law, the Secretary 

11 shall issue all leases sold no later than 60 days after the 

12 last payment is made. 

13 ‘‘(E) The Secretary shall not cancel or withdraw any 

14 lease parcel after a competitive lease sale has occurred and 

15 a winning bidder has submitted the last payment for the 

16 parcel. 

17 ‘‘(F) Not later than 60 days after a lease sale held 

18 under this Act, the Secretary shall adjudicate any lease 

19 protests filed following a lease sale. If after 60 days any 

20 protest is left unsettled, said protest is automatically de21 nied and appeal rights of the protestor begin. 

22 ‘‘(G) No additional lease stipulations may be added 

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1 lations as emergency actions to conserve the resources of 

2 the United States.’’. 

3 SEC. 4164. LEASING CONSISTENCY. 

4 Federal land managers must follow existing resource 

5 management plans and continue to actively lease in areas 

6 designated as open when resource management plans are 

7 being amended or revised, until such time as a new record 

8 of decision is signed. 

9 SEC. 4165. REDUCE REDUNDANT POLICIES. 

10 Bureau of Land Management Instruction Memo11 randum 2010–117 shall have no force or effect. 

12 SEC. 4166. STREAMLINED CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION. 

13 Section 31(e) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

14 188(e)) is amended in the matter following paragraph (4) 

15 by striking ‘‘at least thirty days in advance of the rein16 statement’’ and inserting ‘‘in an annual report’’. 

17 CHAPTER 3—OIL SHALE 

18 SEC. 4171. SHORT TITLE. 

19 This chapter may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Invest20 ment in Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, 

21 Energy, and Resource Security Act’’ or the ‘‘PIONEERS 

22 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 4172. EFFECTIVENESS OF OIL SHALE REGULATIONS, 

2 AMENDMENTS TO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 

3 PLANS, AND RECORD OF DECISION. 

4 (a) REGULATIONS.—Notwithstanding any other law 

5 or regulation to the contrary, the final regulations regard6 ing oil shale management published by the Bureau of 

7 Land Management on November 18, 2008 (73 Fed. Reg. 

8 69,414) are deemed to satisfy all legal and procedural re9 quirements under any law, including the Federal Land 

10 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 

11 seq.), the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

12 1531 et seq.), and the National Environmental Policy Act 

13 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and the Secretary of 

14 the Interior shall implement those regulations, including 

15 the oil shale leasing program authorized by the regula16 tions, without any other administrative action necessary. 

17 (b) AMENDMENTS TO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

18 PLANS AND RECORD OF DECISION.—Notwithstanding 

19 any other law or regulation to the contrary, the November 

20 17, 2008 U.S. Bureau of Land Management Approved Re21 source Management Plan Amendments/Record of Decision 

22 for Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources to Address Land 

23 Use Allocations in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming and 

24 Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement are 

25 deemed to satisfy all legal and procedural requirements 

26 under any law, including the Federal Land Policy and 


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1 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the 

2 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 

3 and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

4 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and the Secretary of the Interior 

5 shall implement the oil shale leasing program authorized 

6 by the regulations referred to in subsection (a) in those 

7 areas covered by the resource management plans amended 

8 by such amendments, and covered by such record of deci9 sion, without any other administrative action necessary. 

10 SEC. 4173. OIL SHALE LEASING. 

11 (a) ADDITIONAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

12 LEASE SALES.—The Secretary of the Interior shall hold 

13 a lease sale within 180 days after the date of enactment 

14 of this Act offering an additional 10 parcels for lease for 

15 research, development, and demonstration of oil shale re16 sources, under the terms offered in the solicitation of bids 

17 for such leases published on January 15, 2009 (74 Fed. 

18 Reg. 10). 

19 (b) COMMERCIAL LEASE SALES.—No later than Jan20 uary 1, 2016, the Secretary of the Interior shall hold no 

21 less than 5 separate commercial lease sales in areas con22 sidered to have the most potential for oil shale develop23 ment, as determined by the Secretary, in areas nominated 

24 through public comment. Each lease sale shall be for an 


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1 area of not less than 25,000 acres, and in multiple lease 

2 blocs. 

3 CHAPTER 4—MISCELLANEOUS 

4 PROVISIONS 

5 SEC. 4181. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

6 Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed to author7 ize the issuance of a lease under the Mineral Leasing Act 

8 (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) to any person designated for the 

9 imposition of sanctions pursuant to— 

10 (1) the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (50 U.S.C. 

11 1701 note), the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Ac12 countability and Divestiture Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 

13 8501 et seq.), the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria 

14 Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8701 et 

15 seq.), section 1245 of the National Defense Author16 ization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8513a), 

17 or the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act 

18 of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8801 et seq.); 

19 (2) Executive Order No. 13622 (July 30, 

20 2012), Executive Order No. 13628 (October 9, 

21 2012), or Executive Order No. 13645 (June 3, 

22 2013); 

23 (3) Executive Order No. 13224 (September 23, 

24 2001) or Executive Order No. 13338 (May 11, 

25 2004); or 


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1 (4) the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sov2 ereignty Restoration Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 2151 

3 note). 

4 Subtitle B—Planning for American 

5 Energy 

6 SEC. 4201. SHORT TITLE. 

7 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Planning for Amer8 ican Energy Act of 2014’’. 

9 SEC. 4202. ONSHORE DOMESTIC ENERGY PRODUCTION 

10 STRATEGIC PLAN. 

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

12 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by redesignating section 

13 44 as section 45, and by inserting after section 43 the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 44. QUADRENNIAL STRATEGIC FEDERAL ONSHORE 

16 ENERGY PRODUCTION STRATEGY. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

18 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of the Interior (hereafter in 

19 this section referred to as ‘Secretary’), in consulta20 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture with regard to 

21 lands administered by the Forest Service, shall de22 velop and publish every 4 years a Quadrennial Fed23 eral Onshore Energy Production Strategy. This 

24 Strategy shall direct Federal land energy develop25 ment and department resource allocation in order to 


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1 promote the energy and national security of the 

2 United States in accordance with Bureau of Land 

3 Management’s mission of promoting the multiple use 

4 of Federal lands as set forth in the Federal Land 

5 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

6 1701 et seq.). 

7 ‘‘(2) In developing this Strategy, the Secretary 

8 shall consult with the Administrator of the Energy 

9 Information Administration on the projected energy 

10 demands of the United States for the next 30-year 

11 period, and how energy derived from Federal on12 shore lands can put the United States on a trajec13 tory to meet that demand during the next 4-year pe14 riod. The Secretary shall consider how Federal lands 

15 will contribute to ensuring national energy security, 

16 with a goal for increasing energy independence and 

17 production, during the next 4-year period. 

18 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall determine a domestic 

19 strategic production objective for the development of 

20 energy resources from Federal onshore lands. Such 

21 objective shall be— 

22 ‘‘(A) the best estimate, based upon com23 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in24 crease in domestic production of oil and natural 

25 gas from the Federal onshore mineral estate, 


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1 with a focus on lands held by the Bureau of 

2 Land Management and the Forest Service; 

3 ‘‘(B) the best estimate, based upon com4 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in5 crease in domestic coal production from Federal 

6 lands; 

7 ‘‘(C) the best estimate, based upon com8 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in9 crease in domestic production of strategic and 

10 critical energy minerals from the Federal on11 shore mineral estate; 

12 ‘‘(D) the best estimate, based upon com13 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in14 crease in megawatts for electricity production 

15 from each of the following sources: wind, solar, 

16 biomass, hydropower, and geothermal energy 

17 produced on Federal lands administered by the 

18 Bureau of Land Management and the Forest 

19 Service; 

20 ‘‘(E) the best estimate, based upon com21 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in22 crease in unconventional energy production, 

23 such as oil shale; 

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1 crease in domestic production of oil, natural 

2 gas, coal, and other renewable sources from 

3 tribal lands for any federally recognized Indian 

4 tribe that elects to participate in facilitating en5 ergy production on its lands; 

6 ‘‘(G) the best estimate, based upon com7 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in8 crease in production of helium on Federal lands 

9 administered by the Bureau of Land Manage10 ment and the Forest Service; and 

11 ‘‘(H) the best estimate, based upon com12 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in13 crease in domestic production of geothermal, 

14 solar, wind, or other renewable energy sources 

15 from ‘available lands’ (as such term is defined 

16 in section 203 of the Hawaiian Homes Commis17 sion Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108 et seq.), and in18 cluding any other lands deemed by the Terri19 tory or State of Hawaii, as the case may be, to 

20 be included within that definition) that the 

21 agency or department of the government of the 

22 State of Hawaii that is responsible for the ad23 ministration of such lands selects to be used for 

24 such energy production. 


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1 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall consult with the Ad2 ministrator of the Energy Information Administra3 tion regarding the methodology used to arrive at its 

4 estimates for purposes of this section. 

5 ‘‘(5) The Secretary has the authority to expand 

6 the energy development plan to include other energy 

7 production technology sources or advancements in 

8 energy on Federal lands. 

9 ‘‘(6) The Secretary shall include in the Strategy 

10 a plan for addressing new demands for transmission 

11 lines and pipelines for distribution of oil and gas 

12 across Federal lands to ensure that energy produced 

13 can be distributed to areas of need. 

14 ‘‘(b) TRIBAL OBJECTIVES.—It is the sense of Con15 gress that federally recognized Indian tribes may elect to 

16 set their own production objectives as part of the Strategy 

17 under this section. The Secretary shall work in coopera18 tion with any federally recognized Indian tribe that elects 

19 to participate in achieving its own strategic energy objec20 tives designated under this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(c) EXECUTION OF THE STRATEGY.—The relevant 

22 Secretary shall have all necessary authority to make deter23 minations regarding which additional lands will be made 

24 available in order to meet the production objectives estab25 lished by strategies under this section. The Secretary shall 


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1 also take all necessary actions to achieve these production 

2 objectives unless the President determines that it is not 

3 in the national security and economic interests of the 

4 United States to increase Federal domestic energy produc5 tion and to further decrease dependence upon foreign 

6 sources of energy. In administering this section, the rel7 evant Secretary shall only consider leasing Federal lands 

8 available for leasing at the time the lease sale occurs. 

9 ‘‘(d) STATE, FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED INDIAN

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

11 developing each strategy, the Secretary shall solicit the 

12 input of affected States, federally recognized Indian tribes, 

13 local governments, and the public. 

14 ‘‘(e) REPORTING.—The Secretary shall report annu15 ally to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

16 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

17 Natural Resources of the Senate on the progress of meet18 ing the production goals set forth in the strategy. The Sec19 retary shall identify in the report projections for produc20 tion and capacity installations and any problems with leas21 ing, permitting, siting, or production that will prevent 

22 meeting the goal. In addition, the Secretary shall make 

23 suggestions to help meet any shortfalls in meeting the pro24 duction goals. 


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1 ‘‘(f) PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

2 STATEMENT.—Not later than 12 months after the date 

3 of enactment of this section, in accordance with section 

4 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

5 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), the Secretary shall com6 plete a programmatic environmental impact statement. 

7 This programmatic environmental impact statement will 

8 be deemed sufficient to comply with all requirements 

9 under that Act for all necessary resource management and 

10 land use plans associated with the implementation of the 

11 strategy. 

12 ‘‘(g) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW.—At least 60 days 

13 prior to publishing a proposed strategy under this section, 

14 the Secretary shall submit it to the President and the Con15 gress, together with any comments received from States, 

16 federally recognized Indian tribes, and local governments. 

17 Such submission shall indicate why any specific rec18 ommendation of a State, federally recognized Indian tribe, 

19 or local government was not accepted. 

20 ‘‘(h) STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL ENERGY MINERALS

21 DEFINED.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘stra22 tegic and critical energy minerals’ means those that are 

23 necessary for the Nation’s energy infrastructure including 

24 pipelines, refining capacity, electrical power generation 

25 and transmission, and renewable energy production and 


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1 those that are necessary to support domestic manufac2 turing, including but not limited to, materials used in en3 ergy generation, production, and transportation.’’. 

4 (b) FIRST QUADRENNIAL STRATEGY.—Not later 

5 than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 

6 the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to Congress the 

7 first Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy Production 

8 Strategy under the amendment made by subsection (a). 

9 Subtitle C—National Petroleum 

10 Reserve in Alaska Access 

11 SEC. 4301. SHORT TITLE. 

12 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘National Petro13 leum Reserve Alaska Access Act’’. 

14 SEC. 4302. SENSE OF CONGRESS AND REAFFIRMING NA15 TIONAL POLICY FOR THE NATIONAL PETRO16 LEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA. 

17 It is the sense of Congress that— 

18 (1) the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska 

19 remains explicitly designated, both in name and legal 

20 status, for purposes of providing oil and natural gas 

21 resources to the United States; and 

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

23 advance oil and gas development within the Reserve 

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1 tion, and transportation of oil and natural gas from 

2 and through the Reserve. 

3 SEC. 4303. NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA: 

4 LEASE SALES. 

5 Section 107(a) of the Naval Petroleum Reserves Pro6 duction Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6506a(a)) is amended to 

7 read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct an 

9 expeditious program of competitive leasing of oil and gas 

10 in the reserve in accordance with this Act. Such program 

11 shall include at least one lease sale annually in those areas 

12 of the reserve most likely to produce commercial quantities 

13 of oil and natural gas each year in the period 2015 

14 through 2025.’’. 

15 SEC. 4304. NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA: 

16 PLANNING AND PERMITTING PIPELINE AND 

17 ROAD CONSTRUCTION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi19 sion of law, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation 

20 with other appropriate Federal agencies, shall facilitate 

21 and ensure permits, in a timely and environmentally re22 sponsible manner, for all surface development activities, 

23 including for the construction of pipelines and roads, nec24 essary to— 


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1 (1) develop and bring into production any areas 

2 within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska 

3 that are subject to oil and gas leases; and 

4 (2) transport oil and gas from and through the 

5 National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska in the most 

6 direct manner possible to existing transportation or 

7 processing infrastructure on the North Slope of 

8 Alaska. 

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

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

12 (1) Permits for such construction for transpor13 tation of oil and natural gas produced under existing 

14 Federal oil and gas leases with respect to which the 

15 Secretary has issued a permit to drill shall be ap16 proved within 60 days after the date of enactment 

17 of this Act. 

18 (2) Permits for such construction for transpor19 tation of oil and natural gas produced under Federal 

20 oil and gas leases shall be approved within 6 months 

21 after the submission to the Secretary of a request 

22 for a permit to drill. 

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

24 the Reserve, within 270 days after the date of the enact25 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit 


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1 to Congress a plan for approved rights-of-way for a plan 

2 for pipeline, road, and any other surface infrastructure 

3 that may be necessary infrastructure that will ensure that 

4 all leasable tracts in the Reserve are within 25 miles of 

5 an approved road and pipeline right-of-way that can serve 

6 future development of the Reserve. 

7 SEC. 4305. ISSUANCE OF A NEW INTEGRATED ACTIVITY 

8 PLAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATE9 MENT. 

10 (a) ISSUANCE OF NEW INTEGRATED ACTIVITY

11 PLAN.—The Secretary of the Interior shall, within 180 

12 days after the date of enactment of this Act, issue— 

13 (1) a new proposed integrated activity plan 

14 from among the non-adopted alternatives in the Na15 tional Petroleum Reserve Alaska Integrated Activity 

16 Plan Record of Decision issued by the Secretary of 

17 the Interior and dated February 21, 2013; and 

18 (2) an environmental impact statement under 

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

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

21 issuance of oil and gas leases in the National Petro22 leum Reserve-Alaska to promote efficient and max23 imum development of oil and natural gas resources 

24 of such reserve. 


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1 (b) NULLIFICATION OF EXISTING RECORD OF DECI2 SION, IAP, AND EIS.—Except as provided in subsection 

3 (a), the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Integrated 

4 Activity Plan Record of Decision issued by the Secretary 

5 of the Interior and dated February 21, 2013, including 

6 the integrated activity plan and environmental impact 

7 statement referred to in that record of decision, shall have 

8 no force or effect. 

9 SEC. 4306. DEPARTMENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR DEVEL10 OPMENT. 

11 The Secretary of the Interior shall issue regulations 

12 not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

13 this Act that establish clear requirements to ensure that 

14 the Department of the Interior is supporting development 

15 of oil and gas leases in the National Petroleum Reserve16 Alaska. 

17 SEC. 4307. DEADLINES UNDER NEW PROPOSED INTE18 GRATED ACTIVITY PLAN. 

19 At a minimum, the new proposed integrated activity 

20 plan issued under section 4305(a)(1) shall— 

21 (1) require the Department of the Interior to 

22 respond within 5 business days to a person who sub23 mits an application for a permit for development of 

24 oil and natural gas leases in the National Petroleum 


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1 Reserve-Alaska acknowledging receipt of such appli2 cation; and 

3 (2) establish a timeline for the processing of 

4 each such application, that— 

5 (A) specifies deadlines for decisions and 

6 actions on permit applications; and 

7 (B) provides that the period for issuing 

8 each permit after submission of such an appli9 cation shall not exceed 60 days without the con10 currence of the applicant. 

11 SEC. 4308. UPDATED RESOURCE ASSESSMENT. 

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

13 complete a comprehensive assessment of all technically re14 coverable fossil fuel resources within the National Petro15 leum Reserve in Alaska, including all conventional and un16 conventional oil and natural gas. 

