I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4899 

To lower gasoline prices for the American family by increasing domestic 

onshore and offshore energy exploration and production, to streamline 

and improve onshore and offshore energy permitting and administration, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 19, 2014 

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington (for himself, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. 

TIPTON, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mrs. LUMMIS, Mr. 

FLORES, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, 

Mr. BISHOP of Utah, and Mr. CRAMER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 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 lower gasoline prices for the American family by increasing domestic onshore and offshore energy exploration 

and production, to streamline and improve onshore and 

offshore energy permitting and administration, and for 

other purposes. 

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


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 4899 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lowering Gasoline 

3 Prices to Fuel an America That Works Act of 2014’’. 

4 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

5 The table of contents for this Act is the following: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—OFFSHORE ENERGY AND JOBS 

Subtitle A—Outer Continental Shelf Leasing Program Reforms 

Sec. 10101. Outer Continental Shelf leasing program reforms. 

Sec. 10102. Domestic oil and natural gas production goal. 

Sec. 10103. Development and submittal of new 5-year oil and gas leasing program. 

Sec. 10104. Rule of construction. 

Subtitle B—Directing the President To Conduct New OCS Sales 

Sec. 10201. Requirement to conduct proposed oil and gas Lease Sale 220 on 

the Outer Continental Shelf offshore Virginia. 

Sec. 10202. South Carolina lease sale. 

Sec. 10203. Southern California existing infrastructure lease sale. 

Sec. 10204. Environmental impact statement requirement. 

Sec. 10205. National defense. 

Sec. 10206. Eastern Gulf of Mexico not included. 

Subtitle C—Equitable Sharing of Outer Continental Shelf Revenues 

Sec. 10301. Disposition of Outer Continental Shelf revenues to coastal States. 

Subtitle D—Reorganization of Minerals Management Agencies of the 

Department of the Interior 

Sec. 10401. Establishment of Under Secretary for Energy, Lands, and Minerals and Assistant Secretary of Ocean Energy and Safety. 

Sec. 10402. Bureau of Ocean Energy. 

Sec. 10403. Ocean Energy Safety Service. 

Sec. 10404. Office of Natural Resources revenue. 

Sec. 10405. Ethics and drug testing. 

Sec. 10406. Abolishment of Minerals Management Service. 

Sec. 10407. Conforming amendments to Executive Schedule pay rates. 

Sec. 10408. Outer Continental Shelf Energy Safety Advisory Board. 

Sec. 10409. Outer Continental Shelf inspection fees. 

Sec. 10410. Prohibition on action based on National Ocean Policy developed 

under Executive Order No. 13547. 

Subtitle E—United States Territories 

Sec. 10501. Application of Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act with respect to 

territories of the United States. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 4899 IH

Subtitle F—Miscellaneous Provisions 

Sec. 10601. Rules regarding distribution of revenues under Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006. 

Sec. 10602. Amount of distributed qualified outer Continental Shelf revenues. 

Subtitle G—Judicial Review 

Sec. 10701. Time for filing complaint. 

Sec. 10702. District court deadline. 

Sec. 10703. Ability to seek appellate review. 

Sec. 10704. Limitation on scope of review and relief. 

Sec. 10705. Legal fees. 

Sec. 10706. Exclusion. 

Sec. 10707. Definitions. 

TITLE II—ONSHORE FEDERAL LANDS AND ENERGY SECURITY 

Subtitle A—Federal Lands Jobs and Energy Security 

Sec. 21001. Short title. 

Sec. 21002. Policies regarding buying, building, and working for America. 

CHAPTER 1—ONSHORE OIL AND GAS PERMIT STREAMLINING

Sec. 21101. Short title. 

SUBCHAPTER A—APPLICATION FOR PERMITS TO DRILL PROCESS REFORM

Sec. 21111. Permit to drill application timeline. 

SUBCHAPTER B—ADMINISTRATIVE PROTEST DOCUMENTATION REFORM

Sec. 21121. Administrative protest documentation reform. 

SUBCHAPTER C—PERMIT STREAMLINING

Sec. 21131. Making pilot offices permanent to improve energy permitting on 

Federal lands. 

Sec. 21132. Administration of current law. 

SUBCHAPTER D—JUDICIAL REVIEW

Sec. 21141. Definitions. 

Sec. 21142. Exclusive venue for certain civil actions relating to covered energy 

projects. 

Sec. 21143. Timely filing. 

Sec. 21144. Expedition in hearing and determining the action. 

Sec. 21145. Standard of review. 

Sec. 21146. Limitation on injunction and prospective relief. 

Sec. 21147. Limitation on attorneys’ fees. 

Sec. 21148. Legal standing. 

SUBCHAPTER E—KNOWING AMERICA’S OIL AND GAS RESOURCES

Sec. 21151. Funding oil and gas resource assessments. 

CHAPTER 2—OIL AND GAS LEASING CERTAINTY

Sec. 21201. Short title. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 4899 IH

Sec. 21202. Minimum acreage requirement for onshore lease sales. 

Sec. 21203. Leasing certainty. 

Sec. 21204. Leasing consistency. 

Sec. 21205. Reduce redundant policies. 

Sec. 21206. Streamlined congressional notification. 

CHAPTER 3—OIL SHALE

Sec. 21301. Short title. 

Sec. 21302. Effectiveness of oil shale regulations, amendments to resource 

management plans, and record of decision. 

Sec. 21303. Oil shale leasing. 

CHAPTER 4—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 21401. Rule of construction. 

Subtitle B—Planning for American Energy 

Sec. 22001. Short title. 

Sec. 22002. Onshore domestic energy production strategic plan. 

Subtitle C—National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Access 

Sec. 23001. Short title. 

Sec. 23002. Sense of Congress and reaffirming national policy for the National 

Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. 

Sec. 23003. National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska: lease sales. 

Sec. 23004. National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska: planning and permitting 

pipeline and road construction. 

Sec. 23005. Issuance of a new integrated activity plan and environmental impact statement. 

Sec. 23006. Departmental accountability for development. 

Sec. 23007. Deadlines under new proposed integrated activity plan. 

Sec. 23008. Updated resource assessment. 

Subtitle D—BLM Live Internet Auctions 

Sec. 24001. Short title. 

Sec. 24002. Internet-based onshore oil and gas lease sales. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 4899 IH

1 TITLE I—OFFSHORE ENERGY 

2 AND JOBS 

3 Subtitle A—Outer Continental 

4 Shelf Leasing Program Reforms 

5 SEC. 10101. OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LEASING PRO6 GRAM REFORMS. 

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

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

9 the following: 

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

11 under this section, the Secretary shall make avail12 able for leasing and conduct lease sales including at 

13 least 50 percent of the available unleased acreage 

14 within each outer Continental Shelf planning area 

15 considered to have the largest undiscovered, tech16 nically recoverable oil and gas resources (on a total 

17 btu basis) based upon the most recent national geo18 logic assessment of the outer Continental Shelf, with 

19 an emphasis on offering the most geologically pro20 spective parts of the planning area. 

21 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall include in each pro22 posed oil and gas leasing program under this section 

23 any State subdivision of an outer Continental Shelf 

24 planning area that the Governor of the State that 

25 represents that subdivision requests be made availVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:55 Jun 20, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4899.IH H4899

dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 4899 IH

1 able for leasing. The Secretary may not remove such 

2 a subdivision from the program until publication of 

3 the final program, and shall include and consider all 

4 such subdivisions in any environmental review con5 ducted and statement prepared for such program 

6 under section 102(2) of the National Environmental 

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

8 ‘‘(C) In this paragraph the term ‘available un9 leased acreage’ means that portion of the outer Con10 tinental Shelf that is not under lease at the time of 

11 a proposed lease sale, and that has not otherwise 

12 been made unavailable for leasing by law. 

13 ‘‘(6)(A) In the 5-year oil and gas leasing pro14 gram, the Secretary shall make available for leasing 

15 any outer Continental Shelf planning areas that— 

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

17 2,500,000,000 barrels of oil; or 

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

19 7,500,000,000,000 cubic feet of natural gas. 

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

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

22 document entitled ‘Minerals Management Service 

23 Assessment of Undiscovered Technically Recoverable 

24 Oil and Gas Resources of the Nation’s Outer Conti25 nental Shelf, 2006’.’’. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 4899 IH

1 SEC. 10102. DOMESTIC OIL AND NATURAL GAS PRODUC2 TION GOAL. 

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

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

5 ‘‘(b) DOMESTIC OIL AND NATURAL GAS PRODUC6 TION GOAL.—– 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In developing a 5-year oil 

8 and gas leasing program, and subject to paragraph 

9 (2), the Secretary shall determine a domestic stra10 tegic production goal for the development of oil and 

11 natural gas as a result of that program. Such goal 

12 shall be— 

13 ‘‘(A) the best estimate of the possible in14 crease in domestic production of oil and natural 

15 gas from the outer Continental Shelf; 

16 ‘‘(B) focused on meeting domestic demand 

17 for oil and natural gas and reducing the de18 pendence of the United States on foreign en19 ergy; and 

20 ‘‘(C) focused on the production increases 

21 achieved by the leasing program at the end of 

22 the 15-year period beginning on the effective 

23 date of the program. 

24 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM GOAL.—For purposes of the 5- 

25 year oil and gas leasing program, the production 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 4899 IH

1 goal referred to in paragraph (1) shall be an in2 crease by 2032 of— 

3 ‘‘(A) no less than 3,000,000 barrels in the 

4 amount of oil produced per day; and 

5 ‘‘(B) no less than 10,000,000,000 cubic 

6 feet in the amount of natural gas produced per 

7 day. 

8 ‘‘(3) REPORTING.—The Secretary shall report 

9 annually, beginning at the end of the 5-year period 

10 for which the program applies, to the Committee on 

11 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 

12 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re13 sources of the Senate on the progress of the pro14 gram in meeting the production goal. The Secretary 

15 shall identify in the report projections for production 

16 and any problems with leasing, permitting, or pro17 duction that will prevent meeting the goal.’’. 

18 SEC. 10103. DEVELOPMENT AND SUBMITTAL OF NEW 5- 

19 YEAR OIL AND GAS LEASING PROGRAM. 

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

21 shall— 

22 (1) by not later than July 15, 2015, publish 

23 and submit to Congress a new proposed oil and gas 

24 leasing program under section 18 of the Outer Con25 tinental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) for the 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 4899 IH

1 5-year period beginning on such date and ending 

2 July 15, 2021; and 

3 (2) by not later than July 15, 2016, approve a 

4 final oil and gas leasing program under such section 

5 for such period. 

6 (b) CONSIDERATION OF ALL AREAS.—In preparing 

7 such program the Secretary shall include consideration of 

8 areas of the Continental Shelf off the coasts of all States 

9 (as such term is defined in section 2 of that Act, as 

10 amended by this title), that are subject to leasing under 

11 this title. 

12 (c) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 18(d)(3) of 

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

14 1344(d)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘or after eighteen 

15 months following the date of enactment of this section, 

16 whichever first occurs,’’. 

17 SEC. 10104. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

18 Nothing in this title shall be construed to authorize 

19 the issuance of a lease under the Outer Continental Shelf 

20 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) to any person des21 ignated for the imposition of sanctions pursuant to— 

22 (1) the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (50 U.S.C. 

