I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4611 

To enable increased gasoline supplies and otherwise ensure lower gasoline 

prices in the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 17, 2004 

Mr. VITTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Resources, Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Ways and 

Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To enable increased gasoline supplies and otherwise ensure 

lower gasoline prices in the United States. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gasoline Price Reduc5 tion and Refinery Tax Fairness Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. POLICY. 

7 It is the policy of the United States to take all actions 

8 necessary in the areas of conservation, efficiency, alter-
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1 native sources, technology development, and domestic pro2 duction to reduce the United States dependence on foreign 

3 energy sources by January 1, 2014, to 45 percent of the 

4 Nation’s total energy needs. 

5 SEC. 3. OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION DE6 FINED. 

7 Section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

8 Act (33 U.S.C. 1362) is amended by adding at the end 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(24) OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION AND PRO11 DUCTION.—The term ‘oil and gas exploration, pro12 duction, processing, or treatment operations or 

13 transmission facilities’ means all field activities or 

14 operations associated with exploration, production, 

15 processing, or treatment operations, or transmission 

16 facilities, including activities necessary to prepare a 

17 site for drilling and for the movement and placement 

18 of drilling equipment, whether or not such field ac19 tivities or operations may be considered to be con20 struction activities.’’. 

21 SEC. 4. OFFICE OF FEDERAL ENERGY PROJECT COORDINA22 TION. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 

24 the Office of Federal Energy Project Coordination (re25 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Office’’) within the Execu-
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1 tive Office of the President in the same manner and with 

2 the same mission as the White House Energy Projects 

3 Task Force established by Executive Order No. 13212 (42 

4 U.S.C. 13201 note). 

5 (b) STAFFING.—The Office shall be staffed by func6 tional experts from relevant Federal agencies on a non7 reimbursable basis to carry out the mission of the Office. 

8 (c) REPORT.—The Office shall transmit an annual 

9 report to Congress that describes the activities put in place 

10 to coordinate and expedite Federal decisions on energy 

11 projects. The report shall list accomplishments in improv12 ing the Federal decisionmaking process and shall include 

13 any additional recommendations or systemic changes 

14 needed to establish a more effective and efficient Federal 

15 permitting process. 

16 SEC. 5. FEDERAL ONSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING AND 

17 PERMITTING PRACTICES. 

18 (a) REVIEW OF ONSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING

19 PRACTICES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte21 rior, in consultation with the Secretary of Agri22 culture with respect to National Forest System lands 

23 under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agri24 culture, shall perform an internal review of current 
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1 Federal onshore oil and gas leasing and permitting 

2 practices. 

3 (2) INCLUSIONS.—The review shall include the 

4 process for— 

5 (A) accepting or rejecting offers to lease; 

6 (B) administrative appeals of decisions or 

7 orders of officers or employees of the Bureau of 

8 Land Management with respect to a Federal oil 

9 or gas lease; 

10 (C) considering surface use plans of oper11 ation, including the timeframes in which the 

12 plans are considered, and any recommendations 

13 for improving and expediting the process; and 

14 (D) identifying stipulations to address site15 specific concerns and conditions, including those 

16 stipulations relating to the environment and re17 source use conflicts. 

18 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

19 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and 

20 the Secretary of Agriculture shall transmit a report to 

21 Congress that describes— 

22 (1) actions taken under section 3 of Executive 

23 Order No. 13212 (42 U.S.C. 13201 note); and 

24 (2) actions taken or any plans to improve the 

25 Federal onshore oil and gas leasing program. 
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1 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT OF FEDERAL OIL AND GAS LEASING 

2 PROGRAMS. 

3 (a) TIMELY ACTION ON LEASES AND PERMITS.—To 

4 ensure timely action on oil and gas leases and applications 

5 for permits to drill on land otherwise available for leasing, 

6 the Secretary of the Interior (in this section referred to 

7 as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall— 

8 (1) ensure expeditious compliance with section 

9 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act 

10 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)); 

11 (2) improve consultation and coordination with 

12 the States and the public; and 

13 (3) improve the collection, storage, and retrieval 

14 of information relating to the leasing activities. 

15 (b) BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec18 retary shall develop and implement best manage19 ment practices to— 

20 (A) improve the administration of the on21 shore oil and gas leasing program under the 

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

23 and 

24 (B) ensure timely action on oil and gas 

25 leases and applications for permits to drill on 

26 lands otherwise available for leasing. 
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1 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the best 

2 management practices under paragraph (1), the Sec3 retary shall consider any recommendations from the 

4 review under section 5. 

5 (3) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the development of best management practices 

7 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall publish, for 

8 public comment, proposed regulations that set forth 

9 specific timeframes for processing leases and appli10 cations in accordance with the practices, including 

11 deadlines for— 

12 (A) approving or disapproving resource 

13 management plans and related documents, lease 

14 applications, and surface use plans; and 

15 (B) related administrative appeals. 

16 (c) IMPROVED ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary shall 

17 improve inspection and enforcement of oil and gas activi18 ties, including enforcement of terms and conditions in per19 mits to drill. 

20 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi21 tion to amounts authorized to be appropriated to carry 

22 out section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

23 226), there are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec24 retary for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2008— 
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1 (1) $40,000,000 to carry out subsections (a) 

2 and (b); and 

3 (2) $20,000,000 to carry out subsection (c). 

4 SEC. 7. CONSULTATION REGARDING OIL AND GAS LEASING 

5 ON PUBLIC LAND. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior 

8 and the Secretary of Agriculture shall enter into a memo9 randum of understanding regarding oil and gas leasing 

10 on— 

11 (1) public lands under the jurisdiction of the 

12 Secretary of the Interior; and 

13 (2) National Forest System lands under the ju14 risdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture. 

15 (b) CONTENTS.—The memorandum of understanding 

16 shall include provisions that— 

17 (1) establish administrative procedures and 

18 lines of authority that ensure timely processing of oil 

19 and gas lease applications, surface use plans of oper20 ation, and applications for permits to drill, including 

21 steps for processing surface use plans and applica22 tions for permits to drill consistent with the 

23 timelines established by the amendment made by 

24 section 10; 
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1 (2) eliminate duplication of effort by providing 

2 for coordination of planning and environmental com3 pliance efforts; and 

4 (3) ensure that lease stipulations are— 

5 (A) applied consistently; 

6 (B) coordinated between agencies; and 

7 (C) only as restrictive as necessary to pro8 tect the resource for which the stipulations are 

9 applied. 

10 (c) DATA RETRIEVAL SYSTEM.— 

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

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

13 the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall 

14 establish a joint data retrieval system that is capable 

15 of— 

16 (A) tracking applications and formal re17 quests made in accordance with procedures of 

18 the Federal onshore oil and gas leasing pro19 gram; and 

20 (B) providing information regarding the 

21 status of the applications and requests within 

22 the Department of the Interior and the Depart23 ment of Agriculture. 

24 (2) RESOURCE MAPPING.—Not later than 2 

25 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
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1 Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agri2 culture shall establish a joint Geographic Informa3 tion System mapping system for use in— 

4 (A) tracking surface resource values to aid 

5 in resource management; and 

6 (B) processing surface use plans of oper7 ation and applications for permits to drill. 

8 SEC. 8. ESTIMATES OF OIL AND GAS RESOURCES UNDER9 LYING ONSHORE FEDERAL LAND. 

10 (a) ASSESSMENT.—Section 604 of the Energy Act of 

11 2000 (42 U.S.C. 6217) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘reserve’’; and 

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semi16 colon; and 

17 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert18 ing the following: 

19 ‘‘(2) the extent and nature of any restrictions 

20 or impediments to the development of the resources, 

21 including— 

22 ‘‘(A) impediments to the timely granting of 

23 leases; 

24 ‘‘(B) post-lease restrictions, impediments, 

25 or delays on development for conditions of ap-
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1 proval, applications for permits to drill, or proc2 essing of environmental permits; and 

3 ‘‘(C) permits or restrictions associated with 

4 transporting the resources for entry into com5 merce; and 

6 ‘‘(3) the quantity of resources not produced or 

7 introduced into commerce because of the restric8 tions.’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (b)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘reserve’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘resource’’; and 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘publically’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘publicly’’; and 

14 (3) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(d) ASSESSMENTS.—Using the inventory, the Sec17 retary of Energy shall make periodic assessments of eco18 nomically recoverable resources accounting for a range of 

19 parameters such as current costs, commodity prices, tech20 nology, and regulations.’’. 

21 (b) METHODOLOGY.—The Secretary of the Interior 

22 shall use the same assessment methodology across all geo23 logical provinces, areas, and regions in preparing and 

24 issuing national geological assessments to ensure accurate 

25 comparisons of geological resources. 
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1 SEC. 9. COMPLIANCE WITH EXECUTIVE ORDER 13211; AC2 TIONS CONCERNING REGULATIONS THAT 

3 SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT ENERGY SUPPLY, 

4 DISTRIBUTION, OR USE. 

5 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The head of each Federal agen6 cy shall require that before the Federal agency takes any 

7 action that could have a significant adverse effect on the 

8 supply of domestic energy resources from Federal public 

9 land, the Federal agency taking the action shall comply 

10 with Executive Order No. 13211 (42 U.S.C. 13201 note). 

11 (b) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy 

13 shall publish guidance for purposes of this section describ14 ing what constitutes a significant adverse effect on the 

15 supply of domestic energy resources under Executive 

16 Order No. 13211 (42 U.S.C. 13201 note). 

17 (c) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Sec18 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture 

19 shall include in the memorandum of understanding under 

20 section 7 provisions for implementing subsection (a) of 

21 this section. 

22 SEC. 10. DEADLINE FOR CONSIDERATION OF APPLICA23 TIONS FOR PERMITS. 

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

25 226) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(p) DEADLINES FOR CONSIDERATION OF APPLICA2 TIONS FOR PERMITS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 10 days 

4 after the date on which the Secretary receives an ap5 plication for any permit to drill, the Secretary 

6 shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) notify the applicant that the applica8 tion is complete; or 

9 ‘‘(B) notify the applicant that information 

10 is missing and specify any information that is 

11 required to be submitted for the application to 

12 be complete. 

13 ‘‘(2) ISSUANCE OR DEFERRAL.—Not later than 

14 30 days after the applicant for a permit has sub15 mitted a complete application, the Secretary shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) issue the permit; or 

17 ‘‘(B)(i) defer decision on the permit; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) provide to the applicant a notice that 

19 specifies any steps that the applicant could take 

20 for the permit to be issued. 

21 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR DEFERRED APPLICA22 TIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary pro24 vides notice under paragraph (2)(B)(ii), the ap25 plicant shall have a period of 2 years from the 
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1 date of receipt of the notice in which to com2 plete all requirements specified by the Sec3 retary, including providing information needed 

4 for compliance with the National Environmental 

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

6 ‘‘(B) ISSUANCE OF DECISION ON PER7 MIT.—If the applicant completes the require8 ments within the period specified in subpara9 graph (A), the Secretary shall issue a decision 

10 on the permit not later than 10 days after the 

11 date of completion of the requirements de12 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

13 ‘‘(C) DENIAL OF PERMIT.—If the appli14 cant does not complete the requirements within 

15 the period specified in subparagraph (A), the 

16 Secretary shall deny the permit. 

17 ‘‘(q) REPORT.—On a quarterly basis, each field office 

18 of the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Serv19 ice shall transmit to the Secretary of the Interior or the 

20 Secretary of Agriculture, respectively, a report that— 

21 ‘‘(1) specifies the number of applications for 

22 permits to drill received by the field office in the pe23 riod covered by the report; and 

24 ‘‘(2) describes how each of the applications was 

25 disposed of by the field office.’’. 
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1 SEC. 11. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS. 

2 In issuing any rule or order relating to gasoline pro3 duction and distribution, a Federal agency shall include 

4 a detailed analysis of the effects the rule or order would 

5 have on gasoline supply. Each Federal agency shall seek 

6 to ensure that no such rule or order is issued that will 

7 increase United States dependence on foreign sources of 

8 oil. 

9 SEC. 12. ACCELERATED DEPRECIATION FOR REFINERY MA10 CHINERY. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (B) of section 

12 168(e)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating 

13 to classification of property) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ 

14 at the end of clause (v), by striking the period at the end 

15 of clause (vi) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the 

16 end the following new clause: 

17 ‘‘(vii) any refinery machinery.’’. 

18 (b) ALTERNATIVE SYSTEM.—The table contained in 

19 section 168(g)(3)(B) of such Code is amended by inserting 

20 after the item relating to subparagraph (B)(iii) the fol21 lowing new item: 

‘‘(B)(vii) .................................................................................................... 10’’. 

22 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

23 this section shall apply to property placed in service after 

24 December 31, 2004. 
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1 SEC. 13. REFINERY PERMITTING PROCESS. 

2 Each Federal agency with authority to approve or 

3 disapprove actions affecting the siting or operation of 

4 United States refineries shall, within 180 days after re5 ceiving an application for such approval, either provide the 

6 approval or notify the applicant of the reasons for rejec7 tion along with an explanation of what steps would be nec8 essary to obtain approval. 

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