17 (b) COOPERATION AND CONSULTATION.—The re18 source assessment required by subsection (a) shall be car19 ried out by the United States Geological Survey in co20 operation and consultation with the State of Alaska and 

21 the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. 

22 (c) TIMING.—The resource assessment required by 

23 subsection (a) shall be completed within 24 months of the 

24 date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 (d) FUNDING.—The United States Geological Survey 

2 may, in carrying out the duties under this section, coop3 eratively use resources and funds provided by the State 

4 of Alaska. 

5 Subtitle D—BLM Live Internet 

6 Auctions 

7 SEC. 4401. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘BLM Live Internet 

9 Auctions Act’’. 

10 SEC. 4402. INTERNET-BASED ONSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE 

11 SALES. 

12 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 17(b)(1) of the Min13 eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)) is amended— 

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

15 by inserting ‘‘, except as provided in subparagraph 

16 (C)’’ after ‘‘by oral bidding’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘(C) In order to diversify and expand the Nation’s 

19 onshore leasing program to ensure the best return to the 

20 Federal taxpayer, reduce fraud, and secure the leasing 

21 process, the Secretary may conduct onshore lease sales 

22 through Internet-based bidding methods. Each individual 

23 Internet-based lease sale shall conclude within 7 days.’’. 

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

25 Internet-based lease sale conducted under the amendment 


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1 made by subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall 

2 analyze the first 10 such lease sales and report to Con3 gress the findings of the analysis. The report shall in4 clude— 

5 (1) estimates on increases or decreases in such 

6 lease sales, compared to sales conducted by oral bid7 ding, in— 

8 (A) the number of bidders; 

9 (B) the average amount of bid; 

10 (C) the highest amount bid; and 

11 (D) the lowest bid; 

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

13 the Department of the Interior as a result of such 

14 sales, compared to sales conducted by oral bidding; 

15 and 

16 (3) an evaluation of the demonstrated or ex17 pected effectiveness of different structures for lease 

18 sales which may provide an opportunity to better 

19 maximize bidder participation, ensure the highest re20 turn to the Federal taxpayers, minimize opportuni21 ties for fraud or collusion, and ensure the security 

22 and integrity of the leasing process. 


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1 Subtitle E—Native American 

2 Energy 

3 SEC. 4501. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Native American 

5 Energy Act’’. 

6 SEC. 4502. APPRAISALS. 

7 (a) AMENDMENT.—Title XXVI of the Energy Policy 

8 Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) is amended by add9 ing at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 2607. APPRAISAL REFORMS. 

11 ‘‘(a) OPTIONS TO INDIAN TRIBES.—With respect to 

12 a transaction involving Indian land or the trust assets of 

13 an Indian tribe that requires the approval of the Sec14 retary, any appraisal relating to fair market value required 

15 to be conducted under applicable law, regulation, or policy 

16 may be completed by— 

17 ‘‘(1) the Secretary; 

18 ‘‘(2) the affected Indian tribe; or 

19 ‘‘(3) a certified, third-party appraiser pursuant 

20 to a contract with the Indian tribe. 

21 ‘‘(b) TIME LIMIT ON SECRETARIAL REVIEW AND AC22 TION.—Not later than 30 days after the date on which 

23 the Secretary receives an appraisal conducted by or for 

24 an Indian tribe pursuant to paragraphs (2) or (3) of sub25 section (a), the Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) review the appraisal; and 

2 ‘‘(2) provide to the Indian tribe a written notice 

3 of approval or disapproval of the appraisal. 

4 ‘‘(c) FAILURE OF SECRETARY TO APPROVE OR DIS5 APPROVE.—If, after 60 days, the Secretary has failed to 

6 approve or disapprove any appraisal received, the ap7 praisal shall be deemed approved. 

8 ‘‘(d) OPTION TO INDIAN TRIBES TO WAIVE AP9 PRAISAL.— 

10 ‘‘(1) An Indian tribe wishing to waive the re11 quirements of subsection (a), may do so after it has 

12 satisfied the requirements of subsections (2) and (3) 

13 below. 

14 ‘‘(2) An Indian tribe wishing to forego the ne15 cessity of a waiver pursuant to this section must 

16 provide to the Secretary a written resolution, state17 ment, or other unambiguous indication of tribal in18 tent, duly approved by the governing body of the In19 dian tribe. 

20 ‘‘(3) The unambiguous indication of intent pro21 vided by the Indian tribe to the Secretary under 

22 paragraph (2) must include an express waiver by the 

23 Indian tribe of any claims for damages it might have 

24 against the United States as a result of the lack of 

25 an appraisal undertaken. 


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1 ‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

2 term ‘appraisal’ includes appraisals and other estimates 

3 of value. 

4 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall develop 

5 regulations for implementing this section, including stand6 ards the Secretary shall use for approving or disapproving 

7 an appraisal.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con9 tents of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13201 

10 note) is amended by adding at the end of the items relat11 ing to title XXVI the following: 

‘‘Sec. 2607. Appraisal reforms.’’. 

12 SEC. 4503. STANDARDIZATION. 

13 As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall implement 

15 procedures to ensure that each agency within the Depart16 ment of the Interior that is involved in the review, ap17 proval, and oversight of oil and gas activities on Indian 

18 lands shall use a uniform system of reference numbers and 

19 tracking systems for oil and gas wells. 

20 SEC. 4504. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS OF MAJOR FEDERAL 

21 ACTIONS ON INDIAN LANDS. 

22 Section 102 of the National Environmental Policy 

23 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) is amended by inserting 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before the first sentence, and by 

25 adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(b) REVIEW OF MAJOR FEDERAL ACTIONS ON IN2 DIAN LANDS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For any major Federal ac4 tion on Indian lands of an Indian tribe requiring the 

5 preparation of a statement under subsection 

6 (a)(2)(C), the statement shall only be available for 

7 review and comment by the members of the Indian 

8 tribe and by any other individual residing within the 

9 affected area. 

10 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Chairman of the 

11 Council on Environmental Quality shall develop reg12 ulations to implement this section, including descrip13 tions of affected areas for specific major Federal ac14 tions, in consultation with Indian tribes. 

15 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, each of 

16 the terms ‘Indian land’ and ‘Indian tribe’ has the 

17 meaning given that term in section 2601 of the En18 ergy Policy Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3501). 

19 ‘‘(4) CLARIFICATION OF AUTHORITY.—Nothing 

20 in the Native American Energy Act, except section 

21 5006 of that Act, shall give the Secretary any addi22 tional authority over energy projects on Alaska Na23 tive Claims Settlement Act lands.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4505. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

2 (a) TIME FOR FILING COMPLAINT.—Any energy re3 lated action must be filed not later than the end of the 

4 60-day period beginning on the date of the final agency 

5 action. Any energy related action not filed within this time 

6 period shall be barred. 

7 (b) DISTRICT COURT VENUE AND DEADLINE.—All 

8 energy related actions— 

9 (1) shall be brought in the United States Dis10 trict Court for the District of Columbia; and 

11 (2) shall be resolved as expeditiously as pos12 sible, and in any event not more than 180 days after 

13 such cause of action is filed. 

14 (c) APPELLATE REVIEW.—An interlocutory order or 

15 final judgment, decree or order of the district court in an 

16 energy related action may be reviewed by the United 

17 States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Cir18 cuit. The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals 

19 shall resolve such appeal as expeditiously as possible, and 

20 in any event not more than 180 days after such interlocu21 tory order or final judgment, decree or order of the district 

22 court was issued. 

23 (d) LIMITATION ON CERTAIN PAYMENTS.—Notwith24 standing section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, no 

25 award may be made under section 504 of title 5, United 

26 States Code, or under section 2412 of title 28, United 


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1 States Code, and no amounts may be obligated or ex2 pended from the Claims and Judgment Fund of the 

3 United States Treasury to pay any fees or other expenses 

4 under such sections, to any person or party in an energy 

5 related action. 

6 (e) LEGAL FEES.—In any energy related action in 

7 which the plaintiff does not ultimately prevail, the court 

8 shall award to the defendant (including any intervenor9 defendants), other than the United States, fees and other 

10 expenses incurred by that party in connection with the en11 ergy related action, unless the court finds that the position 

12 of the plaintiff was substantially justified or that special 

13 circumstances make an award unjust. Whether or not the 

14 position of the plaintiff was substantially justified shall be 

15 determined on the basis of the administrative record, as 

16 a whole, which is made in the energy related action for 

17 which fees and other expenses are sought. 

18 (f) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section, 

19 the following definitions apply: 

20 (1) AGENCY ACTION.—The term ‘‘agency ac21 tion’’ has the same meaning given such term in sec22 tion 551 of title 5, United States Code. 

23 (2) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian Land’’ 

24 has the same meaning given such term in section 

25 203(c)(3) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public 


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1 Law 109–58; 25 U.S.C. 3501), including lands 

2 owned by Native Corporations under the Alaska Na3 tive Claims Settlement Act (Public Law 92–203; 43 

4 U.S.C. 1601). 

5 (3) ENERGY RELATED ACTION.—The term ‘‘en6 ergy related action’’ means a cause of action that— 

7 (A) is filed on or after the effective date of 

8 this Act; and 

9 (B) seeks judicial review of a final agency 

10 action to issue a permit, license, or other form 

11 of agency permission allowing— 

12 (i) any person or entity to conduct ac13 tivities on Indian Land, which activities in14 volve the exploration, development, produc15 tion or transportation of oil, gas, coal, 

16 shale gas, oil shale, geothermal resources, 

17 wind or solar resources, underground coal 

18 gasification, biomass, or the generation of 

19 electricity; or 

20 (ii) any Indian Tribe, or any organiza21 tion of 2 or more entities, at least 1 of 

22 which is an Indian tribe, to conduct activi23 ties involving the exploration, development, 

24 production or transportation of oil, gas, 

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1 sources, wind or solar resources, under2 ground coal gasification, biomass, or the 

3 generation of electricity, regardless of 

4 where such activities are undertaken. 

5 (4) ULTIMATELY PREVAIL.—The term ‘‘ulti6 mately prevail’’ means, in a final enforceable judg7 ment, the court rules in the party’s favor on at least 

8 1 cause of action that is an underlying rationale for 

9 the preliminary injunction, administrative stay, or 

10 other relief requested by the party, and does not in11 clude circumstances where the final agency action is 

12 modified or amended by the issuing agency unless 

13 such modification or amendment is required pursu14 ant to a final enforceable judgment of the court or 

15 a court-ordered consent decree. 

16 SEC. 4506. TRIBAL BIOMASS DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 

17 The Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 is amended 

18 by inserting after section 2 (25 U.S.C. 3115a) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 3. TRIBAL BIOMASS DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 2015 

22 through 2019, the Secretary shall enter into stewardship 

23 contracts or other agreements, other than agreements that 

24 are exclusively direct service contracts, with Indian tribes 

25 to carry out demonstration projects to promote biomass 


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1 energy production (including biofuel, heat, and electricity 

2 generation) on Indian forest land and in nearby commu3 nities by providing reliable supplies of woody biomass from 

4 Federal land. 

5 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—The definitions in section 2 

6 shall apply to this section. 

7 ‘‘(c) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—In each fiscal 

8 year for which projects are authorized, the Secretary shall 

9 enter into contracts or other agreements described in sub10 section (a) to carry out at least 4 new demonstration 

11 projects that meet the eligibility criteria described in sub12 section (d). 

13 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—To be eligible to enter 

14 into a contract or other agreement under this subsection, 

15 an Indian tribe shall submit to the Secretary an applica16 tion— 

17 ‘‘(1) containing such information as the Sec18 retary may require; and 

19 ‘‘(2) that includes a description of— 

20 ‘‘(A) the Indian forest land or rangeland 

21 under the jurisdiction of the Indian tribe; and 

22 ‘‘(B) the demonstration project proposed 

23 to be carried out by the Indian tribe. 

24 ‘‘(e) SELECTION.—In evaluating the applications 

25 submitted under subsection (c), the Secretary— 


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1 ‘‘(1) shall take into consideration the factors set 

2 forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 2(e) of 

3 Public Law 108–278; and whether a proposed dem4 onstration project would— 

5 ‘‘(A) increase the availability or reliability 

6 of local or regional energy; 

7 ‘‘(B) enhance the economic development of 

8 the Indian tribe; 

9 ‘‘(C) improve the connection of electric 

10 power transmission facilities serving the Indian 

11 tribe with other electric transmission facilities; 

12 ‘‘(D) improve the forest health or water13 sheds of Federal land or Indian forest land or 

14 rangeland; or 

15 ‘‘(E) otherwise promote the use of woody 

16 biomass; and 

17 ‘‘(2) shall exclude from consideration any mer18 chantable logs that have been identified by the Sec19 retary for commercial sale. 

20 ‘‘(f) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) ensure that the criteria described in sub22 section (c) are publicly available by not later than 

23 120 days after the date of enactment of this section; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(2) to the maximum extent practicable, consult 

2 with Indian tribes and appropriate intertribal orga3 nizations likely to be affected in developing the ap4 plication and otherwise carrying out this section. 

5 ‘‘(g) REPORT.—Not later than September 20, 2015, 

6 the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that de7 scribes, with respect to the reporting period— 

8 ‘‘(1) each individual tribal application received 

9 under this section; and 

10 ‘‘(2) each contract and agreement entered into 

11 pursuant to this section. 

12 ‘‘(h) INCORPORATION OF MANAGEMENT PLANS.—In 

13 carrying out a contract or agreement under this section, 

14 on receipt of a request from an Indian tribe, the Secretary 

15 shall incorporate into the contract or agreement, to the 

16 extent practicable, management plans (including forest 

17 management and integrated resource management plans) 

18 in effect on the Indian forest land or rangeland of the re19 spective Indian tribe. 

20 ‘‘(i) TERM.—A stewardship contract or other agree21 ment entered into under this section— 

22 ‘‘(1) shall be for a term of not more than 20 

23 years; and 

24 ‘‘(2) may be renewed in accordance with this 

25 section for not more than an additional 10 years.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4507. TRIBAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANS. 

2 Unless otherwise explicitly exempted by Federal law 

3 enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act, any 

4 activity conducted or resources harvested or produced pur5 suant to a tribal resource management plan or an inte6 grated resource management plan approved by the Sec7 retary of the Interior under the National Indian Forest 

8 Resources Management Act (25 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) or 

9 the American Indian Agricultural Resource Management 

10 Act (25 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), shall be considered a sus11 tainable management practice for purposes of any Federal 

12 standard, benefit, or requirement that requires a dem13 onstration of such sustainability. 

14 SEC. 4508. LEASES OF RESTRICTED LANDS FOR THE NAV15 AJO NATION. 

16 Subsection (e)(1) of the first section of the Act of 

17 August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 415(e)(1); commonly referred 

18 to as the ‘‘Long-Term Leasing Act’’), is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘, except a lease for’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘, including leases for’’; 

21 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘25’’ the 

22 first place it appears and all that follows and insert23 ing ‘‘99 years;’’; 

24 (3) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 

25 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(C) in the case of a lease for the exploration, 

2 development, or extraction of mineral resources, in3 cluding geothermal resources, 25 years, except that 

4 any such lease may include an option to renew for 

5 one additional term not to exceed 25 years.’’. 

6 SEC. 4509. NONAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN RULES. 

7 No rule promulgated by the Department of the Inte8 rior regarding hydraulic fracturing used in the develop9 ment or production of oil or gas resources shall have any 

10 effect on any land held in trust or restricted status for 

11 the benefit of Indians except with the express consent of 

12 the beneficiary on whose behalf such land is held in trust 

13 or restricted status. 

14 SEC. 4510. PERMITS FOR INCIDENTAL TAKE. 

15 Section 1 of the Act of June 8, 1940 (chapter 278; 

16 16 U.S.C. 668), popularly known as the Bald and Golden 

17 Eagle Protection Act, is amended by adding at the end 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(d) PERMITS FOR INCIDENTAL TAKE.—Upon sub20 mission of a substantially completed application, the Sec21 retary shall issue or deny an eagle take permit for no less 

22 than 30 years under section 22.26 of title 50, Code of 

23 Federal Regulations, that authorizes taking of any bald 

24 eagle or golden eagle that is incidental to, but not the pur25 pose of, an otherwise lawful activity. Failure to issue or 


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1 deny such a permit within a reasonable time (which shall 

2 not exceed one year) is deemed issuance of such permit, 

3 and the applicant shall not be subject to liability for any 

4 incidental take of a bald eagle or golden eagle that is in 

5 conformity with the information submitted to the Sec6 retary as part of the application for the permit.’’. 

7 SEC. 4511. MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY ACT. 

8 Section 6(a) of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 

9 U.S.C. 707(a)) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘shall’’ the first and second 

11 place it appears and inserting ‘‘shall with intent 

12 knowingly’’; and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘For the 

14 purposes of this subsection, ‘with intent knowingly’ 

15 does not include any taking, killing, or other harm 

16 to any migratory bird that is accidental or incidental 

17 to the presence or operation of an otherwise lawful 

18 activity.’’. 

19 TITLE XIV—HYDRAULIC 

20 FRACTURING 

21 Subtitle A—State Authority for 

22 Hydraulic Fracturing Regulation 

23 SEC. 5101. SHORT TITLE. 

24 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting States’ 

25 Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 5102. STATE AUTHORITY FOR HYDRAULIC FRAC2 TURING REGULATION. 