23 1701 note), the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Ac24 countability and Divestiture Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 

25 8501 et seq.), the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 4899 IH

1 Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8701 et 

2 seq.), section 1245 of the National Defense Author3 ization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8513a), 

4 or the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act 

5 of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8801 et seq.); 

6 (2) Executive Order No. 13622 (July 30, 

7 2012), Executive Order No. 13628 (October 9, 

8 2012), or Executive Order No. 13645 (June 3, 

9 2013); 

10 (3) Executive Order No. 13224 (September 23, 

11 2001) or Executive Order No. 13338 (May 11, 

12 2004); or 

13 (4) the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sov14 ereignty Restoration Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 2151 

15 note). 

16 Subtitle B—Directing the President 

17 To Conduct New OCS Sales 

18 SEC. 10201. REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT PROPOSED OIL 

19 AND GAS LEASE SALE 220 ON THE OUTER 

20 CONTINENTAL SHELF OFFSHORE VIRGINIA. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the exclusion of 

22 Lease Sale 220 in the Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil 

23 & Gas Leasing Program 2012–2017, the Secretary of the 

24 Interior shall conduct offshore oil and gas Lease Sale 220 

25 under section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (43 U.S.C. 1337) as soon as practicable, but not later 

2 than one year after the date of enactment of this Act. 

3 (b) REQUIREMENT TO MAKE REPLACEMENT LEASE

4 BLOCKS AVAILABLE.—For each lease block in a proposed 

5 lease sale under this section for which the Secretary of 

6 Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, 

7 under the Memorandum of Agreement referred to in sec8 tion 10205(b), issues a statement proposing deferral from 

9 a lease offering due to defense-related activities that are 

10 irreconcilable with mineral exploration and development, 

11 the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Sec12 retary of Defense, shall make available in the same lease 

13 sale one other lease block in the Virginia lease sale plan14 ning area that is acceptable for oil and gas exploration 

15 and production in order to mitigate conflict. 

16 (c) BALANCING MILITARY AND ENERGY PRODUC17 TION GOALS.—In recognition that the Outer Continental 

18 Shelf oil and gas leasing program and the domestic energy 

19 resources produced therefrom are integral to national se20 curity, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 

21 Defense shall work jointly in implementing this section in 

22 order to ensure achievement of the following common 

23 goals: 

24 (1) Preserving the ability of the Armed Forces 

25 of the United States to maintain an optimum state 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 4899 IH

1 of readiness through their continued use of the 

2 Outer Continental Shelf. 

3 (2) Allowing effective exploration, development, 

4 and production of our Nation’s oil, gas, and renew5 able energy resources. 

6 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) LEASE SALE 220.—The term ‘‘Lease Sale 

8 220’’ means such lease sale referred to in the Re9 quest for Comments on the Draft Proposed 5-Year 

10 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing 

11 Program for 2010–2015 and Notice of Intent To 

12 Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

13 for the Proposed 5-Year Program published January 

14 21, 2009 (74 Fed. Reg. 3631). 

15 (2) VIRGINIA LEASE SALE PLANNING AREA.— 

16 The term ‘‘Virginia lease sale planning area’’ means 

17 the area of the outer Continental Shelf (as that term 

18 is defined in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

19 (33 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.)) that is bounded by— 

20 (A) a northern boundary consisting of a 

21 straight line extending from the northernmost 

22 point of Virginia’s seaward boundary to the 

23 point on the seaward boundary of the United 

24 States exclusive economic zone located at 37 de25 grees 17 minutes 1 second North latitude, 71 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 4899 IH

1 degrees 5 minutes 16 seconds West longitude; 

2 and 

3 (B) a southern boundary consisting of a 

4 straight line extending from the southernmost 

5 point of Virginia’s seaward boundary to the 

6 point on the seaward boundary of the United 

7 States exclusive economic zone located at 36 de8 grees 31 minutes 58 seconds North latitude, 71 

9 degrees 30 minutes 1 second West longitude. 

10 SEC. 10202. SOUTH CAROLINA LEASE SALE. 

11 Notwithstanding exclusion of the South Atlantic 

12 Outer Continental Shelf Planning Area from the Final 

13 Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program 

14 2012–2017, the Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a 

15 lease sale not later than 2 years after the date of the en16 actment of this Act for areas off the coast of South Caro17 lina determined by the Secretary to have the most geologi18 cally promising hydrocarbon resources and constituting 

19 not less than 25 percent of the leasable area within the 

20 South Carolina offshore administrative boundaries de21 picted in the notice entitled ‘‘Federal Outer Continental 

22 Shelf (OCS) Administrative Boundaries Extending from 

23 the Submerged Lands Act Boundary seaward to the Limit 

24 of the United States Outer Continental Shelf’’, published 

25 January 3, 2006 (71 Fed. Reg. 127). 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 4899 IH

1 SEC. 10203. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EXISTING INFRA2 STRUCTURE LEASE SALE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 

4 offer for sale leases of tracts in the Santa Maria and 

5 Santa Barbara/Ventura Basins of the Southern California 

6 OCS Planning Area as soon as practicable, but not later 

7 than December 31, 2015. 

8 (b) USE OF EXISTING STRUCTURES OR ONSHORE9 BASED DRILLING.—The Secretary of the Interior shall in10 clude in leases offered for sale under this lease sale such 

11 terms and conditions as are necessary to require that de12 velopment and production may occur only from offshore 

13 infrastructure in existence on the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act or from onshore-based, extended-reach drilling. 

15 SEC. 10204. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT RE16 QUIREMENT. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of this title, the 

18 Secretary of the Interior shall prepare a multisale environ19 mental impact statement under section 102 of the Na20 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) 

21 for all lease sales required under this subtitle. 

22 (b) ACTIONS TO BE CONSIDERED.—Notwithstanding 

23 section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

24 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332), in such statement— 

25 (1) the Secretary is not required to identify 

26 nonleasing alternative courses of action or to analyze 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 4899 IH

1 the environmental effects of such alternative courses 

2 of action; and 

3 (2) the Secretary shall only— 

4 (A) identify a preferred action for leasing 

5 and not more than one alternative leasing pro6 posal; and 

7 (B) analyze the environmental effects and 

8 potential mitigation measures for such pre9 ferred action and such alternative leasing pro10 posal. 

11 SEC. 10205. NATIONAL DEFENSE. 

12 (a) NATIONAL DEFENSE AREAS.—This title does not 

13 affect the existing authority of the Secretary of Defense, 

14 with the approval of the President, to designate national 

15 defense areas on the Outer Continental Shelf pursuant to 

16 section 12(d) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

17 (43 U.S.C. 1341(d)). 

18 (b) PROHIBITION ON CONFLICTS WITH MILITARY

19 OPERATIONS.—No person may engage in any exploration, 

20 development, or production of oil or natural gas on the 

21 Outer Continental Shelf under a lease issued under this 

22 title that would conflict with any military operation, as 

23 determined in accordance with the Memorandum of Agree24 ment between the Department of Defense and the Depart25 ment of the Interior on Mutual Concerns on the Outer 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 4899 IH

1 Continental Shelf signed July 20, 1983, and any revision 

2 or replacement for that agreement that is agreed to by 

3 the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Interior 

4 after that date but before the date of issuance of the lease 

5 under which such exploration, development, or production 

6 is conducted. 

7 SEC. 10206. EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO NOT INCLUDED. 

8 Nothing in this title affects restrictions on oil and gas 

9 leasing under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 

10 2006 (title I of division C of Public Law 109–432; 43 

11 U.S.C. 1331 note). 

12 Subtitle C—Equitable Sharing of 

13 Outer Continental Shelf Revenues 

14 SEC. 10301. DISPOSITION OF OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 

15 REVENUES TO COASTAL STATES. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9 of the Outer Conti17 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1338) is amended— 

18 (1) in the existing text— 

19 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘All 

20 rentals,’’ and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(c) DISPOSITION OF REVENUE UNDER OLD

22 LEASES.—All rentals,’’; and 

23 (B) in subsection (c) (as designated by the 

24 amendment made by subparagraph (A) of this 

25 paragraph), by striking ‘‘for the period from 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 4899 IH

1 June 5, 1950, to date, and thereafter’’ and in2 serting ‘‘in the period beginning June 5, 1950, 

3 and ending on the date of enactment of the 

4 Lowering Gasoline Prices to Fuel an America 

5 That Works Act of 2014’’; 

6 (2) by adding after subsection (c) (as so des7 ignated) the following: 

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

9 ‘‘(1) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘coastal 

10 State’ includes a territory of the United States. 

11 ‘‘(2) NEW LEASING REVENUES.—The term ‘new 

12 leasing revenues’— 

13 ‘‘(A) means amounts received by the 

14 United States as bonuses, rents, and royalties 

15 under leases for oil and gas, wind, tidal, or 

16 other energy exploration, development, and pro17 duction on new areas of the outer Continental 

18 Shelf that are authorized to be made available 

19 for leasing as a result of enactment of the Low20 ering Gasoline Prices to Fuel an America That 

21 Works Act of 2014 and leasing under that Act; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) does not include amounts received by 

24 the United States under any lease of an area lo25 cated in the boundaries of the Central Gulf of 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 4899 IH

1 Mexico and Western Gulf of Mexico Outer Con2 tinental Shelf Planning Areas on the date of en3 actment of the Lowering Gasoline Prices to 

4 Fuel an America That Works Act of 2014, in5 cluding a lease issued before, on, or after such 

6 date of enactment.’’; and 

7 (3) by inserting before subsection (c) (as so 

8 designated) the following: 

9 ‘‘(a) PAYMENT OF NEW LEASING REVENUES TO

10 COASTAL STATES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (2), of the amount of new leasing revenues re13 ceived by the United States each fiscal year, 37.5 

14 percent shall be allocated and paid in accordance 

15 with subsection (b) to coastal States that are af16 fected States with respect to the leases under which 

17 those revenues are received by the United States. 

18 ‘‘(2) PHASE-IN.— 

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

20 subparagraph (B), paragraph (1) shall be ap21 plied— 

22 ‘‘(i) with respect to new leasing reve23 nues under leases awarded under the first 

24 leasing program under section 18(a) that 

25 takes effect after the date of enactment of 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 4899 IH

1 the Lowering Gasoline Prices to Fuel an 

2 America That Works Act of 2014, by sub3 stituting ‘12.5 percent’ for ‘37.5 percent’; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ii) with respect to new leasing reve6 nues under leases awarded under the sec7 ond leasing program under section 18(a) 

8 that takes effect after the date of enact9 ment of the Lowering Gasoline Prices to 

10 Fuel an America That Works Act of 2014, 

11 by substituting ‘25 percent’ for ‘37.5 per12 cent’. 

13 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTED LEASE SALES.—This 

14 paragraph shall not apply with respect to any 

15 lease issued under subtitle B of the Lowering 

16 Gasoline Prices to Fuel an America That 

17 Works Act of 2014. 

18 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION OF PAYMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of new leasing 

20 revenues received by the United States with respect 

21 to a leased tract that are required to be paid to 

22 coastal States in accordance with this subsection 

23 each fiscal year shall be allocated among and paid 

24 to coastal States that are within 200 miles of the 

25 leased tract, in amounts that are inversely proporVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:55 Jun 20, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4899.IH H4899

dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 4899 IH

1 tional to the respective distances between the point 

2 on the coastline of each such State that is closest to 

3 the geographic center of the lease tract, as deter4 mined by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM ALLOCATION.— 

6 The amount allocated to a coastal State under para7 graph (1) each fiscal year with respect to a leased 

8 tract shall be— 

9 ‘‘(A) in the case of a coastal State that is 

10 the nearest State to the geographic center of 

11 the leased tract, not less than 25 percent of the 

12 total amounts allocated with respect to the 

13 leased tract; 

14 ‘‘(B) in the case of any other coastal State, 

15 not less than 10 percent, and not more than 15 

16 percent, of the total amounts allocated with re17 spect to the leased tract; and 

18 ‘‘(C) in the case of a coastal State that is 

19 the only coastal State within 200 miles of a 

20 leased tract, 100 percent of the total amounts 

21 allocated with respect to the leased tract. 

