I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 793

To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to authorize the Secretary 

of the Interior to grant easements and rights-of-way on the Outer Continental Shelf for activities otherwise authorized by that Act. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2003

Mrs. CUBIN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Resources 

A BILL

To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to grant easements 

and rights-of-way on the Outer Continental Shelf for 

activities otherwise authorized by that Act.

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

3 SECTION 1. ALTERNATE ENERGY-RELATED USES ON THE 

4 OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF. 

5 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are as 

6 follows: 

7 (1) To protect the economic and land use inter8 ests of the Federal Government in the management 
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1 of the Outer Continental Shelf for energy-related 

2 and certain other purposes. 

3 (2) To provide an administrative framework for 

4 the oversight and management of energy-related ac5 tivities on the Outer Continental Shelf, consistent 

6 with other applicable laws. 

7 (3) To expedite projects to increase the produc8 tion, transmission, or conservation of energy on the 

9 Outer Continental Shelf. 

10 (4) To provide for interagency coordination in 

11 the siting and permitting of energy-related activities 

12 on the Outer Continental Shelf. 

13 (5) To ensure that energy-related activities on 

14 the Outer Continental Shelf are conducted in a man15 ner that provides for safety, protection of the envi16 ronment, prevention of waste, conservation of nat17 ural resources, the protection of correlative rights, 

18 and protection of national security interests. 

19 (6) To authorize alternate uses of existing 

20 structures and facilities previously permitted under 

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

22 1331 note). 

23 (7) To ensure that the Federal Government re24 ceives a fair return for any easement or right-of-way 
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1 granted under section 8(p) of the Outer Continental 

2 Shelf Lands Act. 

3 (b) AMENDMENT TO OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF

4 LANDS ACT.—Section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf 

5 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(p) EASEMENTS OR RIGHTS-OF-WAY FOR ENERGY

8 AND RELATED PURPOSES.—

9 ‘‘(1) The Secretary, in consultation with the 

10 Secretary of the Department in which the Coast 

11 Guard is operating and other relevant departments 

12 and agencies of the Federal government, may grant 

13 an easement or right-of-way on the outer Conti14 nental Shelf for activities not otherwise authorized 

15 in this Act, the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33 

16 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.), or the Ocean Thermal Energy 

17 Conversion Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.), or 

18 other applicable law when such activities—

19 ‘‘(A) support exploration, development, 

20 production, transportation, or storage of oil, 

21 natural gas, or other minerals; 

22 ‘‘(B) produce or support production, trans23 portation, or transmission of energy from 

24 sources other than oil and gas; or 
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1 ‘‘(C) use facilities currently or previously 

2 used for activities authorized under this Act. 

3 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary shall establish reason4 able forms of annual or one-time payments for any 

5 easement or right-of-way granted under this sub6 section. Such payments shall not be assessed on the 

7 basis of throughput or production. The Secretary 

8 may establish fees, rentals, bonus, or other payments 

9 by rule or by agreement with the party to whom the 

10 easement or right-of-way is granted. 

11 ‘‘(B) Before exercising the authority granted 

12 under this subsection, the Secretary shall consult 

13 with the Secretary of Defense and other appropriate 

14 agencies concerning issues related to national secu15 rity and navigational obstruction. 

16 ‘‘(C) The Secretary is authorized to issue an 

17 easement or right-of-way for energy and related pur18 poses as described in paragraph (1) on a competitive 

19 or noncompetitive basis. In determining whether 

20 such easement or right-of-way shall be granted com21 petitively or noncompetitively, the Secretary shall 

22 consider such factors as prevention of waste and 

23 conservation of natural resources, the economic via24 bility of an energy project, protection of the environ25 ment, the national interest, national security, human 
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1 safety, protection of correlative rights, and the po2 tential return for the easement or right-of-way. 

3 ‘‘(3) The Secretary, in consultation with the 

4 Secretary of the Department in which the Coast 

5 Guard is operating and other relevant departments 

6 and agencies of the Federal Government and af7 fected States, shall prescribe any necessary regula8 tions to assure safety, protection of the environment, 

9 prevention of waste, and conservation of the natural 

10 resources of the outer Continental Shelf, protection 

11 of national security interests, and the protection of 

12 correlative rights therein. 

13 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall require the holder of 

14 an easement or right-of-way granted under this sub15 section to furnish a surety bond or other form of se16 curity, as prescribed by the Secretary, and to comply 

17 with such other requirements as the Secretary may 

18 deem necessary to protect the interests of the United 

19 States. 

20 ‘‘(5) Nothing in this subsection shall be con21 strued to displace, supersede, limit, or modify the ju22 risdiction, responsibility, or authority of any Federal 

23 or State agency under any other Federal law. 
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1 ‘‘(6) This subsection shall not apply to any area 

2 on the outer Continental Shelf designated as a Na3 tional Marine Sanctuary.’’. 

4 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The text of the 

5 heading for section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf 

6 Lands Act is amended to read as follows: ‘‘LEASES, EASE7 MENTS, AND RIGHTS-OF-WAY ON THE OUTER CONTI8 NENTAL SHELF.’’.

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