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

4 amended by redesignating section 44 as section 45, and 

5 by inserting after section 43 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 44. STATE AUTHORITY FOR HYDRAULIC FRACTURING 

7 REGULATION. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Department of the Interior 

9 shall not enforce any Federal regulation, guidance, or per10 mit requirement regarding hydraulic fracturing, or any 

11 component of that process, relating to oil, gas, or geo12 thermal production activities on or under any land in any 

13 State that has regulations, guidance, or permit require14 ments for that activity. 

15 ‘‘(b) STATE AUTHORITY.—The Department of the 

16 Interior shall recognize and defer to State regulations, 

17 permitting, and guidance, for all activities related to hy18 draulic fracturing, or any component of that process, re19 lating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on 

20 Federal land. 

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

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

23 the Bureau of Land Management a copy of its regu24 lations that apply to hydraulic fracturing operations 

25 on Federal land. 


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1 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary of the In2 terior shall make available to the public State regu3 lations submitted under this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(d) TRANSPARENCY OF STATE DISCLOSURE RE5 QUIREMENTS.— 

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

7 the Bureau of Land Management a copy of any reg8 ulations of the State that require disclosure of 

9 chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations on 

10 Federal land. 

11 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary of the In12 terior shall make available to the public State regu13 lations submitted under this subsection. 

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

15 section the term ‘hydraulic fracturing’ means the process 

16 by which fracturing fluids (or a fracturing fluid system) 

17 are pumped into an underground geologic formation at a 

18 calculated, predetermined rate and pressure to generate 

19 fractures or cracks in the target formation and thereby 

20 increase the permeability of the rock near the wellbore and 

21 improve production of natural gas or oil.’’. 

22 SEC. 5103. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY. 

23 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

24 States shall conduct a study examining the economic bene25 fits of domestic shale oil and gas production resulting from 


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1 the process of hydraulic fracturing. This study shall in2 clude identification of— 

3 (1) State and Federal revenue generated as a 

4 result of shale gas production; 

5 (2) jobs created both directly and indirectly as 

6 a result of shale oil and gas production; and 

7 (3) an estimate of potential energy prices with8 out domestic shale oil and gas production. 

9 (b) REPORT.—The Comptroller General shall submit 

10 a report on the findings of such study to the Committee 

11 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 

12 within 30 days after completion of the study. 

13 SEC. 5104. TRIBAL AUTHORITY ON TRUST LAND. 

14 The Department of the Interior shall not enforce any 

15 Federal regulation, guidance, or permit requirement re16 garding the process of hydraulic fracturing (as that term 

17 is defined in section 44 of the Mineral Leasing Act, as 

18 amended by section 5102 of this title), or any component 

19 of that process, relating to oil, gas, or geothermal produc20 tion activities on any land held in trust or restricted status 

21 for the benefit of Indians except with the express consent 

22 of the beneficiary on whose behalf such land is held in 

23 trust or restricted status. 


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1 Subtitle B—EPA Hydraulic 

2 Fracturing Research 

3 SEC. 5201. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘EPA Hydraulic Frac5 turing Study Improvement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 5202. EPA HYDRAULIC FRACTURING RESEARCH. 

7 In conducting its study of the potential impacts of 

8 hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources, with re9 spect to which a request for information was issued under 

10 Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 218, the Administrator of 

11 the Environmental Protection Agency shall adhere to the 

12 following requirements: 

13 (1) PEER REVIEW AND INFORMATION QUAL14 ITY.—Prior to issuance and dissemination of any 

15 final report or any interim report summarizing the 

16 Environmental Protection Agency’s research on the 

17 relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drink18 ing water, the Administrator shall— 

19 (A) consider such reports to be Highly In20 fluential Scientific Assessments and require 

21 peer review of such reports in accordance with 

22 guidelines governing such assessments, as de23 scribed in— 


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1 (i) the Environmental Protection 

2 Agency’s Peer Review Handbook 3rd Edi3 tion; 

4 (ii) the Environmental Protection 

5 Agency’s Scientific Integrity Policy, as in 

6 effect on the date of enactment of this Act; 

7 and 

8 (iii) the Office of Management and 

9 Budget’s Peer Review Bulletin, as in effect 

10 on the date of enactment of this Act; and 

11 (B) require such reports to meet the stand12 ards and procedures for the dissemination of in13 fluential scientific, financial, or statistical infor14 mation set forth in the Environmental Protec15 tion Agency’s Guidelines for Ensuring and 

16 Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, Utility, 

17 and Integrity of Information Disseminated by 

18 the Environmental Protection Agency, devel19 oped in response to guidelines issued by the Of20 fice of Management and Budget under section 

21 515(a) of the Treasury and General Govern22 ment Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001 

23 (Public Law 106–554). 

24 (2) PROBABILITY, UNCERTAINTY, AND CON25 SEQUENCE.—In order to maximize the quality and 


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1 utility of information developed through the study, 

2 the Administrator shall ensure that identification of 

3 the possible impacts of hydraulic fracturing on 

4 drinking water resources included in such reports be 

5 accompanied by objective estimates of the prob6 ability, uncertainty, and consequence of each identi7 fied impact, taking into account the risk manage8 ment practices of States and industry. Estimates or 

9 descriptions of probability, uncertainty, and con10 sequence shall be as quantitative as possible given 

11 the validity, accuracy, precision, and other quality 

12 attributes of the underlying data and analyses, but 

13 no more quantitative than the data and analyses can 

14 support. 

15 (3) RELEASE OF FINAL REPORT.—The final re16 port shall be publicly released by September 30, 

17 2016. 

18 Subtitle C—Miscellaneous 

19 Provisions 

20 SEC. 5301. REVIEW OF STATE ACTIVITIES. 

21 The Secretary of the Interior shall annually review 

22 and report to Congress on all State activities relating to 

23 hydraulic fracturing. 


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1 TITLE XV—NORTHERN ROUTE 

2 APPROVAL 

3 SEC. 6001. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Route Ap5 proval Act’’. 

6 SEC. 6002. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) To maintain our Nation’s competitive edge 

9 and ensure an economy built to last, the United 

10 States must have fast, reliable, resilient, and envi11 ronmentally sound means of moving energy. In a 

12 global economy, we will compete for the world’s in13 vestments based in significant part on the quality of 

14 our infrastructure. Investing in the Nation’s infra15 structure provides immediate and long-term eco16 nomic benefits for local communities and the Nation 

17 as a whole. 

18 (2) The delivery of oil from Canada, a close ally 

19 not only in proximity but in shared values and 

20 ideals, to domestic markets is in the national inter21 est because of the need to lessen dependence upon 

22 insecure foreign sources. 

23 (3) The Keystone XL pipeline would provide 

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1 nities and related labor income benefits, such as gov2 ernment revenues associated with taxes. 

3 (4) The State of Nebraska has thoroughly re4 viewed and approved the proposed Keystone XL 

5 pipeline reroute, concluding that the concerns of Ne6 braskans have had a major influence on the pipeline 

7 reroute and that the reroute will have minimal envi8 ronmental impacts. 

9 (5) The Department of State and other Federal 

10 agencies have over a long period of time conducted 

11 extensive studies and analysis of the technical as12 pects and of the environmental, social, and economic 

13 impacts of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, 

14 and— 

15 (A) the Department of State assessments 

16 found that the Keystone XL pipeline ‘‘is not 

17 likely to impact the amount of crude oil pro18 duced from the oil sands’’ and that ‘‘approval 

19 or denial of the proposed project is unlikely to 

20 have a substantial impact on the rate of devel21 opment in the oil sands’’; 

22 (B) the Department of State found that 

23 incremental life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions 

24 associated with the Keystone XL project are es25 timated in the range of 0.07 to 0.83 million 


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1 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, with 

2 the upper end of this range representing twelve 

3 one-thousandths of one percent of the 6,702 

4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emitted in 

5 the United States in 2011; and 

6 (C) after extensive evaluation of potential 

7 impacts to land and water resources along the 

8 Keystone XL pipeline’s 875-mile proposed 

9 route, the Department of State found that 

10 ‘‘The analyses of potential impacts associated 

11 with construction and normal operation of the 

12 proposed Project suggest that there would be 

13 no significant impacts to most resources along 

14 the proposed Project route (assuming Keystone 

15 complies with all laws and required conditions 

16 and measures).’’. 

17 (6) The transportation of oil via pipeline is the 

18 safest and most economically and environmentally 

19 effective means of doing so, and— 

20 (A) transportation of oil via pipeline has a 

21 record of unmatched safety and environmental 

22 protection, and the Department of State found 

23 that ‘‘Spills associated with the proposed 

24 Project that enter the environment expected to 

25 be rare and relatively small’’, and that ‘‘there 


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1 is no evidence of increased corrosion or other 

2 pipeline threat due to viscosity’’ of diluted bitu3 men oil that will be transported by the Key4 stone XL pipeline; and 

5 (B) plans to incorporate 57 project-specific 

6 special conditions related to the design, con7 struction, and operations of the Keystone XL 

8 pipeline led the Department of State to find 

9 that the pipeline will have ‘‘a degree of safety 

10 over any other typically constructed domestic oil 

11 pipeline’’. 

12 (7) The Keystone XL is in much the same posi13 tion today as the Alaska Pipeline in 1973 prior to 

14 congressional action. Once again, the Federal regu15 latory process remains an insurmountable obstacle 

16 to a project that is likely to reduce oil imports from 

17 insecure foreign sources. 

18 SEC. 6003. KEYSTONE XL PERMIT APPROVAL. 

19 Notwithstanding Executive Order No. 13337 (3 

20 U.S.C. 301 note), Executive Order No. 11423 (3 U.S.C. 

21 301 note), section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and 

22 any other Executive order or provision of law, no Presi23 dential permit shall be required for the pipeline described 

24 in the application filed on May 4, 2012, by TransCanada 

25 Keystone Pipeline, L.P. to the Department of State for 


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1 the Keystone XL pipeline, as supplemented to include the 

2 Nebraska reroute evaluated in the Final Evaluation Re3 port issued by the Nebraska Department of Environ4 mental Quality in January 2013 and approved by the Ne5 braska governor. The final environmental impact state6 ment issued by the Secretary of State on August 26, 2011, 

7 coupled with the Final Evaluation Report described in the 

8 previous sentence, shall be considered to satisfy all re9 quirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

10 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and of the National His11 toric Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). 

12 SEC. 6004. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

13 (a) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION.—Except for review by 

14 the Supreme Court on writ of certiorari, the United States 

15 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit shall 

16 have original and exclusive jurisdiction to determine— 

17 (1) the validity of any final order or action (in18 cluding a failure to act) of any Federal agency or of19 ficer with respect to issuance of a permit relating to 

20 the construction or maintenance of the Keystone XL 

21 pipeline, including any final order or action deemed 

22 to be taken, made, granted, or issued; 

23 (2) the constitutionality of any provision of this 

24 title, or any decision or action taken, made, granted, 


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1 or issued, or deemed to be taken, made, granted, or 

2 issued under this title; or 

3 (3) the adequacy of any environmental impact 

4 statement prepared under the National Environ5 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 

6 or of any analysis under any other Act, with respect 

7 to any action taken, made, granted, or issued, or 

8 deemed to be taken, made, granted, or issued under 

9 this title. 

10 (b) DEADLINE FOR FILING CLAIM.—A claim arising 

11 under this title may be brought not later than 60 days 

12 after the date of the decision or action giving rise to the 

13 claim. 

14 (c) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—The United 

15 States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Cir16 cuit shall set any action brought under subsection (a) for 

17 expedited consideration, taking into account the national 

18 interest of enhancing national energy security by providing 

19 access to the significant oil reserves in Canada that are 

20 needed to meet the demand for oil. 

21 SEC. 6005. AMERICAN BURYING BEETLE. 

22 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 

23 (1) environmental reviews performed for the 

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1 ments of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 

2 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)) in its entirety; and 

3 (2) for purposes of that Act, the Keystone XL 

4 pipeline project will not jeopardize the continued ex5 istence of the American burying beetle or destroy or 

6 adversely modify American burying beetle critical 

7 habitat. 

8 (b) BIOLOGICAL OPINION.—The Secretary of the In9 terior is deemed to have issued a written statement setting 

10 forth the Secretary’s opinion containing such findings 

11 under section 7(b)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act 

12 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(b)(1)(A)) and any taking of the 

13 American burying beetle that is incidental to the construc14 tion or operation and maintenance of the Keystone XL 

15 pipeline as it may be ultimately defined in its entirety, 

16 shall not be considered a prohibited taking of such species 

17 under such Act. 

18 SEC. 6006. RIGHT-OF-WAY AND TEMPORARY USE PERMIT. 

19 The Secretary of the Interior is deemed to have 

20 granted or issued a grant of right-of-way and temporary 

21 use permit under section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act 

22 (30 U.S.C. 185) and the Federal Land Policy and Man23 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), as set forth 

24 in the application tendered to the Bureau of Land Man25 agement for the Keystone XL pipeline. 


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1 SEC. 6007. PERMITS FOR ACTIVITIES IN NAVIGABLE 

2 WATERS. 

3 (a) ISSUANCE OF PERMITS.—The Secretary of the 

4 Army, not later than 90 days after receipt of an applica5 tion therefor, shall issue all permits under section 404 of 

6 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) 

7 and section 10 of the Act of March 3, 1899 (33 U.S.C. 

8 403; commonly known as the Rivers and Harbors Appro9 priations Act of 1899), necessary for the construction, op10 eration, and maintenance of the pipeline described in the 

11 May 4, 2012, application referred to in section 6003, as 

12 supplemented by the Nebraska reroute. The application 

13 shall be based on the administrative record for the pipeline 

14 as of the date of enactment of this Act, which shall be 

15 considered complete. 

16 (b) WAIVER OF PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.—The 

17 Secretary may waive any procedural requirement of law 

18 or regulation that the Secretary considers desirable to 

19 waive in order to accomplish the purposes of this section. 

20 (c) ISSUANCE IN ABSENCE OF ACTION BY THE SEC21 RETARY.—If the Secretary has not issued a permit de22 scribed in subsection (a) on or before the last day of the 

23 90-day period referred to in subsection (a), the permit 

24 shall be deemed issued under section 404 of the Federal 

25 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) or section 


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1 10 of the Act of March 3, 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403), as appro2 priate, on the day following such last day. 

3 (d) LIMITATION.—The Administrator of the Environ4 mental Protection Agency may not prohibit or restrict an 

5 activity or use of an area that is authorized under this 

6 section. 

7 SEC. 6008. MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY ACT PERMIT. 

8 The Secretary of the Interior is deemed to have 

9 issued a special purpose permit under the Migratory Bird 

10 Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.), as described in the 

11 application filed with the United States Fish and Wildlife 

12 Service for the Keystone XL pipeline on January 11, 

13 2013. 

14 SEC. 6009. OIL SPILL RESPONSE PLAN DISCLOSURE. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any pipeline owner or operator 

16 required under Federal law to develop an oil spill response 

17 plan for the Keystone XL pipeline shall make such plan 

18 available to the Governor of each State in which such pipe19 line operates to assist with emergency response prepared20 ness. 

21 (b) UPDATES.—A pipeline owner or operator required 

22 to make available to a Governor a plan under subsection 

23 (a) shall make available to such Governor any update of 

24 such plan not later than 7 days after the date on which 

25 such update is made. 


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1 TITLE XVI—RELIEF FROM EPA 

2 CLIMATE CHANGE REGULA3 TIONS AND FEDERAL PROHI4 BITIONS ON SYNTHETIC 

5 FUELS 

6 SEC. 7001. REPEAL OF EPA CLIMATE CHANGE REGULATION. 

7 (a) GREENHOUSE GAS REGULATION UNDER CLEAN

8 AIR ACT.—Section 302(g) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 7602(g)) is amended by adding the following at the end 

10 thereof: ‘‘The term ‘air pollutant’ shall not include carbon 

11 dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluoro12 carbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride.’’. 

13 (b) NO REGULATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE.—Noth14 ing in the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), the 

15 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et 

16 seq.), the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

17 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

18 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), or the Solid Waste Disposal Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), shall be treated as authorizing 

20 or requiring the regulation of climate change or global 

21 warming. 


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1 SEC. 7002. REPEAL OF FEDERAL BAN ON SYNTHETIC FUELS 

2 PURCHASING REQUIREMENT. 

3 Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security 

4 Act of 2007 (Public Law 110–140; 121 Stat. 1663; 42 

5 U.S.C. 17142) is repealed. 

6 SEC. 7003. SENSE OF CONGRESS OPPOSING CARBON TAX. 

7 It is the sense of the Congress that a carbon tax— 

8 (1) would be detrimental to American families 

9 and businesses; and 

10 (2) is not in the best interest of the United 

11 States. 

12 SEC. 7004. PROHIBITION ON USE OF SOCIAL COST OF CAR13 BON IN ANALYSIS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi15 sion of law or any executive order, the Administrator of 

16 the Environmental Protection Agency may not use the so17 cial cost of carbon in order to incorporate social benefits 

18 of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, or for any other rea19 son, in any cost-benefit analysis relating to an energy-re20 lated rule. 

21 (b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘social 

22 cost of carbon’’ means the social cost of carbon as de23 scribed in the technical support document entitled ‘‘Tech24 nical Support Document: Technical Update of the Social 

25 Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis Under Ex26 ecutive Order 12866’’, published by the Interagency 


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1 Working Group on Social Cost of Carbon, United States 

2 Government, in May 2013, or any successor or substan3 tially related document, or any other estimate of the mone4 tized damages associated with an incremental increase in 

5 carbon dioxide emissions in a given year. 