22 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION.—Amounts allocated to 

23 a coastal State under this subsection— 

24 ‘‘(A) shall be available to the coastal State 

25 without further appropriation; 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 4899 IH

1 ‘‘(B) shall remain available until expended; 

2 ‘‘(C) shall be in addition to any other 

3 amounts available to the coastal State under 

4 this Act; and 

5 ‘‘(D) shall be distributed in the fiscal year 

6 following receipt. 

7 ‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.— 

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

9 subparagraph (B), a coastal State may use 

10 funds allocated and paid to it under this sub11 section for any purpose as determined by the 

12 laws of that State. 

13 ‘‘(B) RESTRICTION ON USE FOR MATCH14 ING.—Funds allocated and paid to a coastal 

15 State under this subsection may not be used as 

16 matching funds for any other Federal pro17 gram.’’. 

18 (b) LIMITATION ON APPLICATION.—This section and 

19 the amendment made by this section shall not affect the 

20 application of section 105 of the Gulf of Mexico Energy 

21 Security Act of 2006 (title I of division C of Public Law 

22 109–432; (43 U.S.C. 1331 note)), as in effect before the 

23 enactment of this Act, with respect to revenues received 

24 by the United States under oil and gas leases issued for 

25 tracts located in the Western and Central Gulf of Mexico 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 4899 IH

1 Outer Continental Shelf Planning Areas, including such 

2 leases issued on or after the date of the enactment of this 

3 Act. 

4 Subtitle D—Reorganization of Min5 erals Management Agencies of 

6 the Department of the Interior 

7 SEC. 10401. ESTABLISHMENT OF UNDER SECRETARY FOR 

8 ENERGY, LANDS, AND MINERALS AND ASSIST9 ANT SECRETARY OF OCEAN ENERGY AND 

10 SAFETY. 

11 There shall be in the Department of the Interior— 

12 (1) an Under Secretary for Energy, Lands, and 

13 Minerals, who shall— 

14 (A) be appointed by the President, by and 

15 with the advise and consent of the Senate; 

16 (B) report to the Secretary of the Interior 

17 or, if directed by the Secretary, to the Deputy 

18 Secretary of the Interior; 

19 (C) be paid at the rate payable for level III 

20 of the Executive Schedule; and 

21 (D) be responsible for— 

22 (i) the safe and responsible develop23 ment of our energy and mineral resources 

24 on Federal lands in appropriate accordance 

25 with United States energy demands; and 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (ii) ensuring multiple-use missions of 

2 the Department of the Interior that pro3 mote the safe and sustained development 

4 of energy and minerals resources on public 

5 lands (as that term is defined in the Fed6 eral Land Policy and Management Act of 

7 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)); 

8 (2) an Assistant Secretary of Ocean Energy 

9 and Safety, who shall— 

10 (A) be appointed by the President, by and 

11 with the advise and consent of the Senate; 

12 (B) report to the Under Secretary for En13 ergy, Lands, and Minerals; 

14 (C) be paid at the rate payable for level IV 

15 of the Executive Schedule; and 

16 (D) be responsible for ensuring safe and 

17 efficient development of energy and minerals on 

18 the Outer Continental Shelf of the United 

19 States; and 

20 (3) an Assistant Secretary of Land and Min21 erals Management, who shall— 

22 (A) be appointed by the President, by and 

23 with the advise and consent of the Senate; 

24 (B) report to the Under Secretary for En25 ergy, Lands, and Minerals; 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
24 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (C) be paid at the rate payable for level IV 

2 of the Executive Schedule; and 

3 (D) be responsible for ensuring safe and 

4 efficient development of energy and minerals on 

5 public lands and other Federal onshore lands 

6 under the jurisdiction of the Department of the 

7 Interior, including implementation of the Min8 eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) and 

9 the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation 

10 Act (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) and administra11 tion of the Office of Surface Mining. 

12 SEC. 10402. BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

14 Department of the Interior a Bureau of Ocean Energy (re15 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Bureau’’), which shall— 

16 (1) be headed by a Director of Ocean Energy 

17 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Director’’); and 

18 (2) be administered under the direction of the 

19 Assistant Secretary of Ocean Energy and Safety. 

20 (b) DIRECTOR.— 

21 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Director shall be ap22 pointed by the Secretary of the Interior. 

23 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall be 

24 compensated at the rate provided for level V of the 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
25 

•HR 4899 IH

1 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, 

2 United States Code. 

3 (c) DUTIES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte5 rior shall carry out through the Bureau all func6 tions, powers, and duties vested in the Secretary re7 lating to the administration of a comprehensive pro8 gram of offshore mineral and renewable energy re9 sources management. 

10 (2) SPECIFIC AUTHORITIES.—The Director 

11 shall promulgate and implement regulations— 

12 (A) for the proper issuance of leases for 

13 the exploration, development, and production of 

14 nonrenewable and renewable energy and min15 eral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf; 

16 (B) relating to resource identification, ac17 cess, evaluation, and utilization; 

18 (C) for development of leasing plans, lease 

19 sales, and issuance of leases for such resources; 

20 and 

21 (D) regarding issuance of environmental 

22 impact statements related to leasing and post 

23 leasing activities including exploration, develop24 ment, and production, and the use of third 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
26 

•HR 4899 IH

1 party contracting for necessary environmental 

2 analysis for the development of such resources. 

3 (3) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not carry 

4 out through the Bureau any function, power, or duty 

5 that is— 

6 (A) required by section 10403 to be car7 ried out through the Ocean Energy Safety Serv8 ice; or 

9 (B) required by section 10404 to be car10 ried out through the Office of Natural Re11 sources Revenue. 

12 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES OF LAND MANAGEMENT

13 AGENCIES.—Nothing in this section shall affect the au14 thorities of the Bureau of Land Management under the 

15 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

16 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) or of the Forest Service under the 

17 National Forest Management Act of 1976 (Public Law 

18 94–588). 

19 SEC. 10403. OCEAN ENERGY SAFETY SERVICE. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

21 Department of the Interior an Ocean Energy Safety Serv22 ice (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Service’’), which 

23 shall— 

24 (1) be headed by a Director of Energy Safety 

25 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Director’’); and 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
27 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (2) be administered under the direction of the 

2 Assistant Secretary of Ocean Energy and Safety. 

3 (b) DIRECTOR.— 

4 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Director shall be ap5 pointed by the Secretary of the Interior. 

6 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall be 

7 compensated at the rate provided for level V of the 

8 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, 

9 United States Code. 

10 (c) DUTIES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte12 rior shall carry out through the Service all functions, 

13 powers, and duties vested in the Secretary relating 

14 to the administration of safety and environmental 

15 enforcement activities related to offshore mineral 

16 and renewable energy resources on the Outer Conti17 nental Shelf pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf 

18 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) including the 

19 authority to develop, promulgate, and enforce regu20 lations to ensure the safe and sound exploration, de21 velopment, and production of mineral and renewable 

22 energy resources on the Outer Continental Shelf in 

23 a timely fashion. 

24 (2) SPECIFIC AUTHORITIES.—The Director 

25 shall be responsible for all safety activities related to 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
28 

•HR 4899 IH

1 exploration and development of renewable and min2 eral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf, in3 cluding— 

4 (A) exploration, development, production, 

5 and ongoing inspections of infrastructure; 

6 (B) the suspending or prohibiting, on a 

7 temporary basis, any operation or activity, in8 cluding production under leases held on the 

9 Outer Continental Shelf, in accordance with 

10 section 5(a)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf 

11 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1334(a)(1)); 

12 (C) cancelling any lease, permit, or right13 of-way on the Outer Continental Shelf, in ac14 cordance with section 5(a)(2) of the Outer Con15 tinental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

16 1334(a)(2)); 

17 (D) compelling compliance with applicable 

18 Federal laws and regulations relating to worker 

19 safety and other matters; 

20 (E) requiring comprehensive safety and en21 vironmental management programs for persons 

22 engaged in activities connected with the explo23 ration, development, and production of mineral 

24 or renewable energy resources; 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
29 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (F) developing and implementing regula2 tions for Federal employees to carry out any in3 spection or investigation to ascertain compli4 ance with applicable regulations, including 

5 health, safety, or environmental regulations; 

6 (G) implementing the Offshore Technology 

7 Research and Risk Assessment Program under 

8 section 21 of the Outer Continental Shelf 

9 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1347); 

10 (H) summoning witnesses and directing 

11 the production of evidence; 

12 (I) levying fines and penalties and disquali13 fying operators; 

14 (J) carrying out any safety, response, and 

15 removal preparedness functions; and 

16 (K) the processing of permits, exploration 

17 plans, development plans. 

18 (d) EMPLOYEES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 

20 that the inspection force of the Bureau consists of 

21 qualified, trained employees who meet qualification 

22 requirements and adhere to the highest professional 

23 and ethical standards. 

24 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The qualification re25 quirements referred to in paragraph (1)— 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
30 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (A) shall be determined by the Secretary, 

2 subject to subparagraph (B); and 

3 (B) shall include— 

4 (i) 3 years of practical experience in 

5 oil and gas exploration, development, or 

6 production; or 

7 (ii) a degree in an appropriate field of 

8 engineering from an accredited institution 

9 of higher learning. 

10 (3) ASSIGNMENT.—In assigning oil and gas in11 spectors to the inspection and investigation of indi12 vidual operations, the Secretary shall give due con13 sideration to the extent possible to their previous ex14 perience in the particular type of oil and gas oper15 ation in which such inspections are to be made. 

16 (4) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—The Director shall 

17 require that an individual to be hired as an inspec18 tion officer undergo an employment investigation 

19 (including a criminal history record check). 

20 (5) LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS.—Individuals 

21 hired as inspectors must be able to read, speak, and 

22 write English well enough to— 

23 (A) carry out written and oral instructions 

24 regarding the proper performance of inspection 

25 duties; and 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
31 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (B) write inspection reports and state2 ments and log entries in the English language. 

3 (6) VETERANS PREFERENCE.—The Director 

4 shall provide a preference for the hiring of an indi5 vidual as a inspection officer if the individual is a 

6 member or former member of the Armed Forces and 

7 is entitled, under statute, to retired, retirement, or 

8 retainer pay on account of service as a member of 

9 the Armed Forces. 

10 (7) ANNUAL PROFICIENCY REVIEW.— 

11 (A) ANNUAL PROFICIENCY REVIEW.—The 

12 Director shall provide that an annual evaluation 

13 of each individual assigned inspection duties is 

14 conducted and documented. 

15 (B) CONTINUATION OF EMPLOYMENT.—An 

16 individual employed as an inspector may not 

17 continue to be employed in that capacity unless 

18 the evaluation demonstrates that the indi19 vidual— 

20 (i) continues to meet all qualifications 

21 and standards; 

22 (ii) has a satisfactory record of per23 formance and attention to duty based on 

24 the standards and requirements in the in25 spection program; and 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
32 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (iii) demonstrates the current knowl2 edge and skills necessary to courteously, 

3 vigilantly, and effectively perform inspec4 tion functions. 

