II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1654

To protect the coast of Florida.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 28, 1999

Mr. MACK (for himself and Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; which

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

Resources

A BILL

To protect the coast of Florida.

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 ‘‘Florida Coast Protec5 tion Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT REQUIRE7 MENTS.

8 Section 307(c)(3) of the Coastal Zone Management

9 Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1456(c)(3)) is amended by adding

10 at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(C) NECESSARY DATA AND INFORMA2 TION.—For purposes of subparagraph (B), a

3 State shall not be considered to receive all nec4 essary data and information with respect to a

5 plan for exploration, development, or production

6 before the date on which the State receives a

7 copy of an environmental impact statement

8 under section 102(2)(C) of the National Envi9 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.

10 4332(2)(C)) that applies to that exploration,

11 development, or production.’’.

12 SEC. 3. UNIFORM DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS.

13 Section 25 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act

14 (43 U.S.C. 1351(a) is amended—

15 (1) in paragraph (a)(1), by striking ‘‘other than

16 the Gulf of Mexico,’’ each place it appears; and

17 (2) by striking subsection (l).

18 SEC. 4. OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION.

19 Section 25(e) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands

20 Act of 1972 (43 U.S.C. 1351(e)) is amended—

21 (1) by striking ‘‘(e)(1) At least’’ and inserting

22 the following:

23 ‘‘(e) MAJOR FEDERAL ACTION.—

24 ‘‘(1) OUTSIDE THE GULF OF MEXICO.—

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At least’’;
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1 (2) by striking ‘‘(2) The Secretary’’ and insert2 ing the following:

3 ‘‘(B) PRELIMINARY AND FINAL PLANS.—

4 The Secretary’’; and

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

6 ‘‘(2) IN THE GULF OF MEXICO.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The approval of a de8 velopment and production plan in a covered

9 area (as defined in section 8(p)(1)) shall be

10 considered to be a major Federal action for the

11 purposes of the National Environmental Policy

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

13 ‘‘(B) TIME FOR REVIEW FOLLOWING RE14 CEIPT OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATE15 MENT.—In the case of a development and pro16 duction plan in a covered area, the Secretary

17 shall ensure that each affected State for which

18 a development and production plan affects any

19 land use or water use in the coastal zone of the

20 State with a coastal zone management program

21 approved under section 306 of the Coastal Zone

22 Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455), re23 ceives the final environmental impact statement

24 not less than 180 days before determining con25 currence or objection to the coastal zone con-
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1 sistency certification that is required to accom2 pany the environmental impact statement under

3 section 307(c)(3)(B) of the Coastal Zone Man4 agement Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C.

5 1456(c)(3)(B)).’’.

6 SEC. 5. LEASING ACTIVITY OFF THE COAST OF FLORIDA.

7 Section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act

8 (43 U.S.C. 1337) is amended—

9 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘The Sec10 retary’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in sub11 section (p), the Secretary’’; and

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

13 ‘‘(p) LEASING ACTIVITY OFF THE COAST OF FLOR14 IDA.—

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

16 ‘‘(A) COVERED AREA.—The term ‘covered

17 area’ means—

18 ‘‘(i) the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Plan19 ning Area (as established by the Secretary)

20 which is adjacent to the State of Florida

21 as defined by 43 U.S.C. 1333(a)(2)(A);

22 ‘‘(ii) the Straits of Florida Planning

23 Area (as established by the Secretary); and

24 ‘‘(iii) the South Atlantic Planning

25 Area (as established by the Secretary)
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1 which is adjacent to the State of Florida

2 as defined by 43 U.S.C. 1333(a)(2)(A);

3 within 100 miles off the coast of Florida.

4 ‘‘(B) PRELEASING ACTIVITY.—

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term

6 ‘preleasing activity’ means an activity re7 lating to a lease that is conducted before

8 a lease sale is held.

9 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.—The term

10 ‘preleasing activity’ includes—

11 ‘‘(I) the scheduling of a lease

12 sale;

13 ‘‘(II) the issuance of a request

14 for industry interest;

15 ‘‘(III) the issuance of a call for

16 information or a nomination;

17 ‘‘(IV) the identification of an

18 area for prospective leasing;

19 ‘‘(V) the publication of a draft or

20 final environmental impact statement

21 or a notice of sale; and

22 ‘‘(VI) the performance of any

23 form of rotary drilling in a prospective

24 lease area.
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1 ‘‘(iii) EXCLUSIONS.—The term

2 ‘preleasing activity’ does not include an en3 vironmental, geologic, geophysical, eco4 nomic, engineering, or other scientific anal5 ysis, study, or evaluation.

6 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION OF PRELEASING ACTIVITIES

7 AND LEASE SALES.—The Secretary shall not con8 duct any preleasing activity or hold a lease sale

9 under this Act in a covered area.’’.

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