6 TITLE XVII—ADDRESSING THE 

7 PRESIDENT’S WAR ON COAL 

8 Subtitle A—Management and Dis9 posal of Coal Combustion Re10 siduals 

11 SEC. 8001. SHORT TITLE. 

12 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Coal Residuals 

13 Reuse and Management Act of 2014’’. 

14 SEC. 8002. MANAGEMENT AND DISPOSAL OF COAL COMBUS15 TION RESIDUALS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Dis17 posal Act (42 U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) is amended by adding 

18 at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 4011. MANAGEMENT AND DISPOSAL OF COAL COM20 BUSTION RESIDUALS. 

21 ‘‘(a) STATE PERMIT PROGRAMS FOR COAL COMBUS22 TION RESIDUALS.—Each State may adopt, implement, 

23 and enforce a coal combustion residuals permit program 

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1 section (b)(1), and the certification required under sub2 section (b)(2). 

3 ‘‘(b) STATE ACTIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 6 months 

5 after the date of enactment of this section (except 

6 as provided by the deadline identified under sub7 section (d)(3)(B)), the Governor of each State shall 

8 notify the Administrator, in writing, whether such 

9 State will adopt and implement a coal combustion 

10 residuals permit program. 

11 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 36 

13 months after the date of enactment of this sec14 tion (except as provided in subsection 

15 (f)(1)(A)), in the case of a State that has noti16 fied the Administrator that it will implement a 

17 coal combustion residuals permit program, the 

18 head of the lead State implementing agency 

19 shall submit to the Administrator a certification 

20 that such coal combustion residuals permit pro21 gram meets the requirements described in sub22 section (c). 

23 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—A certification sub24 mitted under this paragraph shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a letter identifying the lead State 

2 implementing agency, signed by the head 

3 of such agency; 

4 ‘‘(ii) identification of any other State 

5 agencies involved with the implementation 

6 of the coal combustion residuals permit 

7 program; 

8 ‘‘(iii) an explanation of how the State 

9 coal combustion residuals permit program 

10 meets the requirements of this section, in11 cluding a description of the State’s— 

12 ‘‘(I) process to inspect or other13 wise determine compliance with such 

14 permit program; 

15 ‘‘(II) process to enforce the re16 quirements of such permit program; 

17 ‘‘(III) public participation proc18 ess for the promulgation, amendment, 

19 or repeal of regulations for, and the 

20 issuance of permits under, such per21 mit program; 

22 ‘‘(IV) statutes, regulations, or 

23 policies pertaining to public access to 

24 information, such as groundwater 

25 monitoring data; and 


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1 ‘‘(V) statutes, regulations, or 

2 policies pertaining to structural integ3 rity or dam safety that may be ap4 plied to structures through such per5 mit program; 

6 ‘‘(iv) a certification that the State has 

7 in effect, at the time of certification, stat8 utes or regulations necessary to implement 

9 a coal combustion residuals permit pro10 gram that meets the requirements de11 scribed in subsection (c); 

12 ‘‘(v) copies of State statutes and regu13 lations described in clause (iv); and 

14 ‘‘(vi) an emergency action plan for 

15 State response to a leak or spill at a struc16 ture that receives coal combustion residu17 als. 

18 ‘‘(C) UPDATES.—A State may update the 

19 certification as needed to reflect changes to the 

20 coal combustion residuals permit program. 

21 ‘‘(3) MAINTENANCE OF 4005(c) OR 3006 PRO22 GRAM.—In order to adopt or implement a coal com23 bustion residuals permit program under this section 

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1 mit program or other system of prior approval and 

2 conditions under section 4005(c) or an authorized 

3 program under section 3006. 

4 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR A COAL COMBUSTION RE5 SIDUALS PERMIT PROGRAM.—A coal combustion residuals 

6 permit program shall consist of the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The implementing 

9 agency shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) apply the subset of the revised 

11 criteria described in paragraph (2) to own12 ers or operators of structures, including 

13 surface impoundments, that receive coal 

14 combustion residuals on or after the date 

15 of enactment of this section; 

16 ‘‘(ii) with respect to structures that 

17 are receiving coal combustion residuals as 

18 of the date of enactment of this section, 

19 take the actions required under paragraph 

20 (3); 

21 ‘‘(iii) impose requirements for surface 

22 impoundments that do not meet certain 

23 criteria pursuant to paragraph (4); and 

24 ‘‘(iv) require that closure of structures 

25 occur in accordance with paragraph (5). 


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1 ‘‘(B) STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY.— 

2 ‘‘(i) ENGINEERING CERTIFICATION.— 

3 The implementing agency shall require 

4 that an independent registered professional 

5 engineer certify that— 

6 ‘‘(I) the design of each structure 

7 that receives coal combustion residu8 als on or after the date of enactment 

9 of this section is in accordance with 

10 recognized and generally accepted 

11 good engineering practices for con12 tainment of the maximum volume of 

13 coal combustion residuals and liquids 

14 which can be impounded therein; and 

15 ‘‘(II) the construction and main16 tenance of the structure will ensure 

17 structural stability. 

18 ‘‘(ii) EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN.— 

19 The implementing agency shall require 

20 that the owner or operator of any structure 

21 that is a surface impoundment that re22 ceives coal combustion residuals on or after 

23 the date of enactment of this section and 

24 that is classified by the State as posing a 

25 high hazard potential pursuant to the 


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1 guidelines published by the Federal Emer2 gency Management Agency entitled ‘Fed3 eral Guidelines for Dam Safety: Hazard 

4 Potential Classification System for Dams’ 

5 (FEMA Publication Number 333) prepare 

6 and maintain an emergency action plan 

7 that identifies responsible persons and ac8 tions to be taken in the event of a dam 

9 safety emergency. 

10 ‘‘(iii) INSPECTION.— 

11 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The imple12 menting agency shall require that 

13 structures that are surface impound14 ments that receive coal combustion re15 siduals on or after the date of enact16 ment of this section be inspected not 

17 less than annually by an independent 

18 registered professional engineer to as19 sure that the design, operation, and 

20 maintenance of the surface impound21 ment is in accordance with recognized 

22 and generally accepted good engineer23 ing practices for containment of the 

24 maximum volume of coal combustion 

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1 pounded therein, so as to ensure dam 

2 stability. 

3 ‘‘(II) POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS

4 CONDITIONS.—The implementing 

5 agency shall require that if an inspec6 tion under subclause (I), or a periodic 

7 evaluation under clause (iv), reveals a 

8 potentially hazardous condition, the 

9 owner or operator of the structure 

10 shall immediately take action to miti11 gate the potentially hazardous condi12 tion and notify appropriate State and 

13 local first responders. 

14 ‘‘(iv) PERIODIC EVALUATION.—The 

15 implementing agency shall require that 

16 structures that are surface impoundments 

17 that receive coal combustion residuals on 

18 or after the date of enactment of this sec19 tion be periodically evaluated for appear20 ances of structural weakness. 

21 ‘‘(v) DEFICIENCY.— 

22 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If the head 

23 of the implementing agency deter24 mines that a structure is deficient 

25 with respect to the requirements in 


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1 clause (i), (iii), or (iv), the head of the 

2 agency has the authority to require 

3 action to correct the deficiency accord4 ing to a schedule determined by the 

5 agency. 

6 ‘‘(II) UNCORRECTED DEFI7 CIENCIES.—If a deficiency is not cor8 rected according to the schedule, the 

9 head of the implementing agency has 

10 the authority to require that the 

11 structure close in accordance with 

12 paragraph (5). 

13 ‘‘(III) DAM SAFETY CONSULTA14 TION.—In the case of a structure that 

15 is a surface impoundment, the head of 

16 the implementing agency shall, in 

17 making a determination under sub18 clause (I), consult with appropriate 

19 State dam safety officials. 

20 ‘‘(C) LOCATION.—The implementing agen21 cy shall require that structures that first receive 

22 coal combustion residuals on or after the date 

23 of enactment of this section shall be constructed 

24 with a base located a minimum of 2 feet above 

25 the upper limit of the water table, unless it is 


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1 demonstrated to the satisfaction of the imple2 menting agency that— 

3 ‘‘(i) the hydrogeologic characteristics 

4 of a structure and surrounding land would 

5 preclude such a requirement; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the function and integrity of the 

7 liner system will not be adversely impacted 

8 by contact with the water table. 

9 ‘‘(D) WIND DISPERSAL.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The implementing 

11 agency shall require that owners or opera12 tors of structures that receive coal combus13 tion residuals on or after the date of enact14 ment of this section address wind dispersal 

15 of dust by requiring cover, or by wetting 

16 coal combustion residuals with water to a 

17 moisture content that prevents wind dis18 persal, facilitates compaction, and does not 

19 result in free liquids. 

20 ‘‘(ii) ALTERNATIVE METHODS.—Sub21 ject to the review and approval by the im22 plementing agency, owners or operators of 

23 structures that receive coal combustion re24 siduals on or after the date of enactment 

25 of this section may propose alternative 


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1 methods to address wind dispersal of dust 

2 that will provide comparable or more effec3 tive control of dust. 

4 ‘‘(E) PERMITS.—The implementing agency 

5 shall require that owners or operators of struc6 tures that receive coal combustion residuals on 

7 or after the date of enactment of this section 

8 apply for and obtain permits incorporating the 

9 requirements of the coal combustion residuals 

10 permit program. 

11 ‘‘(F) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMA12 TION.—Except for information with respect to 

13 which disclosure is prohibited under section 

14 1905 of title 18, United States Code, the imple15 menting agency shall ensure that— 

16 ‘‘(i) documents for permit determina17 tions are made available for public review 

18 and comment under the public participa19 tion process described in subsection 

20 (b)(2)(B)(iii)(III) or in subsection (e)(6), 

21 as applicable; 

22 ‘‘(ii) final determinations on permit 

23 applications are made known to the public; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) groundwater monitoring data 

2 collected under paragraph (2) is publicly 

3 available. 

4 ‘‘(G) AGENCY AUTHORITY.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The implementing 

6 agency has the authority to— 

7 ‘‘(I) obtain information necessary 

8 to determine whether the owner or op9 erator of a structure is in compliance 

10 with the requirements of this sub11 section; 

12 ‘‘(II) conduct or require moni13 toring and testing to ensure that 

14 structures are in compliance with the 

15 requirements of this subsection; and 

16 ‘‘(III) enter, at reasonable times, 

17 any site or premise subject to the coal 

18 combustion residuals permit program 

19 for the purpose of inspecting struc20 tures and reviewing records relevant 

21 to the design, operation, and mainte22 nance of structures. 

23 ‘‘(ii) MONITORING AND TESTING.—If 

24 monitoring or testing is conducted under 

25 clause (i)(II) by or for the implementing 


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1 agency, the implementing agency shall, if 

2 requested, provide to the owner or oper3 ator— 

4 ‘‘(I) a written description of the 

5 monitoring or testing completed; 

6 ‘‘(II) at the time of sampling, a 

7 portion of each sample equal in vol8 ume or weight to the portion retained 

9 by or for the implementing agency; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(III) a copy of the results of 

12 any analysis of samples collected by or 

13 for the implementing agency. 

14 ‘‘(2) REVISED CRITERIA.—The subset of the re15 vised criteria referred to in paragraph (1)(A)(i) are 

16 as follows: 

17 ‘‘(A) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—For new 

18 structures, and lateral expansions of existing 

19 structures, that first receive coal combustion re20 siduals on or after the date of enactment of this 

21 section, the revised criteria regarding design re22 quirements described in section 258.40 of title 

23 40, Code of Federal Regulations, except that 

24 the leachate collection system requirements de25 scribed in section 258.40(a)(2) of title 40, Code 


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1 of Federal Regulations, do not apply to struc2 tures that are surface impoundments. 

3 ‘‘(B) GROUNDWATER MONITORING AND

4 CORRECTIVE ACTION.—For all structures that 

5 receive coal combustion residuals on or after the 

6 date of enactment of this section, the revised 

7 criteria regarding groundwater monitoring and 

8 corrective action requirements described in sub9 part E of part 258 of title 40, Code of Federal 

10 Regulations, except that, for the purposes of 

11 this subparagraph, the revised criteria shall also 

12 include— 

13 ‘‘(i) for the purposes of detection 

14 monitoring, the constituents boron, chlo15 ride, conductivity, fluoride, mercury, pH, 

16 sulfate, sulfide, and total dissolved solids; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(ii) for the purposes of assessment 

19 monitoring, establishing a groundwater 

20 protection standard, and assessment of 

21 corrective measures, the constituents alu22 minum, boron, chloride, fluoride, iron, 

23 manganese, molybdenum, pH, sulfate, and 

24 total dissolved solids. 


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1 ‘‘(C) CLOSURE.—For all structures that 

2 receive coal combustion residuals on or after the 

3 date of enactment of this section, in a manner 

4 consistent with paragraph (5), the revised cri5 teria for closure described in subsections (a) 

6 through (c) and (h) through (j) of section 

7 258.60 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations. 

8 ‘‘(D) POST-CLOSURE.—For all structures 

9 that receive coal combustion residuals on or 

10 after the date of enactment of this section, the 

11 revised criteria for post-closure care described 

12 in section 258.61 of title 40, Code of Federal 

13 Regulations, except for the requirement de14 scribed in subsection (a)(4) of that section. 

15 ‘‘(E) LOCATION RESTRICTIONS.—The re16 vised criteria for location restrictions described 

17 in— 

18 ‘‘(i) for new structures, and lateral ex19 pansions of existing structures, that first 

20 receive coal combustion residuals on or 

21 after the date of enactment of this section, 

22 sections 258.11 through 258.15 of title 40, 

23 Code of Federal Regulations; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) for existing structures that re25 ceive coal combustion residuals on or after 


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1 the date of enactment of this section, sec2 tions 258.11 and 258.15 of title 40, Code 

3 of Federal Regulations. 

4 ‘‘(F) AIR QUALITY.—For all structures 

5 that receive coal combustion residuals on or 

6 after the date of enactment of this section, the 

7 revised criteria for air quality described in sec8 tion 258.24 of title 40, Code of Federal Regula9 tions. 

10 ‘‘(G) FINANCIAL ASSURANCE.—For all 

11 structures that receive coal combustion residu12 als on or after the date of enactment of this 

13 section, the revised criteria for financial assur14 ance described in subpart G of part 258 of title 

15 40, Code of Federal Regulations. 

16 ‘‘(H) SURFACE WATER.—For all structures 

17 that receive coal combustion residuals on or 

18 after the date of enactment of this section, the 

19 revised criteria for surface water described in 

20 section 258.27 of title 40, Code of Federal Reg21 ulations. 

22 ‘‘(I) RECORDKEEPING.—For all structures 

23 that receive coal combustion residuals on or 

24 after the date of enactment of this section, the 

25 revised criteria for recordkeeping described in 


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1 section 258.29 of title 40, Code of Federal Reg2 ulations. 

3 ‘‘(J) RUN-ON AND RUN-OFF CONTROL SYS4 TEMS FOR LAND-BASED UNITS.—For all land5 fills and other land-based units, other than sur6 face impoundments, that receive coal combus7 tion residuals on or after the date of enactment 

8 of this section, the revised criteria for run-on 

9 and run-off control systems described in section 

10 258.26 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations. 

11 ‘‘(K) RUN-OFF CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR

12 SURFACE IMPOUNDMENTS.—For all surface im13 poundments that receive coal combustion re14 siduals on or after the date of enactment of this 

15 section, the revised criteria for run-off control 

16 systems described in section 258.26(a)(2) of 

17 title 40, Code of Federal Regulations. 

18 ‘‘(3) PERMIT PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION FOR

19 EXISTING STRUCTURES.— 

20 ‘‘(A) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than the 

21 date on which a State submits a certification 

22 under subsection (b)(2), not later than 30 

23 months after the Administrator receives notice 

24 under subsection (e)(1)(A), or not later than 36 

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1 tion with respect to a coal combustion residuals 

2 permit program that is being implemented by 

3 the Administrator under subsection (e)(3), as 

4 applicable, the implementing agency shall notify 

5 owners or operators of structures that are re6 ceiving coal combustion residuals as of the date 

7 of enactment of this section within the State 

8 of— 

9 ‘‘(i) the obligation to apply for and 

10 obtain a permit under subparagraph (C); 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the requirements referred to in 

13 subparagraph (B). 

14 ‘‘(B) COMPLIANCE WITH CERTAIN RE15 QUIREMENTS.—Not later than 12 months after 

16 the date on which a State submits a certifi17 cation under subsection (b)(2), not later than 

18 42 months after the Administrator receives no19 tice under subsection (e)(1)(A), or not later 

20 than 48 months after the date of enactment of 

21 this section with respect to a coal combustion 

22 residuals permit program that is being imple23 mented by the Administrator under subsection 

24 (e)(3), as applicable, the implementing agency 

25 shall require owners or operators of structures 


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1 that are receiving coal combustion residuals as 

2 of the date of enactment of this section to com3 ply with— 

4 ‘‘(i) the requirements under para5 graphs (1)(B)(ii) and (iii), (1)(D), (2)(B), 

6 (2)(F), (2)(H), (2)(J), and (2)(K); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) the groundwater recordkeeping 

8 requirement described in section 

9 258.29(a)(5) of title 40, Code of Federal 

10 Regulations. 

11 ‘‘(C) PERMITS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) PERMIT DEADLINE.—Not later 

13 than 48 months after the date on which a 

14 State submits a certification under sub15 section (b)(2), not later than 78 months 

16 after the Administrator receives notice 

17 under subsection (e)(1)(A), or not later 

18 than 84 months after the date of enact19 ment of this section with respect to a coal 

20 combustion residuals permit program that 

21 is being implemented by the Administrator 

22 under subsection (e)(3), as applicable, the 

23 implementing agency shall issue, with re24 spect to a structure that is receiving coal 

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1 actment of this section, a final permit in2 corporating the requirements of the coal 

3 combustion residuals permit program, or a 

4 final denial for an application submitted 

5 requesting such a permit. 