5 (8) LIMITATION ON RIGHT TO STRIKE.—Any 

6 individual that conducts permitting or inspections 

7 under this section may not participate in a strike, or 

8 assert the right to strike. 

9 (9) PERSONNEL AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding 

10 any other provision of law, the Director may employ, 

11 appoint, discipline and terminate for cause, and fix 

12 the compensation, terms, and conditions of employ13 ment of Federal service for individuals as the em14 ployees of the Service in order to restore and main15 tain the trust of the people of the United States in 

16 the accountability of the management of our Na17 tion’s energy safety program. 

18 (10) TRAINING ACADEMY.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es20 tablish and maintain a National Offshore En21 ergy Safety Academy (referred to in this para22 graph as the ‘‘Academy’’) as an agency of the 

23 Ocean Energy Safety Service. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
33 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (B) FUNCTIONS OF ACADEMY.—The Sec2 retary, through the Academy, shall be respon3 sible for— 

4 (i) the initial and continued training 

5 of both newly hired and experienced off6 shore oil and gas inspectors in all aspects 

7 of health, safety, environmental, and oper8 ational inspections; 

9 (ii) the training of technical support 

10 personnel of the Bureau; 

11 (iii) any other training programs for 

12 offshore oil and gas inspectors, Bureau 

13 personnel, Department personnel, or other 

14 persons as the Secretary shall designate; 

15 and 

16 (iv) certification of the successful 

17 completion of training programs for newly 

18 hired and experienced offshore oil and gas 

19 inspectors. 

20 (C) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—In performing func22 tions under this paragraph, and subject to 

23 clause (ii), the Secretary may enter into 

24 cooperative educational and training agree25 ments with educational institutions, related 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
34 

•HR 4899 IH

1 Federal academies, other Federal agencies, 

2 State governments, safety training firms, 

3 and oil and gas operators and related in4 dustries. 

5 (ii) TRAINING REQUIREMENT.—Such 

6 training shall be conducted by the Acad7 emy in accordance with curriculum needs 

8 and assignment of instructional personnel 

9 established by the Secretary. 

10 (11) USE OF DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL.—In 

11 performing functions under this subsection, the Sec12 retary shall use, to the extent practicable, the facili13 ties and personnel of the Department of the Interior. 

14 The Secretary may appoint or assign to the Acad15 emy such officers and employees as the Secretary 

16 considers necessary for the performance of the du17 ties and functions of the Academy. 

18 (12) ADDITIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

20 work with appropriate educational institutions, 

21 operators, and representatives of oil and gas 

22 workers to develop and maintain adequate pro23 grams with educational institutions and oil and 

24 gas operators that are designed— 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
35 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (i) to enable persons to qualify for po2 sitions in the administration of this title; 

3 and 

4 (ii) to provide for the continuing edu5 cation of inspectors or other appropriate 

6 Department of the Interior personnel. 

7 (B) FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL ASSIST8 ANCE.—The Secretary may provide financial 

9 and technical assistance to educational institu10 tions in carrying out this paragraph. 

11 (e) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not carry out 

12 through the Service any function, power, or duty that is— 

13 (1) required by section 10402 to be carried out 

14 through the Bureau of Ocean Energy; or 

15 (2) required by section 10404 to be carried out 

16 through the Office of Natural Resources Revenue. 

17 SEC. 10404. OFFICE OF NATURAL RESOURCES REVENUE. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

19 Department of the Interior an Office of Natural Resources 

20 Revenue (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Office’’) to 

21 be headed by a Director of Natural Resources Revenue 

22 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Director’’). 

23 (b) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall be ap25 pointed by the Secretary of the Interior. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
36 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall be 

2 compensated at the rate provided for Level V of the 

3 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, 

4 United States Code. 

5 (c) DUTIES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte7 rior shall carry out, through the Office, all functions, 

8 powers, and duties vested in the Secretary and relat9 ing to the administration of offshore royalty and rev10 enue management functions. 

11 (2) SPECIFIC AUTHORITIES.—The Secretary 

12 shall carry out, through the Office, all functions, 

13 powers, and duties previously assigned to the Min14 erals Management Service (including the authority 

15 to develop, promulgate, and enforce regulations) re16 garding offshore royalty and revenue collection; roy17 alty and revenue distribution; auditing and compli18 ance; investigation and enforcement of royalty and 

19 revenue regulations; and asset management for on20 shore and offshore activities. 

21 (d) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not carry out 

22 through the Office any function, power, or duty that is— 

23 (1) required by section 10402 to be carried out 

24 through the Bureau of Ocean Energy; or 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
37 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (2) required by section 10403 to be carried out 

2 through the Ocean Energy Safety Service. 

3 SEC. 10405. ETHICS AND DRUG TESTING. 

4 (a) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary of the Interior 

5 shall certify annually that all Department of the Interior 

6 officers and employees having regular, direct contact with 

7 lessees, contractors, concessionaires, and other businesses 

8 interested before the Government as a function of their 

9 official duties, or conducting investigations, issuing per10 mits, or responsible for oversight of energy programs, are 

11 in full compliance with all Federal employee ethics laws 

12 and regulations under the Ethics in Government Act of 

13 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) and part 2635 of title 5, Code of 

14 Federal Regulations, and all guidance issued under sub15 section (c). 

16 (b) DRUG TESTING.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

17 random drug testing program of all Department of the 

18 Interior personnel referred to in subsection (a). 

19 (c) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 90 days after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 

21 supplementary ethics and drug testing guidance for the 

22 employees for which certification is required under sub23 section (a). The Secretary shall update the supplementary 

24 ethics guidance not less than once every 3 years there25 after. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
38 

•HR 4899 IH

1 SEC. 10406. ABOLISHMENT OF MINERALS MANAGEMENT 

2 SERVICE. 

3 (a) ABOLISHMENT.—The Minerals Management 

4 Service is abolished. 

5 (b) COMPLETED ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Completed administrative 

7 actions of the Minerals Management Service shall 

8 not be affected by the enactment of this Act, but 

9 shall continue in effect according to their terms until 

10 amended, modified, superseded, terminated, set 

11 aside, or revoked in accordance with law by an offi12 cer of the United States or a court of competent ju13 risdiction, or by operation of law. 

14 (2) COMPLETED ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION DE15 FINED.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the term 

16 ‘‘completed administrative action’’ includes orders, 

17 determinations, memoranda of understanding, 

18 memoranda of agreements, rules, regulations, per19 sonnel actions, permits, agreements, grants, con20 tracts, certificates, licenses, registrations, and privi21 leges. 

22 (c) PENDING PROCEEDINGS.—Subject to the author23 ity of the Secretary of the Interior and the officers of the 

24 Department of the Interior under this title— 

25 (1) pending proceedings in the Minerals Man26 agement Service, including notices of proposed ruleVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:55 Jun 20, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4899.IH H4899

dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
39 

•HR 4899 IH

1 making, and applications for licenses, permits, cer2 tificates, grants, and financial assistance, shall con3 tinue, notwithstanding the enactment of this Act or 

4 the vesting of functions of the Service in another 

5 agency, unless discontinued or modified under the 

6 same terms and conditions and to the same extent 

7 that such discontinuance or modification could have 

8 occurred if this title had not been enacted; and 

9 (2) orders issued in such proceedings, and ap10 peals therefrom, and payments made pursuant to 

11 such orders, shall issue in the same manner and on 

12 the same terms as if this title had not been enacted, 

13 and any such orders shall continue in effect until 

14 amended, modified, superseded, terminated, set 

15 aside, or revoked by an officer of the United States 

16 or a court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation 

17 of law. 

18 (d) PENDING CIVIL ACTIONS.—Subject to the au19 thority of the Secretary of the Interior or any officer of 

20 the Department of the Interior under this title, pending 

21 civil actions shall continue notwithstanding the enactment 

22 of this Act, and in such civil actions, proceedings shall be 

23 had, appeals taken, and judgments rendered and enforced 

24 in the same manner and with the same effect as if such 

25 enactment had not occurred. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
40 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (e) REFERENCES.—References relating to the Min2 erals Management Service in statutes, Executive orders, 

3 rules, regulations, directives, or delegations of authority 

4 that precede the effective date of this Act are deemed to 

5 refer, as appropriate, to the Department, to its officers, 

6 employees, or agents, or to its corresponding organiza7 tional units or functions. Statutory reporting requirements 

8 that applied in relation to the Minerals Management Serv9 ice immediately before the effective date of this title shall 

10 continue to apply. 

11 SEC. 10407. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO EXECUTIVE 

12 SCHEDULE PAY RATES. 

13 (a) UNDER SECRETARY FOR ENERGY, LANDS, AND

14 MINERALS.—Section 5314 of title 5, United States Code, 

15 is amended by inserting after the item relating to ‘‘Under 

16 Secretaries of the Treasury (3).’’ the following: 

17 ‘‘Under Secretary for Energy, Lands, and Min18 erals, Department of the Interior.’’. 

19 (b) ASSISTANT SECRETARIES.—Section 5315 of title 

20 5, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Assistant 

21 Secretaries of the Interior (6).’’ and inserting the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘Assistant Secretaries, Department of the Inte24 rior (7).’’. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
41 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (c) DIRECTORS.—Section 5316 of title 5, United 

2 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Director, Bureau of 

3 Mines, Department of the Interior.’’ and inserting the fol4 lowing new items: 

5 ‘‘Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy, Depart6 ment of the Interior. 

7 ‘‘Director, Ocean Energy Safety Service, De8 partment of the Interior. 

9 ‘‘Director, Office of Natural Resources Rev10 enue, Department of the Interior.’’. 

11 SEC. 10408. OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF ENERGY SAFETY 

12 ADVISORY BOARD. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior 

14 shall establish, under the Federal Advisory Committee 

15 Act, an Outer Continental Shelf Energy Safety Advisory 

16 Board (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Board’’)— 

17 (1) to provide the Secretary and the Directors 

18 established by this title with independent scientific 

19 and technical advice on safe, responsible, and timely 

20 mineral and renewable energy exploration, develop21 ment, and production activities; and 

22 (2) to review operations of the National Off23 shore Energy Health and Safety Academy estab24 lished under section 10403(d), including submitting 

25 to the Secretary recommendations of curriculum to 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
42 

•HR 4899 IH

1 ensure training scientific and technical advance2 ments. 

3 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

4 (1) SIZE.—The Board shall consist of not more 

5 than 11 members, who— 

6 (A) shall be appointed by the Secretary 

7 based on their expertise in oil and gas drilling, 

8 well design, operations, well containment and 

9 oil spill response; and 

10 (B) must have significant scientific, engi11 neering, management, and other credentials and 

12 a history of working in the field related to safe 

13 energy exploration, development, and produc14 tion activities. 

15 (2) CONSULTATION AND NOMINATIONS.—The 

16 Secretary shall consult with the National Academy 

17 of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineer18 ing to identify potential candidates for the Board 

19 and shall take nominations from the public. 

20 (3) TERM.—The Secretary shall appoint Board 

21 members to staggered terms of not more than 4 

22 years, and shall not appoint a member for more 

23 than 2 consecutive terms. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
43 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (4) BALANCE.—In appointing members to the 

2 Board, the Secretary shall ensure a balanced rep3 resentation of industry and research interests. 

4 (c) CHAIR.—The Secretary shall appoint the Chair 

5 for the Board from among its members. 

6 (d) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet not less than 

7 3 times per year and shall host, at least once per year, 

8 a public forum to review and assess the overall energy 

9 safety performance of Outer Continental Shelf mineral 

10 and renewable energy resource activities. 

11 (e) OFFSHORE DRILLING SAFETY ASSESSMENTS

12 AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—As part of its duties under 

13 this section, the Board shall, by not later than 180 days 

14 after the date of enactment of this section and every 5 

15 years thereafter, submit to the Secretary a report that— 

16 (1) assesses offshore oil and gas well control 

17 technologies, practices, voluntary standards, and 

18 regulations in the United States and elsewhere; and 

19 (2) as appropriate, recommends modifications 

20 to the regulations issued under this title to ensure 

21 adequate protection of safety and the environment, 

22 including recommendations on how to reduce regula23 tions and administrative actions that are duplicative 

24 or unnecessary. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
44 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (f) REPORTS.—Reports of the Board shall be sub2 mitted by the Board to the Committee on Natural Re3 sources of the House of Representatives and the Com4 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

5 and made available to the public in electronically acces6 sible form. 

7 (g) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members of the Board, 

8 other than full-time employees of the Federal Government, 

9 while attending meetings of the Board or while otherwise 

10 serving at the request of the Secretary or the Director 

11 while serving away from their homes or regular places of 

12 business, may be allowed travel expenses, including per 

13 diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 

14 of title 5, United States Code, for individuals in the Gov15 ernment serving without pay. 

16 SEC. 10409. OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF INSPECTION 

17 FEES. 

18 Section 22 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

19 (43 U.S.C. 1348) is amended by adding at the end of the 

20 section the following: 

21 ‘‘(g) INSPECTION FEES.— 

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

23 Interior shall collect from the operators of facilities 

24 subject to inspection under subsection (c) non-re25 fundable fees for such inspections— 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
45 

•HR 4899 IH

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

2 amount necessary to offset the annual expenses 

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

5 the Department of the Interior; and 

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

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

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

11 the ‘Ocean Energy Enforcement Fund’ (referred to 

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

13 deposited all amounts collected as fees under para14 graph (1) and which shall be available as provided 

15 under paragraph (3). 

16 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF FEES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec18 tion 3302 of title 31, United States Code, all 

19 amounts deposited in the Fund— 

20 ‘‘(i) shall be credited as offsetting col21 lections; 

22 ‘‘(ii) shall be available for expenditure 

23 for purposes of carrying out inspections of 

24 outer Continental Shelf facilities (including 

25 mobile offshore drilling units) and the adVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:55 Jun 20, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4899.IH H4899

dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
46 

•HR 4899 IH

1 ministration of the inspection program 

2 under this section; 

3 ‘‘(iii) shall be available only to the ex4 tent provided for in advance in an appro5 priations Act; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) shall remain available until ex7 pended. 

8 ‘‘(B) USE FOR FIELD OFFICES.—Not less 

9 than 75 percent of amounts in the Fund may 

10 be appropriated for use only for the respective 

11 Department of the Interior field offices where 

12 the amounts were originally assessed as fees. 

13 ‘‘(4) INITIAL FEES.—Fees shall be established 

14 under this subsection for the fiscal year in which 

15 this subsection takes effect and the subsequent 10 

16 years, and shall not be raised without advise and 

17 consent of the Congress, except as determined by the 

18 Secretary to be appropriate as an adjustment equal 

19 to the percentage by which the Consumer Price 

20 Index for the month of June of the calendar year 

21 preceding the adjustment exceeds the Consumer 

22 Price Index for the month of June of the calendar 

23 year in which the claim was determined or last ad24 justed. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
47 

•HR 4899 IH

1 ‘‘(5) ANNUAL FEES.—Annual fees shall be col2 lected under this subsection for facilities that are 

3 above the waterline, excluding drilling rigs, and are 

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

5 year 2013 shall be— 

6 ‘‘(A) $10,500 for facilities with no wells, 

7 but with processing equipment or gathering 

8 lines; 

9 ‘‘(B) $17,000 for facilities with 1 to 10 

10 wells, with any combination of active or inactive 

11 wells; and 

12 ‘‘(C) $31,500 for facilities with more than 

13 10 wells, with any combination of active or in14 active wells. 

15 ‘‘(6) FEES FOR DRILLING RIGS.—Fees for drill16 ing rigs shall be assessed under this subsection for 

17 all inspections completed in fiscal years 2015 

18 through 2024. Fees for fiscal year 2015 shall be— 

19 ‘‘(A) $30,500 per inspection for rigs oper20 ating in water depths of 1,000 feet or more; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(B) $16,700 per inspection for rigs oper23 ating in water depths of less than 1,000 feet. 

24 ‘‘(7) BILLING.—The Secretary shall bill des25 ignated operators under paragraph (5) within 60 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
48 

•HR 4899 IH

1 days after the date of the inspection, with payment 

2 required within 30 days of billing. The Secretary 

3 shall bill designated operators under paragraph (6) 

4 within 30 days of the end of the month in which the 

5 inspection occurred, with payment required within 

6 30 days after billing. 

7 ‘‘(8) SUNSET.—No fee may be collected under 

8 this subsection for any fiscal year after fiscal year 

9 2024. 

10 ‘‘(9) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 

12 days after the end of each fiscal year beginning 

13 with fiscal year 2015, the Secretary shall sub14 mit to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

15 Resources of the Senate and the Committee on 

16 Natural Resources of the House of Representa17 tives a report on the operation of the Fund dur18 ing the fiscal year. 

19 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each report shall in20 clude, for the fiscal year covered by the report, 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(i) A statement of the amounts de23 posited into the Fund. 

24 ‘‘(ii) A description of the expenditures 

25 made from the Fund for the fiscal year, inVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:55 Jun 20, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4899.IH H4899

dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
49 

•HR 4899 IH

1 cluding the purpose of the expenditures 

2 and the additional hiring of personnel. 

3 ‘‘(iii) A statement of the balance re4 maining in the Fund at the end of the fis5 cal year. 

6 ‘‘(iv) An accounting of pace of permit 

7 approvals. 

8 ‘‘(v) If fee increases are proposed 

9 after the initial 10-year period referred to 

10 in paragraph (5), a proper accounting of 

11 the potential adverse economic impacts 

12 such fee increases will have on offshore 

13 economic activity and overall production, 

14 conducted by the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(vi) Recommendations to increase 

16 the efficacy and efficiency of offshore in17 spections. 

18 ‘‘(vii) Any corrective actions levied 

19 upon offshore inspectors as a result of any 

20 form of misconduct.’’. 

21 SEC. 10410. PROHIBITION ON ACTION BASED ON NATIONAL 

22 OCEAN POLICY DEVELOPED UNDER EXECU23 TIVE ORDER NO. 13547. 

24 (a) PROHIBITION.—The Bureau of Ocean Energy 

25 and the Ocean Energy Safety Service may not develop, 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
50 

•HR 4899 IH

1 propose, finalize, administer, or implement, any limitation 

2 on activities under their jurisdiction as a result of the 

3 coastal and marine spatial planning component of the Na4 tional Ocean Policy developed under Executive Order No. 

5 13547. 

6 (b) REPORT ON EXPENDITURES.—Not later than 60 

7 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the President 

8 shall submit a report 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 identifying all Federal expenditures in fiscal years 2011, 

12 2012, 2013, and 2014 by the Bureau of Ocean Energy 

13 and the Ocean Energy Safety Service and their prede14 cessor agencies, by agency, account, and any pertinent 

15 subaccounts, for the development, administration, or im16 plementation of the coastal and marine spatial planning 

17 component of the National Ocean Policy developed under 

18 Executive Order No. 13547, including staff time, travel, 

19 and other related expenses. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
51 

•HR 4899 IH

1 Subtitle E—United States 

2 Territories 

3 SEC. 10501. APPLICATION OF OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 

4 LANDS ACT WITH RESPECT TO TERRITORIES 

5 OF THE UNITED STATES. 

6 Section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

7 (43 U.S.C. 1331) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (a), by inserting after ‘‘con9 trol’’ the following: ‘‘or lying within the United 

10 States exclusive economic zone and the Continental 

11 Shelf adjacent to any territory of the United 

12 States’’; 

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

14 the semicolon at the end; 

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

16 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

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

19 United States.’’. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
52 

•HR 4899 IH

1 Subtitle F—Miscellaneous 

2 Provisions 

3 SEC. 10601. 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. 10602. AMOUNT OF DISTRIBUTED QUALIFIED OUTER 

16 CONTINENTAL SHELF REVENUES. 

17 Section 105(f)(1) of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Secu18 rity Act of 2006 (title I of division C of Public Law 109– 

19 432; 43 U.S.C. 1331 note) shall be applied by substituting 

20 ‘‘2024, and shall not exceed $999,999,999 for each of fis21 cal years 2025 through 2055’’ for ‘‘2055’’. 

22 Subtitle G—Judicial Review 

23 SEC. 10701. 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 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
53 

•HR 4899 IH

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. 10702. DISTRICT COURT DEADLINE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—All proceedings that are subject 

9 to section 10701— 

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 180 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. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
54 

•HR 4899 IH

1 SEC. 10703. 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 10701 may be reviewed by the U.S. Court of Appeals 

5 for the District of Columbia Circuit. The D.C. Circuit 

6 shall resolve any such appeal as expeditiously as possible 

7 and, in any event, not more than 180 days after such in8 terlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order of the dis9 trict court was issued. 

10 SEC. 10704. LIMITATION ON SCOPE OF REVIEW AND RE11 LIEF. 

12 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE FINDINGS AND CONCLU13 SIONS.—In any judicial review of any Federal action under 

14 this subtitle, any administrative findings and conclusions 

15 relating to the challenged Federal action shall be pre16 sumed to be correct unless shown otherwise by clear and 

17 convincing evidence contained in the administrative 

18 record. 

19 (b) LIMITATION ON PROSPECTIVE RELIEF.—In any 

20 judicial review of any action, or failure to act, under this 

21 subtitle, the Court shall not grant or approve any prospec22 tive relief unless the Court finds that such relief is nar23 rowly drawn, extends no further than necessary to correct 

24 the violation of a Federal law requirement, and is the least 

25 intrusive means necessary to correct the violation con26 cerned. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
55 

•HR 4899 IH

1 SEC. 10705. 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. 10706. 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. 10707. 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. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
56 

•HR 4899 IH

1 TITLE II—ONSHORE FEDERAL 

2 LANDS AND ENERGY SECURITY 

3 Subtitle A—Federal Lands Jobs 

4 and Energy Security 

5 SEC. 21001. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Lands 

7 Jobs and Energy Security Act’’. 

8 SEC. 21002. POLICIES REGARDING BUYING, BUILDING, AND 

9 WORKING FOR AMERICA. 

10 (a) CONGRESSIONAL INTENT.—It is the intent of the 

11 Congress that— 

12 (1) this subtitle will support a healthy and 

13 growing United States domestic energy sector that, 

14 in turn, helps to reinvigorate American manufac15 turing, transportation, and service sectors by em16 ploying the vast talents of United States workers to 

17 assist in the development of energy from domestic 

18 sources; 

19 (2) to ensure a robust onshore energy produc20 tion industry and ensure that the benefits of devel21 opment support local communities, under this sub22 title, the Secretary shall make every effort to pro23 mote the development of onshore American energy, 

24 and shall take into consideration the socioeconomic 

25 impacts, infrastructure requirements, and fiscal staVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:55 Jun 20, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4899.IH H4899

dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
57 

•HR 4899 IH

1 bility for local communities located within areas con2 taining onshore energy resources; and 

3 (3) the Congress will monitor the deployment of 

4 personnel and material onshore to encourage the de5 velopment of American manufacturing to enable 

6 United States workers to benefit from this subtitle 

7 through good jobs and careers, as well as the estab8 lishment of important industrial facilities to support 

9 expanded access to American resources. 