6 ‘‘(ii) APPLICATION DEADLINE.—The 

7 implementing agency shall identify, in col8 laboration with the owner or operator of a 

9 structure described in clause (i), a reason10 able deadline by which the owner or oper11 ator shall submit a permit application 

12 under such clause. 

13 ‘‘(D) INTERIM OPERATION.— 

14 ‘‘(i) PRIOR TO DEADLINES.—With re15 spect to any period of time on or after the 

16 date of enactment of this section but prior 

17 to the applicable deadline in subparagraph 

18 (B), the owner or operator of a structure 

19 that is receiving coal combustion residuals 

20 as of the date of enactment of this section 

21 may continue to operate such structure 

22 until such applicable deadline under the 

23 applicable authority in effect. 

24 ‘‘(ii) PRIOR TO PERMIT.—Unless the 

25 implementing agency determines that the 


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1 structure should close pursuant to para2 graph (5), if the owner or operator of a 

3 structure that is receiving coal combustion 

4 residuals as of the date of enactment of 

5 this section meets the requirements re6 ferred to in subparagraph (B) by the appli7 cable deadline in such subparagraph, the 

8 owner or operator may operate the struc9 ture until such time as the implementing 

10 agency issues, under subparagraph (C), a 

11 final permit incorporating the requirements 

12 of the coal combustion residuals permit 

13 program, or a final denial for an applica14 tion submitted requesting such a permit. 

15 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE IMPOUND16 MENTS THAT DO NOT MEET CERTAIN CRITERIA.— 

17 ‘‘(A) SURFACE IMPOUNDMENTS THAT RE18 QUIRE ASSESSMENT OF CORRECTIVE MEASURES

19 WITHIN 10 YEARS OF THE DATE OF ENACT20 MENT.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the 

22 groundwater monitoring and corrective ac23 tion requirements described in paragraph 

24 (2)(B), the implementing agency shall re25 quire a surface impoundment that receives 


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1 coal combustion residuals on or after the 

2 date of enactment of this section to comply 

3 with the requirements in clause (ii) of this 

4 subparagraph and clauses (i) and (ii) of 

5 subparagraph (D) if the surface impound6 ment— 

7 ‘‘(I) does not— 

8 ‘‘(aa) have a liner system 

9 described in section 258.40(b) of 

10 title 40, Code of Federal Regula11 tions; and 

12 ‘‘(bb) meet the design cri13 teria described in section 

14 258.40(a)(1) of title 40, Code of 

15 Federal Regulations; and 

16 ‘‘(II) within 10 years after the 

17 date of enactment of this section, is 

18 required under section 258.56(a) of 

19 title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, 

20 to undergo an assessment of correc21 tive measures for any constituent cov22 ered under subpart E of part 258 of 

23 title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, 

24 or otherwise identified in paragraph 

25 (2)(B)(ii) of this subsection, for which 


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1 assessment groundwater monitoring is 

2 required. 

3 ‘‘(ii) DEADLINE TO MEET GROUND4 WATER PROTECTION STANDARD.—Except 

5 as provided in subparagraph (C), the im6 plementing agency shall require that the 

7 groundwater protection standard, for sur8 face impoundments identified in clause (i) 

9 of this subparagraph, established by the 

10 implementing agency under section 

11 258.55(h) or 258.55(i) of title 40, Code of 

12 Federal Regulations, for any constituent 

13 for which corrective measures are required 

14 shall be met— 

15 ‘‘(I) as soon as practicable at the 

16 relevant point of compliance, as de17 scribed in section 258.40(d) of title 

18 40, Code of Federal Regulations; and 

19 ‘‘(II) not later than 10 years 

20 after the date of enactment of this 

21 section. 

22 ‘‘(B) SURFACE IMPOUNDMENTS SUBJECT

23 TO A STATE CORRECTIVE ACTION REQUIRE24 MENT AS OF THE DATE OF ENACTMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the 

2 groundwater monitoring and corrective ac3 tion requirements described in paragraph 

4 (2)(B), the implementing agency shall re5 quire a surface impoundment that receives 

6 coal combustion residuals on or after the 

7 date of enactment of this section to comply 

8 with the requirements in clause (ii) of this 

9 subparagraph and clauses (i) and (ii) of 

10 subparagraph (D) if the surface impound11 ment— 

12 ‘‘(I) does not— 

13 ‘‘(aa) have a liner system 

14 described in section 258.40(b) of 

15 title 40, Code of Federal Regula16 tions; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) meet the design cri18 teria described in section 

19 258.40(a)(1) of title 40, Code of 

20 Federal Regulations; and 

21 ‘‘(II) as of the date of enactment 

22 of this section, is subject to a State 

23 corrective action requirement. 

24 ‘‘(ii) DEADLINE TO MEET GROUND25 WATER PROTECTION STANDARD.—Except 


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1 as provided in subparagraph (C), the im2 plementing agency shall require that the 

3 groundwater protection standard, for sur4 face impoundments identified in clause (i) 

5 of this subparagraph, established by the 

6 implementing agency under section 

7 258.55(h) or 258.55(i) of title 40, Code of 

8 Federal Regulations, for any constituent 

9 for which corrective measures are required 

10 shall be met— 

11 ‘‘(I) as soon as practicable at the 

12 relevant point of compliance, as de13 scribed in section 258.40(d) of title 

14 40, Code of Federal Regulations; and 

15 ‘‘(II) not later than 8 years after 

16 the date of enactment of this section. 

17 ‘‘(C) EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro19 vided in clause (ii) of this subparagraph, 

20 the deadline for meeting a groundwater 

21 protection standard under subparagraph 

22 (A)(ii) or (B)(ii) may be extended by the 

23 implementing agency, after opportunity for 

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1 section (b)(2)(B)(iii)(III), or in subsection 

2 (e)(6) based on— 

3 ‘‘(I) the effectiveness of any in4 terim measures implemented by the 

5 owner or operator of the facility under 

6 section 258.58(a)(3) of title 40, Code 

7 of Federal Regulations; 

8 ‘‘(II) the level of progress dem9 onstrated in meeting the groundwater 

10 protection standard; 

11 ‘‘(III) the potential for other ad12 verse human health or environmental 

13 exposures attributable to the contami14 nation from the surface impoundment 

15 undergoing corrective action; and 

16 ‘‘(IV) the lack of available alter17 native management capacity for the 

18 coal combustion residuals and related 

19 materials managed in the impound20 ment at the facility at which the im21 poundment is located if the owner or 

22 operator has used best efforts, as nec23 essary, to design, obtain any nec24 essary permits, finance, construct, and 

25 render operational the alternative 


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1 management capacity during the time 

2 period for meeting a groundwater pro3 tection standard in subparagraph 

4 (A)(ii) or (B)(ii). 

5 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—The deadline 

6 under subparagraph (A)(ii) or (B)(ii) shall 

7 not be extended if there has been contami8 nation of public or private drinking water 

9 systems attributable to a surface impound10 ment undergoing corrective action, unless 

11 the contamination has been addressed by 

12 providing a permanent replacement water 

13 system. 

14 ‘‘(D) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(i) CLOSURE.—If the deadline under 

16 subparagraph (A)(ii), (B)(ii), or (C) is not 

17 satisfied, the surface impoundment shall 

18 cease receiving coal combustion residuals 

19 and initiate closure under paragraph (5). 

20 ‘‘(ii) INTERIM MEASURES.— 

21 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Except as 

22 provided in subclause (II), not later 

23 than 90 days after the date on which 

24 the assessment of corrective measures 

25 is initiated, the owner or operator of 


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1 a surface impoundment described in 

2 subparagraph (A) or (B) shall imple3 ment interim measures, as necessary, 

4 under the factors in section 

5 258.58(a)(3) of title 40, Code of Fed6 eral Regulations. 

7 ‘‘(II) IMPOUNDMENTS SUBJECT

8 TO STATE CORRECTIVE ACTION RE9 QUIREMENT AS OF THE DATE OF EN10 ACTMENT.—Subclause (I) shall only 

11 apply to surface impoundments sub12 ject to a State corrective action re13 quirement as of the date of enactment 

14 of this section if the owner or oper15 ator has not implemented interim 

16 measures, as necessary, under the fac17 tors in section 258.58(a)(3) of title 

18 40, Code of Federal Regulations. 

19 ‘‘(E) SURFACE IMPOUNDMENTS THAT RE20 QUIRE ASSESSMENT OF CORRECTIVE MEASURES

21 MORE THAN 10 YEARS AFTER DATE OF ENACT22 MENT.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the 

24 groundwater monitoring and corrective ac25 tion requirements described in paragraph 


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1 (2)(B), the implementing agency shall re2 quire a surface impoundment that receives 

3 coal combustion residuals on or after the 

4 date of enactment of this section to comply 

5 with the requirements in clause (ii) if the 

6 surface impoundment— 

7 ‘‘(I) does not— 

8 ‘‘(aa) have a liner system 

9 described in section 258.40(b) of 

10 title 40, Code of Federal Regula11 tions; and 

12 ‘‘(bb) meet the design cri13 teria described in section 

14 258.40(a)(1) of title 40, Code of 

15 Federal Regulations; and 

16 ‘‘(II) more than 10 years after 

17 the date of enactment of this section, 

18 is required under section 258.56(a) 

19 title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, 

20 to undergo an assessment of correc21 tive measures for any constituent cov22 ered under subpart E of part 258 of 

23 title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, 

24 or otherwise identified in paragraph 

25 (2)(B)(ii) of this subsection, for which 


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1 assessment groundwater monitoring is 

2 required. 

3 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(I) CLOSURE.—The surface im5 poundments identified in clause (i) 

6 shall cease receiving coal combustion 

7 residuals and initiate closure in ac8 cordance with paragraph (5) after al9 ternative management capacity at the 

10 facility is available for the coal com11 bustion residuals and related mate12 rials managed in the impoundment. 

13 ‘‘(II) BEST EFFORTS.—The al14 ternative management capacity shall 

15 be developed as soon as practicable 

16 with the owner or operator using best 

17 efforts to design, obtain necessary 

18 permits for, finance, construct, and 

19 render operational the alternative 

20 management capacity. 

21 ‘‘(III) ALTERNATIVE CAPACITY

22 MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The owner or 

23 operator shall, in collaboration with 

24 the implementing agency, prepare a 

25 written plan that describes the steps 


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1 necessary to develop the alternative 

2 management capacity and includes a 

3 schedule for completion. 

4 ‘‘(IV) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.— 

5 The plan described in subclause (III) 

6 shall be subject to public notice and 

7 comment under the public participa8 tion process described in subsection 

9 (b)(2)(B)(iii)(III) or in subsection 

10 (e)(6), as applicable. 

11 ‘‘(5) CLOSURE.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If it is determined by 

13 the implementing agency that a structure 

14 should close because the requirements of a coal 

15 combustion residuals permit program are not 

16 being satisfied with respect to such structure, 

17 or if it is determined by the owner or operator 

18 that a structure should close, the time period 

19 and method for the closure of such structure 

20 shall be set forth in a closure plan that estab21 lishes a deadline for completion of closure as 

22 soon as practicable and that takes into account 

23 the nature and the site-specific characteristics 

24 of the structure to be closed. 


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1 ‘‘(B) SURFACE IMPOUNDMENT.—In the 

2 case of a surface impoundment, the closure plan 

3 under subparagraph (A) shall require, at a min4 imum, the removal of liquid and the stabiliza5 tion of remaining waste, as necessary to sup6 port the final cover. 

7 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL REVIEW OF STATE PERMIT PRO8 GRAMS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

10 provide to a State written notice and an opportunity 

11 to remedy deficiencies in accordance with paragraph 

12 (3) if at any time the State— 

13 ‘‘(A) does not satisfy the notification re14 quirement under subsection (b)(1); 

15 ‘‘(B) has not submitted a certification re16 quired under subsection (b)(2); 

17 ‘‘(C) does not satisfy the maintenance re18 quirement under subsection (b)(3); 

19 ‘‘(D) is not implementing a coal combus20 tion residuals permit program, with respect to 

21 which the State has submitted a certification 

22 under subsection (b)(2), that meets the require23 ments described in subsection (c); 

24 ‘‘(E) is not implementing a coal combus25 tion residuals permit program, with respect to 


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1 which the State has submitted a certification 

2 under subsection (b)(2)— 

3 ‘‘(i) that is consistent with such cer4 tification; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) for which the State continues to 

6 have in effect statutes or regulations nec7 essary to implement such program; or 

8 ‘‘(F) does not make available to the Ad9 ministrator, within 90 days of a written re10 quest, specific information necessary for the 

11 Administrator to ascertain whether the State 

12 has satisfied the requirements described in sub13 paragraphs (A) through (E). 

14 ‘‘(2) REQUEST.—If a request described in para15 graph (1)(F) is proposed pursuant to a petition to 

16 the Administrator, the Administrator shall only 

17 make the request if the Administrator does not pos18 sess the information necessary to ascertain whether 

19 the State has satisfied the requirements described in 

20 subparagraphs (A) through (E) of such paragraph. 

21 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS OF NOTICE; DEADLINE FOR RE22 SPONSE.—A notice provided under paragraph (1) 

23 shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) include findings of the Administrator 

25 detailing any applicable deficiencies described in 


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1 subparagraphs (A) through (F) of paragraph 

2 (1); and 

3 ‘‘(B) identify, in collaboration with the 

4 State, a reasonable deadline by which the State 

5 shall remedy such applicable deficiencies, which 

6 shall be— 

7 ‘‘(i) in the case of a deficiency de8 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (E) 

9 of paragraph (1), not earlier than 180 

10 days after the date on which the State re11 ceives the notice; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a deficiency de13 scribed in paragraph (1)(F), not later than 

14 90 days after the date on which the State 

15 receives the notice. 

16 ‘‘(4) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING DEFICIENCY

17 OF STATE PERMIT PROGRAM.—In making a deter18 mination whether a State has failed to satisfy the re19 quirements described in subparagraphs (A) through 

20 (E) of paragraph (1), or a determination under sub21 section (e)(1)(B), the Administrator shall consider, 

22 as appropriate— 

23 ‘‘(A) whether the State’s statutes or regu24 lations to implement a coal combustion residu25 als permit program are not sufficient to meet 


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1 the requirements described in subsection (c) be2 cause of— 

3 ‘‘(i) failure of the State to promulgate 

4 or enact new statutes or regulations when 

5 necessary; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) action by a State legislature or 

7 court striking down or limiting such State 

8 statutes or regulations; 

9 ‘‘(B) whether the operation of the State 

10 coal combustion residuals permit program fails 

11 to comply with the requirements of subsection 

12 (c) because of— 

13 ‘‘(i) failure of the State to issue per14 mits as required in subsection (c)(1)(E); 

15 ‘‘(ii) repeated issuance of permits by 

16 the State which do not meet the require17 ments of subsection (c); 

18 ‘‘(iii) failure of the State to comply 

19 with the public participation requirements 

20 of this section; or 

21 ‘‘(iv) failure of the State to implement 

22 corrective action requirements as described 

23 in subsection (c)(2)(B); and 

24 ‘‘(C) whether the enforcement of a State 

25 coal combustion residuals permit program fails 


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1 to comply with the requirements of this section 

2 because of— 

3 ‘‘(i) failure to act on violations of per4 mits, as identified by the State; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) repeated failure by the State to 

6 inspect or otherwise determine compliance 

7 pursuant to the process identified in sub8 section (b)(2)(B)(iii)(I). 

9 ‘‘(e) IMPLEMENTATION BY ADMINISTRATOR.— 

10 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL BACKSTOP AUTHORITY.—The 

11 Administrator shall implement a coal combustion re12 siduals permit program for a State only if— 

13 ‘‘(A) the Governor of the State notifies the 

14 Administrator under subsection (b)(1) that the 

15 State will not adopt and implement a permit 

16 program; 

17 ‘‘(B) the State has received a notice under 

18 subsection (d) and the Administrator deter19 mines, after providing a 30-day period for no20 tice and public comment, that the State has 

21 failed, by the deadline identified in the notice 

22 under subsection (d)(3)(B), to remedy the defi23 ciencies detailed in the notice under subsection 

24 (d)(3)(A); or 


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1 ‘‘(C) the State informs the Administrator, 

2 in writing, that such State will no longer imple3 ment such a permit program. 

4 ‘‘(2) REVIEW.—A State may obtain a review of 

5 a determination by the Administrator under this 

6 subsection as if the determination was a final regu7 lation for purposes of section 7006. 

8 ‘‘(3) OTHER STRUCTURES.—For structures 

9 that receive coal combustion residuals on or after 

10 the date of enactment of this section located on 

11 property within the exterior boundaries of a State 

12 that the State does not have authority or jurisdiction 

13 to regulate, the Administrator shall implement a coal 

14 combustion residuals permit program only for those 

15 structures. 