10 (b) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior 

11 shall when possible, and practicable, encourage the use of 

12 United States workers and equipment manufactured in 

13 the United States in all construction related to mineral 

14 resource development under this subtitle. 

15 CHAPTER 1—ONSHORE OIL AND GAS 

16 PERMIT STREAMLINING 

17 SEC. 21101. SHORT TITLE. 

18 This chapter may be cited as the ‘‘Streamlining Per19 mitting of American Energy Act of 2014’’. 

20 Subchapter A—Application for Permits To 

21 Drill Process Reform 

22 SEC. 21111. PERMIT TO DRILL APPLICATION TIMELINE. 

23 Section 17(p)(2) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

24 U.S.C. 226(p)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
58 

•HR 4899 IH

1 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS FOR PERMITS TO DRILL RE2 FORM AND PROCESS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) TIMELINE.—The Secretary shall de4 cide whether to issue a permit to drill within 30 

5 days after receiving an application for the per6 mit. The Secretary may extend such period for 

7 up to 2 periods of 15 days each, if the Sec8 retary has given written notice of the delay to 

9 the applicant. The notice shall be in the form 

10 of a letter from the Secretary or a designee of 

11 the Secretary, and shall include the names and 

12 titles of the persons processing the application, 

13 the specific reasons for the delay, and a specific 

14 date a final decision on the application is ex15 pected. 

16 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF REASONS FOR DENIAL.— 

17 If the application is denied, the Secretary shall 

18 provide the applicant— 

19 ‘‘(i) in writing, clear and comprehen20 sive reasons why the application was not 

21 accepted and detailed information con22 cerning any deficiencies; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) an opportunity to remedy any de24 ficiencies. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
59 

•HR 4899 IH

1 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION DEEMED APPROVED.— 

2 If the Secretary has not made a decision on the 

3 application by the end of the 60-day period be4 ginning on the date the application is received 

5 by the Secretary, the application is deemed ap6 proved, except in cases in which existing reviews 

7 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

8 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) or Endangered 

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

10 are incomplete. 

11 ‘‘(D) DENIAL OF PERMIT.—If the Sec12 retary decides not to issue a permit to drill in 

13 accordance with subparagraph (A), the Sec14 retary shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) provide to the applicant a descrip16 tion of the reasons for the denial of the 

17 permit; 

18 ‘‘(ii) allow the applicant to resubmit 

19 an application for a permit to drill during 

20 the 10-day period beginning on the date 

21 the applicant receives the description of 

22 the denial from the Secretary; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) issue or deny any resubmitted 

24 application not later than 10 days after the 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
60 

•HR 4899 IH

1 date the application is submitted to the 

2 Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(E) FEE.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

5 any other law, the Secretary shall collect a 

6 single $6,500 permit processing fee per ap7 plication from each applicant at the time 

8 the final decision is made whether to issue 

9 a permit under subparagraph (A). This fee 

10 shall not apply to any resubmitted applica11 tion. 

12 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT OF PERMIT PROC13 ESSING FEE.—Of all fees collected under 

14 this paragraph, 50 percent shall be trans15 ferred to the field office where they are col16 lected and used to process protests, leases, 

17 and permits under this Act subject to ap18 propriation.’’. 

19 Subchapter B—Administrative Protest 

20 Documentation Reform 

21 SEC. 21121. ADMINISTRATIVE PROTEST DOCUMENTATION 

22 REFORM. 

23 Section 17(p) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

24 226(p)) is further amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
61 

•HR 4899 IH

1 ‘‘(4) PROTEST FEE.— 

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

3 collect a $5,000 documentation fee to accom4 pany each protest for a lease, right of way, or 

5 application for permit to drill. 

6 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF FEES.—Of all fees 

7 collected under this paragraph, 50 percent shall 

8 remain in the field office where they are col9 lected and used to process protests subject to 

10 appropriation.’’. 

11 Subchapter C—Permit Streamlining 

12 SEC. 21131. MAKING PILOT OFFICES PERMANENT TO IM13 PROVE ENERGY PERMITTING ON FEDERAL 

14 LANDS. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior 

16 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall estab17 lish a Federal Permit Streamlining Project (referred to 

18 in this section as the ‘‘Project’’) in every Bureau of Land 

19 Management field office with responsibility for permitting 

20 energy projects on Federal land. 

21 (b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

24 shall enter into a memorandum of understanding for 

25 purposes of this section with— 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
62 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

2 (B) the Administrator of the Environ3 mental Protection Agency; and 

4 (C) the Chief of the Army Corps of Engi5 neers. 

6 (2) STATE PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary 

7 may request that the Governor of any State with en8 ergy projects on Federal lands to be a signatory to 

9 the memorandum of understanding. 

10 (c) DESIGNATION OF QUALIFIED STAFF.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

12 the date of the signing of the memorandum of un13 derstanding under subsection (b), all Federal signa14 tory parties shall, if appropriate, assign to each of 

15 the Bureau of Land Management field offices an 

16 employee who has expertise in the regulatory issues 

17 relating to the office in which the employee is em18 ployed, including, as applicable, particular expertise 

19 in— 

20 (A) the consultations and the preparation 

21 of biological opinions under section 7 of the En22 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

23 1536); 

24 (B) permits under section 404 of Federal 

25 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344); 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
63 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (C) regulatory matters under the Clean Air 

2 Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.); 

3 (D) planning under the National Forest 

4 Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et 

5 seq.); and 

6 (E) the preparation of analyses under the 

7 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

8 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

9 (2) DUTIES.—Each employee assigned under 

10 paragraph (1) shall— 

11 (A) not later than 90 days after the date 

12 of assignment, report to the Bureau of Land 

13 Management Field Managers in the office to 

14 which the employee is assigned; 

15 (B) be responsible for all issues relating to 

16 the energy projects that arise under the au17 thorities of the employee’s home agency; and 

18 (C) participate as part of the team of per19 sonnel working on proposed energy projects, 

20 planning, and environmental analyses on Fed21 eral lands. 

22 (d) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Secretary shall 

23 assign to each Bureau of Land Management field office 

24 identified in subsection (a) any additional personnel that 

25 are necessary to ensure the effective approval and impleVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:55 Jun 20, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4899.IH H4899

dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
64 

•HR 4899 IH

1 mentation of energy projects administered by the Bureau 

2 of Land Management field offices, including inspection 

3 and enforcement relating to energy development on Fed4 eral land, in accordance with the multiple use mandate 

5 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 

6 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 

7 (e) FUNDING.—Funding for the additional personnel 

8 shall come from the Department of the Interior reforms 

9 identified in sections 21111 and 21121. 

10 (f) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section af11 fects— 

12 (1) the operation of any Federal or State law; 

13 or 

14 (2) any delegation of authority made by the 

15 head of a Federal agency whose employees are par16 ticipating in the Project. 

17 (g) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section the 

18 term ‘‘energy projects’’ includes oil, natural gas, and other 

19 energy projects as defined by the Secretary. 

20 SEC. 21132. ADMINISTRATION OF CURRENT LAW. 

21 Notwithstanding any other law, the Secretary of the 

22 Interior shall not require a finding of extraordinary cir23 cumstances in administering section 390 of the Energy 

24 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15942). 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
65 

•HR 4899 IH

1 Subchapter D—Judicial Review 

2 SEC. 21141. DEFINITIONS. 

3 In this subchapter— 

4 (1) the term ‘‘covered civil action’’ means a civil 

5 action containing a claim under section 702 of title 

6 5, United States Code, regarding agency action (as 

7 defined for the purposes of that section) affecting a 

8 covered energy project on Federal lands of the 

9 United States; and 

10 (2) the term ‘‘covered energy project’’ means 

11 the leasing of Federal lands of the United States for 

12 the exploration, development, production, processing, 

13 or transmission of oil, natural gas, or any other 

14 source of energy, and any action under such a lease, 

15 except that the term does not include any disputes 

16 between the parties to a lease regarding the obliga17 tions under such lease, including regarding any al18 leged breach of the lease. 

19 SEC. 21142. EXCLUSIVE VENUE FOR CERTAIN CIVIL AC20 TIONS RELATING TO COVERED ENERGY 

21 PROJECTS. 

22 Venue for any covered civil action shall lie in the dis23 trict court where the project or leases exist or are pro24 posed. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
66 

•HR 4899 IH

1 SEC. 21143. TIMELY FILING. 

2 To ensure timely redress by the courts, a covered civil 

3 action must be filed no later than the end of the 90-day 

4 period beginning on the date of the final Federal agency 

5 action to which it relates. 

6 SEC. 21144. EXPEDITION IN HEARING AND DETERMINING 

7 THE ACTION. 

8 The court shall endeavor to hear and determine any 

9 covered civil action as expeditiously as possible. 

10 SEC. 21145. STANDARD OF REVIEW. 

11 In any judicial review of a covered civil action, admin12 istrative findings and conclusions relating to the chal13 lenged Federal action or decision shall be presumed to be 

14 correct, and the presumption may be rebutted only by the 

15 preponderance of the evidence contained in the adminis16 trative record. 

17 SEC. 21146. LIMITATION ON INJUNCTION AND PROSPEC18 TIVE RELIEF. 

19 In a covered civil action, the court shall not grant 

20 or approve any prospective relief unless the court finds 

21 that such relief is narrowly drawn, extends no further than 

22 necessary to correct the violation of a legal requirement, 

23 and is the least intrusive means necessary to correct that 

24 violation. In addition, courts shall limit the duration of 

25 preliminary injunctions to halt covered energy projects to 

26 no more than 60 days, unless the court finds clear reasons 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
67 

•HR 4899 IH

1 to extend the injunction. In such cases of extensions, such 

2 extensions shall only be in 30-day increments and shall 

3 require action by the court to renew the injunction. 

4 SEC. 21147. LIMITATION ON ATTORNEYS’ FEES. 

5 Sections 504 of title 5, United States Code, and 2412 

6 of title 28, United States Code, (together commonly called 

7 the Equal Access to Justice Act) do not apply to a covered 

8 civil action, nor shall any party in such a covered civil ac9 tion receive payment from the Federal Government for 

10 their attorneys’ fees, expenses, and other court costs. 

11 SEC. 21148. LEGAL STANDING. 

12 Challengers filing appeals with the Department of the 

13 Interior Board of Land Appeals shall meet the same 

14 standing requirements as challengers before a United 

15 States district court. 

16 Subchapter E—Knowing America’s Oil and 

17 Gas Resources 

18 SEC. 21151. FUNDING OIL AND GAS RESOURCE ASSESS19 MENTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 

21 provide matching funding for joint projects with States to 

22 conduct oil and gas resource assessments on Federal lands 

23 with significant oil and gas potential. 

24 (b) COST SHARING.—The Federal share of the cost 

25 of activities under this section shall not exceed 50 percent. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
68 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (c) RESOURCE ASSESSMENT.—Any resource assess2 ment under this section shall be conducted by a State, in 

3 consultation with the United States Geological Survey. 

4 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

5 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

6 out this section a total of $50,000,000 for fiscal years 

7 2015 through 2018. 

8 CHAPTER 2—OIL AND GAS LEASING 

9 CERTAINTY 

10 SEC. 21201. SHORT TITLE. 

11 This chapter may be cited as the ‘‘Providing Leasing 

12 Certainty for American Energy Act of 2014’’. 

13 SEC. 21202. MINIMUM ACREAGE REQUIREMENT FOR ON14 SHORE LEASE SALES. 

15 In conducting lease sales as required by section 17(a) 

16 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(a)), each year 

17 the Secretary of the Interior shall perform the following: 

18 (1) The Secretary shall offer for sale no less 

19 than 25 percent of the annual nominated acreage 

20 not previously made available for lease. Acreage of21 fered for lease pursuant to this paragraph shall not 

22 be subject to protest and shall be eligible for cat23 egorical exclusions under section 390 of the Energy 

24 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15942), except that 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
69 

•HR 4899 IH

1 it shall not be subject to the test of extraordinary 

2 circumstances. 

3 (2) In administering this section, the Secretary 

4 shall only consider leasing of Federal lands that are 

5 available for leasing at the time the lease sale oc6 curs. 

7 SEC. 21203. LEASING CERTAINTY. 

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

9 226(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘All lands’’, 

10 and by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary shall not withdraw any cov12 ered energy project issued under this Act without finding 

13 a violation of the terms of the lease by the lessee. 

14 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall not infringe upon lease 

15 rights under leases issued under this Act by indefinitely 

16 delaying issuance of project approvals, drilling and seismic 

17 permits, and rights of way for activities under such a 

18 lease. 

19 ‘‘(C) No later than 18 months after an area is des20 ignated as open under the current land use plan the Sec21 retary shall make available nominated areas for lease 

22 under the criteria in section 2. 

23 ‘‘(D) Notwithstanding any other law, the Secretary 

24 shall issue all leases sold no later than 60 days after the 

25 last payment is made. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
70 

•HR 4899 IH

1 ‘‘(E) The Secretary shall not cancel or withdraw any 

2 lease parcel after a competitive lease sale has occurred and 

3 a winning bidder has submitted the last payment for the 

4 parcel. 

5 ‘‘(F) Not later than 60 days after a lease sale held 

6 under this Act, the Secretary shall adjudicate any lease 

7 protests filed following a lease sale. If after 60 days any 

8 protest is left unsettled, said protest is automatically de9 nied and appeal rights of the protestor begin. 

10 ‘‘(G) No additional lease stipulations may be added 

11 after the parcel is sold without consultation and agree12 ment of the lessee, unless the Secretary deems such stipu13 lations as emergency actions to conserve the resources of 

14 the United States.’’. 

15 SEC. 21204. LEASING CONSISTENCY. 

16 Federal land managers must follow existing resource 

17 management plans and continue to actively lease in areas 

18 designated as open when resource management plans are 

19 being amended or revised, until such time as a new record 

20 of decision is signed. 

21 SEC. 21205. REDUCE REDUNDANT POLICIES. 

22 Bureau of Land Management Instruction Memo23 randum 2010–117 shall have no force or effect. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
71 

•HR 4899 IH

1 SEC. 21206. STREAMLINED CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICA2 TION. 

3 Section 31(e) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

4 188(e)) is amended in the matter following paragraph (4) 

5 by striking ‘‘at least thirty days in advance of the rein6 statement’’ and inserting ‘‘in an annual report’’. 

7 CHAPTER 3—OIL SHALE 

8 SEC. 21301. SHORT TITLE. 

9 This chapter may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Invest10 ment in Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, 

11 Energy, and Resource Security Act’’ or the ‘‘PIONEERS 

12 Act’’. 

13 SEC. 21302. EFFECTIVENESS OF OIL SHALE REGULATIONS, 

14 AMENDMENTS TO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 

15 PLANS, AND RECORD OF DECISION. 

16 (a) REGULATIONS.—Notwithstanding any other law 

17 or regulation to the contrary, the final regulations regard18 ing oil shale management published by the Bureau of 

19 Land Management on November 18, 2008 (73 Fed. Reg. 

20 69,414), are deemed to satisfy all legal and procedural re21 quirements under any law, including the Federal Land 

22 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 

23 seq.), the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

24 1531 et seq.), and the National Environmental Policy Act 

25 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and the Secretary of 

26 the Interior shall implement those regulations, including 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
72 

•HR 4899 IH

1 the oil shale leasing program authorized by the regula2 tions, without any other administrative action necessary. 

3 (b) AMENDMENTS TO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

4 PLANS AND RECORD OF DECISION.—Notwithstanding 

5 any other law or regulation to the contrary, the November 

6 17, 2008 U.S. Bureau of Land Management Approved Re7 source Management Plan Amendments/Record of Decision 

8 for Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources to Address Land 

9 Use Allocations in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming and 

10 Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement are 

11 deemed to satisfy all legal and procedural requirements 

12 under any law, including the Federal Land Policy and 

13 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the 

14 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 

15 and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

16 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and the Secretary of the Interior 

17 shall implement the oil shale leasing program authorized 

18 by the regulations referred to in subsection (a) in those 

19 areas covered by the resource management plans amended 

20 by such amendments, and covered by such record of deci21 sion, without any other administrative action necessary. 

22 SEC. 21303. OIL SHALE LEASING. 

23 (a) ADDITIONAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

24 LEASE SALES.—The Secretary of the Interior shall hold 

25 a lease sale within 180 days after the date of enactment 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
73 

•HR 4899 IH

1 of this Act offering an additional 10 parcels for lease for 

2 research, development, and demonstration of oil shale re3 sources, under the terms offered in the solicitation of bids 

4 for such leases published on January 15, 2009 (74 Fed. 

5 Reg. 10). 

6 (b) COMMERCIAL LEASE SALES.—No later than Jan7 uary 1, 2016, the Secretary of the Interior shall hold no 

8 less than 5 separate commercial lease sales in areas con9 sidered to have the most potential for oil shale develop10 ment, as determined by the Secretary, in areas nominated 

11 through public comment. Each lease sale shall be for an 

12 area of not less than 25,000 acres, and in multiple lease 

13 blocs. 

14 CHAPTER 4—MISCELLANEOUS 

15 PROVISIONS 

16 SEC. 21401. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

17 Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed to author18 ize the issuance of a lease under the Mineral Leasing Act 

19 (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) to any person designated for the 

20 imposition of sanctions pursuant to— 

21 (1) the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (50 U.S.C. 

22 1701 note), the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Ac23 countability and Divestiture Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 

24 8501 et seq.), the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria 

25 Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8701 et 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
74 

•HR 4899 IH

1 seq.), section 1245 of the National Defense Author2 ization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8513a), 

3 or the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act 

4 of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8801 et seq.); 

5 (2) Executive Order No. 13622 (July 30, 

6 2012), Executive Order No. 13628 (October 9, 

7 2012), or Executive Order No. 13645 (June 3, 

8 2013); 

9 (3) Executive Order No. 13224 (September 23, 

10 2001) or Executive Order No. 13338 (May 11, 

11 2004); or 

12 (4) the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sov13 ereignty Restoration Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 2151 

14 note). 

15 Subtitle B—Planning for American 

16 Energy 

17 SEC. 22001. SHORT TITLE. 

18 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Planning for Amer19 ican Energy Act of 2014’’. 

20 SEC. 22002. ONSHORE DOMESTIC ENERGY PRODUCTION 

21 STRATEGIC PLAN. 

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

23 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by redesignating section 

24 44 as section 45, and by inserting after section 43 the 

25 following: 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
75 

•HR 4899 IH

1 ‘‘SEC. 44. QUADRENNIAL STRATEGIC FEDERAL ONSHORE 

2 ENERGY PRODUCTION STRATEGY. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

4 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of the Interior (hereafter in 

5 this section referred to as ‘Secretary’), in consulta6 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture with regard to 

7 lands administered by the Forest Service, shall de8 velop and publish every 4 years a Quadrennial Fed9 eral Onshore Energy Production Strategy. This 

10 Strategy shall direct Federal land energy develop11 ment and department resource allocation in order to 

12 promote the energy and national security of the 

13 United States in accordance with Bureau of Land 

14 Management’s mission of promoting the multiple use 

15 of Federal lands as set forth in the Federal Land 

16 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

17 1701 et seq.). 

18 ‘‘(2) In developing this Strategy, the Secretary 

19 shall consult with the Administrator of the Energy 

20 Information Administration on the projected energy 

21 demands of the United States for the next 30-year 

22 period, and how energy derived from Federal on23 shore lands can put the United States on a trajec24 tory to meet that demand during the next 4-year pe25 riod. The Secretary shall consider how Federal lands 

26 will contribute to ensuring national energy security, 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
76 

•HR 4899 IH

1 with a goal for increasing energy independence and 

2 production, during the next 4-year period. 

3 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall determine a domestic 

4 strategic production objective for the development of 

5 energy resources from Federal onshore lands. Such 

6 objective shall be— 

7 ‘‘(A) the best estimate, based upon com8 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in9 crease in domestic production of oil and natural 

10 gas from the Federal onshore mineral estate, 

11 with a focus on lands held by the Bureau of 

12 Land Management and the Forest Service; 

13 ‘‘(B) the best estimate, based upon com14 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in15 crease in domestic coal production from Federal 

16 lands; 

17 ‘‘(C) the best estimate, based upon com18 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in19 crease in domestic production of strategic and 

20 critical energy minerals from the Federal on21 shore mineral estate; 

22 ‘‘(D) the best estimate, based upon com23 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in24 crease in megawatts for electricity production 

25 from each of the following sources: wind, solar, 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
77 

•HR 4899 IH

1 biomass, hydropower, and geothermal energy 

2 produced on Federal lands administered by the 

3 Bureau of Land Management and the Forest 

4 Service; 

5 ‘‘(E) the best estimate, based upon com6 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in7 crease in unconventional energy production, 

8 such as oil shale; 

9 ‘‘(F) the best estimate, based upon com10 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in11 crease in domestic production of oil, natural 

12 gas, coal, and other renewable sources from 

13 tribal lands for any federally recognized Indian 

14 tribe that elects to participate in facilitating en15 ergy production on its lands; 

16 ‘‘(G) the best estimate, based upon com17 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in18 crease in production of helium on Federal lands 

19 administered by the Bureau of Land Manage20 ment and the Forest Service; and 

21 ‘‘(H) the best estimate, based upon com22 mercial and scientific data, of the expected in23 crease in domestic production of geothermal, 

24 solar, wind, or other renewable energy sources 

25 from ‘available lands’ (as such term is defined 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
78 

•HR 4899 IH

1 in section 203 of the Hawaiian Homes Commis2 sion Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108 et seq.), and in3 cluding any other lands deemed by the Terri4 tory or State of Hawaii, as the case may be, to 

5 be included within that definition) that the 

6 agency or department of the government of the 

7 State of Hawaii that is responsible for the ad8 ministration of such lands selects to be used for 

9 such energy production. 

10 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall consult with the Ad11 ministrator of the Energy Information Administra12 tion regarding the methodology used to arrive at its 

13 estimates for purposes of this section. 

14 ‘‘(5) The Secretary has the authority to expand 

15 the energy development plan to include other energy 

16 production technology sources or advancements in 

17 energy on Federal lands. 

18 ‘‘(6) The Secretary shall include in the Strategy 

19 a plan for addressing new demands for transmission 

20 lines and pipelines for distribution of oil and gas 

21 across Federal lands to ensure that energy produced 

22 can be distributed to areas of need. 