16 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS.—If the Administrator 

17 implements a coal combustion residuals permit pro18 gram for a State under paragraph (1) or (3), the 

19 permit program shall consist of the requirements de20 scribed in subsection (c). 

21 ‘‘(5) ENFORCEMENT.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Administrator 

23 implements a coal combustion residuals permit 

24 program for a State under paragraph (1)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the authorities referred to in sec2 tion 4005(c)(2)(A) shall apply with respect 

3 to coal combustion residuals and structures 

4 for which the Administrator is imple5 menting the coal combustion residuals per6 mit program; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) the Administrator may use those 

8 authorities to inspect, gather information, 

9 and enforce the requirements of this sec10 tion in the State. 

11 ‘‘(B) OTHER STRUCTURES.—If the Admin12 istrator implements a coal combustion residuals 

13 permit program under paragraph (3)— 

14 ‘‘(i) the authorities referred to in sec15 tion 4005(c)(2)(A) shall apply with respect 

16 to coal combustion residuals and structures 

17 for which the Administrator is imple18 menting the coal combustion residuals per19 mit program; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the Administrator may use those 

21 authorities to inspect, gather information, 

22 and enforce the requirements of this sec23 tion for the structures for which the Ad24 ministrator is implementing the coal com25 bustion residuals permit program. 


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1 ‘‘(6) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS.—If the 

2 Administrator implements a coal combustion residu3 als permit program for a State under this sub4 section, the Administrator shall provide a 30-day pe5 riod for the public participation process required in 

6 paragraphs (1)(F)(i), (4)(C)(i), and (4)(E)(ii)(IV) of 

7 subsection (c). 

8 ‘‘(f) STATE CONTROL AFTER IMPLEMENTATION BY

9 ADMINISTRATOR.— 

10 ‘‘(1) STATE CONTROL.— 

11 ‘‘(A) NEW ADOPTION, OR RESUMPTION OF, 

12 AND IMPLEMENTATION BY STATE.—For a State 

13 for which the Administrator is implementing a 

14 coal combustion residuals permit program 

15 under subsection (e)(1)(A), or subsection 

16 (e)(1)(C), the State may adopt and implement 

17 such a permit program by— 

18 ‘‘(i) notifying the Administrator that 

19 the State will adopt and implement such a 

20 permit program; 

21 ‘‘(ii) not later than 6 months after the 

22 date of such notification, submitting to the 

23 Administrator a certification under sub24 section (b)(2); and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) receiving from the Adminis2 trator— 

3 ‘‘(I) a determination, after pro4 viding a 30-day period for notice and 

5 public comment, that the State coal 

6 combustion residuals permit program 

7 meets the requirements described in 

8 subsection (c); and 

9 ‘‘(II) a timeline for transition of 

10 control of the coal combustion residu11 als permit program. 

12 ‘‘(B) REMEDYING DEFICIENT PERMIT PRO13 GRAM.—For a State for which the Adminis14 trator is implementing a coal combustion re15 siduals permit program under subsection 

16 (e)(1)(B), the State may adopt and implement 

17 such a permit program by— 

18 ‘‘(i) remedying only the deficiencies 

19 detailed in the notice pursuant to sub20 section (d)(3)(A); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) receiving from the Adminis22 trator— 

23 ‘‘(I) a determination, after pro24 viding a 30-day period for notice and 

25 public comment, that the deficiencies 


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1 detailed in such notice have been rem2 edied; and 

3 ‘‘(II) a timeline for transition of 

4 control of the coal combustion residu5 als permit program. 

6 ‘‘(2) REVIEW OF DETERMINATION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION REQUIRED.—The 

8 Administrator shall make a determination 

9 under paragraph (1) not later than 90 days 

10 after the date on which the State submits a cer11 tification under paragraph (1)(A)(ii), or notifies 

12 the Administrator that the deficiencies have 

13 been remedied pursuant to paragraph (1)(B)(i), 

14 as applicable. 

15 ‘‘(B) REVIEW.—A State may obtain a re16 view of a determination by the Administrator 

17 under paragraph (1) as if such determination 

18 was a final regulation for purposes of section 

19 7006. 

20 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION DURING TRANSITION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) EFFECT ON ACTIONS AND ORDERS.— 

22 Program requirements of, and actions taken or 

23 orders issued pursuant to, a coal combustion re24 siduals permit program shall remain in effect 

25 if— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a State takes control of its coal 

2 combustion residuals permit program from 

3 the Administrator under paragraph (1); or 

4 ‘‘(ii) the Administrator takes control 

5 of a coal combustion residuals permit pro6 gram from a State under subsection (e). 

7 ‘‘(B) CHANGE IN REQUIREMENTS.—Sub8 paragraph (A) shall apply to such program re9 quirements, actions, and orders until such time 

10 as— 

11 ‘‘(i) the implementing agency changes 

12 the requirements of the coal combustion 

13 residuals permit program with respect to 

14 the basis for the action or order; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) the State or the Administrator, 

16 whichever took the action or issued the 

17 order, certifies the completion of a correc18 tive action that is the subject of the action 

19 or order. 

20 ‘‘(4) SINGLE PERMIT PROGRAM.—If a State 

21 adopts and implements a coal combustion residuals 

22 permit program under this subsection, the Adminis23 trator shall cease to implement the permit program 

24 implemented under subsection (e)(1) for such State. 


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1 ‘‘(g) EFFECT ON DETERMINATION UNDER 4005(c) 

2 OR 3006.—The Administrator shall not consider the im3 plementation of a coal combustion residuals permit pro4 gram by the Administrator under subsection (e) in making 

5 a determination of approval for a permit program or other 

6 system of prior approval and conditions under section 

7 4005(c) or of authorization for a program under section 

8 3006. 

9 ‘‘(h) AUTHORITY.— 

10 ‘‘(1) STATE AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this sec11 tion shall preclude or deny any right of any State to 

12 adopt or enforce any regulation or requirement re13 specting coal combustion residuals that is more 

14 stringent or broader in scope than a regulation or 

15 requirement under this section. 

16 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

18 subsections (d) and (e) and section 6005, the 

19 Administrator shall, with respect to the regula20 tion of coal combustion residuals, defer to the 

21 States pursuant to this section. 

22 ‘‘(B) IMMINENT HAZARD.—Nothing in this 

23 section shall be construed as affecting the au24 thority of the Administrator under section 7003 

25 with respect to coal combustion residuals. 


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1 ‘‘(C) ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE ONLY

2 UPON REQUEST.—Upon request from the head 

3 of a lead State agency that is implementing a 

4 coal combustion residuals permit program, the 

5 Administrator may provide to such State agen6 cy only the enforcement assistance requested. 

7 ‘‘(D) CONCURRENT ENFORCEMENT.—Ex8 cept as provided in subparagraph (C), the Ad9 ministrator shall not have concurrent enforce10 ment authority when a State is implementing a 

11 coal combustion residuals permit program, in12 cluding during any period of interim operation 

13 described in subsection (c)(3)(D). 

14 ‘‘(E) OTHER AUTHORITY.—The Adminis15 trator shall not have authority to finalize the 

16 proposed rule published at pages 35128 

17 through 35264 of volume 75 of the Federal 

18 Register (June 21, 2010). 

19 ‘‘(F) OTHER RESPONSE AUTHORITY.— 

20 Nothing in this section shall be construed as af21 fecting the authority of the Administrator 

22 under the Comprehensive Environmental Re23 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 

24 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) with respect to 

25 coal combustion residuals. 


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1 ‘‘(3) CITIZEN SUITS.—Nothing in this section 

2 shall be construed to affect the authority of a person 

3 to commence a civil action in accordance with sec4 tion 7002. 

5 ‘‘(i) MINE RECLAMATION ACTIVITIES.—A coal com6 bustion residuals permit program implemented by the Ad7 ministrator under subsection (e) shall not apply to the uti8 lization, placement, and storage of coal combustion residu9 als at surface mining and reclamation operations. 

10 ‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) COAL COMBUSTION RESIDUALS.—The 

12 term ‘coal combustion residuals’ means— 

13 ‘‘(A) the solid wastes listed in section 

14 3001(b)(3)(A)(i), including recoverable mate15 rials from such wastes; 

16 ‘‘(B) coal combustion wastes that are co17 managed with wastes produced in conjunction 

18 with the combustion of coal, provided that such 

19 wastes are not segregated and disposed of sepa20 rately from the coal combustion wastes and 

21 comprise a relatively small proportion of the 

22 total wastes being disposed in the structure; 

23 ‘‘(C) fluidized bed combustion wastes; 

24 ‘‘(D) wastes from the co-burning of coal 

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1 vided that coal makes up at least 50 percent of 

2 the total fuel burned; and 

3 ‘‘(E) wastes from the co-burning of coal 

4 with materials described in subparagraph (A) 

5 that are recovered from monofills. 

6 ‘‘(2) COAL COMBUSTION RESIDUALS PERMIT

7 PROGRAM.—The term ‘coal combustion residuals 

8 permit program’ means all of the authorities, activi9 ties, and procedures that comprise the system of 

10 prior approval and conditions implemented by or for 

11 a State to regulate the management and disposal of 

12 coal combustion residuals. 

13 ‘‘(3) CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS.—The 

14 term ‘Code of Federal Regulations’ means the Code 

15 of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of 

16 enactment of this section) or any successor regula17 tions. 

18 ‘‘(4) IMPLEMENTING AGENCY.—The term ‘im19 plementing agency’ means the agency responsible for 

20 implementing a coal combustion residuals permit 

21 program for a State, which shall either be the lead 

22 State implementing agency identified under sub23 section (b)(2)(B)(i) or the Administrator pursuant 

24 to subsection (e). 


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1 ‘‘(5) PERMIT; PRIOR APPROVAL AND CONDI2 TIONS.—Except as provided in subsections (b)(3) 

3 and (g), the terms ‘permit’ and ‘prior approval and 

4 conditions’ mean any authorization, license, or equiv5 alent control document that incorporates the re6 quirements of subsection (c). 

7 ‘‘(6) REVISED CRITERIA.—The term ‘revised 

8 criteria’ means the criteria promulgated for munic9 ipal solid waste landfill units under section 4004(a) 

10 and under section 1008(a)(3), as revised under sec11 tion 4010(c). 

12 ‘‘(7) STRUCTURE.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

14 subparagraph (B), the term ‘structure’ means a 

15 landfill, surface impoundment, or other land16 based unit which receives, or is intended to re17 ceive, coal combustion residuals. 

18 ‘‘(B) DE MINIMIS RECEIPT.—The term 

19 ‘structure’ does not include any land-based unit 

20 that receives only de minimis quantities of coal 

21 combustion residuals if the presence of coal 

22 combustion residuals is incidental to the mate23 rial managed in the unit.’’. 

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1 posal Act is amended by inserting after the item relating 

2 to section 4010 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 4011. Management and disposal of coal combustion residuals.’’. 

3 SEC. 8003. 2000 REGULATORY DETERMINATION. 

4 Nothing in this subtitle, or the amendments made by 

5 this subtitle, shall be construed to alter in any manner 

6 the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulatory deter7 mination entitled ‘‘Notice of Regulatory Determination on 

8 Wastes From the Combustion of Fossil Fuels’’, published 

9 at 65 Fed. Reg. 32214 (May 22, 2000), that the fossil 

10 fuel combustion wastes addressed in that determination 

11 do not warrant regulation under subtitle C of the Solid 

12 Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6921 et seq.). 

13 SEC. 8004. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

14 Nothing in this subtitle, or the amendments made by 

15 this subtitle, shall be construed to affect the authority of 

16 a State to request, or the Administrator of the Environ17 mental Protection Agency to provide, technical assistance 

18 under the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et 

19 seq.). 

20 SEC. 8005. FEDERAL POWER ACT. 

21 Nothing in this subtitle, or the amendments made by 

22 this subtitle, shall be construed to affect the obligations 

23 of an owner or operator of a structure (as defined in sec24 tion 4011 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as added by 


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1 this Act) under section 215(b)(1) of the Federal Power 

2 Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(b)(1)). 

3 Subtitle B—Surface Mining Stream 

4 Buffer Zone Rule 

5 SEC. 8011. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Preventing Govern7 ment Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in Amer8 ica’’. 

9 SEC. 8012. INCORPORATION OF SURFACE MINING STREAM 

10 BUFFER ZONE RULE INTO STATE PROGRAMS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 503 of the Surface Min12 ing Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 

13 1253) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(e) STREAM BUFFER ZONE MANAGEMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the require16 ments under subsection (a), each State program 

17 shall incorporate the necessary rule regarding excess 

18 spoil, coal mine waste, and buffers for perennial and 

19 intermittent streams published by the Office of Sur20 face Mining Reclamation and Enforcement on De21 cember 12, 2008 (73 Fed. Reg. 75813 et seq.). 

22 ‘‘(2) STUDY OF IMPLEMENTATION.—The Sec23 retary shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) at such time as the Secretary deter25 mines all States referred to in subsection (a) 


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1 have fully incorporated the necessary rule re2 ferred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection 

3 into their State programs, publish notice of 

4 such determination; 

5 ‘‘(B) during the 5-year period beginning on 

6 the date of such publication, assess the effec7 tiveness of implementation of such rule by such 

8 States; and 

9 ‘‘(C) upon the conclusion of such period, 

10 submit a comprehensive report on the impacts 

11 of such rule to the Committee on Natural Re12 sources of the House of Representatives and the 

13 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 

14 the Senate, including— 

15 ‘‘(i) an evaluation of the effectiveness 

16 of such rule; 

17 ‘‘(ii) an evaluation of any ways in 

18 which the existing rule inhibits energy pro19 duction; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) a description in detail of any 

21 proposed changes that should be made to 

22 the rule, the justification for such changes, 

23 all comments on such changes received by 

24 the Secretary from such States, and the 


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1 projected costs and benefits of such 

2 changes. 

3 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON NEW REGULATIONS.—The 

4 Secretary may not issue any regulations under this 

5 Act relating to stream buffer zones or stream protec6 tion before the date of the publication of the report 

7 under paragraph (2), other than a rule necessary to 

8 implement paragraph (1).’’. 

9 (b) DEADLINE FOR STATE IMPLEMENTATION.—Not 

10 later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this 

11 Act, a State with a State program approved under section 

12 503 of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act 

13 of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1253) shall submit to the Secretary 

14 of the Interior amendments to such program pursuant to 

15 part 732 of title 30, Code of Federal Regulations, incor16 porating the necessary rule referred to in subsection (e)(1) 

17 of such section, as amended by this section. 

18 TITLE XVIII—SATISFYING EN19 ERGY NEEDS AND SAVING 

20 THE ENVIRONMENT 

21 SEC. 9001. SHORT TITLE. 

22 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Satisfying Energy 

23 Needs and Saving the Environment Act of 2014’’ or the 

24 ‘‘SENSE Act of 2014’’. 


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1 SEC. 9002. INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN EMISSION LIMITS 

2 FOR ELECTRIC UTILITY STEAM GENERATING 

3 UNITS THAT CONVERT COAL REFUSE INTO 

4 ENERGY. 

5 (a) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN EMISSION LIMITS

6 FOR CERTAIN EGUS.—The emission limits for hydrogen 

7 chloride and sulfur dioxide in table 2 to subpart UUUUU 

8 of part 63 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, enti9 tled ‘‘Emission Limits for Existing EGUs’’, shall not 

10 apply to an electric utility steam generating unit in the 

11 subcategory ‘‘Coal-fired unit not low rank virgin coal’’ if 

12 such electric utility steam generating unit— 

13 (1) is in operation as of the date of enactment 

14 of this Act; 

15 (2) utilizes circulating fluidized bed technology 

16 to convert coal refuse into energy; and 

17 (3)(A) derives at least 75 percent of its heat 

18 input from coal refuse; or 

19 (B) is a qualifying facility. 

20 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) COAL REFUSE.—The term ‘‘coal refuse’’ 

22 means any byproduct of coal mining, physical coal 

23 cleaning, or coal preparation operations, that con24 tains coal, matrix material, clay, and other organic 

25 and inorganic material. 


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1 (2) QUALIFYING COGENERATION FACILITY.— 

2 The term ‘‘qualifying cogeneration facility’’ has the 

3 meaning given such term in section 3 of the Federal 

4 Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796). 

5 (3) QUALIFYING FACILITY.—The term ‘‘quali6 fying facility’’ means— 

7 (A) a qualifying small power production fa8 cility; or 

9 (B) a qualifying cogeneration facility. 

10 (4) QUALIFYING SMALL POWER PRODUCTION

11 FACILITY.—The term ‘‘qualifying small power pro12 duction facility’’ has the meaning given such term in 

13 section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796). 

14 TITLE XIX—NUCLEAR REGU15 LATORY COMMISSION REOR16 GANIZATION PLAN CODIFICA17 TION AND COMPLEMENTS 

18 SEC. 10001. SHORT TITLE. 

19 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Nuclear Regulatory 

20 Commission Reorganization Plan Codification and Com21 plements Act’’. 


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1 Subtitle A—Replacement of 

2 Reorganization Plan 

3 SEC. 10011. GENERAL FUNCTIONS. 

4 (a) FUNCTIONS.—Those functions of the Nuclear 

5 Regulatory Commission (in this subtitle referred to as the 

6 ‘‘Commission’’) concerned with— 

7 (1) policy formulation; 

8 (2) rulemaking, as defined in section 553 of 

9 title 5 of the United States Code, except that those 

10 matters set forth in 553 (a)(2) and (b) which do not 

11 pertain to policy formulation orders or adjudications 

12 shall be reserved to the Chairman of the Commis13 sion; 

14 (3) orders and adjudications, as defined in sec15 tion 551 (6) and (7) of title 5 of the United States 

16 Code; and 

17 (4) approving the distribution of appropriated 

18 funds according to programs and purposes proposed 

19 by the Executive Director for Operations, 

20 shall remain vested in the Commission. A majority of the 

21 Commission may determine, in an area of doubt, whether 

22 any matter, action, question, or area of inquiry pertains 

23 to one of these functions. Any member of the Commission 

24 may request such a vote. Any member of the Commission 

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1 mission. All members of the Commission shall have full, 

2 unfettered, timely, and equal access to information per3 taining to its functions. The performance of any portion 

4 of these functions may be delegated by the Commission 

5 to a member of the Commission, including the Chairman 

6 of the Commission (in this subtitle referred to as the 

7 ‘‘Chairman’’) and to the staff. 

8 (b) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.— 

9 (1) OFFICERS.—With respect to the following 

10 officers or successor officers duly established by stat11 ute or by the Commission, the Chairman shall ini12 tiate the appointment, subject to the approval of the 

13 Commission, and the Chairman or a member of the 

14 Commission may initiate an action for removal, sub15 ject to the approval of the Commission by majority 

16 vote: 

17 (A) Executive Director for Operations. 

18 (B) Chief and Deputy Chief Financial Of19 ficer. 

20 (C) General Counsel. 

21 (D) Director of the Office of Commission 

22 Appellate Adjudication. 

23 (E) Secretary of the Commission. 

24 (F) Director of the Office of Public Af25 fairs. 


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1 (G) Director of the Office of Congressional 

2 Affairs. 

3 (H) Director of the Office of International 

4 Programs. 

5 (I) Chief Administrative Judge and mem6 bers of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board 

7 Panel. 

8 Any performance evaluation or rating of the officers 

9 listed in subparagraphs (A) through (I) shall be de10 termined by a majority vote of the members of the 

11 Commission. 

12 (2) REPLACEMENT OF OFFICERS.—(A) In the 

13 event of a vacancy in a position described in para14 graph (1), the Chairman may designate an acting 

15 officer for a maximum of 60 days, after which any 

16 further extension must be approved by the Commis17 sion. If, at the end of 60 days, the Commission has 

18 not approved the appointment of an officer proposed 

19 by the Chairman, or the Chairman has not proposed 

20 one, any Commissioner may initiate the appointment 

21 subject to approval of the Commission. 

22 (B) With respect to the following officers or 

23 successor officers duly established by statute or by 

24 the Commission, the Chairman, after consultation 

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1 tiate the appointment, subject to the approval of the 

2 Commission, and the Chairman, or a member of the 

3 Commission may initiate an action for removal, sub4 ject to the approval of the Commission by majority 

5 vote: 

6 (i) Director of the Office of Nuclear Reac7 tor Regulation. 

8 (ii) Director of the Office of Nuclear Mate9 rial Safety and Safeguards. 

10 (iii) Director of the Office of Nuclear Reg11 ulatory Research. 

12 (iv) Director of the Office of Nuclear Secu13 rity and Incident Response. 

14 (v) Director of the Office of New Reactors. 

15 (vi) Director of the Office of Federal and 

16 State Materials and Environmental Manage17 ment Programs. 

18 (vii) Director of the Office of Investiga19 tions. 

20 (viii) Director of the Office of Enforce21 ment. 

22 (3) APPOINTMENT OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE

23 ON REACTOR SAFEGUARDS.—The Chairman or a 

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1 mittee on Reactor Safeguards, subject to the ap2 proval of the Commission. The provisions for ap3 pointment of the Chairman of the Advisory Com4 mittee on Reactor Safeguards and the term of the 

5 members shall not be affected by the provisions of 

6 this subtitle. 

7 (4) DELEGATION OF STAFF SUPERVISION

8 FUNCTIONS.—The Commission shall delegate the 

9 function of appointing, removing, and supervising 

10 the staff of the following offices or successor offices 

11 to the respective heads of such offices: Executive Di12 rector for Operations, General Counsel, Secretary of 

13 the Commission, Chief Financial Officer, Office of 

14 Commission Appellate Adjudication, Office of Con15 gressional Affairs, Office of Public Affairs, and Of16 fice of International Programs. The Commission 

17 shall delegate the functions of appointing, removing, 

18 and supervising the staff of the following panels and 

19 committee to the respective Chairmen thereof: Atom20 ic Safety and Licensing Board Panel and Advisory 

21 Committee on Reactor Safeguards. 

22 (c) COMMISSION MEMBER OFFICES.—Each member 

23 of the Commission shall appoint, remove, and supervise 

24 the personnel employed in his or her immediate office. 


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1 (d) PERFORMANCE OF FUNCTIONS.—The Commis2 sion shall act as provided by section 201(a)(1) of the En3 ergy Reorganization Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5841(a)(1)) 

4 in the performance of its functions as described in sub5 sections (a) and (b) of this section. 

6 SEC. 10012. CHAIRMAN. 

7 (a) FUNCTIONS.—Except as otherwise provided in 

8 section 10011, all functions of the Commission shall rest 

9 with the Chairman. The Chairman shall be the official 

10 spokesman for the Commission and, as such, shall rep11 resent the policies determined by a majority of the Com12 mission. 

13 (b) ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS.—The Chairman shall 

14 also be the principal executive officer of the Commission, 

15 and shall be responsible to the Commission for assuring 

16 that the Executive Director for Operations and the staff 

17 of the Commission (other than the officers and staff re18 ferred to in section 10011(b)(4) and (c)) are responsive 

19 to the requirements of the Commission in the performance 

20 of its functions; shall determine the use and expenditure 

21 of funds of the Commission, in accordance with the dis22 tribution of appropriated funds according to programs and 

23 purposes approved by the Commission; shall present to the 

24 Commission for its consideration the proposals set forth 

25 in paragraph (3); and shall be responsible for the following 


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1 functions, which the Chairman shall delegate, subject to 

2 the Chairman’s direction and supervision, to the Executive 

3 Director for Operations unless otherwise provided by this 

4 title: 

5 (1) Administrative functions of the Commission. 

6 (2) Distribution of business among such per7 sonnel and among administrative units and offices of 

8 the Commission. 

9 (3) Preparation of proposals for the reorganiza10 tion of the major offices of the Commission. 

11 (4) Appointing and removing, without any fur12 ther action by the Commission, all officers and em13 ployees under the Commission other than those 

14 whose appointment and removal are specifically pro15 vided for by section 10011(b) and (c). 

16 (c) GOVERNING PRINCIPLES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairman as principal 

18 executive officer and the Executive Director for Op19 erations shall be governed by the general policies of 

20 the Commission and by such regulatory decisions, 

21 findings, and determinations, including those for re22 organization proposals, budget revisions, and dis23 tribution of appropriated funds, as the Commission 

24 may by law, including this subtitle, be authorized to 

25 make. 


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1 (2) FULL AND CURRENT INFORMATION.—The 

2 Chairman and the Executive Director for Operations 

3 shall have joint responsibility insuring that the Com4 mission is fully and currently informed about mat5 ters within its functions. 

6 (3) FAILURE TO ACT IN ACCORDANCE.—If a 

7 majority of Commissioners determine that the Chair8 man has not acted in accordance with paragraph (1) 

9 or (2), such Commissioners shall provide written no10 tice of the determination to the President and pro11 vide copies thereof to the Committee on Energy and 

12 Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 

13 Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 

14 Senate. 

15 SEC. 10013. EMERGENCY AUTHORITY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sections 10001 

17 and 10002, the Chairman is authorized to exercise emer18 gency authority described in paragraph (4), subject to the 

19 following limitations: 

20 (1) The Chairman may not exercise emergency 

21 authority unless and until the Chairman declares a 

22 specific emergency exists and, not later than 24 

23 hours after such declaration, notifies— 

24 (A) the Commission, the Committee on 

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1 resentatives, and the Committee on Environ2 ment and Public Works of the Senate, in writ3 ing; and 

4 (B) the public. 

5 (2) The Chairman may only exercise emergency 

6 authority in response to— 

7 (A) an imminent safety threat pertaining 

8 to a facility or materials licensed or regulated 

9 by the Commission; or 

10 (B) a determination by the Secretary of 

11 Homeland Security, the Secretary of Energy, 

12 the Secretary of Transportation, the Director of 

13 the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Direc14 tor of the Central Intelligence Agency, or the 

15 Director of National Intelligence of an immi16 nent security threat to a facility or materials li17 censed or regulated by the Commission. 

18 Where authority is exercised pursuant to this sec19 tion, public notification may be delayed provided 

20 that the Chairman determines that prior public dis21 closure would constitute a risk to public health and 

22 safety and so notifies the Commission, the Com23 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 

24 Representatives, and the Committee on Environment 

25 and Public Works of the Senate. 


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1 (3) The Chairman may only exercise emergency 

2 authority for the duration of the emergency or 30 

3 days, whichever is less. The Commission may ap4 prove extensions of that time. Each extension is lim5 ited to 30 days and requires notification of the pub6 lic, the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

7 House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

8 Environment and Public Works of the Senate. 

9 (4) The Chairman’s emergency authority in10 cludes the functions of responding to, issuing orders 

11 respecting, advising United States civil authorities 

12 and the United States public about, and directing 

13 and coordinating actions relative to such emergency 

14 incident. 

15 (b) DELEGATION.—The Chairman may delegate the 

16 authority to perform such emergency functions, in whole 

17 or in part, to any of the other members of the Commission. 

18 Such authority may also be delegated or redelegated, in 

19 whole or in part, to the staff of the Commission. 

20 (c) CONSULTATION.—To the extent practicable, the 

21 Chairman shall consult with the full Commission on any 

22 regulatory or policy actions to be taken under an emer23 gency. Such consultations shall be exempt from the re24 quirements of section 552b of title 5, United States Code 


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1 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Government in the Sun2 shine Act’’). 

3 (d) GUIDELINES AND NOTICE.—In acting under this 

4 section, the Chairman, or other member of the Commis5 sion delegated authority under subsection (b), shall con6 form to the policy guidelines of the Commission. 

7 (e) TERMINATION OF EMERGENCY.—Upon termi8 nation of the emergency, the Chairman shall immediately 

9 notify the Commission, the public, the Committee on En10 ergy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and 

11 the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 

12 Senate. 

13 (f) REPORT.—Within 30 days following the conclu14 sion of the emergency, the Chairman, or the member of 

15 the Commission or member of the staff delegated the 

16 emergency functions under subsection (b), shall render a 

17 complete report of all actions taken during the emergency, 

18 specifically delineating actions taken utilizing the author19 ity provided in this section, to the Commission, the Com20 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep21 resentatives, and the Committee on Environment and 

22 Public Works of the Senate. 

23 (g) COMMISSION PROCEDURES.—Not later than 90 

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1 ments of this section. Such revision shall define the roles 

2 of the Commissioners during an emergency, specifying— 

3 (1) complete access to records and information 

4 relating to actions taken during the emergency; 

5 (2) complete access to Commission staff in6 volved in the management of the emergency; 

7 (3) complete access to the location or locations 

8 where decisions are made during the emergency; and 

9 (4) participation in decisions that may affect 

10 Commission actions and policies beyond the response 

11 to a particular emergency to the extent practicable. 

12 SEC. 10014. REPORTING. 

13 (a) DELEGATION; DIRECT COMMUNICATION.—The 

14 Chairman may make such delegations and provide for 

15 such reporting as the Chairman deems necessary, subject 

16 to provisions of law. Any officer or employee under the 

17 Commission may communicate directly to the Commission, 

18 or to any member of the Commission, whenever in the view 

19 of such officer or employee a critical problem, or matter 

20 of public health and safety or common defense and secu21 rity, is not being properly addressed. 

22 (b) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS.—The 

23 Executive Director for Operations shall report for all mat24 ters to the Chairman. 


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1 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The Directors of Nuclear Reactor 

2 Regulations, Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, and 

3 Nuclear Regulatory Research shall report to the Executive 

4 Director for Operations. 

5 (d) DIRECT REPORTING.—The heads of the Commis6 sion level offices or successor offices, of General Counsel, 

7 Secretary of the Commission, Commission Appellate Adju8 dication, Congressional Affairs, Public Affairs, Inter9 national Programs, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board 

10 Panel, and Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards 

11 shall report directly to the Commission and the Commis12 sion shall receive such reports. 

13 SEC. 10015. RESCISSION OF REORGANIZATION PLAN AP14 PROVAL. 

15 Approval of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1980 (5 

16 U.S.C. App. 1) is rescinded. 

17 Subtitle B—Miscellaneous 

18 SEC. 10021. CERTIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS TRANSMITTED 

19 TO CONGRESS. 

20 A letter or other document transmitted by the Nu21 clear Regulatory Commission, on behalf of the full Com22 mission, to a member of Congress in his or her capacity 

23 as chairman or ranking minority member of a Committee 

24 of Congress, shall include a certification that the letter 

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1 ing minority member of that Committee in accordance 

2 with established Commission procedures. 

3 SEC. 10022. TIME LIMITS FOR COMMISSION REVIEW OF 

4 ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD DE5 CISIONS. 

6 When reviewing the decisions and actions of the 

7 Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, the Commission shall 

8 follow the following procedures: 

9 (1) Each Commissioner shall vote on the matter 

10 not later than 90 days after receipt of final briefs, 

11 after which time the Commission shall not further 

12 delay a decision. Once a majority position is estab13 lished, the Secretary shall notify in writing any 

14 Commissioners who have not voted that a majority 

15 position has been established. Any Commissioners 

16 who have not yet voted shall vote within three days 

17 of the Secretary’s notice or be considered by the 

18 Secretary as not participating. 

19 (2) Not later than 30 days after a majority po20 sition is established, the Commission shall publish 

21 any resulting decision, including adjudicatory orders 

22 and direction to agency staff. If a majority position 

23 is not established due to a tied vote, not later than 

24 30 days after Commission voting is complete, the 

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1 cluding adjudicatory orders and direction to agency 

2 staff. 

3 SEC. 10023. ALLEGATIONS OF WRONGDOING. 

4 (a) REFERRAL TO INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Not later 

5 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

6 Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall revise its procedures 

7 to ensure that any allegation of wrongdoing on the part 

8 of the Chairman of the Commission is immediately re9 ferred to the Inspector General of the Commission. 

10 (b) SUPERVISION OF INSPECTOR GENERAL.—During 

11 the pendency of any investigation by the Inspector General 

12 of the Chairman with respect to an allegation described 

13 in subsection (a), the Chairman shall delegate responsi14 bility for supervising the Inspector General to a member 

15 of the Commission other than the Chairman, consistent 

16 with the Inspector General Act of 1978. 

17 SEC. 10024. APPROVAL OF COMMISSIONER TRAVEL. 

18 The Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commis19 sion shall authorize all international travel requested by 

20 other members of the Commission for official business un21 less the Chairman submits a notice of disapproval to the 

22 full Commission specifying the basis for the disapproval. 

23 The notice of disapproval shall be submitted within 5 days 

24 after the travel is requested or the travel shall be deemed 

25 approved. 


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1 SEC. 10025. IMPLEMENTATION. 

2 Except as otherwise specified in this title, the Com3 mission shall revise its procedures to conform to this title 

4 within 180 days of its date of enactment. 

5 TITLE XX—PERMITTING FOR ON6 SHORE AND OFFSHORE WIND 

7 ENERGY 

8 Subtitle A—Offshore Meteorolog9 ical Site Testing and Monitoring 

10 SEC. 11001. SHORT TITLE. 

11 This subtitle may be cited at the ‘‘Advancing Off12 shore Wind Production Act’’. 

13 SEC. 11002. OFFSHORE METEOROLOGICAL SITE TESTING 

14 AND MONITORING PROJECTS. 

15 (a) DEFINITION OF AN OFFSHORE METEOROLOG16 ICAL SITE TESTING AND MONITORING PROJECT.—In this 

17 section, the term ‘‘offshore meteorological site testing and 

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

19 the waters of the Outer Continental Shelf administered 

20 by the Department of the Interior to test or monitor 

21 weather (including wind, tidal, current, and solar energy) 

22 using towers, buoys, or other temporary ocean infrastruc23 ture, that— 

24 (1) causes— 


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

2 disruption at the location of each meteorological 

3 tower or other device; and 

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

5 seafloor disruption within the proposed area af6 fected by for the project (including hazards to 

7 navigation); 

8 (2) is decommissioned not more than 5 years 

9 after the date of commencement of the project, in10 cluding— 

11 (A) removal of towers, buoys, or other tem12 porary ocean infrastructure from the project 

13 site; and 

14 (B) restoration of the project site to ap15 proximately the original condition of the site; 

16 and 

17 (3) provides meteorological information ob18 tained by the project to the Secretary of the Inte19 rior. 

20 (b) OFFSHORE METEOROLOGICAL PROJECT PERMIT21 TING.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte23 rior shall by regulation require that any applicant 

24 seeking to conduct an offshore meteorological site 

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1 nental Shelf (as that term is defined in the Outer 

2 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et 

3 seq.)) must obtain a permit and right-of-way for the 

4 project in accordance with this subsection. 

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

6 CONDITIONS.— 

7 (A) DEADLINE FOR APPROVAL.—The Sec8 retary shall decide whether to issue a permit 

9 and right-of-way for an offshore meteorological 

10 site testing and monitoring project within 30 

11 days after receiving an application. 

12 (B) PUBLIC COMMENT AND CONSULTA13 TION.—During the period referred to in sub14 paragraph (A), the Secretary shall— 

15 (i) provide an opportunity for submis16 sion of comments by the public; and 

17 (ii) consult with the Secretary of De18 fense, the Commandant of the Coast 

19 Guard, and the heads of other Federal, 

20 State, and local agencies that would be af21 fected by issuance of the permit and right22 of-way. 

23 (C) DENIAL OF PERMIT; OPPORTUNITY TO

24 REMEDY DEFICIENCIES.—If the application is 


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1 denied, the Secretary shall provide the appli2 cant— 

3 (i) in writing, clear and comprehensive 

4 reasons why the application was not ap5 proved and detailed information concerning 

6 any deficiencies in the application; and 

7 (ii) an opportunity to remedy such de8 ficiencies. 

9 (c) NEPA EXCLUSION.—Section 102(2)(C) of the 

10 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

11 4332(2)(C)) shall not apply with respect to an offshore 

12 meteorological site testing and monitoring project. 

13 (d) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.—The informa14 tion provided to the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to 

15 subsection (a)(3) shall be treated by the Secretary as pro16 prietary information and protected against disclosure. 

17 Subtitle B—Onshore Meteorolog18 ical Site Testing and Monitoring 

19 SEC. 11011. SHORT TITLE. 

20 This subtitle may be cited at the ‘‘Reducing Regu21 latory Obstacles to Wind Energy Production Act’’. 

22 SEC. 11012. ONSHORE METEOROLOGICAL SITE TESTING 

23 AND MONITORING PROJECT. 

24 (a) DEFINITION OF METEOROLOGICAL SITE TEST25 ING AND MONITORING PROJECT.—In this section, the 


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1 term ‘‘meteorological site testing and monitoring project’’ 

2 means a project carried out on land administered by the 

3 Bureau of Land Management or the Forest Service to test 

4 or monitor weather (including wind and solar energy) 

5 using towers or other devices, that— 

6 (1) causes— 

7 (A) less than 1 acre of soil or vegetation 

8 disruption at the location of each meteorological 

9 tower or other device; and 

10 (B) not more than 5 acres of soil or dis11 ruption within the proposed right-of-way for the 

12 project; 

13 (2) is installed— 

14 (A) to the maximum extent practicable, 

15 using existing access roads; 

16 (B) in a manner that does not require off17 road motorized access other than 1 installation 

18 activity and 1 decommissioning activity along 

19 an identified off-road route approved by the Di20 rector of the Bureau of Land Management or 

21 Chief of the Forest Service; 

22 (C) without construction of new roads 

23 other than upgrading of existing minor drain24 age crossings for safety purposes; and 


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1 (D) without the use of digging or drilling 

2 equipment vehicles other than rubber-tired vehi3 cles with gross weight ratings under 8,500 

4 pounds; 

5 (3) is decommissioned not more than 5 years 

6 after the date of commencement of the project, in7 cluding— 

8 (A) removal of any towers, devices, or 

9 other surface infrastructure from the site; and 

10 (B) restoration of the site to approximately 

11 the condition that existed at the time the 

12 project began; and 

13 (4) provides meteorological information ob14 tained by the permitted project to the Bureau of 

15 Land Management and the Forest Service. 

16 (b) NEPA EXCLUSION.—Section 102(2)(C) of the 

17 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

18 4332(2)(C)) shall not apply with respect to a meteorolog19 ical site testing and monitoring project. 

20 (c) PERMIT TIMELINE AND CONDITIONS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Bureau 

22 of Land Management or Chief of the Forest Service, 

23 as applicable, shall decide whether to issue a permit 

24 for a project that is a meteorological site testing and 


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1 monitoring project within 30 days after receiving an 

2 application for the permit. 

3 (2) PUBLIC COMMENT AND CONSULTATION.— 

4 During the period referred to in paragraph (1), the 

5 Director of the Bureau of Land Management or the 

6 Chief of the Forest Service, as applicable, shall— 

7 (A) provide an opportunity for submission 

8 of comments by the public; and 

9 (B) consult with the heads of other Fed10 eral, State, and local agencies that would be af11 fected by the issuance of the permit. 

12 (3) DENIAL OF APPLICATION.—If the applica13 tion is denied, the Director or Chief, respectively, 

14 shall provide the applicant— 

15 (A) in writing, clear and comprehensive 

16 reasons why the application was not approved 

17 and detailed information concerning any defi18 ciencies, and 

19 (B) an opportunity to remedy any defi20 ciencies. 

21 (d) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.—The informa22 tion provided to the Bureau of Land Management and the 

23 Forest Service pursuant to subsection (a)(4) shall be 

24 treated by such agency as proprietary information and 

25 protected against disclosure. 


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1 TITLE XXI—DOMESTIC PROS2 PERITY AND GLOBAL FREE3 DOM 

4 SEC. 12001. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Domestic Prosperity 

6 and Global Freedom Act’’. 

7 SEC. 12002. AMENDMENTS. 

8 Section 3(c) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 

9 717b(c)) is amended— 

10 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘For purposes’’; 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘a nation with which there is in 

12 effect a free trade agreement requiring national 

13 treatment for trade in natural gas’’ and inserting ‘‘a 

14 World Trade Organization member nation’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘World 

17 Trade Organization member nation’ means a country de18 scribed in section 2(10) of the Uruguay Round Agree19 ments Act (19 U.S.C. 3501(10)).’’. 

20 SEC. 12003. PENDING APPLICATIONS. 

21 Any application for authorization to export natural 

22 gas under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 

23 717b) for which a notice has been published in the Federal 

24 Register before March 6, 2014, shall be granted without 

25 modification or delay. 


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1 DIVISION IV—ACCESS TO 

2 CAPITAL 

3 TITLE XXII—SMALL BUSINESS 

4 ACCESS TO CAPITAL 

5 SEC. 13001. REGISTRATION AND REPORTING EXEMPTIONS 

6 RELATING TO PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS ADVI7 SORS. 

8 Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 

9 (15 U.S.C. 80b–3) is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(o) EXEMPTION OF AND REPORTING REQUIRE12 MENTS BY PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS ADVISORS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this 

14 subsection, no investment adviser shall be subject to 

15 the registration or reporting requirements of this 

16 title with respect to the provision of investment ad17 vice relating to a private equity fund or funds, pro18 vided that each such fund has not borrowed and 

19 does not have outstanding a principal amount in ex20 cess of twice its invested capital commitments. 

21 ‘‘(2) MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS AND ACCESS

22 BY COMMISSION.—Not later than 6 months after the 

23 date of enactment of this subsection, the Commis24 sion shall issue final rules— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to require investment advisers de2 scribed in paragraph (1) to maintain such 

3 records and provide to the Commission such an4 nual or other reports as the Commission taking 

5 into account fund size, governance, investment 

6 strategy, risk, and other factors, as the Com7 mission determines necessary and appropriate 

8 in the public interest and for the protection of 

9 investors; and 

10 ‘‘(B) to define the term ‘private equity 

11 fund’ for purposes of this subsection.’’. 

12 TITLE XXIII—COMMUNITY LEND13 ING ENHANCEMENT AND 

14 REGULATORY RELIEF 

15 SEC. 14001. CHANGES REQUIRED TO SMALL BANK HOLDING 

16 COMPANY POLICY STATEMENT ON ASSESS17 MENT OF FINANCIAL AND MANAGERIAL FAC18 TORS. 

19 (a) SMALL BANK HOLDING COMPANY POLICY

20 STATEMENT ON ASSESSMENT OF FINANCIAL AND MANA21 GERIAL FACTORS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Before the end of the 6- 

23 month period beginning on the date of the enact24 ment of this title, the Board of Governors of the 

25 Federal Reserve System shall publish in the Federal 


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1 Register proposed revisions to the Small Bank Hold2 ing Company Policy Statement on Assessment of Fi3 nancial and Managerial Factors (12 C.F.R. part 

4 225—appendix C) that provide that the policy shall 

5 apply to a bank holding company which has pro 

6 forma consolidated assets of less than 

7 $5,000,000,000 and that— 

8 (A) is not engaged in any nonbanking ac9 tivities involving significant leverage; and 

10 (B) does not have a significant amount of 

11 outstanding debt that is held by the general 

12 public. 

13 (2) ADJUSTMENT OF AMOUNT.—The Board of 

14 Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall an15 nually adjust the dollar amount referred to in para16 graph (1) in the Small Bank Holding Company Pol17 icy Statement on Assessment of Financial and Man18 agerial Factors by an amount equal to the percent19 age increase, for the most recent year, in total assets 

20 held by all insured depository institutions, as deter21 mined by the Board. 

22 (b) INCREASE IN DEBT-TO-EQUITY RATIO OF SMALL

23 BANK HOLDING COMPANY.—Before the end of the 6- 

24 month period beginning on the date of the enactment of 

25 this title, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 


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1 System shall publish in the Federal Register proposed re2 visions to the Small Bank Holding Company Policy State3 ment on Assessment of Financial and Managerial Factors 

4 (12 C.F.R. part 225—appendix C) such that the debt-to5 equity ratio allowable for a small bank holding company 

6 in order to remain eligible to pay a corporate dividend and 

7 to remain eligible for expedited processing procedures 

8 under Regulation Y of the Board of Governors of the Fed9 eral Reserve System would increase from 1:1 to 3:1. 

10 SEC. 14002. ESCROW REQUIREMENTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 129D(c) of the Truth in 

12 Lending Act, as added by section 1461(a) of the Dodd13 Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, 

14 is amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), 

16 and (4) as subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) 

17 and moving such subparagraphs 2 ems to the right; 

18 (2) striking ‘‘The Board’’ and inserting the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board’’; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

22 paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF LOANS HELD BY SMALLER

24 CREDITORS.—The Board shall, by regulation, exempt 

25 from the requirements of subsection (a) any loan secured 


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1 by a first lien on a consumer’s principle dwelling, if such 

2 loan is held by a creditor with assets of $10,000,000,000 

3 or less.’’. 

4 SEC. 14003. EXCEPTION TO ANNUAL PRIVACY NOTICE RE5 QUIREMENT UNDER THE GRAMM-LEACH-BLI6 LEY ACT. 

7 Section 503 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 

8 U.S.C. 6803) is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(f) EXCEPTION TO ANNUAL NOTICE REQUIRE11 MENT.—A financial institution that— 

12 ‘‘(1) provides nonpublic personal information 

13 only in accordance with the provisions of subsection 

14 (b)(2) or (e) of section 502 or regulations prescribed 

15 under section 504(b), and 

16 ‘‘(2) has not changed its policies and practices 

17 with regard to disclosing nonpublic personal infor18 mation from the policies and practices that were dis19 closed in the most recent disclosure sent to con20 sumers in accordance with this subsection, 

21 shall not be required to provide an annual disclosure under 

22 this subsection until such time as the financial institution 

23 fails to comply with any criteria described in paragraph 

24 (1) or (2).’’. 


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1 SEC. 14004. ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES COST-BENEFIT RE2 QUIREMENTS. 

3 Section 19(b) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 

4 U.S.C. 77s(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(3) GENERALLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING

7 PRINCIPLES COST-BENEFIT REQUIREMENTS.—The 

8 Commission or its designee shall conduct analyses of 

9 the costs and benefits (including economic benefits) 

10 of any new or amended accounting principle de11 scribed under paragraph (1), and may not recognize 

12 such new or amended accounting principle, unless 

13 the Commission or its designee determines that the 

14 benefits to investors of such new or amended ac15 counting principle significantly outweigh its costs.’’. 

16 SEC. 14005. COMMUNITY BANK EXEMPTION FROM ANNUAL 

17 MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT OF INTERNAL 

18 CONTROLS REQUIREMENT OF THE SAR19 BANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002. 

20 Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (15 

21 U.S.C. 7262) is amended by adding the following new sub22 section: 

23 ‘‘(d) COMMUNITY BANK EXEMPTION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall not apply 

25 in any year to any insured depository institution 

26 which, as of the close of the preceding year, had 


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1 total assets, as determined on a consolidated basis, 

2 of $10,000,000,000 or less. 

3 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT OF AMOUNT.—The Commis4 sion shall annually adjust the dollar amount in para5 graph (1) by an amount equal to the percentage in6 crease, for the most recent year, in total assets held 

7 by all depository institutions, as reported by the 

8 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.’’. 

9 SEC. 14006. CERTAIN LOANS INCLUDED AS QUALIFIED 

10 MORTGAGES. 

11 Section 129C(b)(2) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 

12 U.S.C. 1639c(b)(2)) is amended— 

13 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

14 (A) in clause (viii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

15 the end; 

16 (B) in clause (ix), by striking the period at 

17 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(x) that is originated and retained in 

20 portfolio for a period of at least 3 years by 

21 a creditor having less than 

22 $10,000,000,000 in total assets.’’; and 

23 (2) in subparagraph (E)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘The Board may, by regu2 lation’’ and inserting ‘‘The Bureau shall, by 

3 regulation’’; and 

4 (B) by amending clause (iv) to read as fol5 lows: 

6 ‘‘(iv) that is extended by a creditor 

7 that— 

8 ‘‘(I) originates and retains the 

9 balloon loans in portfolio for a period 

10 of at least 3 years; and 

11 ‘‘(II) together with all affiliates, 

12 has total assets of $10,000,000,000 or 

13 less.’’. 

14 SEC. 14007. INCREASE IN SMALL SERVICER EXEMPTION. 

15 Section 6 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures 

16 Act of 1974 (12 U.S.C. 2605) is amended by adding at 

17 the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(n) SMALL SERVICER EXEMPTION.—The Bureau 

19 shall, by regulation, provide exemptions to, or adjustments 

20 for, the provisions of this section for servicers that service 

21 20,000 or fewer mortgage loans, in order to reduce regu22 latory burdens while appropriately balancing consumer 

23 protections.’’. 


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1 SEC. 14008. APPRAISER QUALIFICATION THRESHOLD. 

2 Section 1112(b) of the Financial Institutions Reform, 

3 Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 

4 3341(b)) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘may establish a threshold level 

6 at or’’ and inserting ‘‘shall establish a threshold level 

7 of $250,000,’’; and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘transactions, if’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘transactions. Each Federal financial institutions 

10 regulatory agency and the Resolution Trust Cor11 poration may establish a higher threshold than 

12 $250,000, if’’. 

13 SEC. 14009. COORDINATION AMONG FINANCIAL INSTITU14 TIONS. 

15 Chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, is amend16 ed— 

17 (1) by inserting after section 5332 the following 

18 new section: 

19 ‘‘§ 5333. Coordination among financial institutions 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an entry received 

21 via an automated clearing house, no receiving depository 

22 financial institution shall be required to verify that the 

23 entry is not a prohibited transaction, if the originating de24 pository financial institution has warranted, pursuant to 

25 the automated clearing house rules governing such entry 

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1 stitution has complied with the sanctions programs admin2 istered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control in connec3 tion with such entry. 

4 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

5 ‘‘(1) AUTOMATED CLEARING HOUSE.—The 

6 term ‘automated clearing house’ means a funds 

7 transfer system governed by rules which provide for 

8 the interbank clearing of electronic entries for par9 ticipating depository financial institutions. 

10 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITORY FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.— 

11 The term ‘depository financial institution’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) any insured depository institution, as 

13 such term is defined under section 3 of the 

14 Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 

15 1813); 

16 ‘‘(B) any depository institution which is el17 igible to apply to become an insured depository 

18 institution under section 5 of the Federal De19 posit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1815); 

20 ‘‘(C) any insured credit union, as defined 

21 in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act 

22 (12 U.S.C. 1752); and 

23 ‘‘(D) any credit union which is eligible to 

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1 ant to section 201 of the Federal Credit Union 

2 Act (12 U.S.C. 1781). 

3 ‘‘(3) ENTRY.—The term ‘entry’ means an order 

4 to request for the transfer of funds through an auto5 mated clearing house. 

6 ‘‘(4) ORIGINATING DEPOSITORY FINANCIAL IN7 STITUTION.—The term ‘originating depository finan8 cial institution’ means a depository financial institu9 tion that transmits entries via an automated clearing 

10 house for transmittal to a receiving depository finan11 cial institution. 

12 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITED TRANSACTION.—The term 

13 ‘prohibited transaction’ means a funds transfer 

14 originated on behalf of a person to or from whom 

15 funds transfers are restricted by a sanctions pro16 gram administered by the Office of Foreign Assets 

17 Control, including persons appearing on the list of 

18 specially designated nationals and blocked persons 

19 maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. 

20 ‘‘(6) RECEIVING DEPOSITORY FINANCIAL INSTI21 TUTION.—The term ‘receiving depository financial 

22 institution’ means a depository financial institution 

23 that receives entries via an automated clearing house 

24 from an originating depository financial institution 


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1 for debit or credit to the accounts of its customers.’’; 

2 and 

3 (2) in the table of contents for such chapter by 

4 inserting after the item relating to section 5332 the 

5 following new item: 

‘‘5333. Coordination among financial institutions.’’. 

Æ 


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