23 ‘‘(b) TRIBAL OBJECTIVES.—It is the sense of Con24 gress that federally recognized Indian tribes may elect to 

25 set their own production objectives as part of the Strategy 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
79 

•HR 4899 IH

1 under this section. The Secretary shall work in coopera2 tion with any federally recognized Indian tribe that elects 

3 to participate in achieving its own strategic energy objec4 tives designated under this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(c) EXECUTION OF THE STRATEGY.—The relevant 

6 Secretary shall have all necessary authority to make deter7 minations regarding which additional lands will be made 

8 available in order to meet the production objectives estab9 lished by strategies under this section. The Secretary shall 

10 also take all necessary actions to achieve these production 

11 objectives unless the President determines that it is not 

12 in the national security and economic interests of the 

13 United States to increase Federal domestic energy produc14 tion and to further decrease dependence upon foreign 

15 sources of energy. In administering this section, the rel16 evant Secretary shall only consider leasing Federal lands 

17 available for leasing at the time the lease sale occurs. 

18 ‘‘(d) STATE, FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED INDIAN

19 TRIBES, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, AND PUBLIC INPUT.—In 

20 developing each strategy, the Secretary shall solicit the 

21 input of affected States, federally recognized Indian tribes, 

22 local governments, and the public. 

23 ‘‘(e) REPORTING.—The Secretary shall report annu24 ally to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

25 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
80 

•HR 4899 IH

1 Natural Resources of the Senate on the progress of meet2 ing the production goals set forth in the strategy. The Sec3 retary shall identify in the report projections for produc4 tion and capacity installations and any problems with leas5 ing, permitting, siting, or production that will prevent 

6 meeting the goal. In addition, the Secretary shall make 

7 suggestions to help meet any shortfalls in meeting the pro8 duction goals. 

9 ‘‘(f) PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

10 STATEMENT.—Not later than 12 months after the date 

11 of enactment of this section, in accordance with section 

12 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

13 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), the Secretary shall com14 plete a programmatic environmental impact statement. 

15 This programmatic environmental impact statement will 

16 be deemed sufficient to comply with all requirements 

17 under that Act for all necessary resource management and 

18 land use plans associated with the implementation of the 

19 strategy. 

20 ‘‘(g) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW.—At least 60 days 

21 prior to publishing a proposed strategy under this section, 

22 the Secretary shall submit it to the President and the Con23 gress, together with any comments received from States, 

24 federally recognized Indian tribes, and local governments. 

25 Such submission shall indicate why any specific recVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:55 Jun 20, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00080 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4899.IH H4899

dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
81 

•HR 4899 IH

1 ommendation of a State, federally recognized Indian tribe, 

2 or local government was not accepted. 

3 ‘‘(h) STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL ENERGY MINERALS

4 DEFINED.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘stra5 tegic and critical energy minerals’ means those that are 

6 necessary for the Nation’s energy infrastructure including 

7 pipelines, refining capacity, electrical power generation 

8 and transmission, and renewable energy production and 

9 those that are necessary to support domestic manufac10 turing, including but not limited to, materials used in en11 ergy generation, production, and transportation.’’. 

12 (b) FIRST QUADRENNIAL STRATEGY.—Not later 

13 than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 

14 the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to Congress the 

15 first Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy Production 

16 Strategy under the amendment made by subsection (a). 

17 Subtitle C—National Petroleum 

18 Reserve in Alaska Access 

19 SEC. 23001. SHORT TITLE. 

20 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘National Petro21 leum Reserve Alaska Access Act’’. 

22 SEC. 23002. SENSE OF CONGRESS AND REAFFIRMING NA23 TIONAL POLICY FOR THE NATIONAL PETRO24 LEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA. 

25 It is the sense of Congress that— 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
82 

•HR 4899 IH

1 (1) the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska 

2 remains explicitly designated, both in name and legal 

3 status, for purposes of providing oil and natural gas 

4 resources to the United States; and 

5 (2) accordingly, the national policy is to actively 

6 advance oil and gas development within the Reserve 

7 by facilitating the expeditious exploration, produc8 tion, and transportation of oil and natural gas from 

9 and through the Reserve. 

10 SEC. 23003. NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA: 

11 LEASE SALES. 

12 Section 107(a) of the Naval Petroleum Reserves Pro13 duction Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6506a(a)) is amended to 

14 read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct an 

16 expeditious program of competitive leasing of oil and gas 

17 in the reserve in accordance with this Act. Such program 

18 shall include at least one lease sale annually in those areas 

19 of the reserve most likely to produce commercial quantities 

20 of oil and natural gas each year in the period 2014 

21 through 2024.’’. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
83 

•HR 4899 IH

1 SEC. 23004. NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA: 

2 PLANNING AND PERMITTING PIPELINE AND 

3 ROAD CONSTRUCTION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi5 sion of law, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation 

6 with other appropriate Federal agencies, shall facilitate 

7 and ensure permits, in a timely and environmentally re8 sponsible manner, for all surface development activities, 

9 including for the construction of pipelines and roads, nec10 essary to— 

11 (1) develop and bring into production any areas 

12 within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska 

13 that are subject to oil and gas leases; and 

14 (2) transport oil and gas from and through the 

15 National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska in the most 

16 direct manner possible to existing transportation or 

17 processing infrastructure on the North Slope of 

18 Alaska. 

19 (b) TIMELINE.—The Secretary shall ensure that any 

20 Federal permitting agency shall issue permits in accord21 ance with the following timeline: 

22 (1) Permits for such construction for transpor23 tation of oil and natural gas produced under existing 

24 Federal oil and gas leases with respect to which the 

25 Secretary has issued a permit to drill shall be apVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:55 Jun 20, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00083 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4899.IH H4899

dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
84 

•HR 4899 IH

1 proved within 60 days after the date of enactment 

2 of this Act. 

3 (2) Permits for such construction for transpor4 tation of oil and natural gas produced under Federal 

5 oil and gas leases shall be approved within 6 months 

6 after the submission to the Secretary of a request 

7 for a permit to drill. 

8 (c) PLAN.—To ensure timely future development of 

9 the Reserve, within 270 days after the date of the enact10 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit 

11 to Congress a plan for approved rights-of-way for a plan 

12 for pipeline, road, and any other surface infrastructure 

13 that may be necessary infrastructure that will ensure that 

14 all leasable tracts in the Reserve are within 25 miles of 

15 an approved road and pipeline right-of-way that can serve 

16 future development of the Reserve. 

17 SEC. 23005. ISSUANCE OF A NEW INTEGRATED ACTIVITY 

18 PLAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATE19 MENT. 

20 (a) ISSUANCE OF NEW INTEGRATED ACTIVITY

21 PLAN.—The Secretary of the Interior shall, within 180 

22 days after the date of enactment of this Act, issue— 

23 (1) a new proposed integrated activity plan 

24 from among the non-adopted alternatives in the Na25 tional Petroleum Reserve Alaska Integrated Activity 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
85 

•HR 4899 IH

1 Plan Record of Decision issued by the Secretary of 

2 the Interior and dated February 21, 2013; and 

3 (2) an environmental impact statement under 

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

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

6 issuance of oil and gas leases in the National Petro7 leum Reserve-Alaska to promote efficient and max8 imum development of oil and natural gas resources 

9 of such reserve. 

10 (b) NULLIFICATION OF EXISTING RECORD OF DECI11 SION, IAP, AND EIS.—Except as provided in subsection 

12 (a), the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Integrated 

13 Activity Plan Record of Decision issued by the Secretary 

14 of the Interior and dated February 21, 2013, including 

15 the integrated activity plan and environmental impact 

16 statement referred to in that record of decision, shall have 

17 no force or effect. 

18 SEC. 23006. DEPARTMENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR DEVEL19 OPMENT. 

20 The Secretary of the Interior shall issue regulations 

21 not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

22 this Act that establish clear requirements to ensure that 

23 the Department of the Interior is supporting development 

24 of oil and gas leases in the National Petroleum Reserve25 Alaska. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
86 

•HR 4899 IH

1 SEC. 23007. DEADLINES UNDER NEW PROPOSED INTE2 GRATED ACTIVITY PLAN. 

3 At a minimum, the new proposed integrated activity 

4 plan issued under section 23005(a)(1) shall— 

5 (1) require the Department of the Interior to 

6 respond within 5 business days to a person who sub7 mits an application for a permit for development of 

8 oil and natural gas leases in the National Petroleum 

9 Reserve-Alaska acknowledging receipt of such appli10 cation; and 

11 (2) establish a timeline for the processing of 

12 each such application, that— 

13 (A) specifies deadlines for decisions and 

14 actions on permit applications; and 

15 (B) provides that the period for issuing 

16 each permit after submission of such an appli17 cation shall not exceed 60 days without the con18 currence of the applicant. 

19 SEC. 23008. UPDATED RESOURCE ASSESSMENT. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 

21 complete a comprehensive assessment of all technically re22 coverable fossil fuel resources within the National Petro23 leum Reserve in Alaska, including all conventional and un24 conventional oil and natural gas. 

25 (b) COOPERATION AND CONSULTATION.—The re26 source assessment required by subsection (a) shall be carVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:55 Jun 20, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00086 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4899.IH H4899

dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
87 

•HR 4899 IH

1 ried out by the United States Geological Survey in co2 operation and consultation with the State of Alaska and 

3 the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. 

4 (c) TIMING.—The resource assessment required by 

5 subsection (a) shall be completed within 24 months of the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 (d) FUNDING.—The United States Geological Survey 

8 may, in carrying out the duties under this section, coop9 eratively use resources and funds provided by the State 

10 of Alaska. 

11 Subtitle D—BLM Live Internet 

12 Auctions 

13 SEC. 24001. SHORT TITLE. 

14 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘BLM Live Internet 

15 Auctions Act’’. 

16 SEC. 24002. INTERNET-BASED ONSHORE OIL AND GAS 

17 LEASE SALES. 

18 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 17(b)(1) of the Min19 eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)) is amended— 

20 (1) in subparagraph (A), in the third sentence, 

21 by inserting ‘‘, except as provided in subparagraph 

22 (C)’’ after ‘‘by oral bidding’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘(C) In order to diversify and expand the Nation’s 

25 onshore leasing program to ensure the best return to the 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
88 

•HR 4899 IH

1 Federal taxpayer, reduce fraud, and secure the leasing 

2 process, the Secretary may conduct onshore lease sales 

3 through Internet-based bidding methods. Each individual 

4 Internet-based lease sale shall conclude within 7 days.’’. 

5 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the tenth 

6 Internet-based lease sale conducted under the amendment 

7 made by subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall 

8 analyze the first 10 such lease sales and report to Con9 gress the findings of the analysis. The report shall in10 clude— 

11 (1) estimates on increases or decreases in such 

12 lease sales, compared to sales conducted by oral bid13 ding, in— 

14 (A) the number of bidders; 

15 (B) the average amount of bid; 

16 (C) the highest amount bid; and 

17 (D) the lowest bid; 

18 (2) an estimate on the total cost or savings to 

19 the Department of the Interior as a result of such 

20 sales, compared to sales conducted by oral bidding; 

21 and 

22 (3) an evaluation of the demonstrated or ex23 pected effectiveness of different structures for lease 

24 sales which may provide an opportunity to better 

25 maximize bidder participation, ensure the highest reVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:55 Jun 20, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00088 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4899.IH H4899

dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
89 

•HR 4899 IH

1 turn to the Federal taxpayers, minimize opportuni2 ties for fraud or collusion, and ensure the security 

3 and integrity of the leasing process. 

Æ 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS