II 

Calendar No. 510 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3534 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 3, 2010 

Received; read the first time 

AUGUST 4, 2010 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 

AN ACT 

To provide greater efficiencies, transparency, returns, and 

accountability in the administration of Federal mineral 

and energy resources by consolidating administration of 

various Federal energy minerals management and leasing 

programs into one entity to be known as the Office 

of Federal Energy and Minerals Leasing of the Department of the Interior, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act 

6 of 2010’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—CREATION OF NEW DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

AGENCIES 

Sec. 101. Bureau of Energy and Resource Management. 

Sec. 102. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. 

Sec. 103. Office of Natural Resources Revenue. 

Sec. 104. Ethics. 

Sec. 105. References. 

Sec. 106. Abolishment of Minerals Management Service. 

Sec. 107. Conforming amendment. 

Sec. 108. Outer Continental Shelf Safety and Environmental Advisory Board. 

Sec. 109. Limitation on effect on development of ocean renewable energy resource facilities. 

TITLE II—FEDERAL OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT 

Subtitle A—Safety, Environmental, and Financial Reform of the Outer 

Continental Shelf Lands Act 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Definitions. 

Sec. 203. National policy for the Outer Continental Shelf. 

Sec. 204. Jurisdiction of laws on the Outer Continental Shelf. 

Sec. 205. Outer Continental Shelf leasing standard. 

Sec. 206. Leases, easements, and rights-of-way. 

Sec. 207. Disposition of revenues. 

Sec. 208. Exploration plans. 

Sec. 209. Outer Continental Shelf leasing program. 

Sec. 210. Environmental studies. 

Sec. 211. Safety regulations. 

Sec. 212. Enforcement of safety and environmental regulations. 

Sec. 213. Judicial review. 

Sec. 214. Remedies and penalties. 

Sec. 215. Uniform planning for Outer Continental Shelf. 

Sec. 216. Oil and gas information program. 

Sec. 217. Limitation on royalty-in-kind program. 

Sec. 218. Restrictions on employment. 

Sec. 219. Repeal of royalty relief provisions. 

Sec. 220. Manning and buy- and build-American requirements. 

Sec. 221. National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and 

Offshore Drilling. 

Sec. 222. Coordination and consultation with affected State and local governments. 

Sec. 223. Implementation. 

Sec. 224. Report on environmental baseline studies. 

Sec. 225. Cumulative impacts on marine mammal species and stocks and subsistence use. 

Subtitle B—Royalty Relief for American Consumers 


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Sec. 231. Short title. 

Sec. 232. Eligibility for new leases and the transfer of leases. 

Sec. 233. Price thresholds for royalty suspension provisions. 

Subtitle C—Limitation on Moratorium 

Sec. 241. Limitation of moratorium on certain permitting and drilling activities. 

TITLE III—OIL AND GAS ROYALTY REFORM 

Sec. 301. Amendments to definitions. 

Sec. 302. Compliance reviews. 

Sec. 303. Clarification of liability for royalty payments. 

Sec. 304. Required recordkeeping. 

Sec. 305. Fines and penalties. 

Sec. 306. Interest on overpayments. 

Sec. 307. Adjustments and refunds. 

Sec. 308. Conforming amendment. 

Sec. 309. Obligation period. 

Sec. 310. Notice regarding tolling agreements and subpoenas. 

Sec. 311. Appeals and final agency action. 

Sec. 312. Assessments. 

Sec. 313. Collection and production accountability. 

Sec. 314. Natural gas reporting. 

Sec. 315. Penalty for late or incorrect reporting of data. 

Sec. 316. Required recordkeeping. 

Sec. 317. Shared civil penalties. 

Sec. 318. Applicability to other minerals. 

Sec. 319. Entitlements. 

Sec. 320. Limitation on royalty in-kind program. 

Sec. 321. Application of royalty to oil that is saved, removed, sold, or discharged under offshore oil and gas leases. 

TITLE IV—FULL FUNDING FOR THE LAND AND WATER 

CONSERVATION AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUNDS 

Subtitle A—Land and Water Conservation Fund 

Sec. 401. Amendments to the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965. 

Sec. 402. Extension of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. 

Sec. 403. Permanent funding. 

Subtitle B—National Historic Preservation Fund 

Sec. 411. Permanent funding. 

TITLE V—GULF OF MEXICO RESTORATION 

Sec. 501. Gulf of Mexico restoration program. 

Sec. 502. Gulf of Mexico long-term environmental monitoring and research program. 

Sec. 503. Gulf of Mexico emergency migratory species alternative habitat program. 

Sec. 504. Gulf of Mexico Restoration Account. 

TITLE VI—COORDINATION AND PLANNING 


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Sec. 601. Regional coordination. 

Sec. 602. Regional Coordination Councils. 

Sec. 603. Regional strategic plans. 

Sec. 604. Regulations and savings clause. 

Sec. 605. Ocean Resources Conservation and Assistance Fund. 

Sec. 606. Waiver. 

TITLE VII—OIL SPILL ACCOUNTABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL 

PROTECTION 

Sec. 701. Short title. 

Sec. 702. Repeal of and adjustments to limitation on liability. 

Sec. 703. Evidence of financial responsibility for offshore facilities. 

Sec. 704. Damages to human health. 

Sec. 705. Clarification of liability for discharges from mobile offshore drilling 

units. 

Sec. 706. Standard of review for damage assessment. 

Sec. 707. Procedures for claims against Fund; Information on claims. 

Sec. 708. Additional amendments and clarifications to Oil Pollution Act of 

1990. 

Sec. 709. Americanization of offshore operations in the Exclusive Economic 

Zone. 

Sec. 710. Safety management systems for mobile offshore drilling units. 

Sec. 711. Safety standards for mobile offshore drilling units. 

Sec. 712. Operational control of mobile offshore drilling units. 

Sec. 713. Single-hull tankers. 

Sec. 714. Repeal of response plan waiver. 

Sec. 715. National Contingency Plan. 

Sec. 716. Tracking Database. 

Sec. 717. Evaluation and approval of response plans; maximum penalties. 

Sec. 718. Oil and hazardous substance cleanup technologies. 

Sec. 719. Implementation of oil spill prevention and response authorities. 

Sec. 720. Impacts to Indian Tribes and public service damages. 

Sec. 721. Federal enforcement actions. 

Sec. 722. Time required before electing to proceed with judicial claim or 

against the Fund. 

Sec. 723. Authorized level of Coast Guard personnel. 

Sec. 724. Clarification of memorandums of understanding. 

Sec. 725. Build America requirement for offshore facilities. 

Sec. 726. Oil spill response vessel database. 

Sec. 727. Offshore sensing and monitoring systems. 

Sec. 728. Oil and gas exploration and production. 

Sec. 729. Leave retention authority. 

Sec. 730. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 731. Extension of liability to persons having ownership interests in responsible parties. 

Sec. 732. Clarification of liability under Oil Pollution Act of 1990. 

Sec. 733. Salvage activities. 

Sec. 734. Requirement for redundancy in response plans. 

TITLE VIII—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 801. Repeal of certain taxpayer subsidized royalty relief for the oil and gas 

industry. 

Sec. 802. Conservation fee. 

Sec. 803. Leasing on Indian lands. 


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Sec. 804. Outer Continental Shelf State boundaries. 

Sec. 805. Liability for damages to national wildlife refuges. 

Sec. 806. Strengthening coastal State oil spill planning and response. 

Sec. 807. Information sharing. 

Sec. 808. Limitation on use of funds. 

Sec. 809. Environmental review. 

Sec. 810. Federal response to State proposals to protect State lands and waters. 

Sec. 811. Government Accountability Office evaluation. 

Sec. 812. Study on relief wells. 

TITLE IX—STUDY OF ACTIONS TO IMPROVE THE ACCURACY OF 

COLLECTION OF ROYALTIES 

Sec. 901. Short title. 

Sec. 902. Study of actions to improve the accuracy of collection of Federal oil, 

condensate, and natural gas royalties. 

Sec. 903. Definitions. 

TITLE X—OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS WORKER WHISTLEBLOWER 

PROTECTION 

Sec. 1001. Short title. 

Sec. 1002. Whistleblower protections; employee protection from other retaliation. 

Sec. 1003. Definitions. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 For the purposes of this Act: 

3 (1) AFFECTED INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘af4 fected Indian tribe’’ means an Indian tribe that has 

5 federally reserved rights that are affirmed by treaty, 

6 statute, Executive order, Federal court order, or 

7 other Federal law in the area at issue. 

8 (2) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘‘coastal 

9 State’’ has the same meaning given the term ‘‘coast10 al state’’ in section 304 of the Coastal Zone Man11 agement Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453). 

12 (3) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

13 means the Department of the Interior, except as the 

14 context indicates otherwise. 


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1 (4) FUNCTION.—The term ‘‘function’’, with re2 spect to a function of an officer, employee, or agent 

3 of the Federal Government, or of a Department, 

4 agency, office, or other instrumentality of the Fed5 eral Government, includes authorities, powers, 

6 rights, privileges, immunities, programs, projects, 

7 activities, duties, and responsibilities. 

8 (5) IMPORTANT ECOLOGICAL AREA.—The term 

9 ‘‘important ecological area’’ means an area that con10 tributes significantly to local or larger marine eco11 system health or is an especially unique or sensitive 

12 marine ecosystem. 

13 (6) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian land’’ 

14 has the meaning given the term in section 502(a) of 

15 title V of Public Law 109–58 (25 U.S.C. 3501(2)). 

16 (7) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

17 has the same meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

18 has in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

19 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

20 (8) MARINE ECOSYSTEM HEALTH.—The term 

21 ‘‘marine ecosystem health’’ means the ability of an 

22 ecosystem in ocean and coastal waters to support 

23 and maintain patterns, important processes, and 

24 productive, sustainable, and resilient communities of 

25 organisms, having a species composition, diversity, 


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1 and functional organization resulting from the nat2 ural habitat of the region, such that it is capable of 

3 supporting a variety of activities and providing a 

4 complete range of ecological benefits. Such an eco5 system would be characterized by a variety of fac6 tors, including— 

7 (A) a complete diversity of native species 

8 and habitat wherein each native species is able 

9 to maintain an abundance, population struc10 ture, and distribution supporting its ecological 

11 and evolutionary functions, patterns, and proc12 esses; and 

13 (B) a physical, chemical, geological, and 

14 microbial environment that is necessary to 

15 achieve such diversity. 

16 (9) MINERAL.—The term ‘‘mineral’’ has the 

17 same meaning that the term ‘‘minerals’’ has in sec18 tion 2(q) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

19 (43 U.S.C. 1331(q)). 

20 (10) NONRENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCE.— 

21 The term ‘‘nonrenewable energy resource’’ means oil 

22 and natural gas. 

23 (11) OPERATOR.—The term ‘‘operator’’ 

24 means— 

25 (A) the lessee; or 


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1 (B) a person designated by the lessee as 

2 having control or management of operations on 

3 the leased area or a portion thereof, who is— 

4 (i) approved by the Secretary, acting 

5 through the Bureau of Energy and Re6 source Management; or 

7 (ii) the holder of operating rights 

8 under an assignment of operating rights 

9 that is approved by the Secretary, acting 

10 through the Bureau of Energy and Re11 source Management. 

12 (12) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.—The term 

13 ‘‘Outer Continental Shelf’’ has the same meaning 

14 given the term ‘‘outer Continental Shelf’’ has in the 

15 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 

16 et seq.). 

17 (13) REGIONAL OCEAN PARTNERSHIP.—The 

18 term ‘‘Regional Ocean Partnership’’ means vol19 untary, collaborative management initiatives devel20 oped and entered into by the Governors of two or 

21 more coastal States or created by an interstate com22 pact for the purpose of addressing more than one 

23 ocean, coastal, or Great Lakes issue and to imple24 ment policies and activities identified under special 

25 area management plans under the Coastal Zone 


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1 Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) 

2 or other agreements developed and signed by the 

3 Governors. 

4 (14) RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCE.—The 

5 term ‘‘renewable energy resource’’ means each of the 

6 following: 

7 (A) Wind energy. 

8 (B) Solar energy. 

9 (C) Geothermal energy. 

10 (D) Landfill gas. 

11 (E) Marine and hydrokinetic renewable en12 ergy, as that term is defined in section 632 of 

13 the Energy Independence and Security Act of 

14 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17211). 

15 (15) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

16 means the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec17 retary of Commerce. 

18 (16) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

19 means the Secretary of the Interior, except as other20 wise provided in this Act. 

21 (17) TERMS DEFINED IN OTHER LAW.—Each 

22 of the terms ‘‘Federal land’’, ‘‘lease’’, and ‘‘mineral 

23 leasing law’’ has the same meaning given the term 

24 under the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management 

25 Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), except that 


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1 such terms shall also apply to all minerals and re2 newable energy resources in addition to oil and gas. 

3 TITLE I—CREATION OF NEW DE4 PARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

5 AGENCIES 

6 SEC. 101. BUREAU OF ENERGY AND RESOURCE MANAGE7 MENT. 

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

9 Department of the Interior a Bureau of Energy and Re10 source Management (referred to in this section as the 

11 ‘‘Bureau’’) to be headed by a Director of Energy and Re12 source Management (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Di13 rector’’). 

14 (b) DIRECTOR.— 

15 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Director shall be ap16 pointed by the President, by and with the advice and 

17 consent of the Senate, on the basis of— 

18 (A) professional background, demonstrated 

19 competence, and ability; and 

20 (B) capacity to— 

21 (i) administer the provisions of this 

22 Act; and 

23 (ii) ensure that the fiduciary duties of 

24 the United States Government on behalf of 

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1 late to development of nonrenewable and 

2 renewable energy and mineral resources, 

3 are duly met. 

4 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall be 

5 compensated at the rate provided for Level V of the 

6 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, 

7 United States Code. 

8 (c) DUTIES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graph (4), the Secretary shall carry out through the 

11 Bureau all functions, powers, and duties vested in 

12 the Secretary relating to the administration of a 

13 comprehensive program of nonrenewable and renew14 able energy and mineral resources management— 

15 (A) on the Outer Continental Shelf, pursu16 ant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

17 as amended by this Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et 

18 seq.); 

19 (B) on Federal public lands, pursuant to 

20 the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et 

21 seq.) and the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 

22 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); 

23 (C) on acquired Federal lands, pursuant to 

24 the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands 


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1 (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.) and the Geothermal 

2 Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); 

3 (D) in the National Petroleum Reserve in 

4 Alaska, pursuant to the Naval Petroleum Re5 serves Production Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6501 

6 et seq.); 

7 (E) on any Federal land pursuant to any 

8 mineral leasing law; and 

9 (F) pursuant to this Act and all other ap10 plicable Federal laws, including the administra11 tion and approval of all instruments and agree12 ments required to ensure orderly, safe, and en13 vironmentally responsible nonrenewable and re14 newable energy and mineral resources develop15 ment activities. 

16 (2) SPECIFIC AUTHORITIES.—The Director 

17 shall promulgate and implement regulations for the 

18 proper issuance of leases for the exploration, devel19 opment, and production of nonrenewable and renew20 able energy and mineral resources, and for the 

21 issuance of permits under such leases, on the Outer 

22 Continental Shelf and for nonrenewable and renew23 able energy and mineral resources managed by the 

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1 ment agency, including regulations relating to re2 source identification, access, evaluation, and utiliza3 tion. 

4 (3) INDEPENDENT ENVIRONMENTAL

5 SCIENCE.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

7 create an independent office within the Bureau 

8 that— 

9 (i) shall report to the Director; 

10 (ii) shall be programmatically separate 

11 and distinct from the leasing and permit12 ting activities of the Bureau; and 

13 (iii) shall— 

14 (I) carry out the environmental 

15 studies program under section 20 of 

16 the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

17 Act (43 U.S.C. 1346); 

18 (II) conduct any environmental 

19 analyses necessary for the programs 

20 administered by the Bureau; and 

21 (III) carry out other functions as 

22 deemed necessary by the Secretary. 

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1 priate and timely consultation with other rel2 evant Federal agencies, including— 

3 (i) the Bureau of Safety and Environ4 mental Enforcement; 

5 (ii) the United States Fish and Wild6 life Service; 

7 (iii) the United States Geological Sur8 vey; and 

9 (iv) the National Oceanic and Atmos10 pheric Administration. 

11 (4) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not carry 

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

13 that is— 

14 (A) required by section 102 to be carried 

15 out through Bureau of Safety and Environ16 mental Enforcement; or 

17 (B) required by section 103 to be carried 

18 out through the Office of Natural Resources 

19 Revenue. 

20 (d) COMPREHENSIVE DATA AND ANALYSES ON

21 OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF RESOURCES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

23 (A) PROGRAMS.—The Director shall de24 velop and carry out programs for the collection, 

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1 tion of data and information that is relevant to 

2 carrying out the duties of the Bureau, including 

3 studies under section 20 of the Outer Conti4 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1346). 

5 (B) USE OF DATA AND INFORMATION.— 

6 The Director shall, in carrying out functions 

7 pursuant to the Outer Continental Lands Act 

8 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), consider data and in9 formation referred to in subparagraph (A) 

10 which shall inform the management functions 

11 of the Bureau, and shall contribute to a broader 

12 coordination of development activities within 

13 the contexts of the best available science and 

14 marine spatial planning. 

15 (2) INTERAGENCY COOPERATION.—In carrying 

16 out programs under this subsection, the Bureau 

17 shall— 

18 (A) utilize the authorities of subsection (g) 

19 and (h) of section 18 of the Outer Continental 

20 Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344); 

21 (B) cooperate with appropriate offices in 

22 the Department and in other Federal agencies; 

23 (C) use existing inventories and mapping 

24 of marine resources previously undertaken by 

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1 dertaken by the United States Geological Sur2 vey and the National Oceanographic and At3 mospheric Administration, and information pro4 vided by the Department of Defense and other 

5 Federal and State agencies possessing relevant 

6 data; and 

7 (D) use any available data regarding re8 newable energy potential, navigation uses, fish9 eries, aquaculture uses, recreational uses, habi10 tat, conservation, and military uses of the 

11 Outer Continental Shelf. 

12 (e) 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. 102. BUREAU OF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL EN20 FORCEMENT. 

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

22 Department a Bureau of Safety and Environmental En23 forcement (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Bureau’’) 

24 to be headed by a Director of Safety and Environmental 


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1 Enforcement (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Direc2 tor’’). 

3 (b) DIRECTOR.— 

4 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Director shall be ap5 pointed by the President, by and with the advice and 

6 consent of the Senate, on the basis of— 

7 (A) professional background, demonstrated 

8 competence, and ability; and 

9 (B) capacity to administer the provisions 

10 of this Act. 

11 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall be 

12 compensated at the rate provided for Level V of the 

13 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, 

14 United States Code. 

15 (c) DUTIES.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

17 out through the Bureau all functions, powers, and 

18 duties vested in the Secretary relating to the admin19 istration of safety and environmental enforcement 

20 activities related to nonrenewable and renewable en21 ergy and mineral resources— 

22 (A) on the Outer Continental Shelf pursu23 ant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

24 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.); 


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1 (B) on Federal public lands, pursuant to 

2 the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et 

3 seq.) and the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 

4 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); 

5 (C) on acquired Federal lands, pursuant to 

6 the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands 

7 (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.) and the Geothermal 

8 Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); 

9 (D) in the National Petroleum Reserve in 

10 Alaska, pursuant to the Naval Petroleum Re11 serves Production Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6501 

12 et seq.); and 

13 (E) pursuant to— 

14 (i) the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

15 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 

16 et seq.); 

17 (ii) the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

18 (Public Law 109–58); 

19 (iii) the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

20 Simplification and Fairness Act of 1996 

21 (Public Law 104–185); 

22 (iv) the Forest and Rangeland Renew23 able Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

24 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.); 


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1 (v) the Federal Land Policy and Man2 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 

3 seq.); 

4 (vi) this Act; and 

5 (vii) all other applicable Federal laws, 

6 including the authority to develop, promulgate, 

7 and enforce regulations to ensure the safe and 

8 environmentally sound exploration, develop9 ment, and production of nonrenewable and re10 newable energy and mineral resources on the 

11 Outer Continental Shelf and onshore federally 

12 managed lands. 

13 (d) AUTHORITIES.—In carrying out the duties under 

14 this section, the Secretary’s authorities shall include— 

15 (1) performing necessary oversight activities to 

16 ensure the proper application of environmental re17 views, including those conducted pursuant to the 

18 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

19 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) by the Bureau of Energy and 

20 Resource Management in the performance of its du21 ties under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

22 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.); 

23 (2) suspending or prohibiting, on a temporary 

24 basis, any operation or activity, including produc25 tion— 


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1 (A) on leases held on the Outer Conti2 nental Shelf, in accordance with section 5(a)(1) 

3 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

4 U.S.C. 1334(a)(1)); or 

5 (B) on leases or rights-of-way held on Fed6 eral lands under any other minerals or energy 

7 leasing statute, in accordance with section 

8 302(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Manage9 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); 

10 (3) cancelling any lease, permit, or right-of11 way— 

12 (A) on the Outer Continental Shelf, in ac13 cordance with section 5(a)(2) of the Outer Con14 tinental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

15 1334(a)(2)); or 

16 (B) on onshore Federal lands, in accord17 ance with section 302(c) of the Federal Land 

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

19 1732(c)); 

20 (4) compelling compliance with applicable work21 er safety and environmental laws and regulations; 

22 (5) requiring comprehensive safety and environ23 mental management programs for persons engaged 

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1 ment, and production of energy or mineral re2 sources; 

3 (6) developing and implementing regulations for 

4 Federal employees to carry out any inspection or in5 vestigation to ascertain compliance with applicable 

6 regulations, including health, safety, or environ7 mental regulations; 

8 (7) collecting, evaluating, assembling, analyzing, 

9 and publicly disseminating electronically data and 

10 information that is relevant to inspections, failures, 

11 or accidents involving equipment and systems used 

12 for exploration and production of energy and min13 eral resources, including human factors associated 

14 therewith; 

15 (8) implementing the Offshore Technology Re16 search and Risk Assessment Program under section 

17 21 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

18 U.S.C. 1347); 

19 (9) summoning witnesses and directing the pro20 duction of evidence; 

21 (10) levying fines and penalties and disquali22 fying operators; and 

23 (11) carrying out any safety, response, and re24 moval preparedness functions. 

25 (e) EMPLOYEES.— 


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

2 that the inspection force of the Bureau consists of 

3 qualified, trained employees who meet qualification 

4 requirements and adhere to the highest professional 

5 and ethical standards. 

6 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The qualification re7 quirements referred to in paragraph (1)— 

8 (A) shall be determined by the Secretary, 

9 subject to subparagraph (B); and 

10 (B) shall include— 

11 (i) three years of practical experience 

12 in oil and gas exploration, development, or 

13 production; or 

14 (ii) a degree in an appropriate field of 

15 engineering from an accredited institution 

16 of higher learning. 

17 (3) ASSIGNMENT.—In assigning oil and gas in18 spectors to the inspection and investigation of indi19 vidual operations, the Secretary shall give due con20 sideration to the extent possible to their previous ex21 perience in the particular type of oil and gas oper22 ation in which such inspections are to be made. 

23 (4) TRAINING ACADEMY.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es25 tablish and maintain a National Oil and Gas 


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1 Health and Safety Academy (referred to in this 

2 paragraph as the ‘‘Academy’’) as an agency of 

3 the Department of the Interior. 

4 (B) FUNCTIONS OF ACADEMY.—The Sec5 retary, through the Academy, shall be respon6 sible for— 

7 (i) the initial and continued training 

8 of both newly hired and experienced oil 

9 and gas inspectors in all aspects of health, 

10 safety, environmental, and operational in11 spections; 

12 (ii) the training of technical support 

13 personnel of the Bureau; 

14 (iii) any other training programs for 

15 oil and gas inspectors, Bureau personnel, 

16 Department personnel, or other persons as 

17 the Secretary shall designate; and 

18 (iv) certification of the successful 

19 completion of training programs for newly 

20 hired and experienced oil and gas inspec21 tors. 

22 (C) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—In performing func24 tions under this paragraph, and subject to 

25 clause (ii), the Secretary may enter into 


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1 cooperative educational and training agree2 ments with educational institutions, related 

3 Federal academies, other Federal agencies, 

4 State governments, labor organizations, 

5 safety training firms, and oil and gas oper6 ators and related industries. 

7 (ii) TRAINING REQUIREMENT.—Such 

8 training shall be conducted by the Acad9 emy in accordance with curriculum needs 

10 and assignment of instructional personnel 

11 established by the Secretary. 

12 (D) USE OF DEPARTMENTAL PER13 SONNEL.—In performing functions under this 

14 subsection, the Secretary shall use, to the ex15 tent practicable, the facilities and personnel of 

16 the Department of the Interior. The Secretary 

17 may appoint or assign to the Academy such of18 ficers and employees as the Secretary considers 

19 necessary for the performance of the duties and 

20 functions of the Academy. 

21 (5) ADDITIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMS.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

23 work with appropriate educational institutions, 

24 operators, and representatives of oil and gas 

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1 grams with educational institutions and oil and 

2 gas operators, that are designed— 

3 (i) to enable persons to qualify for po4 sitions in the administration of this Act; 

5 and 

6 (ii) to provide for the continuing edu7 cation of inspectors or other appropriate 

8 Departmental personnel. 

9 (B) FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL ASSIST10 ANCE.—The Secretary may provide financial 

11 and technical assistance to educational institu12 tions in carrying out this paragraph. 

13 (6) ROLE OF OIL OR GAS OPERATORS AND RE14 LATED INDUSTRIES.—The Secretary shall ensure 

15 that any cooperative agreement or other collabora16 tion with a representative of an oil or gas operator 

17 or related industry in relation to a training program 

18 established under paragraph (4) or paragraph (5) is 

19 limited to consultation regarding curricula and does 

20 not extend to the provision of instructional per21 sonnel. 

22 SEC. 103. OFFICE OF NATURAL RESOURCES REVENUE. 

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

24 Department an Office of Natural Resources Revenue (re25 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Office’’) to be headed by 


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1 a Director of Natural Resources Revenue (referred to in 

2 this section as the ‘‘Director’’). 

3 (b) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall be ap5 pointed by the President, by and with the advice and 

6 consent of the Senate, on the basis of— 

7 (A) professional competence; and 

8 (B) capacity to— 

9 (i) administer the provisions of this 

10 Act; and 

11 (ii) ensure that the fiduciary duties of 

12 the United States Government on behalf of 

13 the American people, as they relate to de14 velopment of nonrenewable and renewable 

15 energy and mineral resources, are duly 

16 met. 

17 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall be 

18 compensated at the rate provided for Level V of the 

19 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, 

20 United States Code. 

21 (c) DUTIES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

23 out, through the Office— 

24 (A) all functions, powers, and duties vested 

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1 tion of the royalty and revenue management 

2 functions pursuant to— 

3 (i) the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

4 Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.); 

5 (ii) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

6 U.S.C. 181 et seq.); 

7 (iii) the Mineral Leasing Act for Ac8 quired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.); 

9 (iv) the Geothermal Steam Act of 

10 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); 

11 (v) the Naval Petroleum Reserves 

12 Production Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6501 

13 et seq.); 

14 (vi) the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

15 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 

16 et seq.); 

17 (vii) the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

18 Simplification and Fairness Act of 1996 

19 (Public Law 104–185); 

20 (viii) the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

21 (Public Law 109–58); 

22 (ix) the Forest and Rangeland Renew23 able Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

24 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.); 


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1 (x) the Federal Land Policy and Man2 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 

3 seq.); and 

4 (xi) this Act and all other applicable 

5 Federal laws; and 

6 (B) all functions, powers, and duties pre7 viously assigned to the Minerals Management 

8 Service (including the authority to develop, pro9 mulgate, and enforce regulations) regarding— 

10 (i) royalty and revenue collection; 

11 (ii) royalty and revenue distribution; 

12 (iii) auditing and compliance; 

13 (iv) investigation and enforcement of 

14 royalty and revenue regulations; and 

15 (v) asset management for onshore and 

16 offshore activities. 

17 (d) OVERSIGHT.—In order to provide transparency 

18 and ensure strong oversight over the revenue program, the 

19 Secretary shall— 

20 (1) create within the Office an independent 

21 audit and oversight program responsible for moni22 toring the performance of the Office with respect to 

23 the duties and functions under subsection (c), and 

24 conducting internal control audits of the operations 

25 of the Office; 


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1 (2) facilitate the participation of those Indian 

2 tribes and States operating pursuant to cooperative 

3 agreements or delegations under the Federal Oil and 

4 Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 

5 1701 et seq.) on all of the management teams, com6 mittees, councils, and other entities created by the 

7 Office; and 

8 (3) assure prior consultation with those Indian 

9 tribes and States referred to in paragraph (2) in the 

10 formulation all policies, procedures, guidance, stand11 ards, and rules relating to the functions referred to 

12 in subsection (c). 

13 SEC. 104. ETHICS. 

14 (a) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall certify an15 nually that all Department of the Interior officers and em16 ployees having regular, direct contact with lessees and op17 erators as a function of their official duties are in full com18 pliance with all Federal employee ethics laws and regula19 tions under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 

20 U.S.C. App.) and part 2635 of title 5, Code of Federal 

21 Regulations, and all guidance issued under subsection (b). 

22 (b) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 90 days after the 

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

24 supplementary ethics guidance for the employees for which 

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1 retary shall update the supplementary ethics guidance not 

2 less than once every 3 years thereafter. 

3 SEC. 105. REFERENCES. 

4 (a) BUREAU OF ENERGY AND RESOURCE MANAGE5 MENT.—Any reference in any law, rule, regulation, direc6 tive, instruction, certificate, or other official document, in 

7 force immediately before the enactment of this Act— 

8 (1) to the Minerals Management Service that 

9 pertains to any of the duties and authorities referred 

10 to in section 101 is deemed to refer and apply to the 

11 Bureau of Energy and Resource Management estab12 lished by section 101; 

13 (2) to the Director of the Minerals Management 

14 Service that pertains to any of the duties and au15 thorities referred to in section 101 is deemed to 

16 refer and apply to the Director of the Bureau of En17 ergy and Resource Management; 

18 (3) to any other position in the Minerals Man19 agement Service that pertains to any of the duties 

20 and authorities referred to in section 101 is deemed 

21 to refer and apply to that same or equivalent posi22 tion in the Bureau of Energy and Resource Manage23 ment; 

24 (4) to the Bureau of Land Management that 

25 pertains to any of the duties and authorities referred 


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1 to in section 101 is deemed to refer and apply to the 

2 Bureau of Energy and Resource Management; 

3 (5) to the Director of the Bureau of Land Man4 agement that pertains to any of the duties and au5 thorities referred to in section 101 is deemed to 

6 refer and apply to the Director of the Bureau of En7 ergy and Resource Management; and 

8 (6) to any other position in the Bureau of Land 

9 Management that pertains to any of the duties and 

10 authorities referred to in section 101 is deemed to 

11 refer and apply to that same or equivalent position 

12 in the Bureau of Energy and Resource Management. 

13 (b) BUREAU OF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL EN14 FORCEMENT.—Any reference in any law, rule, regulation, 

15 directive, instruction, certificate, or other official docu16 ment in force immediately before the enactment of this 

17 Act— 

18 (1) to the Minerals Management Service that 

19 pertains to any of the duties and authorities referred 

20 to in section 102 is deemed to refer and apply to the 

21 Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement 

22 established by section 102; 

23 (2) to the Director of the Minerals Management 

24 Service that pertains to any of the duties and au25 thorities referred to in section 102 is deemed to 


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1 refer and apply to the Director of the Bureau of 

2 Safety and Environmental Enforcement; 

3 (3) to any other position in the Minerals Man4 agement Service that pertains to any of the duties 

5 and authorities referred to in section 102 is deemed 

6 to refer and apply to that same or equivalent posi7 tion in the Bureau of Safety and Environmental En8 forcement; 

9 (4) to the Bureau of Land Management that 

10 pertains to any of the duties and authorities referred 

11 to in section 102 is deemed to refer and apply to the 

12 Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement; 

13 (5) to the Director of the Bureau of Land Man14 agement that pertains to any of the duties and au15 thorities referred to in section 102 is deemed to 

16 refer and apply to the Director of the Bureau of 

17 Safety and Environmental Enforcement; and 

18 (6) to any other position in the Bureau of Land 

19 Management that pertains to any of the duties and 

20 authorities referred to in section 102 is deemed to 

21 refer and apply to that same or equivalent position 

22 in the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforce23 ment. 

24 (c) OFFICE OF NATURAL RESOURCES REVENUE.— 

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1 struction, or certificate or other official document, in force 

2 immediately prior to enactment— 

3 (1) to the Minerals Management Service that 

4 pertains to any of the duties and authorities referred 

5 to in section 103 is deemed to refer and apply to the 

6 Office of Natural Resources Revenue established by 

7 section 103; 

8 (2) to the Director of the Minerals Management 

9 Service that pertains to any of the duties and au10 thorities referred to in section 103 is deemed to 

11 refer and apply to the Director of Natural Resources 

12 Revenue; and 

13 (3) to any other position in the Minerals Man14 agement Service that pertains to any of the duties 

15 and authorities referred to in section 103 is deemed 

16 to refer and apply to that same or equivalent posi17 tion in the Office of Natural Resources Revenue. 

18 SEC. 106. ABOLISHMENT OF MINERALS MANAGEMENT 

19 SERVICE. 

20 (a) ABOLISHMENT.—The Minerals Management 

21 Service (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Service’’) is 

22 abolished. 

23 (b) COMPLETED ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Completed administrative 

25 actions of the Service shall not be affected by the 


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1 enactment of this Act, but shall continue in effect 

2 according to their terms until amended, modified, 

3 superseded, terminated, set aside, or revoked in ac4 cordance with law by an officer of the United States 

5 or a court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation 

6 of law. 

7 (2) COMPLETED ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION DE8 FINED.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the term 

9 ‘‘completed administrative action’’ includes orders, 

10 determinations, rules, regulations, personnel actions, 

11 permits, agreements, grants, contracts, certificates, 

12 licenses, registrations, and privileges. 

13 (c) PENDING PROCEEDINGS.—Subject to the author14 ity of the Secretary of the Interior and the officers of the 

15 Department of the Interior under this Act— 

16 (1) pending proceedings in the Service, includ17 ing notices of proposed rulemaking, and applications 

18 for licenses, permits, certificates, grants, and finan19 cial assistance, shall continue, notwithstanding the 

20 enactment of this Act or the vesting of functions of 

21 the Service in another agency, unless discontinued or 

22 modified under the same terms and conditions and 

23 to the same extent that such discontinuance or 

24 modification could have occurred if this Act had not 

25 been enacted; and 


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1 (2) orders issued in such proceedings, and ap2 peals therefrom, and payments made pursuant to 

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

4 the same terms as if this Act had not been enacted, 

5 and any such orders shall continue in effect until 

6 amended, modified, superseded, terminated, set 

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

8 or a court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation 

9 of law. 

10 (d) PENDING CIVIL ACTIONS.—Subject to the au11 thority of the Secretary of the Interior or any officer of 

12 the Department of the Interior under this Act, pending 

13 civil actions shall continue notwithstanding the enactment 

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

15 had, appeals taken, and judgments rendered and enforced 

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

17 enactment had not occurred. 

18 (e) REFERENCES.—References relating to the Service 

19 in statutes, Executive orders, rules, regulations, directives, 

20 or delegations of authority that precede the effective date 

21 of this Act are deemed to refer, as appropriate, to the De22 partment, to its officers, employees, or agents, or to its 

23 corresponding organizational units or functions. Statutory 

24 reporting requirements that applied in relation to the 


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1 Service immediately before the effective date of this Act 

2 shall continue to apply. 

3 SEC. 107. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

4 Section 5316 of title 5, United States Code, is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘Director, Bureau of Mines, Depart6 ment of the Interior.’’ and inserting the following new 

7 items: 

8 ‘‘Director, Bureau of Energy and Resource 

9 Management, Department of the Interior. 

10 ‘‘Director, Bureau of Safety and Environmental 

11 Enforcement, Department of the Interior. 

12 ‘‘Director, Office of Natural Resources Rev13 enue, Department of the Interior.’’. 

14 SEC. 108. OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF SAFETY AND ENVI15 RONMENTAL ADVISORY BOARD. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish, 

17 under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, an Outer Con18 tinental Shelf Safety and Environmental Advisory Board 

19 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Board’’), to provide 

20 the Secretary and the Directors of the bureaus established 

21 by this title with independent scientific and technical ad22 vice on safe and environmentally compliant nonrenewable 

23 and renewable energy and mineral resource exploration, 

24 development, and production activities. 

25 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 


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

2 than 12 members, chosen to reflect a range of exper3 tise in scientific, engineering, management, environ4 mental, and other disciplines related to safe and en5 vironmentally compliant renewable and nonrenewable 

6 energy and mineral resource exploration, develop7 ment, and production activities. The Secretary shall 

8 consult with the National Academy of Sciences and 

9 the National Academy of Engineering to identify po10 tential candidates for the Board. 

11 (2) TERM.—The Secretary shall appoint Board 

12 members to staggered terms of not more than 4 

13 years, and shall not appoint a member for more 

14 than 2 consecutive terms. 

15 (3) BALANCE.—In appointing members to the 

16 Board, the Secretary shall ensure a balanced rep17 resentation of industry- and nonindustry-related in18 terests. 

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

20 for the Board. 

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

22 3 times per year and, at least once per year, shall host 

23 a public forum to review and assess the overall safety and 

24 environmental performance of Outer Continental Shelf 


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1 nonrenewable and renewable energy and mineral resource 

2 activities. 

3 (e) OFFSHORE DRILLING SAFETY ASSESSMENTS

4 AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—As part of its duties under 

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

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

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

8 (1) assesses offshore oil and gas well control 

9 technologies, practices, voluntary standards, and 

10 regulations in the United States and elsewhere; 

11 (2) assesses whether existing well control regu12 lations issued by the Secretary under the Outer Con13 tinental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) 

14 adequately protect safety and the environment; and 

15 (3) as appropriate, recommends modifications 

16 to the regulations issued under this Act to ensure 

17 adequate protection of safety and the environment. 

18 (f) REPORTS.—Reports of the Board shall be sub19 mitted to the Congress and made available to the public 

20 in electronically accessible form. 

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

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

23 while attending meeting of the Board or while otherwise 

24 serving at the request of the Secretary or the Director 

25 while serving away from their homes or regular places of 


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1 business, may be allowed travel expenses, including per 

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

3 of title 5, United States Code, for individuals in the Gov4 ernment serving without pay. 

5 SEC. 109. LIMITATION ON EFFECT ON DEVELOPMENT OF 

6 OCEAN RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCE FA7 CILITIES. 

8 Nothing in this title shall delay development of ocean 

9 renewable energy resource facilities including— 

10 (1) promotion of offshore wind development; 

11 (2) planning, leasing, licensing, and fee and 

12 royalty collection for such development of ocean re13 newable energy resource facilities; and 

14 (3) developing and administering an efficient 

15 leasing and licensing process for ocean renewable en16 ergy resource facilities. 

17 TITLE II—FEDERAL OIL AND GAS 

18 DEVELOPMENT 

19 Subtitle A—Safety, Environmental, 

20 and Financial Reform of the 

21 Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

22 Act 

23 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

24 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Outer Continental 

25 Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 2010’’. 


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1 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 

2 Section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

3 (43 U.S.C. 1331) is amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(r) The term ‘safety case’ means a body of evidence 

6 that provides a basis for determining whether a system 

7 is adequately safe for a given application in a given oper8 ating environment.’’. 

9 SEC. 203. NATIONAL POLICY FOR THE OUTER CONTI10 NENTAL SHELF. 

11 Section 3 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

12 (43 U.S.C. 1332) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(3) the outer Continental Shelf is a vital na16 tional resource reserve held by the Federal Govern17 ment for the public, that should be managed in a 

18 manner that— 

19 ‘‘(A) recognizes the need of the United 

20 States for domestic sources of energy, food, 

21 minerals, and other resources; 

22 ‘‘(B) minimizes the potential impacts of 

23 development of those resources on the marine 

24 and coastal environment and on safety; and 

25 ‘‘(C) acknowledges the long-term economic 

26 value to the United States of the balanced and 


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1 orderly management of those resources that 

2 safeguards the environment and respects the 

3 multiple values and uses of the outer Conti4 nental Shelf;’’; 

5 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 

6 the end and inserting a semicolon; 

7 (3) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘should be’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘shall be’’, and striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

9 inserting a semicolon; 

10 (4) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para11 graph (7); 

12 (5) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(6) exploration, development, and production 

15 of energy and minerals on the outer Continental 

16 Shelf should be allowed only when those activities 

17 can be accomplished in a manner that minimizes— 

18 ‘‘(A) harmful impacts to life (including fish 

19 and other aquatic life) and health; 

20 ‘‘(B) damage to the marine, coastal, and 

21 human environments and to property; and 

22 ‘‘(C) harm to other users of the waters, 

23 seabed, or subsoil; and’’; and 

24 (6) in paragraph (7) (as so redesignated), by— 


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1 (A) striking ‘‘should be’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘shall be’’; 

3 (B) inserting ‘‘best available’’ after 

4 ‘‘using’’; and 

5 (C) striking ‘‘or minimize’’. 

6 SEC. 204. JURISDICTION OF LAWS ON THE OUTER CONTI7 NENTAL SHELF. 

8 Section 4(a)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

9 Act (43 U.S.C. 1333(a)(1)) is amended by— 

10 (1) inserting ‘‘or producing or supporting pro11 duction of energy from sources other than oil and 

12 gas’’ after ‘‘therefrom’’; 

13 (2) inserting ‘‘or transmitting such energy’’ 

14 after ‘‘transporting such resources’’; and 

15 (3) inserting ‘‘and other energy’’ after ‘‘That 

16 mineral’’. 

17 SEC. 205. OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LEASING STAND18 ARD. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5 of the Outer Conti20 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1334) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘The Sec22 retary may at any time’’ and inserting ‘‘The Sec23 retary shall’’; 

24 (2) in the second sentence of subsection (a), by 

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1 ational safety, the protection of the marine and 

2 coastal environment, and’’; 

3 (3) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘and the Sec4 retary of Commerce with respect to matters that 

5 may affect the marine and coastal environment’’ 

6 after ‘‘which may affect competition’’; 

7 (4) in clause (ii) of subsection (a)(2)(A), by 

8 striking ‘‘a reasonable period of time’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘30 days’’; 

10 (5) in subsection (a)(7), by inserting ‘‘in a 

11 manner that minimizes harmful impacts to the ma12 rine and coastal environment’’ after ‘‘lease area’’; 

13 (6) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

14 the semicolon at the end of paragraph (7), redesig15 nating paragraph (8) as paragraph (13), and insert16 ing after paragraph (7) the following: 

17 ‘‘(8) for independent third-party certification 

18 requirements of safety systems related to well con19 trol, such as blowout preventers; 

20 ‘‘(9) for performance requirements for blowout 

21 preventers, including quantitative risk assessment 

22 standards, subsea testing, and secondary activation 

23 methods; 


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1 ‘‘(10) for independent third-party certification 

2 requirements of well casing and cementing programs 

3 and procedures; 

4 ‘‘(11) for the establishment of mandatory safety 

5 and environmental management systems by opera6 tors on the Outer Continental Shelf; 

7 ‘‘(12) for procedures and technologies to be 

8 used during drilling operations to minimize the risk 

9 of ignition and explosion of hydrocarbons;’’; 

10 (7) in subsection (a), by striking the period at 

11 the end of paragraph (13), as so redesignated, and 

12 inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(14) ensuring compliance with other applicable 

15 environmental and natural resource conservation 

16 laws.’’; and 

17 (8) by adding at the end the following new sub18 sections: 

19 ‘‘(k) DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE.— 

20 Any documents incorporated by reference in regulations 

21 promulgated by the Secretary pursuant to this Act shall 

22 be made available to the public, free of charge, on a 

23 website maintained by the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(l) REGULATORY STANDARDS FOR BLOWOUT PRE25 VENTERS, WELL DESIGN, AND CEMENTING.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In promulgating regula2 tions under this Act related to blowout preventers, 

3 well design, and cementing, the Secretary shall en4 sure that such regulations include the minimum 

5 standards included in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), 

6 unless, after notice and an opportunity for public 

7 comment, the Secretary determines that a standard 

8 required under this subsection would be less effective 

9 in ensuring safe operations than an available alter10 native technology or practice. Such regulations shall 

11 require independent third-party certification, pursu12 ant to paragraph (5), of blowout preventers, well de13 sign, and cementing programs and procedures prior 

14 to the commencement of drilling operations. Such 

15 regulations shall also require re-certification by an 

16 independent third-party certifier, pursuant to para17 graph (5), of a blowout preventer upon any material 

18 modification to the blowout preventer or well design 

19 and of a well design upon any material modification 

20 to the well design. 

21 ‘‘(2) BLOWOUT PREVENTERS.—Subject to para22 graph (1), regulations issued under this Act for 

23 blowout preventers shall include at a minimum the 

24 following requirements: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Two sets of blind shear rams appro2 priately spaced to prevent blowout preventer 

3 failure if a drill pipe joint or drill tool is across 

4 one set of blind shear rams during a situation 

5 that threatens loss of well control. 

6 ‘‘(B) Redundant emergency backup control 

7 systems capable of activating the relevant com8 ponents of a blowout preventer, including when 

9 the communications link or other critical links 

10 between the drilling rig and the blowout pre11 venter are destroyed or inoperable. 

12 ‘‘(C) Regular testing of the emergency 

13 backup control systems, including testing dur14 ing deployment of the blowout preventer. 

15 ‘‘(D) As appropriate, remotely operated ve16 hicle intervention capabilities for secondary con17 trol of all subsea blowout preventer functions, 

18 including adequate hydraulic capacity to acti19 vate blind shear rams, casing shear rams, and 

20 other critical blowout preventer components. 

21 ‘‘(3) WELL DESIGN.—Subject to paragraph (1), 

22 regulations issued under this Act for well design 

23 standards shall include at a minimum the following 

24 requirements: 


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1 ‘‘(A) In connection with the installation of 

2 the final casing string, the installation of at 

3 least two independent, tested mechanical bar4 riers, in addition to a cement barrier, across 

5 each flow path between hydrocarbon bearing 

6 formations and the blowout preventer. 

7 ‘‘(B) That wells shall be designed so that 

8 a failure of one barrier does not significantly in9 crease the likelihood of another barrier’s failure. 

10 ‘‘(C) That the casing design is appropriate 

11 for the purpose for which it is intended under 

12 reasonably expected wellbore conditions. 

13 ‘‘(D) The installation and verification with 

14 a pressure test of a lockdown device at the time 

15 the casing is installed in the wellhead. 

16 ‘‘(4) CEMENTING.—Subject to paragraph (1), 

17 regulations issued under this Act for cementing 

18 standards shall include at a minimum the following 

19 requirements: 

20 ‘‘(A) Adequate centralization of the casing 

21 to ensure proper distribution of cement. 

22 ‘‘(B) A full circulation of drilling fluids 

23 prior to cementing. 

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1 carbons between any hydrocarbon-bearing for2 mation zone and the wellhead. 

3 ‘‘(D) Cement bond logs for all cementing 

4 jobs intended to provide a barrier to hydro5 carbon flow. 

6 ‘‘(E) Cement bond logs or such other in7 tegrity tests as the Secretary may prescribe for 

8 cement jobs other than those identified in sub9 paragraph (D). 

10 ‘‘(5) INDEPENDENT THIRD-PARTY CER11 TIFIERS.—The Secretary shall establish appropriate 

12 standards for the approval of independent third13 party certifiers capable of exercising certification 

14 functions for blowout preventers, well design, and ce15 menting. For any certification required for regula16 tions related to blowout preventers, well design, or 

17 cementing, the operator shall use a qualified inde18 pendent third-party certifier chosen by the Sec19 retary. The costs of any certification shall be borne 

20 by the operator. 

21 ‘‘(6) APPLICATION TO INSHORE WATERS; STATE

22 IMPLEMENTATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Requirements estab24 lished under this subsection shall apply, as pro25 vided in subparagraph (B), to offshore drilling 


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1 operations that take place on lands that are 

2 landward of the outer Continental Shelf and 

3 seaward of the line of mean high tide, and that 

4 the Secretary determines, based on criteria es5 tablished by rule, could, in the event of a blow6 out, lead to extensive and widespread harm to 

7 safety or the environment. 

8 ‘‘(B) SUBMISSION OF STATE REGULATORY

9 REGIME.—Any State may submit to the Sec10 retary a plan demonstrating that the State’s 

11 regulatory regime for wells identified in sub12 paragraph (A) establishes requirements for 

13 such wells that are comparable to, or alter14 native requirements providing an equal or 

15 greater level of safety than, those established 

16 under this section for wells on the outer Conti17 nental Shelf. The Secretary shall promptly de18 termine, after notice and an opportunity for 

19 public comment, whether a State’s regulatory 

20 regime meets the standard set forth in the pre21 ceding sentence. If the Secretary determines 

22 that a State’s regulatory regime does not meet 

23 such standard, the Secretary shall identify the 

24 deficiencies that are the basis for such deter25 mination and provide a reasonable period of 


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1 time for the State to remedy the deficiencies. If 

2 the State does not do so within such reasonable 

3 period of time, the Secretary shall apply the re4 quirements established under this section to off5 shore drilling operations described in subpara6 graph (A) that are located in such State, until 

7 such time as the Secretary determines that the 

8 deficiencies have been remedied. 

9 ‘‘(m) RULEMAKING DOCKETS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than the 

11 date of proposal of any regulation under this Act, 

12 the Secretary shall establish a publicly available 

13 rulemaking docket for such regulation. 

14 ‘‘(2) DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED.—The Sec15 retary shall include in the docket— 

16 ‘‘(A) all written comments and documen17 tary information on the proposed rule received 

18 from any person in the comment period for the 

19 rulemaking, promptly upon receipt by the Sec20 retary; 

21 ‘‘(B) the transcript of each public hearing, 

22 if any, on the proposed rule, promptly upon re23 ceipt from the person who transcribed such 

24 hearing; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) all documents that become available 

2 after the proposed rule is published and that 

3 the Secretary determines are of central rel4 evance to the rulemaking, by as soon as pos5 sible after their availability. 

6 ‘‘(3) PROPOSED AND DRAFT FINAL RULE AND

7 ASSOCIATED MATERIAL.—The Secretary shall in8 clude in the docket— 

9 ‘‘(A) each draft proposed rule submitted by 

10 the Secretary to the Office of Management and 

11 Budget for any interagency review process prior 

12 to proposal of such rule, all documents accom13 panying such draft, all written comments there14 on by other agencies, and all written responses 

15 to such written comments by the Secretary, by 

16 no later than the date of proposal of the rule; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(B) each draft final rule submitted by the 

19 Secretary for such review process before 

20 issuance of the final rule, all such written com21 ments thereon, all documents accompanying 

22 such draft, and all written responses thereto, by 

23 no later than the date of issuance of the final 

24 rule.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (g) of 

2 section 25 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

3 U.S.C. 1351), as redesignated by section 215(4) of this 

4 Act, is further amended by striking ‘‘paragraph (8) of sec5 tion 5(a) of this Act’’ each place it appears and inserting 

6 ‘‘paragraph (13) of section 5(a) of this Act’’. 

7 SEC. 206. LEASES, EASEMENTS, AND RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 

8 (a) FINANCIAL ASSURANCE AND FISCAL RESPONSI9 BILITY.—Section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

10 Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) is amended by adding at the end 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(q) REVIEW OF BOND AND SURETY AMOUNTS.— 

13 Not later than May 1, 2011, and every 5 years thereafter, 

14 the Secretary shall review the minimum financial responsi15 bility requirements for leases issued under this section and 

16 shall ensure that any bonds or surety required are ade17 quate to comply with the requirements of this Act or the 

18 Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.). 

19 ‘‘(r) PERIODIC FISCAL REVIEW AND REPORT.— 

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

21 the date of enactment of this subsection and every 

22 3 years thereafter, the Secretary shall carry out a 

23 review and prepare a report setting forth— 

24 ‘‘(A)(i) the royalty and rental rates in25 cluded in new offshore oil and gas leases; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the rationale for the rates; 

2 ‘‘(B) whether, in the view of the Secretary, 

3 the royalty and rental rates described in sub4 paragraph (A) will yield a fair return to the 

5 public while promoting the production of oil and 

6 gas resources in a timely manner; 

7 ‘‘(C)(i) the minimum bond or surety 

8 amounts required pursuant to offshore oil and 

9 gas leases; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the rationale for the minimum 

11 amounts; 

12 ‘‘(D) whether the bond or surety amounts 

13 described in subparagraph (C) are adequate to 

14 comply with subsection (q); and 

15 ‘‘(E) whether the Secretary intends to 

16 modify the royalty or rental rates, or bond or 

17 surety amounts, based on the review. 

18 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—In carrying out 

19 a review and preparing a report under paragraph 

20 (1), the Secretary shall provide to the public an op21 portunity to participate. 

22 ‘‘(3) REPORT DEADLINE.—Not later than 30 

23 days after the date on which the Secretary completes 

24 a report under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

25 transmit copies of the report to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Energy and Nat2 ural Resources of the Senate; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Natural Resources 

4 of the House of Representatives. 

5 ‘‘(s) COMPARATIVE REVIEW OF FISCAL SYSTEM.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

7 after the date of enactment of this subsection and 

8 every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall carry 

9 out a comprehensive review of all components of the 

10 Federal offshore oil and gas fiscal system, including 

11 requirements for— 

12 ‘‘(A) bonus bids; 

13 ‘‘(B) rental rates; and 

14 ‘‘(C) royalties. 

15 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) CONTENTS; SCOPE.—A review under 

17 paragraph (1) shall include— 

18 ‘‘(i) the information and analyses nec19 essary to compare the offshore bonus bids, 

20 rents, and royalties of the Federal Govern21 ment to the offshore bonus bids, rents, and 

22 royalties of other resource owners, includ23 ing States and foreign countries; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) an assessment of the overall off25 shore oil and gas fiscal system in the 


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1 United States, as compared to foreign 

2 countries. 

3 ‘‘(B) INDEPENDENT ADVISORY COM4 MITTEE.—In carrying out a review under para5 graph (1), the Secretary shall convene and seek 

6 the advice of an independent advisory com7 mittee comprised of oil and gas and fiscal ex8 perts from States, Indian tribes, academia, the 

9 energy industry, and appropriate nongovern10 mental organizations. 

11 ‘‘(3) REPORT.— 

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

13 prepare a report that contains— 

14 ‘‘(i) the contents and results of the re15 view carried out under paragraph (1) for 

16 the period covered by the report; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) any recommendations of the Sec18 retary based on the contents and results of 

19 the review. 

20 ‘‘(B) REPORT DEADLINE.—Not later than 

21 30 days after the date on which the Secretary 

22 completes a report under paragraph (1), the 

23 Secretary shall transmit copies of the report to 

24 the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

25 House of Representatives and the Committee 


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1 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen2 ate.’’. 

3 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL DILIGENCE.—Section 8 of the 

4 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) is 

5 amended by striking subsection (d) and inserting the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENT FOR CERTIFICATION OF RE8 SPONSIBLE STEWARDSHIP.— 

9 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—No bid 

10 or request for a lease, easement, or right-of-way 

11 under this section, or for a permit to drill under sec12 tion 11(d), may be submitted by any person unless 

13 the person certifies to the Secretary that the person 

14 (including any related person and any predecessor of 

15 such person or related person) meets each of the fol16 lowing requirements: 

17 ‘‘(A) The person is meeting due diligence, 

18 safety, and environmental requirements on 

19 other leases, easements, and rights-of-way. 

20 ‘‘(B) In the case of a person that is a re21 sponsible party for a vessel or a facility from 

22 which oil is discharged, for purposes of section 

23 1002 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

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1 gations under that Act to provide compensation 

2 for covered removal costs and damages. 

3 ‘‘(C) In the 7-year period ending on the 

4 date of certification, the person, in connection 

5 with activities in the oil industry (including ex6 ploration, development, production, transpor7 tation by pipeline, and refining)— 

8 ‘‘(i) was not found to have committed 

9 willful or repeated violations under the Oc10 cupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 

11 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) (including State 

12 plans approved under section 18(c) of such 

13 Act (29 U.S.C. 667(c))) at a rate that is 

14 higher than five times the rate determined 

15 by the Secretary to be the oil industry av16 erage for such violations for such period; 

17 ‘‘(ii) was not convicted of a criminal 

18 violation for death or serious bodily injury; 

19 ‘‘(iii) did not have more than 10 fa20 talities at its exploration, development, and 

21 production facilities and refineries as a re22 sult of violations of Federal or State 

23 health, safety, or environmental laws; 

24 ‘‘(iv) was not assessed, did not enter 

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1 erwise required to pay, civil penalties and 

2 criminal fines for violations the person was 

3 found to have committed under the Fed4 eral Water Pollution Control Act (33 

5 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) (including State pro6 grams approved under sections 402 and 

7 404 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1342 and 

8 1344)) in a total amount that is equal to 

9 more than $10,000,000; and 

10 ‘‘(v) was not assessed, did not enter 

11 into an agreement to pay, and was not oth12 erwise required to pay, civil penalties and 

13 criminal fines for violations the person was 

14 found to have committed under the Clean 

15 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) (includ16 ing State plans approved under section 

17 110 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 7410)) in a 

18 total amount that is equal to more than 

19 $10,000,000. 

20 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT.—If the Secretary deter21 mines that a certification made under paragraph (1) 

22 is false, the Secretary shall cancel any lease, ease23 ment, or right of way and shall revoke any permit 

24 with respect to which the certification was required 

25 under such paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION OF RELATED PERSON.—For 

2 purposes of this subsection, the term ‘related person’ 

3 includes a parent, subsidiary, affiliate, member of 

4 the same controlled group, contractor, subcontractor, 

5 a person holding a controlling interest or in which 

6 a controlling interest is held, and a person with sub7 stantially the same board members, senior officers, 

8 or investors.’’. 

9 (c) ALTERNATIVE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT.— 

10 (1) CLARIFICATION RELATING TO ALTERNATIVE

11 ENERGY DEVELOPMENT.—Section 8(p) of the Outer 

12 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)) is 

13 amended— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

15 (i) in the matter preceding subpara16 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘or’’ after ‘‘1501 

17 et seq.),’’, and by striking ‘‘or other appli18 cable law,’’; and 

19 (ii) by amending subparagraph (D) to 

20 read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(D) use, for energy-related purposes, fa22 cilities currently or previously used for activities 

23 authorized under this Act, except that any oil 

24 and gas energy-related uses shall not be author25 ized in areas in which oil and gas preleasing, 


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1 leasing, and related activities are prohibited by 

2 a moratorium.’’; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

4 (i) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

5 ‘‘coordination’’ and inserting ‘‘in consulta6 tion’’; and 

7 (ii) in subparagraph (J)(ii), by insert8 ing ‘‘a potential site for an alternative en9 ergy facility,’’ after ‘‘deepwater port,’’. 

10 (2) NONCOMPETITIVE ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

11 LEASE OPTIONS.—Section 8(p)(3) of such Act (43 

12 U.S.C. 1337(p)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(3) COMPETITIVE OR NONCOMPETITIVE

14 BASIS.—Any lease, easement, right-of-way, or other 

15 authorization granted under paragraph (1) shall be 

16 issued on a competitive basis, unless— 

17 ‘‘(A) the lease, easement, right-of-way, or 

18 other authorization relates to a project that 

19 meets the criteria established under section 

20 388(d) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (43 

21 U.S.C. 1337 note; Public Law 109–58); 

22 ‘‘(B) the lease, easement, right-of-way, or 

23 other authorization— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is for the placement and oper2 ation of a meteorological or marine data 

3 collection facility; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) has a term of not more than 5 

5 years; or 

6 ‘‘(C) the Secretary determines, after pro7 viding public notice of a proposed lease, ease8 ment, right-of-way, or other authorization, that 

9 no competitive interest exists.’’. 

10 (d) REVIEW OF IMPACTS OF LEASE SALES ON THE

11 MARINE AND COASTAL ENVIRONMENT BY SECRETARY.— 

12 Section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

13 U.S.C. 1337) is amended by adding at the end of sub14 section (a) the following: 

15 ‘‘(9) At least 60 days prior to any lease sale, 

16 the Secretary shall request a review by the Secretary 

17 of Commerce of the proposed sale with respect to 

18 impacts on the marine and coastal environment. The 

19 Secretary of Commerce shall complete and submit in 

20 writing the results of that review within 60 days 

21 after receipt of the Secretary of the Interior’s re22 quest. If the Secretary of Commerce makes specific 

23 recommendations related to a proposed lease sale to 

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1 ommendations, the Secretary shall provide in writing 

2 justification for rejecting or modifying such rec3 ommendations.’’. 

4 (e) LIMITATION ON LEASE TRACT SIZE.—Section 

5 8(b)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

6 U.S.C. 1337(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘, unless the 

7 Secretary finds that a larger area is necessary to comprise 

8 a reasonable economic production unit’’. 

9 (f) SULPHUR LEASES.—Section 8(i) of the Outer 

10 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(i)) is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘meet the urgent need’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘allow’’. 

13 (g) TERMS AND PROVISIONS.—Section 8(b) of the 

14 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(b)) 

15 is amended by striking ‘‘An oil and gas lease issued pursu16 ant to this section shall’’ and inserting ‘‘An oil and gas 

17 lease may be issued pursuant to this section only if the 

18 Secretary determines that activities under the lease are 

19 not likely to result in any condition described in section 

20 5(a)(2)(A)(i), and shall’’. 

21 SEC. 207. DISPOSITION OF REVENUES. 

22 Section 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

23 (43 U.S.C. 1338) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 9. DISPOSITION OF REVENUES. 

2 ‘‘(a) GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsections 

3 (b), (c), and (d), all rentals, royalties, and other sums paid 

4 to the Secretary or the Secretary of the Navy under any 

5 lease on the outer Continental Shelf for the period from 

6 June 5, 1950, to date, and thereafter shall be deposited 

7 in the Treasury of the United States and credited to mis8 cellaneous receipts. 

9 ‘‘(b) LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND.—Ef10 fective for fiscal year 2011 and each fiscal year thereafter, 

11 $900,000,000 of the amounts referred to in subsection (a) 

12 shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States 

13 and credited to the Land and Water Conservation Fund. 

14 These sums shall be available to the Secretary, without 

15 further appropriation or fiscal year limitation, for carrying 

16 out the purposes of the Land and Water Conservation 

17 Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–4 et seq.). 

18 ‘‘(c) HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND.—Effective for 

19 fiscal year 2011 and each fiscal year thereafter, 

20 $150,000,000 of the amounts referred to in subsection (a) 

21 shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States 

22 and credited to the Historic Preservation Fund. These 

23 sums shall be available to the Secretary, without further 

24 appropriation or fiscal year limitation, for carrying out the 

25 purposes of the National Historic Preservation Fund Act 

26 of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). 


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1 ‘‘(d) OCEAN RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND AS2 SISTANCE FUND.—Effective for each fiscal year 2011 and 

3 thereafter, 10 percent of the amounts referred to in sub4 section (a) shall be deposited in the Treasury of the 

5 United States and credited to the Ocean Resources Con6 servation and Assistance Fund established by the Consoli7 dated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2010. 

8 These sums shall be available to the Secretary, subject to 

9 appropriation, for carrying out the purposes of section 605 

10 of the Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources 

11 Act of 2010. 

12 ‘‘(e) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section 

13 shall decrease the amount any State shall receive pursuant 

14 to section 8(g) of this Act or section 105 of the Gulf of 

15 Mexico Energy Security Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 note).’’. 

16 SEC. 208. EXPLORATION PLANS. 

17 (a) LIMITATION ON HARM FROM AGENCY EXPLO18 RATION.—Section 11(a)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf 

19 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1340(a)(1)) is amended by striking 

20 ‘‘, which do not interfere with or endanger actual oper21 ations under any lease maintained or granted pursuant to 

22 this Act, and which are not unduly harmful to aquatic life 

23 in such area’’ and inserting ‘‘if a permit authorizing such 

24 activity is issued by the Secretary under subsection (g)’’. 


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1 (b) EXPLORATION PLAN REVIEW.—Section 11(c) of 

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

3 1340(c)), is amended— 

4 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before the first sentence; 

5 (2) in paragraph (1)(A), as designated by the 

6 amendment made by paragraph (1) of this sub7 section— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘and the provisions of such 

9 lease’’ and inserting ‘‘the provisions of such 

10 lease, and other applicable environmental and 

11 natural resource conservation laws’’; and 

12 (B) by striking the fourth sentence and in13 serting the following: 

14 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall approve such 

15 plan, as submitted or modified, within 90 days 

16 after its submission and it is made publicly ac17 cessible by the Secretary, or within such addi18 tional time as the Secretary determines is nec19 essary to complete any environmental, safety, or 

20 other reviews, if the Secretary determines 

21 that— 

22 ‘‘(i) any proposed activity under such 

23 plan is not likely to result in any condition 

24 described in section 5(a)(2)(A)(i); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the plan complies with other ap2 plicable environmental or natural resource 

3 conservation laws; 

4 ‘‘(iii) in the case of geophysical sur5 veys, the applicant will use the best avail6 able technologies and methods to minimize 

7 impacts on marine life; and 

8 ‘‘(iv) the applicant has demonstrated 

9 the capability and technology to respond 

10 immediately and effectively to a worst-case 

11 oil spill in real-world conditions in the area 

12 of the proposed activity.’’; and 

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

14 ‘‘(5) If the Secretary requires greater than 90 

15 days to review an exploration plan submitted pursu16 ant to any oil and gas lease issued or maintained 

17 under this Act, then the Secretary may provide for 

18 a suspension of that lease pursuant to section 5 

19 until the review of the exploration plan is com20 pleted.’’. 

21 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 11(c) of the Outer 

22 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1340(c), is 

23 amended by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(3) An exploration plan submitted under this 

2 subsection shall include, in the degree of detail that 

3 the Secretary may by regulation require— 

4 ‘‘(A) a schedule of anticipated exploration 

5 activities to be undertaken; 

6 ‘‘(B) a detailed and accurate description of 

7 equipment to be used for such activities, includ8 ing— 

9 ‘‘(i) a description of each drilling unit; 

10 ‘‘(ii) a statement of the design and 

11 condition of major safety-related pieces of 

12 equipment, including independent third 

13 party certification of such equipment; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) a description of any new tech15 nology to be used; 

16 ‘‘(C) a map showing the location of each 

17 well to be drilled; 

18 ‘‘(D) a scenario for the potential blowout 

19 of the well involving the highest potential vol20 ume of liquid hydrocarbons, along with a com21 plete description of a response plan to both con22 trol the blowout and manage the accompanying 

23 discharge of hydrocarbons, including the likeli24 hood for surface intervention to stop the blow25 out, the availability of a rig to drill a relief well, 


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1 an estimate of the time it would take to drill a 

2 relief well, a description of other technology 

3 that may be used to regain control of the well 

4 or capture escaping hydrocarbons and the po5 tential timeline for using that technology for its 

6 intended purpose, and the strategy, organiza7 tion, and resources necessary to avoid harm to 

8 the environment from hydrocarbons; 

9 ‘‘(E) an analysis of the potential impacts 

10 of the worst-case-scenario discharge of hydro11 carbons on the marine, coastal, and human en12 vironments for activities conducted pursuant to 

13 the proposed exploration plan; and 

14 ‘‘(F) such other information deemed perti15 nent by the Secretary.’’. 

16 (d) DRILLING PERMITS.—Section 11(d) of the Outer 

17 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1340(d)) is 

18 amended by to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(d) DRILLING PERMITS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, by 

21 regulation, require that any lessee operating under 

22 an approved exploration plan obtain a permit prior 

23 to drilling any well in accordance with such plan, 

24 and prior to any significant modification of the well 

25 design as originally approved by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ENGINEERING REVIEW REQUIRED.—The 

2 Secretary may not grant any drilling permit or 

3 modification of the permit prior to completion of a 

4 full engineering review of the well system, including 

5 a determination that critical safety systems, includ6 ing blowout prevention, will utilize best available 

7 technology and that blowout prevention systems will 

8 include redundancy and remote triggering capability. 

9 ‘‘(3) OPERATOR SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL

10 MANAGEMENT REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall not 

11 grant any drilling permit or modification of the per12 mit prior to completion of a safety and environ13 mental management plan to be utilized by the oper14 ator during all well operations.’’. 

15 (e) EXPLORATION PERMIT REQUIREMENTS.—Sec16 tion 11(g) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

17 U.S.C. 1340(g)) is amended by— 

18 (1) striking ‘‘shall be issued’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘may be issued’’; 

20 (2) inserting ‘‘and after consultation with the 

21 Secretary of Commerce,’’ after ‘‘in accordance with 

22 regulations issued by the Secretary’’; 

23 (3) striking the ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

24 (2); 


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1 (4) in paragraph (3) striking ‘‘will not be un2 duly harmful to’’ and inserting ‘‘is not likely to 

3 harm’’; 

4 (5) striking the period at the end of paragraph 

5 (3) and inserting a semicolon; and 

6 (6) adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(4) the exploration will be conducted in ac8 cordance with other applicable environmental and 

9 natural resource conservation laws; 

10 ‘‘(5) in the case of geophysical surveys, the ap11 plicant will use the best available technologies and 

12 methods to minimize impacts on marine life; and 

13 ‘‘(6) in the case of drilling operations, the appli14 cant has available oil spill response and clean-up 

15 equipment and technology that has been dem16 onstrated to be capable of effectively remediating a 

17 worst-case release of oil.’’. 

18 (f) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF PLANS; DEEP19 WATER PLAN; PLAN DISAPPROVAL.—Section 11 of the 

20 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1340) is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(i) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF PLANS.—The Sec23 retary shall treat the approval of an exploration plan, or 

24 a significant revision of such a plan, as an agency action 

25 requiring preparation of an environmental assessment or 


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1 environmental impact statement in accordance with the 

2 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

3 4321 et seq.), and shall require that such plan— 

4 ‘‘(1) be based on the best available technology 

5 to ensure safety in carrying out both the drilling of 

6 the well and any oil spill response; and 

7 ‘‘(2) contain a technical systems analysis of the 

8 safety of the proposed activity, the blowout preven9 tion technology, and the blowout and spill response 

10 plans. 

11 ‘‘(j) DISAPPROVAL OF PLAN.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall dis13 approve the plan if the Secretary determines, be14 cause of exceptional geological conditions in the 

15 lease areas, exceptional resource values in the ma16 rine or coastal environment, or other exceptional cir17 cumstances, that— 

18 ‘‘(A) implementation of the plan would 

19 probably cause serious harm or damage to life 

20 (including fish and other aquatic life), to prop21 erty, to any mineral deposits (in areas leased or 

22 not leased), to the national security or defense, 

23 or to the marine, coastal, or human environ24 ments; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the threat of harm or damage will 

2 not disappear or decrease to an acceptable ex3 tent within a reasonable period of time; and 

4 ‘‘(C) the advantages of disapproving the 

5 plan outweigh the advantages of exploration. 

6 ‘‘(2) CANCELLATION OF LEASE FOR DIS7 APPROVAL OF PLAN.—If a plan is disapproved under 

8 this subsection, the Secretary may cancel such lease 

9 in accordance with subsection (c)(1) of this sec10 tion.’’. 

11 SEC. 209. OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LEASING PROGRAM. 

12 Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

13 (43 U.S.C. 1344) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a) in the second sentence by 

15 striking ‘‘meet national energy needs’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘balance national energy needs and the protection of 

17 the marine and coastal environment and all the re18 sources in that environment,’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘considers’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘gives equal consideration to’’; 

21 (3) in subsection (a)(2)(A)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘existing’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘the best available scientific’’; and 

24 (B) by inserting ‘‘, including at least three 

25 consecutive years of data’’ after ‘‘information’’; 


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1 (4) in subsection (a)(2)(D), by inserting ‘‘po2 tential and existing sites of renewable energy instal3 lations,’’ after ‘‘deepwater ports,’’; 

4 (5) in subsection (a)(2)(H), by inserting ‘‘in5 cluding the availability of infrastructure to support 

6 oil spill response’’ before the period; 

7 (6) in subsection (a)(3), by— 

8 (A) striking ‘‘to the maximum extent prac9 ticable,’’; 

10 (B) striking ‘‘obtain a proper balance be11 tween’’ and inserting ‘‘minimize’’; and 

12 (C) striking ‘‘damage,’’ and all that follows 

13 through the period and inserting ‘‘damage and 

14 adverse impacts on the marine, coastal, and 

15 human environments, and enhancing the poten16 tial for the discovery of oil and gas.’’; 

17 (7) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting ‘‘environ18 mental, marine, and energy’’ after ‘‘obtain’’; 

19 (8) in subsection (b)(2), by inserting ‘‘environ20 mental, marine, and’’ after ‘‘interpret the’’; 

21 (9) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

22 the semicolon at the end; 

23 (10) by striking the period at the end of sub24 section (b)(4) and inserting a semicolon; 


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1 (11) by adding at the end of subsection (b) the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(5) provide technical review and oversight of 

4 exploration plans and a systems review of the safety 

5 of well designs and other operational decisions; 

6 ‘‘(6) conduct regular and thorough safety re7 views and inspections; and 

8 ‘‘(7) enforce all applicable laws and regula9 tions.’’; 

10 (12) in the first sentence of subsection (c)(1), 

11 by inserting ‘‘the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

12 Administration and’’ after ‘‘including’’; 

13 (13) in subsection (c)(2)— 

14 (A) by inserting after the first sentence the 

15 following: ‘‘The Secretary shall also submit a 

16 copy of such proposed program to the head of 

17 each Federal agency referred to in, or that oth18 erwise provided suggestions under, paragraph 

19 (1).’’; 

20 (B) in the third sentence, by inserting ‘‘or 

21 head of a Federal agency’’ after ‘‘such Gov22 ernor’’; and 

23 (C) in the fourth sentence, by inserting ‘‘or 

24 between the Secretary and the head of a Fed25 eral agency,’’ after ‘‘affected State,’’; 


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1 (14) by redesignating subsection (c)(3) as sub2 section (c)(4) and by inserting before subsection 

3 (c)(4) (as so redesignated) the following: 

4 ‘‘(3) At least 60 days prior to the publication of a 

5 proposed leasing program under this section, the Sec6 retary shall request a review by the Secretary of Com7 merce of the proposed leasing program with respect to im8 pacts on the marine and coastal environments. If the Sec9 retary rejects or modifies any of the recommendations 

10 made by the Secretary of Commerce concerning the loca11 tion, timing, or conduct of leasing activities under the pro12 posed leasing program, the Secretary shall provide in writ13 ing justification for rejecting or modifying such rec14 ommendations.’’. 

15 (15) in the second sentence of subsection 

16 (d)(2), by inserting ‘‘, the head of a Federal agen17 cy,’’ after ‘‘Attorney General’’; 

18 (16) in subsection (g), by inserting after the 

19 first sentence the following: ‘‘Such information may 

20 include existing inventories and mapping of marine 

21 resources previously undertaken by the Department 

22 of the Interior and the National Oceanic and Atmos23 pheric Administration, information provided by the 

24 Department of Defense, and other available data re25 garding energy or mineral resource potential, naviVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:29 Aug 05, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.PCS H3534

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1 gation uses, fisheries, aquaculture uses, recreational 

2 uses, habitat, conservation, and military uses on the 

3 outer Continental Shelf.’’; and 

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

5 subsection: 

6 ‘‘(i) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary 

7 shall carry out a program of research and development 

8 to ensure the continued improvement of methodologies for 

9 characterizing resources of the outer Continental Shelf 

10 and conditions that may affect the ability to develop and 

11 use those resources in a safe, sound, and environmentally 

12 responsible manner. Such research and development ac13 tivities may include activities to provide accurate estimates 

14 of energy and mineral reserves and potential on the Outer 

15 Continental Shelf and any activities that may assist in fill16 ing gaps in environmental data needed to develop each 

17 leasing program under this section.’’. 

18 SEC. 210. ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES. 

19 (a) INFORMATION NEEDED FOR ASSESSMENT AND

20 MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS.—Section 

21 20 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

22 1346) is amended by striking so much as precedes ‘‘of 

23 any area’’ in subsection (a)(1) and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 20. ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES. 

2 ‘‘(a)(1) The Secretary, in cooperation with the Sec3 retary of Commerce, shall conduct a study no less than 

4 once every three years’’. 

5 (b) IMPACTS OF DEEP WATER SPILLS.—Section 20 

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

7 1346) is amended by— 

8 (1) redesignating subsections (c) through (f) as 

9 (d) through (g); and 

10 (2) inserting after subsection (b) the following 

11 new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(c) The Secretary shall conduct research to identify 

13 and reduce data gaps related to impacts of deepwater hy14 drocarbon spills, including— 

15 ‘‘(1) effects to benthic substrate communities 

16 and species; 

17 ‘‘(2) water column habitats and species; 

18 ‘‘(3) surface and coastal impacts from spills 

19 originating in deep waters; and 

20 ‘‘(4) the use of dispersants.’’. 

21 SEC. 211. SAFETY REGULATIONS. 

22 Section 21 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

23 (43 U.S.C. 1347) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Upon the 

25 date of enactment of this section,’’ and inserting 

26 ‘‘Within 6 months after the date of enactment of the 


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1 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 

2 2010 and every three years thereafter,’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b) by— 

4 (A) striking ‘‘for the artificial islands, in5 stallations, and other devices referred to in sec6 tion 4(a)(1) of’’ and inserting ‘‘under’’; 

7 (B) striking ‘‘which the Secretary deter8 mines to be economically feasible’’; and 

9 (C) adding at the end ‘‘Not later than 6 

10 months after the date of enactment of the 

11 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amend12 ments of 2010 and every 3 years thereafter, the 

13 Secretary shall, in consultation with the Outer 

14 Continental Shelf Safety and Environmental 

15 Advisory Board established under title I of the 

16 Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Re17 sources Act of 2010, identify and publish an 

18 updated list of (1) the best available tech19 nologies for key areas of well design and oper20 ation, including blowout prevention and blowout 

21 and oil spill response and (2) technology needs 

22 for which the Secretary intends to identify best 

23 available technologies in the future.’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(g) SAFETY CASE.—Not later than 6 months after 

2 the date of enactment of the Outer Continental Shelf 

3 Lands Act Amendments of 2010, the Secretary shall pro4 mulgate regulations requiring a safety case be submitted 

5 along with each new application for a permit to drill on 

6 the outer Continental Shelf. Not later than 5 years after 

7 the date final regulations promulgated under this sub8 section go into effect, and not less than every 5 years 

9 thereafter, the Secretary shall enter into an arrangement 

10 with the National Academy of Engineering to conduct a 

11 study to assess the effectiveness of these regulations and 

12 to recommend improvements in their administration. 

13 ‘‘(h) OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND RISK

14 ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

16 out a program of research, development, and risk as17 sessment to address technology and development 

18 issues associated with exploration for, and develop19 ment and production of, energy and mineral re20 sources on the outer Continental Shelf, with the pri21 mary purpose of informing its role relating to safety, 

22 environmental protection, and spill response. 

23 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIC FOCUS AREAS.—The program 

24 under this subsection shall include research and de25 velopment related to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) risk assessment, using all available 

2 data from safety and compliance records both 

3 within the United States and internationally; 

4 ‘‘(B) analysis of industry trends in tech5 nology, investment, and frontier areas; 

6 ‘‘(C) reviews of best available technologies, 

7 including those associated with pipelines, blow8 out preventer mechanisms, casing, well design, 

9 and other associated infrastructure related to 

10 offshore energy development; 

11 ‘‘(D) oil spill response and mitigation, in12 cluding reviews of the best available technology 

13 for oil spill response and mitigation and the 

14 availability and accessibility of such technology 

15 in each region where leasing is taking place; 

16 ‘‘(E) risk associated with human factors; 

17 ‘‘(F) technologies and methods to reduce 

18 the impact of geophysical exploration activities 

19 on marine life; and 

20 ‘‘(G) renewable energy operations.’’. 

21 SEC. 212. ENFORCEMENT OF SAFETY AND ENVIRON22 MENTAL REGULATIONS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 22 of the Outer Conti24 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1348) is amended— 


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1 (1) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(c) INSPECTIONS.—The Secretary and the Secretary 

4 of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating 

5 shall individually, or jointly if they so agree, promulgate 

6 regulations to provide for— 

7 ‘‘(1) scheduled onsite inspection, at least once a 

8 year, of each facility on the outer Continental Shelf 

9 which is subject to any environmental or safety regu10 lation promulgated pursuant to this Act, which in11 spection shall include all safety equipment designed 

12 to prevent or ameliorate blowouts, fires, spillages, or 

13 other major accidents; 

14 ‘‘(2) scheduled onsite inspection, at least once a 

15 month, of each facility on the outer Continental 

16 Shelf engaged in drilling operations and which is 

17 subject to any environmental or safety regulation 

18 promulgated pursuant to this Act, which inspection 

19 shall include validation of the safety case required 

20 for the facility under section 21(g) and identifica21 tions of deviations from the safety case, and shall in22 clude all safety equipment designed to prevent or 

23 ameliorate blowouts, fires, spillages, or other major 

24 accidents; 


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1 ‘‘(3) periodic onsite inspection without advance 

2 notice to the operator of such facility to assure com3 pliance with such environmental or safety regula4 tions; and 

5 ‘‘(4) periodic audits of each required safety and 

6 environmental management plan, and any associated 

7 safety case, both with respect to their implementa8 tion at each facility on the outer Continental Shelf 

9 for which such a plan or safety case is required and 

10 with respect to onshore management support for ac11 tivities at such a facility.’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (d)(1)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘each major fire and each 

14 major oil spillage’’ and inserting ‘‘each major 

15 fire, each major oil spillage, each loss of well 

16 control, and any other accident that presented 

17 a serious risk to human or environmental safe18 ty’’; and 

19 (B) by inserting before the period at the 

20 end the following: ‘‘, as a condition of the lease 

21 or permit’’; 

22 (3) in subsection (d)(2), by inserting before the 

23 period at the end the following: ‘‘as a condition of 

24 the lease or permit’’; 


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1 (4) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the 

2 following: ‘‘Any such allegation from any employee 

3 of the lessee or any subcontractor of the lessee shall 

4 be investigated by the Secretary.’’; 

5 (5) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘recog6 nized’’ and inserting ‘‘uncontrolled’’; and 

7 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(g) INFORMATION ON CAUSES AND CORRECTIVE

9 ACTIONS.—For any incident investigated under this sec10 tion, the Secretary shall promptly make available to all 

11 lessees and the public technical information about the 

12 causes and corrective actions taken. All data and reports 

13 related to any such incident shall be maintained in a data 

14 base available to the public. 

15 ‘‘(h) OPERATOR’S ANNUAL CERTIFICATION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) The Secretary, in cooperation with the 

17 Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

18 Guard is operating, shall require all operators of all 

19 new and existing drilling and production operations 

20 to annually certify that their operations are being 

21 conducted in accordance with applicable law and reg22 ulations. 

23 ‘‘(2) Each certification shall include, but, not be 

24 limited to, statements that verify the operator has— 


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1 ‘‘(A) examined all well control system 

2 equipment (both surface and subsea) being used 

3 to ensure that it has been properly maintained 

4 and is capable of shutting in the well during 

5 emergency operations; 

6 ‘‘(B) examined and conducted tests to en7 sure that the emergency equipment has been 

8 function-tested and is capable of addressing 

9 emergency situations; 

10 ‘‘(C) reviewed all rig drilling, casing, ce11 menting, well abandonment (temporary and 

12 permanent), completion, and workover practices 

13 to ensure that well control is not compromised 

14 at any point while emergency equipment is in15 stalled on the wellhead; 

16 ‘‘(D) reviewed all emergency shutdown and 

17 dynamic positioning procedures that interface 

18 with emergency well control operations; 

19 ‘‘(E) taken the necessary steps to ensure 

20 that all personnel involved in well operations 

21 are properly trained and capable of performing 

22 their tasks under both normal drilling and 

23 emergency well control operations; and 

24 ‘‘(F) updated the operator’s response plan 

25 required under section 25(c)(7) and exploration 


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1 plans required under section 11(c)(3) to reflect 

2 the best available technology, including the 

3 availability of such technology. 

4 ‘‘(i) CEO STATEMENT.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not ap6 prove any application for a permit to drill a well 

7 under this Act unless such application is accom8 panied by a statement in which the chief executive 

9 officer of the applicant attests, in writing, that— 

10 ‘‘(A) the applicant is in compliance with all 

11 applicable environmental and natural resource 

12 conservation laws; 

13 ‘‘(B) the applicant has the capability and 

14 technology to respond immediately and effec15 tively to a worst-case oil spill in real-world con16 ditions in the area of the proposed activity 

17 under the permit; 

18 ‘‘(C) the applicant has an oil spill response 

19 plan that ensures that the applicant has the ca20 pacity to promptly control and stop a blowout 

21 in the event that well control measures fail; 

22 ‘‘(D) the blowout preventer to be used dur23 ing the drilling of the well has redundant sys24 tems to prevent or stop a blowout for all fore25 seeable blowout scenarios and failure modes; 


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1 ‘‘(E) the well design is safe; and 

2 ‘‘(F) the applicant has the capability to ex3 peditiously begin and complete a relief well if 

4 necessary in the event of a blowout. 

5 ‘‘(2) CIVIL PENALTY.—Any chief executive offi6 cer who makes a false certification under paragraph 

7 (1) shall be liable for a civil penalty under section 

8 24. 

9 ‘‘(j) THIRD PARTY CERTIFICATION.—All operators 

10 that modify or upgrade any emergency equipment placed 

11 on any operation to prevent blow-outs or other well control 

12 events, shall have an independent third party conduct a 

13 detailed physical inspection and design review of such 

14 equipment within 30 days of its installation. The inde15 pendent third party shall certify that the equipment will 

16 operate as originally designed and any modifications or 

17 upgrades conducted after delivery have not compromised 

18 the design, performance, or functionality of the equip19 ment. Failure to comply with this subsection shall result 

20 in suspension of the lease.’’. 

21 (b) APPLICATION.—Section 22(i) of the Outer Conti22 nental Shelf Lands Act, as added by the amendments 

23 made by subsection (a), shall apply to approvals of appli24 cations for a permit to drill that are submitted after the 


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1 end of the 6-month period beginning on the date of enact2 ment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 213. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

4 Section 23(c)(3) of the Outer Continental Shelf 

5 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1349(c)(3)) is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘sixty’’ and inserting ‘‘90’’. 

7 SEC. 214. REMEDIES AND PENALTIES. 

8 (a) CIVIL PENALTY, GENERALLY.—Section 24(b) of 

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

10 1350(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), any per12 son who fails to comply with any provision of this Act, 

13 or any term of a lease, license, or permit issued pursuant 

14 to this Act, or any regulation or order issued under this 

15 Act, shall be liable for a civil administrative penalty of not 

16 more than $75,000 for each day of the continuance of 

17 such failure. The Secretary may assess, collect, and com18 promise any such penalty. No penalty shall be assessed 

19 until the person charged with a violation has been given 

20 an opportunity for a hearing. The Secretary shall, by regu21 lation at least every 3 years, adjust the penalty specified 

22 in this paragraph to reflect any increases in the Consumer 

23 Price Index (all items, United States city average) as pre24 pared by the Department of Labor. 


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1 ‘‘(2) If a failure described in paragraph (1) con2 stitutes or constituted a threat of harm or damage to life 

3 (including fish and other aquatic life), property, any min4 eral deposit, or the marine, coastal, or human environ5 ment, a civil penalty of not more than $150,000 shall be 

6 assessed for each day of the continuance of the failure.’’. 

7 (b) KNOWING AND WILLFUL VIOLATIONS.—Section 

8 24(c) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

9 U.S.C. 1350(c)) is amended in paragraph (4) by striking 

10 ‘‘$100,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000,000’’. 

11 (c) OFFICERS AND AGENTS OF CORPORATIONS.— 

12 Section 24(d) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

13 (43 U.S.C. 1350(d)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, or with 

14 willful disregard,’’ after ‘‘knowingly and willfully’’. 

15 SEC. 215. UNIFORM PLANNING FOR OUTER CONTINENTAL 

16 SHELF. 

17 Section 25 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

18 (43 U.S.C. 1351) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘other than the Gulf of Mexico,’’ 

20 in each place it appears; 

21 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

22 the semicolon at the end of paragraph (5), redesig23 nating paragraph (6) as paragraph (11), and insert24 ing after paragraph (5) the following new para25 graphs: 


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1 ‘‘(6) a detailed and accurate description of 

2 equipment to be used for the drilling of wells pursu3 ant to activities included in the development and 

4 production plan, including— 

5 ‘‘(A) a description of the drilling unit or 

6 units; 

7 ‘‘(B) a statement of the design and condi8 tion of major safety-related pieces of equip9 ment, including independent third-party certifi10 cation of such equipment; and 

11 ‘‘(C) a description of any new technology 

12 to be used; 

13 ‘‘(7) a scenario for the potential blowout of 

14 each well to be drilled as part of the plan involving 

15 the highest potential volume of liquid hydrocarbons, 

16 along with a complete description of a response plan 

17 to both control the blowout and manage the accom18 panying discharge of hydrocarbons, including the 

19 likelihood for surface intervention to stop the blow20 out, the availability of a rig to drill a relief well, an 

21 estimate of the time it would take to drill a relief 

22 well, a description of other technology that may be 

23 used to regain control of the well or capture escap24 ing hydrocarbons and the potential timeline for 

25 using that technology for its intended purpose, and 


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1 the strategy, organization, and resources necessary 

2 to avoid harm to the environment from hydro3 carbons; 

4 ‘‘(8) an analysis of the potential impacts of the 

5 worst-case-scenario discharge on the marine and 

6 coastal environments for activities conducted pursu7 ant to the proposed development and production 

8 plan; 

9 ‘‘(9) a comprehensive survey and characteriza10 tion of the coastal or marine environment within the 

11 area of operation, including bathymetry, currents 

12 and circulation patterns within the water column, 

13 and descriptions of benthic and pelagic environ14 ments; 

15 ‘‘(10) a description of the technologies to be de16 ployed on the facilities to routinely observe and mon17 itor in real time the marine environment throughout 

18 the duration of operations, and a description of the 

19 process by which such observation data and informa20 tion will be made available to Federal regulators and 

21 to the System established under section 12304 of 

22 Public Law 111–11 (33 U.S.C. 3603); and’’; 

23 (3) in subsection (e), by striking so much as 

24 precedes paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(e)(1) The Secretary shall treat the approval of a 

2 development and production plan, or a significant revision 

3 of a development and production plan, as an agency action 

4 requiring preparation of an environmental assessment or 

5 environmental impact statement, in accordance with the 

6 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

7 4321 et seq.).’’; 

8 (4) by striking subsections (g) and (l), and re9 designating subsections (h) through (k) as sub10 sections (g) through and (j); and 

11 (5) in subsection (g), as so redesignated, by re12 designating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs 

13 (3) and (4), respectively, and inserting after para14 graph (1) the following: 

15 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall not approve a develop16 ment and production plan, or a significant revision 

17 to such a plan, unless— 

18 ‘‘(A) the plan is in compliance with all 

19 other applicable environmental and natural re20 source conservation laws; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the applicant has available oil spill re22 sponse and clean-up equipment and technology 

23 that has been demonstrated to be capable of ef24 fectively remediating the projected worst-case 


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1 release of oil from activities conducted pursuant 

2 to the development and production plan.’’. 

3 SEC. 216. OIL AND GAS INFORMATION PROGRAM. 

4 Section 26(a)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf 

5 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1352(a)(1)) is amended by— 

6 (1) striking the period at the end of subpara7 graph (A) and inserting ‘‘, provided that such data 

8 shall be transmitted in electronic format either in 

9 real-time or as quickly as practicable following the 

10 generation of such data.’’; and 

11 (2) striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(C) Lessees engaged in drilling operations 

14 shall provide to the Secretary— 

15 ‘‘(i) all daily reports generated by the 

16 lessee, or any daily reports generated by 

17 contractors or subcontractors engaged in 

18 or supporting drilling operations on the 

19 lessee’s lease, no more than 24 hours after 

20 the end of the day for which they should 

21 have been generated; 

22 ‘‘(ii) documentation of blowout pre23 venter maintenance and repair, and any 

24 changes to design specifications of the 


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1 blowout preventer, within 24 hours after 

2 such activity; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) prompt or real-time trans4 mission of the electronic log from a blow5 out preventer control system.’’. 

6 SEC. 217. LIMITATION ON ROYALTY-IN-KIND PROGRAM. 

7 Section 27(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

8 Act (43 U.S.C. 1353(a)) is amended by striking the period 

9 at the end of paragraph (1) and inserting ‘‘, except that 

10 the Secretary shall not conduct a regular program to take 

11 oil and gas lease royalties in oil or gas.’’. 

12 SEC. 218. RESTRICTIONS ON EMPLOYMENT. 

13 Section 29 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

14 (43 U.S.C. 1355) is amended— 

15 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘SEC. 29’’ and all that fol17 lows through ‘‘No full-time’’ and inserting the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 29. RESTRICTIONS ON EMPLOYMENT. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No full-time’’; and 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘, and who was at any 

22 time during the twelve months preceding the 

23 termination of his employment with the Depart24 ment compensated under the Executive Sched25 ule or compensated at or above the annual rate 


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1 of basic pay for grade GS–16 of the General 

2 Schedule’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (1)— 

4 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or 

5 advise’’ after ‘‘represent’’; 

6 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘with 

7 the intent to influence, make’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘act with the intent to influence, directly or in9 directly, or make’’; and 

10 (C) in the matter following subparagraph 

11 (C)— 

12 (i) by inserting ‘‘inspection or enforce13 ment action,’’ before ‘‘or other particular 

14 matter’’; and 

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

16 (3) in paragraph (2)— 

17 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or 

18 advise’’ after ‘‘represent’’; 

19 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘with 

20 the intent to influence, make’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘act with the intent to influence, directly or in22 directly, or make’’; and 

23 (C) by striking the period at the end and 

24 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(3) during the 2-year period beginning on the 

2 date on which the employment of the officer or em3 ployee ceased at the Department, accept employment 

4 or compensation from any party that has a direct 

5 and substantial interest— 

6 ‘‘(A) that was pending under the official 

7 responsibility of the officer or employee as an 

8 officer at any point during the 2-year period 

9 preceding the date of termination of the respon10 sibility; or 

11 ‘‘(B) in which the officer or employee par12 ticipated personally and substantially as an offi13 cer or employee of the Department. 

14 ‘‘(b) PRIOR DEALINGS.—No full-time officer or em15 ployee of the Department of the Interior who directly or 

16 indirectly discharged duties or responsibilities under this 

17 Act shall participate personally and substantially as a 

18 Federal officer or employee, through decision, approval, 

19 disapproval, recommendation, the rendering of advice, in20 vestigation, or otherwise, in a proceeding, application, re21 quest for a ruling or other determination, contract, claim, 

22 controversy, charge, accusation, inspection, enforcement 

23 action, or other particular matter in which, to the knowl24 edge of the officer or employee— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the officer or employee or the spouse, 

2 minor child, or general partner of the officer or em3 ployee has a financial interest; 

4 ‘‘(2) any organization in which the officer or 

5 employee is serving as an officer, director, trustee, 

6 general partner, or employee has a financial interest; 

7 ‘‘(3) any person or organization with whom the 

8 officer or employee is negotiating or has any ar9 rangement concerning prospective employment has a 

10 financial interest; or 

11 ‘‘(4) any person or organization in which the of12 ficer or employee has, within the preceding 1-year 

13 period, served as an officer, director, trustee, general 

14 partner, agent, attorney, consultant, contractor, or 

15 employee. 

16 ‘‘(c) GIFTS FROM OUTSIDE SOURCES.—No full-time 

17 officer or employee of the Department of the Interior who 

18 directly or indirectly discharges duties or responsibilities 

19 under this Act shall, directly or indirectly, solicit or accept 

20 any gift in violation of subpart B of part 2635 of title 

21 5, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations). 

22 ‘‘(d) PENALTY.—Any person that violates subsection 

23 (a) or (b) shall be punished in accordance with section 

24 216 of title 18, United States Code.’’. 


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1 SEC. 219. REPEAL OF ROYALTY RELIEF PROVISIONS. 

2 (a) REPEAL OF PROVISIONS OF ENERGY POLICY ACT

3 OF 2005.—The following provisions of the Energy Policy 

4 Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58) are repealed: 

5 (1) Section 344 (42 U.S.C. 15904; relating to 

6 incentives for natural gas production from deep wells 

7 in shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico). 

8 (2) Section 345 (42 U.S.C. 15905; relating to 

9 royalty relief for deep water production in the Gulf 

10 of Mexico). 

11 (b) REPEAL OF PROVISIONS RELATING TO PLAN12 NING AREAS OFFSHORE ALASKA.—Section 8(a)(3)(B) of 

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

14 1337(a)(3)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘and in the Plan15 ning Areas offshore Alaska’’. 

16 SEC. 220. MANNING AND BUY- AND BUILD-AMERICAN RE17 QUIREMENTS. 

18 Section 30 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

19 (43 U.S.C. 1356) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘shall issue 

21 regulations which’’ and inserting ‘‘shall issue regula22 tions that shall be supplemental to and complemen23 tary with and under no circumstances a substitution 

24 for the provisions of the Constitution and laws of the 

25 United States extended to the subsoil and seabed of 

26 the outer Continental Shelf pursuant to section 


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1 4(a)(1) of this Act, except insofar as such laws 

2 would otherwise apply to individuals who have ex3 traordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, 

4 or business, which has been demonstrated by sus5 tained national or international acclaim, and that’’; 

6 and 

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

8 ‘‘(d) BUY AND BUILD AMERICAN.—It is the intention 

9 of the Congress that this Act, among other things, result 

10 in a healthy and growing American industrial, manufac11 turing, transportation, and service sector employing the 

12 vast talents of America’s workforce to assist in the devel13 opment of energy from the outer Continental Shelf. More14 over, the Congress intends to monitor the deployment of 

15 personnel and material on the outer Continental Shelf to 

16 encourage the development of American technology and 

17 manufacturing to enable United States workers to benefit 

18 from this Act by good jobs and careers, as well as the 

19 establishment of important industrial facilities to support 

20 expanded access to American resources.’’. 

21 SEC. 221. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE BP DEEPWATER 

22 HORIZON OIL SPILL AND OFFSHORE DRILL23 ING. 

24 (a) TECHNICAL EXPERTISE.— 


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1 (1) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING AND

2 NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL.—The National 

3 Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 

4 and Offshore Drilling established under Executive 

5 Order No. 13543 of May 21, 2010 (referred to in 

6 this section as the ‘‘Commission’’) shall consult reg7 ularly, and in any event no less frequently than once 

8 per month, with the engineering and technology ex9 perts who are conducting the ‘‘Analysis of Causes of 

10 the Deepwater Horizon Explosion, Fire, and Oil 

11 Spill to Identify Measures to Prevent Similar Acci12 dents in the Future’’ for the National Academy of 

13 Engineering and the National Research Council. 

14 (2) OTHER TECHNICAL EXPERTS.—The Com15 mission also shall consult with other United States 

16 citizens with experience and expertise in such areas 

17 as— 

18 (A) engineering; 

19 (B) environmental compliance; 

20 (C) health and safety law (particularly oil 

21 spill legislation); 

22 (D) oil spill insurance policies; 

23 (E) public administration; 

24 (F) oil and gas exploration and production; 

25 (G) environmental cleanup; 


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1 (H) fisheries and wildlife management; 

2 (I) marine safety; and 

3 (J) human factors affecting safety. 

4 (3) COMMISSION STAFF AND TECHNICAL EX5 PERTISE.—The Commission shall retain, as either a 

6 full-time employee or a contractor, one or more 

7 science and technology expert-advisors with experi8 ence and expertise in petroleum engineering, rig 

9 safety, or drilling. 

10 (b) SUBPOENAS.— 

11 (1) SUBPOENA POWER.—The Commission may 

12 issue subpoenas in accordance with this subsection 

13 to compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses 

14 and the production of books, records, correspond15 ence, memoranda, and other documents. 

16 (2) ISSUANCE.— 

17 (A) AUTHORIZATION.—A subpoena may be 

18 issued under this subsection only by— 

19 (i) agreement of the Co-Chairs of the 

20 Commission; or 

21 (ii) the affirmative vote of a majority 

22 of the members of the Commission. 

23 (B) JUSTICE DEPARTMENT COORDINA24 TION.— 


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1 (i) NOTIFICATION.—The Commission 

2 shall notify the Attorney General or the 

3 Attorney General’s designee of the Com4 mission’s intent to issue a subpoena under 

5 this subsection, the identity of the recipi6 ent, and the nature of the testimony, docu7 ments, or other evidence (described in sub8 paragraph (A)) sought before issuing such 

9 a subpoena. The form and content of such 

10 notice shall be set forth in the guidelines 

11 issued under clause (iv). 

12 (ii) CONDITIONS FOR OBJECTION TO

13 ISSUANCE.—The Commission may not 

14 issue a subpoena under authority of this 

15 Act if the Attorney General objects to the 

16 issuance of the subpoena on the basis that 

17 the subpoena is likely to interfere with 

18 any— 

19 (I) Federal or State criminal in20 vestigation or prosecution; 

21 (II) pending investigation under 

22 sections 3729 through 3732 of title 

23 31, United States Code (commonly 

24 known as the ‘‘Civil False Claims 

25 Act’’); 


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1 (III) pending investigation under 

2 any other Federal statute providing 

3 for civil remedies; or 

4 (IV) civil litigation to which the 

5 United States or any of its agencies is 

6 or is likely to be a party. 

7 (iii) NOTIFICATION OF OBJECTION.— 

8 The Attorney General or relevant United 

9 States Attorney shall notify the Commis10 sion of an objection raised under this sub11 paragraph without unnecessary delay and 

12 as set forth in the guidelines issued under 

13 clause (iv). 

14 (iv) GUIDELINES.—As soon as prac15 ticable, but no later than 30 days after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act, the At17 torney General, after consultation with the 

18 Commission, shall issue guidelines to carry 

19 out this paragraph. 

20 (C) SIGNATURE AND SERVICE.—A sub21 poena issued under this subsection may be— 

22 (i) issued under the signature of ei23 ther Co-Chair of the Commission or any 

24 member designated by a majority of the 

25 Commission; and 


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1 (ii) served by any person designated 

2 by the Co-Chairs or a member designated 

3 by a majority of the Commission. 

4 (3) ENFORCEMENT.— 

5 (A) REQUIRED PROCEDURES.—In the case 

6 of contumacy of any person issued a subpoena 

7 under this subsection or refusal by such person 

8 to comply with the subpoena, the Commission 

9 may request the Attorney General to seek en10 forcement of the subpoena. Upon such request, 

11 the Attorney General may seek enforcement of 

12 the subpoena in a court described in subpara13 graph (B). The court in which the Attorney 

14 General seeks enforcement of the subpoena may 

15 issue an order requiring the subpoenaed person 

16 to appear at any designated place to testify or 

17 to produce documentary or other evidence de18 scribed in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2), 

19 and may punish any failure to obey the order 

20 as a contempt of that court. 

21 (B) JURISDICTION FOR ENFORCEMENT.— 

22 Any United States district court for a judicial 

23 district in which a person issued a subpoena 

24 under this subsection resides, is served, or may 

25 be found, or where the subpoena is returnable, 


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1 upon application of the Attorney General, shall 

2 have jurisdiction to enforce the subpoena as 

3 provided in subparagraph (A). 

4 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS AND PURPOSES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall de6 velop recommendations for— 

7 (A) improvements to Federal laws, regula8 tions, and industry practices applicable to off9 shore drilling that would— 

10 (i) ensure the effective oversight, in11 spection, monitoring, and response capa12 bilities; and 

13 (ii) protect the environment and nat14 ural resources; and 

15 (B) organizational or other reforms of 

16 Federal agencies or processes, including the 

17 creation of new agencies, as necessary, to en18 sure that the improvements described in para19 graph (1) are implemented and maintained. 

20 (2) GOALS.—In developing recommendations 

21 under paragraph (1), the Commission shall ensure 

22 that the following goals are met: 

23 (A) Ensuring the safe operation and main24 tenance of offshore drilling platforms or vessels. 


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1 (B) Protecting the overall environment and 

2 natural resources surrounding ongoing and po3 tential offshore drilling sites. 

4 (C) Developing and maintaining Federal 

5 agency expertise on the safe and effective use of 

6 offshore drilling technologies, including tech7 nologies to minimize the risk of release of oil 

8 from offshore drilling platforms or vessels. 

9 (D) Encouraging the development and im10 plementation of efficient and effective oil spill 

11 response techniques and technologies that mini12 mize or eliminate any adverse effects on natural 

13 resources or the environment that result from 

14 response activities. 

15 (E) Ensuring that the Federal agencies 

16 regulating offshore drilling are staffed with, and 

17 managed by, career professionals, who are— 

18 (i) permitted to exercise independent 

19 professional judgments and make safety 

20 the highest priority in carrying out their 

21 responsibilities; 

22 (ii) not subject to undue influence 

23 from regulated interests or political ap24 pointees; and 


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1 (iii) subject to strict regulation to pre2 vent improper relationships with regulated 

3 interests and to eliminate real or perceived 

4 conflicts of interests. 

5 (3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—In coordination 

6 with its final public report to the President, the 

7 Commission shall submit to Congress a report con8 taining the recommendations developed under para9 graph (1). 

10 SEC. 222. COORDINATION AND CONSULTATION WITH AF11 FECTED STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 

12 Section 19 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

13 (43 U.S.C. 1345) is amended— 

14 (1) by inserting ‘‘exploration plan or’’ before 

15 ‘‘development and production plan’’ in each place it 

16 appears; and 

17 (2) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(c) ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION OF RECOMMENDA20 TIONS.—The Secretary shall accept recommendations of 

21 the Governor and may accept recommendations of the ex22 ecutive of any affected local government if the Secretary 

23 determines, after having provided the opportunity for con24 sultation, that they provide for a reasonable balance be25 tween the national interest and the well-being of the citiVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:29 Aug 05, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00106 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.PCS H3534

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1 zens of the affected State. For purposes of this subsection, 

2 a determination of the national interest shall be based on 

3 the desirability of obtaining oil and gas supplies in a bal4 anced manner and on protecting coastal and marine eco5 systems and the economies dependent on those eco6 systems. The Secretary shall provide an explanation to the 

7 Governor, in writing, of the reasons for his determination 

8 to accept or reject such Governor’s recommendations, or 

9 to implement any alternative identified in consultation 

10 with the Governor.’’. 

11 SEC. 223. IMPLEMENTATION. 

12 (a) NEW LEASES.—The provisions of this title and 

13 title VII shall apply to any lease that is issued under the 

14 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et 

15 seq.) after the effective date of this Act. 

16 (b) EXISTING LEASES.—For all leases that were 

17 issued under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

18 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) that are in effect on the effective 

19 date of this Act, the Secretary shall take action, consistent 

20 with the terms of those leases, to apply the requirements 

21 of this title and title VII to those leases. Such action may 

22 include, but is not limited to, promulgating regulations, 

23 renegotiating such existing leases, conditioning future 

24 leases on bringing such existing leases into full or partial 


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1 compliance with this title and title VII, or taking any other 

2 actions authorized by law. 

3 SEC. 224. REPORT ON ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE STUD4 IES. 

5 The Secretary of the Interior shall report to Congress 

6 within 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act 

7 on the costs of baseline environmental studies to gather, 

8 analyze, and characterize resource data necessary to im9 plement the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

10 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.). The Secretary shall include in the 

11 report proposals of fees or other ways to recoup such costs 

12 from persons engaging or seeking to engage in activities 

13 on the Outer Continental Shelf to which that Act applies. 

14 SEC. 225. CUMULATIVE IMPACTS ON MARINE MAMMAL SPE15 CIES AND STOCKS AND SUBSISTENCE USE. 

16 Section 20 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

17 (43 U.S.C. 1346) is further amended by adding at the 

18 end the following: 

19 ‘‘(h) CUMULATIVE IMPACTS ON MARINE MAMMAL

20 SPECIES AND STOCKS AND SUBSISTENCE USE.—In deter21 mining, pursuant to subparagraphs (A)(i) and (D)(i) of 

22 section 101(a)(5) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

23 of 1972 (16 U.S.C.1371(a)(5)), whether takings from 

24 specified activities administered under this title will have 

25 a negligible impact on a marine mammal species or stock, 


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1 and not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the avail2 ability of such species or stock for taking for subsistence 

3 uses, the Secretary of Commerce or Interior shall incor4 porate any takings of such species or stock from any other 

5 reasonably foreseeable activities administered under this 

6 Act.’’. 

7 Subtitle B—Royalty Relief for 

8 American Consumers 

9 SEC. 231. SHORT TITLE. 

10 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Royalty Relief for 

11 American Consumers Act of 2010’’. 

12 SEC. 232. ELIGIBILITY FOR NEW LEASES AND THE TRANS13 FER OF LEASES. 

14 (a) ISSUANCE OF NEW LEASES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not 

16 issue any new lease that authorizes the production 

17 of oil or natural gas under the Outer Continental 

18 Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) to a per19 son described in paragraph (2) unless the person has 

20 renegotiated each covered lease with respect to which 

21 the person is a lessee, to modify the payment re22 sponsibilities of the person to require the payment of 

23 royalties if the price of oil and natural gas is greater 

24 than or equal to the price thresholds described in 

25 clauses (v) through (vii) of section 8(a)(3)(C) of the 


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1 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

2 1337(a)(3)(C)). 

3 (2) PERSONS DESCRIBED.—A person referred 

4 to in paragraph (1) is a person that— 

5 (A) is a lessee that— 

6 (i) holds a covered lease on the date 

7 on which the Secretary considers the 

8 issuance of the new lease; or 

9 (ii) was issued a covered lease before 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, but 

11 transferred the covered lease to another 

12 person or entity (including a subsidiary or 

13 affiliate of the lessee) after the date of en14 actment of this Act; or 

15 (B) any other person that has any direct 

16 or indirect interest in, or that derives any ben17 efit from, a covered lease. 

18 (3) MULTIPLE LESSEES.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para20 graph (1), if there are multiple lessees that own 

21 a share of a covered lease, the Secretary may 

22 implement separate agreements with any lessee 

23 with a share of the covered lease that modifies 

24 the payment responsibilities with respect to the 

25 share of the lessee to include price thresholds 


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1 that are equal to or less than the price thresh2 olds described in clauses (v) through (vii) of 

3 section 8(a)(3)(C) of the Outer Continental 

4 Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(a)(3)(C)). 

5 (B) TREATMENT OF SHARE AS COVERED

6 LEASE.—Beginning on the effective date of an 

7 agreement under subparagraph (A), any share 

8 subject to the agreement shall not constitute a 

9 covered lease with respect to any lessees that 

10 entered into the agreement. 

11 (b) TRANSFERS.—A lessee or any other person who 

12 has any direct or indirect interest in, or who derives a 

13 benefit from, a lease shall not be eligible to obtain by sale 

14 or other transfer (including through a swap, spinoff, serv15 icing, or other agreement) any covered lease, the economic 

16 benefit of any covered lease, or any other lease for the 

17 production of oil or natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico 

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

19 1331 et seq.), unless the lessee or other person has— 

20 (1) renegotiated each covered lease with respect 

21 to which the lessee or person is a lessee, to modify 

22 the payment responsibilities of the lessee or person 

23 to include price thresholds that are equal to or less 

24 than the price thresholds described in clauses (v) 

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1 tinental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(a)(3)(C)); 

2 or 

3 (2) entered into an agreement with the Sec4 retary to modify the terms of all covered leases of 

5 the lessee or other person to include limitations on 

6 royalty relief based on market prices that are equal 

7 to or less than the price thresholds described in 

8 clauses (v) through (vii) of section 8(a)(3)(C) of the 

9 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

10 1337(a)(3)(C)). 

11 (c) USE OF AMOUNTS FOR DEFICIT REDUCTION.— 

12 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any amounts 

13 received by the United States as rentals or royalties under 

14 covered leases shall be deposited in the Treasury and used 

15 for Federal budget deficit reduction or, if there is no Fed16 eral budget deficit, for reducing the Federal debt in such 

17 manner as the Secretary of the Treasury considers appro18 priate. 

19 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

20 (1) COVERED LEASE.—The term ‘‘covered 

21 lease’’ means a lease for oil or gas production in the 

22 Gulf of Mexico that is— 

23 (A) in existence on the date of enactment 

24 of this Act; 


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1 (B) issued by the Department of the Inte2 rior under section 304 of the Outer Continental 

3 Shelf Deep Water Royalty Relief Act (43 

4 U.S.C. 1337 note; Public Law 104–58); and 

5 (C) not subject to limitations on royalty re6 lief based on market price that are equal to or 

7 less than the price thresholds described in 

8 clauses (v) through (vii) of section 8(a)(3)(C) of 

9 the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

10 U.S.C. 1337(a)(3)(C)). 

11 (2) LESSEE.—The term ‘‘lessee’’ includes any 

12 person or other entity that controls, is controlled by, 

13 or is in or under common control with, a lessee. 

14 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

15 the Secretary of the Interior. 

16 SEC. 233. PRICE THRESHOLDS FOR ROYALTY SUSPENSION 

17 PROVISIONS. 

18 The Secretary of the Interior shall agree to a request 

19 by any lessee to amend any lease issued for any Central 

20 and Western Gulf of Mexico tract in the period of January 

21 1, 1996, through November 28, 2000, to incorporate price 

22 thresholds applicable to royalty suspension provisions, that 

23 are equal to or less than the price thresholds described 

24 in clauses (v) through (vii) of section 8(a)(3)(C) of the 

25 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 


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1 1337(a)(3)(C)). Any amended lease shall impose the new 

2 or revised price thresholds effective October 1, 2010. Ex3 isting lease provisions shall prevail through September 30, 

4 2010. 

5 Subtitle C—Limitation on 

6 Moratorium 

7 SEC. 241. LIMITATION OF MORATORIUM ON CERTAIN PER8 MITTING AND DRILLING ACTIVITIES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The moratorium set forth in the 

10 decision memorandum of the Secretary of the Interior en11 titled ‘‘Decision memorandum regarding the suspension of 

12 certain offshore permitting and drilling activities on the 

13 Outer Continental Shelf’’ and dated July 12, 2010, and 

14 any suspension of operations issued in connection with the 

15 moratorium, shall not apply to an application for a permit 

16 to drill submitted on or after the effective date of this Act 

17 if the Secretary determines that the applicant— 

18 (1) has complied with the notice entitled ‘‘Na19 tional Notice to Lessees and Operators of Federal 

20 Oil and Gas Leases, Outer Continental Shelf 

21 (OCS)’’ dated June 8, 2010 (NTL No. 2010–N05) 

22 and the notice entitled ‘‘National Notice to Lessees 

23 and Operators of Federal Oil and Gas Leases, Outer 

24 Continental Shelf (OCS)’’ dated June 18, 2010 

25 (NTL No. 2010–N06); 


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1 (2) has complied with additional safety meas2 ures recommended by the Secretary as of the date 

3 of the enactment of this Act; and 

4 (3) has completed all required safety inspec5 tions. 

6 (b) DETERMINATION ON PERMIT.—Not later than 30 

7 days after the date on which the Secretary makes a deter8 mination that an applicant has complied with paragraphs 

9 (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (a), the Secretary shall 

10 make a determination on whether to issue the permit. 

11 (c) NO SUSPENSION OF CONSIDERATION.—No Fed12 eral entity shall suspend the active consideration of, or 

13 preparatory work for, permits required to resume or ad14 vance activities suspended in connection with the morato15 rium. 

16 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than October 

17 31, 2010, the Secretary shall report to the House Com18 mittee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee 

19 on Energy and Natural Resources on the status of: (1) 

20 the collection and analysis of evidence regarding the poten21 tial causes of the April 20, 2010 explosion and sinking 

22 of the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, including 

23 information collected by the Presidential Commission and 

24 other investigations; (2) implementation of safety reforms 

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1 tled ‘‘Increased Safety Measures for Energy Development 

2 on the Outer Continental Shelf,’’; (3) the ability of opera3 tors in the Gulf of Mexico to respond effectively to an oil 

4 spill in light of the Deepwater Horizon incident; and (4) 

5 industry and government efforts to engineer, design, con6 struct and assemble wild well intervention and blowout 

7 containment resources necessary to contain an uncon8 trolled release of hydrocarbons in deep water should an9 other blowout occur. 

10 (e) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing herein affects the 

11 Secretary’s authority to suspend offshore drilling permit12 ting and drilling operations based on the threat of signifi13 cant, irreparable or immediate harm or damage to life, 

14 property, or the marine, coastal or human environment 

15 pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

16 U.S.C. 133 et seq.). 

17 TITLE III—OIL AND GAS 

18 ROYALTY REFORM 

19 SEC. 301. AMENDMENTS TO DEFINITIONS. 

20 Section 3 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man21 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1702) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking the semicolon 

23 and inserting ‘‘including but not limited to the Act 

24 of October 20, 1914 (38 Stat. 741); the Act of Feb25 ruary 25, 1920 (41 Stat. 437); the Act of April 17, 


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1 1926 (44 Stat. 301); the Act of February 7, 1927 

2 (44 Stat. 1057); and all Acts heretofore or hereafter 

3 enacted that are amendatory of or supplementary to 

4 any of the foregoing Acts;’’; 

5 (2) in paragraph (20)(A), by striking ‘‘: Pro6 vided, That’’ and all that follows through ‘‘subject of 

7 the judicial proceeding’’; 

8 (3) in paragraph (20)(B), by striking ‘‘(with 

9 written notice to the lessee who designated the des10 ignee)’’; 

11 (4) in paragraph (23)(A), by striking ‘‘(with 

12 written notice to the lessee who designated the des13 ignee)’’; 

14 (5) by striking paragraph (24) and inserting 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(24) ‘designee’ means a person who pays, off17 sets, or credits monies, makes adjustments, requests 

18 and receives refunds, or submits reports with respect 

19 to payments a lessee must make pursuant to section 

20 102(a);’’; 

21 (6) in paragraph (25)(B)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘(subject to the provisions 

23 of section 102(a) of this Act)’’; and 

24 (B) in clause (ii) by striking the matter 

25 after subclause (IV) and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘that arises from or relates to any lease, easement, right2 of-way, permit, or other agreement regardless of form ad3 ministered by the Secretary for, or any mineral leasing 

4 law related to, the exploration, production, and develop5 ment of oil and gas or other energy resource on Federal 

6 lands or the Outer Continental Shelf;’’. 

7 (7) in paragraph (29), by inserting ‘‘or permit’’ 

8 after ‘‘lease’’; and 

9 (8) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the 

10 end of paragraph (32), by striking the period at the 

11 end of paragraph (33) and inserting a semicolon, 

12 and by adding at the end the following new para13 graphs: 

14 ‘‘(34) ‘compliance review’ means a full-scope or 

15 a limited-scope examination of a lessee’s lease ac16 counts to compare one or all elements of the royalty 

17 equation (volume, value, royalty rate, and allow18 ances) against anticipated elements of the royalty 

19 equation to test for variances; and 

20 ‘‘(35) ‘marketing affiliate’ means an affiliate of 

21 a lessee whose function is to acquire the lessee’s pro22 duction and to market that production.’’. 


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1 SEC. 302. COMPLIANCE REVIEWS. 

2 Section 101 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man3 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1711) is amended by 

4 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(d) The Secretary may, as an adjunct to audits of 

6 accounts for leases, utilize compliance reviews of accounts. 

7 Such reviews shall not constitute nor substitute for audits 

8 of lease accounts. Any disparity uncovered in such a com9 pliance review shall be immediately referred to a program 

10 auditor. The Secretary shall, before completion of a com11 pliance review, provide notice of the review to designees 

12 whose obligations are the subject of the review.’’. 

13 SEC. 303. CLARIFICATION OF LIABILITY FOR ROYALTY PAY14 MENTS. 

15 Section 102(a) of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

16 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1712(a)) is amended 

17 to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(a) In order to increase receipts and achieve effec19 tive collections of royalty and other payments, a lessee who 

20 is required to make any royalty or other payment under 

21 a lease, easement, right-of-way, permit, or other agree22 ment, regardless of form, or under the mineral leasing 

23 laws, shall make such payment in the time and manner 

24 as may be specified by the Secretary or the applicable dele25 gated State. Any person who pays, offsets, or credits mon26 ies, makes adjustments, requests and receives refunds, or 


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1 submits reports with respect to payments the lessee must 

2 make is the lessee’s designee under this Act. Notwith3 standing any other provision of this Act to the contrary, 

4 a designee shall be liable for any payment obligation of 

5 any lessee on whose behalf the designee pays royalty under 

6 the lease. The person owning operating rights in a lease 

7 and a person owning legal record title in a lease shall be 

8 liable for that person’s pro rata share of payment obliga9 tions under the lease.’’. 

10 SEC. 304. REQUIRED RECORDKEEPING. 

11 Section 103(b) of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

12 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1712(a)) is amended 

13 by striking ‘‘6’’ and inserting ‘‘7’’. 

14 SEC. 305. FINES AND PENALTIES. 

15 Section 109 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man16 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1719) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a) in the matter following 

18 paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘$500’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘$1,000’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (a)(2)(B), by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ 

21 after ‘‘such person’’, and by striking the period at 

22 the end and inserting ‘‘; and (ii) has not received no23 tice, pursuant to paragraph (1), of more than two 

24 prior violations in the current calendar year.’’; 


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1 (3) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘$5,000’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘$10,000’’; 

3 (4) in subsection (c)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘; or’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘, including any failure or refusal 

6 to promptly tender requested documents;’’; 

7 (B) in the text following paragraph (3)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘$20,000’’; and 

10 (ii) by striking the comma at the end 

11 and inserting a semicolon; and 

12 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

13 paragraphs: 

14 ‘‘(4) knowingly or willfully fails to make any 

15 royalty payment in the amount or value as specified 

16 by statute, regulation, order, or terms of the lease; 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(5) fails to correctly report and timely provide 

19 operations or financial records necessary for the Sec20 retary or any authorized designee of the Secretary to 

21 accomplish lease management responsibilities,’’; 

22 (5) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘$50,000’’; 


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1 (6) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘by registered 

2 mail’’ and inserting ‘‘a common carrier that provides 

3 proof of delivery’’; and 

4 (7) by adding at the end the following sub5 section: 

6 ‘‘(m)(1) Any determination by the Secretary or a des7 ignee of the Secretary that a person has committed a vio8 lation under subsection (a), (c), or (d)(1) shall toll any 

9 applicable statute of limitations for all oil and gas leases 

10 held or operated by such person, until the later of— 

11 ‘‘(A) the date on which the person corrects the 

12 violation and certifies that all violations of a like na13 ture have been corrected for all of the oil and gas 

14 leases held or operated by such person; or 

15 ‘‘(B) the date a final, nonappealable order has 

16 been issued by the Secretary or a court of competent 

17 jurisdiction. 

18 ‘‘(2) A person determined by the Secretary or a des19 ignee of the Secretary to have violated subsection (a), (c), 

20 or (d)(1) shall maintain all records with respect to the per21 son’s oil and gas leases until the later of— 

22 ‘‘(A) the date the Secretary releases the person 

23 from the obligation to maintain such records; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the expiration of the period during which 

2 the records must be maintained under section 

3 103(b).’’. 

4 SEC. 306. INTEREST ON OVERPAYMENTS. 

5 Section 111 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man6 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1721) is amended— 

7 (1) by amending subsections (h) and (i) to read 

8 as follows: 

9 ‘‘(h) Interest shall not be allowed nor paid nor cred10 ited on any overpayment, and no interest shall accrue from 

11 the date such overpayment was made. 

12 ‘‘(i) A lessee or its designee may make a payment 

13 for the approximate amount of royalties (hereinafter in 

14 this subsection referred to as the ‘estimated payment’) 

15 that would otherwise be due for such lease by the date 

16 royalties are due for that lease. When an estimated pay17 ment is made, actual royalties are payable at the end of 

18 the month following the month in which the estimated 

19 payment is made. If the estimated payment was less than 

20 the amount of actual royalties due, interest is owed on 

21 the underpaid amount. If the lessee or its designee makes 

22 a payment for such actual royalties, the lessee or its des23 ignee may apply the estimated payment to future royal24 ties. Any estimated payment may be adjusted, recouped, 

25 or reinstated by the lessee or its designee provided such 


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1 adjustment, recoupment, or reinstatement is made within 

2 the limitation period for which the date royalties were due 

3 for that lease.’’; 

4 (2) by striking subsection (j); and 

5 (3) in subsection (k)(4)— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘or overpaid royalties and 

7 associated interest’’; and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘, refunded, or credited’’. 

9 SEC. 307. ADJUSTMENTS AND REFUNDS. 

10 Section 111A of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

11 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1721a) is amend12 ed— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)(3), by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ 

14 after ‘‘(3)’’, and by striking the last sentence and in15 serting the following: 

16 ‘‘(B) Except as provided in subparagraph 

17 (C), no adjustment may be made with respect 

18 to an obligation that is the subject of an audit 

19 or compliance review after completion of the 

20 audit or compliance review, respectively, unless 

21 such adjustment is approved by the Secretary 

22 or the applicable delegated State, as appro23 priate. 


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1 ‘‘(C) If an overpayment is identified during 

2 an audit, the Secretary shall allow a credit in 

3 the amount of the overpayment.’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (a)(4)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘six’’ and inserting ‘‘four’’; 

6 and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘shall’’ the second place it 

8 appears and inserting ‘‘may’’; and 

9 (3) in subsection (b)(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

10 the semicolon at the end of subparagraph (C), by 

11 striking the period at the end of subparagraph (D) 

12 and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the end the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(E) is made within the adjustment period 

15 for that obligation.’’. 

16 SEC. 308. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

17 Section 114 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man18 agement Act of 1982 is repealed. 

19 SEC. 309. OBLIGATION PERIOD. 

20 Section 115(c) of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

21 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1724(c)) is amended 

22 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENTS.—In the case of an adjust24 ment under section 111A(a) in which a recoupment 

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1 gation, for purposes of this Act the obligation be2 comes due on the date the lessee or its designee 

3 makes the adjustment.’’. 

4 SEC. 310. NOTICE REGARDING TOLLING AGREEMENTS AND 

5 SUBPOENAS. 

6 (a) TOLLING AGREEMENTS.—Section 115(d)(1) of 

7 the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 

8 (30 U.S.C. 1724(d)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘(with no9 tice to the lessee who designated the designee)’’. 

10 (b) SUBPOENAS.—Section 115(d)(2)(A) of the Fed11 eral Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 

12 U.S.C. 1724(d)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘(with no13 tice to the lessee who designated the designee, which notice 

14 shall not constitute a subpoena to the lessee)’’. 

15 SEC. 311. APPEALS AND FINAL AGENCY ACTION. 

16 Paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 115(h) the Federal 

17 Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 

18 1724(h)) are amended by striking ‘‘33’’ each place it ap19 pears and inserting ‘‘48’’. 

20 SEC. 312. ASSESSMENTS. 

21 Section 116 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man22 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1724) is repealed. 


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1 SEC. 313. COLLECTION AND PRODUCTION ACCOUNT2 ABILITY. 

3 (a) PILOT PROJECT.—Within 2 years after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete a 

5 pilot project with willing operators of oil and gas leases 

6 on the Outer Continental Shelf that assesses the costs and 

7 benefits of automatic transmission of oil and gas volume 

8 and quality data produced under Federal leases on the 

9 Outer Continental Shelf in order to improve the produc10 tion verification systems used to ensure accurate royalty 

11 collection and audit. 

12 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to Con13 gress a report on findings and recommendations of the 

14 pilot project within 3 years after the date of enactment 

15 of this Act. 

16 SEC. 314. NATURAL GAS REPORTING. 

17 The Secretary shall, within 180 days after the date 

18 of enactment of this Act, implement the steps necessary 

19 to ensure accurate determination and reporting of BTU 

20 values of natural gas from all Federal oil and gas leases 

21 to ensure accurate royalty payments to the United States. 

22 Such steps shall include, but not be limited to— 

23 (1) establishment of consistent guidelines for 

24 onshore and offshore BTU information from gas 

25 producers; 


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1 (2) development of a procedure to determine 

2 the potential BTU variability of produced natural 

3 gas on a by-reservoir or by-lease basis; 

4 (3) development of a procedure to adjust BTU 

5 frequency requirements for sampling and reporting 

6 on a case-by-case basis; 

7 (4) systematic and regular verification of BTU 

8 information; and 

9 (5) revision of the ‘‘MMS–2014’’ reporting 

10 form to record, in addition to other information al11 ready required, the natural gas BTU values that 

12 form the basis for the required royalty payments. 

13 SEC. 315. PENALTY FOR LATE OR INCORRECT REPORTING 

14 OF DATA. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall issue regula16 tions by not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

17 of this Act that establish a civil penalty for late or incor18 rect reporting of data under the Federal Oil and Gas Roy19 alty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 

20 (b) AMOUNT.—The amount of the civil penalty shall 

21 be— 

22 (1) an amount (subject to paragraph (2)) that 

23 the Secretary determines is sufficient to ensure filing 

24 of data in accordance with that Act; and 


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1 (2) not less than $10 for each failure to file 

2 correct data in accordance with that Act. 

3 (c) CONTENT OF REGULATIONS.—Except as provided 

4 in subsection (b), the regulations issued under this section 

5 shall be substantially similar to part 216.40 of title 30, 

6 Code of Federal Regulations, as most recently in effect 

7 before the date of enactment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 316. REQUIRED RECORDKEEPING. 

9 Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

10 the Secretary shall publish final regulations concerning re11 quired recordkeeping of natural gas measurement data as 

12 set forth in part 250.1203 of title 30, Code of Federal 

13 Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 

14 Act), to include operators and other persons involved in 

15 the transporting, purchasing, or selling of gas under the 

16 requirements of that rule, under the authority provided 

17 in section 103 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man18 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1713). 

19 SEC. 317. SHARED CIVIL PENALTIES. 

20 Section 206 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man21 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1736) is amended by 

22 striking ‘‘Such amount shall be deducted from any com23 pensation due such State or Indian Tribe under section 

24 202 or section 205 or such State under section 205.’’. 


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1 SEC. 318. APPLICABILITY TO OTHER MINERALS. 

2 Section 304 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man3 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1753) is amended by 

4 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(e) APPLICABILITY TO OTHER MINERALS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

7 law, sections 107, 109, and 110 of this Act and the 

8 regulations duly promulgated with respect thereto 

9 shall apply to any lease authorizing the development 

10 of coal or any other solid mineral on any Federal 

11 lands or Indian lands, to the same extent as if such 

12 lease were an oil and gas lease, on the same terms 

13 and conditions as those authorized for oil and gas 

14 leases. 

15 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

16 law, sections 107, 109, and 110 of this Act and the 

17 regulations duly promulgated with respect thereto 

18 shall apply with respect to any lease, easement, 

19 right-of-way, or other agreement, regardless of form 

20 (including any royalty, rent, or other payment due 

21 thereunder)— 

22 ‘‘(A) under section 8(k) or 8(p) of the 

23 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

24 1337(k) and 1337(p)); or 

25 ‘‘(B) under the Geothermal Steam Act (30 

26 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), to the same extent as if 


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1 such lease, easement, right-of-way, or other 

2 agreement were an oil and gas lease on the 

3 same terms and conditions as those authorized 

4 for oil and gas leases. 

5 ‘‘(3) For the purposes of this subsection, the 

6 term ‘solid mineral’ means any mineral other than 

7 oil, gas, and geo-pressured-geothermal resources, 

8 that is authorized by an Act of Congress to be pro9 duced from public lands (as that term is defined in 

10 section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage11 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)).’’. 

12 SEC. 319. ENTITLEMENTS. 

13 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

14 of this Act, the Secretary shall publish final regulations 

15 prescribing when a Federal lessee or designee must report 

16 and pay royalties on the volume of oil and gas it takes 

17 under either a Federal or Indian lease or on the volume 

18 to which it is entitled to based upon its ownership interest 

19 in the Federal or Indian lease. The Secretary shall give 

20 consideration to requiring 100 percent entitlement report21 ing and paying based upon the lease ownership. 

22 SEC. 320. LIMITATION ON ROYALTY IN-KIND PROGRAM. 

23 Section 36 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

24 192) is amended by inserting before the period at the end 

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1 retary shall not conduct a regular program to take oil and 

2 gas lease royalties in oil or gas’’. 

3 SEC. 321. APPLICATION OF ROYALTY TO OIL THAT IS 

4 SAVED, REMOVED, SOLD, OR DISCHARGED 

5 UNDER OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASES. 

6 Section 8(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

7 Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(a)) is further amended by adding 

8 at the end the following new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(10)(A) Any royalty under a lease under this section 

10 shall apply to all oil that is saved, removed, sold, or dis11 charged, without regard to whether any of the oil is un12 avoidably lost or used on, or for the benefit of, the lease. 

13 ‘‘(B) In this paragraph the term ‘discharged’ means 

14 any emission (other than natural seepage), intentional or 

15 unintentional, and includes, but is not limited to, spilling, 

16 leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, or dump17 ing.’’. 


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1 TITLE IV—FULL FUNDING FOR 

2 THE LAND AND WATER CON3 SERVATION AND HISTORIC 

4 PRESERVATION FUNDS 

5 Subtitle A—Land and Water 

6 Conservation Fund 

7 SEC. 401. AMENDMENTS TO THE LAND AND WATER CON8 SERVATION FUND ACT OF 1965. 

9 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

10 this subtitle an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

11 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi12 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

13 section or other provision of the Land and Water Con14 servation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–4 et seq.). 

15 SEC. 402. EXTENSION OF THE LAND AND WATER CON16 SERVATION FUND. 

17 Section 2 (16 U.S.C. 460l–5) is amended by striking 

18 ‘‘September 30, 2015’’ both places it appears and insert19 ing ‘‘September 30, 2040’’. 

20 SEC. 403. PERMANENT FUNDING. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The text of section 3 (16 U.S.C. 

22 460l–6) is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(a) PERMANENT FUNDING.—Of the moneys covered 

24 into the fund, $900,000,000 shall be available each fiscal 


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1 year for expenditure for the purposes of this Act without 

2 further appropriation. 

3 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION AUTHORITY.—The Committees on 

4 Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 

5 Senate may provide by law for the allocation of moneys 

6 in the fund to eligible activities under this Act. 

7 ‘‘(c) RECREATIONAL ACCESS FUNDING.—Notwith8 standing subsection (b), not less than 1.5 percent of the 

9 amounts made available under subsection (a) for each fis10 cal year shall be made available for projects that secure 

11 recreational public access to Federal land under the juris12 diction of the Secretary of the Interior for hunting, fish13 ing, and other recreational purposes through easements, 

14 rights-of-way, or fee title acquisitions, from willing sell15 ers.’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

17 (1) Section 2(c)(2) (16 U.S.C. 460l–5(c)(2)) is 

18 amended by striking ‘‘: Provided’’ and all that fol19 lows through the end of the sentence and inserting 

20 a period. 

21 (2) Section 7(a) (16 U.S.C. 460l–9) is amended 

22 to read as follows: ‘‘Moneys from the fund for Fed23 eral purposes shall, unless allocated pursuant to sec24 tion 3(b) of this Act, be allotted by the President to 

25 the following purposes and subpurposes:’’. 


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1 Subtitle B—National Historic 

2 Preservation Fund 

3 SEC. 411. PERMANENT FUNDING. 

4 The text of section 108 of the National Historic Pres5 ervation Act (16 U.S.C. 470h) is amended to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(a) PERMANENT FUNDING.—To carry out the provi8 sions of this Act, there is hereby established the Historic 

9 Preservation Fund (hereinafter referred to as the ‘fund’) 

10 in the Treasury of the United States. There shall be cov11 ered into the fund $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

12 1982 through 2040 from revenues due and payable to the 

13 United States under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

14 Act (67 Stat. 462, 469), as amended (43 U.S.C. 1338) 

15 and/or under the Act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 813), as 

16 amended (30 U.S.C.191), notwithstanding any provision 

17 of law that such proceeds shall be credited to miscella18 neous receipts of the Treasury. Such moneys shall be used 

19 only to carry out the purposes of this Act and shall be 

20 available for expenditure without further appropriation. 

21 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION AUTHORITY.—The Committees on 

22 Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 

23 Senate may provide by law for the allocation of moneys 

24 in the fund to eligible activities under this Act.’’. 


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1 TITLE V—GULF OF MEXICO 

2 RESTORATION 

3 SEC. 501. GULF OF MEXICO RESTORATION PROGRAM. 

4 (a) PROGRAM.—There is established a Gulf of Mexico 

5 Restoration Program for the purposes of coordinating 

6 Federal, State, and local restoration programs and 

7 projects to maximize efforts in restoring biological integ8 rity, productivity and ecosystem functions in the Gulf of 

9 Mexico. 

10 (b) GULF OF MEXICO RESTORATION TASK FORCE.— 

11 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a 

12 task force to be known as the Gulf of Mexico Res13 toration Task Force (in this section referred to as 

14 the ‘‘Restoration Task Force’’). 

15 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Restoration Task 

16 Force shall consist of the Governors of each of the 

17 Gulf Coast States and the heads of appropriate Fed18 eral agencies selected by the President. The chair19 person of the Restoration Task Force (in this sub20 section referred to as the ‘‘Chair’’) shall be ap21 pointed by the President. The Chair shall be a per22 son who, as the result of experience and training, is 

23 exceptionally well-qualified to manage the work of 

24 the Restoration Task Force. The Chair shall serve 

25 in the Executive Office of the President. 


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1 (3) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—The Restoration 

2 Task Force may establish advisory committees and 

3 working groups as necessary to carry out is its du4 ties under this Act. 

5 (4) CITIZEN ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Gulf Coast Res7 toration Task Force shall create a Citizen Advi8 sory Council made up of individuals who— 

9 (i) are local residents of the Gulf of 

10 Mexico region; 

11 (ii) are stakeholders who are not from 

12 the oil and gas industry or scientific com13 munity; 

14 (iii) include business owners, home15 owners, and local decisionmakers; and 

16 (iv) are a balanced representation geo17 graphically and in diversity among the in18 terests of its members. 

19 (B) FUNCTION.—The Council shall provide 

20 recommendations to the Task Force regarding 

21 its work. 

22 (c) GULF OF MEXICO RESTORATION PLAN.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than nine months 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Restora25 tion Task Force shall issue a proposed comprehenVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:29 Aug 05, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00137 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.PCS H3534

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1 sive, multi-jurisdictional plan for long-term restora2 tion of the Gulf of Mexico that incorporates, to the 

3 greatest extent possible, existing restoration plans. 

4 Not later than 12 months after the date of enact5 ment and after notice and opportunity for public 

6 comment, the Restoration Task Force shall publish 

7 a final plan. The Plan shall be updated every five 

8 years in the same manner. 

9 (2) ELEMENTS OF RESTORATION PLAN.—The 

10 Plan shall— 

11 (A) identify processes and strategies for 

12 coordinating Federal, State, and local restora13 tion programs and projects to maximize efforts 

14 in restoring biological integrity, productivity 

15 and ecosystem functions in the Gulf of Mexico 

16 region; 

17 (B) identify mechanisms for scientific re18 view and input to evaluate the benefits and 

19 long-term effectiveness of restoration programs 

20 and projects; 

21 (C) identify, using the best science avail22 able, strategies for implementing restoration 

23 programs and projects for natural resources in24 cluding— 


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1 (i) restoring species population and 

2 habitat including oyster reefs, sea grass 

3 beds, coral reefs, tidal marshes and other 

4 coastal wetlands and barrier islands and 

5 beaches; 

6 (ii) restoring fish passage and improv7 ing migratory pathways for wildlife; 

8 (iii) research that directly supports 

9 restoration programs and projects; 

10 (iv) restoring the biological produc11 tivity and ecosystem function in the Gulf 

12 of Mexico region; 

13 (v) improving the resilience of natural 

14 resources to withstand the impacts of cli15 mate change and ocean acidification to en16 sure the long-term effectiveness of the res17 toration program; and 

18 (vi) restoring fisheries resources in 

19 the Gulf of Mexico that benefit the com20 mercial and recreational fishing industries 

21 and seafood processing industries through22 out the United States. 

23 (3) REPORT.—The Task Force shall annually 

24 provide a report to Congress about the progress in 

25 implementing the Plan. 


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1 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 

2 term— 

3 (1) ‘‘Gulf Coast State’’ means each of the 

4 States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, 

5 and Florida; and 

6 (2) ‘‘restoration programs and projects’’ means 

7 activities that support the restoration, rehabilitation, 

8 replacement, or acquisition of the equivalent, of in9 jured or lost natural resources including the ecologi10 cal services and benefits provided by such resources. 

11 (e) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—Nothing in this 

12 section affects the ability or authority of the Federal Gov13 ernment to recover costs of removal or damages from a 

14 person determined to be a responsible party pursuant to 

15 the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) 

16 or other law. 

17 SEC. 502. GULF OF MEXICO LONG-TERM ENVIRONMENTAL 

18 MONITORING AND RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—To ensure that the Federal Gov20 ernment has independent, peer-reviewed scientific data 

21 and information to assess long-term direct and indirect 

22 impacts on trust resources located in the Gulf of Mexico 

23 and Southeast region resulting from the Deepwater Hori24 zon oil spill, the Secretary, through the National Oceanic 

25 and Atmospheric Administration, shall establish as soon 


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1 as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, a 

2 long-term, comprehensive marine environmental moni3 toring and research program for the marine and coastal 

4 environment of the Gulf of Mexico. The program shall re5 main in effect for a minimum of 10 years, and the Sec6 retary may extend the program beyond this initial period 

7 based upon a determination that additional monitoring 

8 and research is warranted. 

9 (b) SCOPE OF PROGRAM.—The program established 

10 under subsection (a) shall at a minimum include moni11 toring and research of the physical, chemical, and biologi12 cal characteristics of the affected marine, coastal, and es13 tuarine areas of the Gulf of Mexico and other regions of 

14 the exclusive economic zone of the United States affected 

15 by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and shall include spe16 cifically the following elements: 

17 (1) The fate, transport, and persistence of oil 

18 released during the spill and spatial distribution 

19 throughout the water column. 

20 (2) The fate, transport, and persistence of 

21 chemical dispersants applied in-situ or on surface 

22 waters. 

23 (3) Identification of lethal and sub-lethal im24 pacts to fish and wildlife resources that utilize habi25 tats located within the affected region. 


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1 (4) Impacts to regional, State, and local econo2 mies that depend on the natural resources of the af3 fected area, including commercial and recreational 

4 fisheries, and other wildlife-dependent recreation. 

5 (5) Other elements considered necessary by the 

6 Secretary to ensure a comprehensive marine re7 search and monitoring program to comprehend and 

8 understand the implications to trust resources 

9 caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. 

10 (c) COOPERATION AND CONSULTATION.—In devel11 oping the research and monitoring program established 

12 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall cooperate with 

13 the United States Geological Survey, and shall consult 

14 with— 

15 (1) the Council authorized under subtitle E of 

16 title II of Public Law 104–201; 

17 (2) appropriate representatives from the Gulf 

18 Coast States; 

19 (3) academic institutions and other research or20 ganizations; and 

21 (4) other experts with expertise in long-term 

22 environmental monitoring and research of the ma23 rine environment. 

24 (d) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—Data and information 

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1 section (a) shall be managed and archived to ensure that 

2 it is accessible and available to governmental and non3 governmental personnel and to the general public for their 

4 use and information. 

5 (e) REPORT.—No later than 1 year after the estab6 lishment of the program under subsection (a), and bienni7 ally thereafter, the Secretary shall forward to the Con8 gress a comprehensive report summarizing the activities 

9 and findings of the program and detailing areas and issues 

10 requiring future monitoring and research. 

11 (f) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section, 

12 the term— 

13 (1) ‘‘trust resources’’ means the living and non14 living natural resources belonging to, managed by, 

15 held in trust by, appertaining to, or otherwise con16 trolled by the United States, any State, an Indian 

17 tribe, or a local government; 

18 (2) ‘‘Gulf coast State’’ means each of the states 

19 of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Flor20 ida; and 

21 (3) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Com22 merce. 


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1 SEC. 503. GULF OF MEXICO EMERGENCY MIGRATORY SPE2 CIES ALTERNATIVE HABITAT PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to reduce the injury or 

4 death of many populations of migratory species of fish and 

5 wildlife, including threatened and endangered species and 

6 other species of critical conservation concern, that utilize 

7 estuarine, coastal, and marine habitats of the Gulf of Mex8 ico that have been impacted, or are likely to be impacted, 

9 by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and to ensure that mi10 gratory species upon their annual return to the Gulf of 

11 Mexico find viable, healthy, and environmentally-safe habi12 tats to utilize for resting, feeding, nesting and roosting, 

13 and breeding, the Secretary of the Interior shall establish 

14 as soon as practicable after date of enactment of this Act, 

15 an emergency migratory species alternative habitat pro16 gram. 

17 (b) SCOPE OF PROGRAM.—The program established 

18 under subsection (a) shall at a minimum support projects 

19 along the Northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico to— 

20 (1) improve wetland water quality and forage; 

21 (2) restore and refurbish diked impoundments; 

22 (3) improve riparian habitats to increase fish 

23 passage and breeding habitat; 

24 (4) encourage conversion of agricultural lands 

25 to provide alternative migratory habitat for water 

26 fowl and other migratory birds; 


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1 (5) transplant, relocate, or rehabilitate fish and 

2 wildlife; and 

3 (6) conduct other activities considered nec4 essary by the Secretary to ensure that migratory 

5 species have alternative habitat available for their 

6 use outside of habitat impacted by the oil spill. 

7 (c) NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION.— 

8 In implementing this section the Secretary may enter into 

9 an agreement with the National Fish and Wildlife Foun10 dation to administer the program. 

11 SEC. 504. GULF OF MEXICO RESTORATION ACCOUNT. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—There 

13 is established in the Treasury of the United States a sepa14 rate account to be known as the ‘‘Gulf of Mexico Restora15 tion Account’’. 

16 (b) FUNDING.—The Gulf of Mexico Restoration Ac17 count shall consist of such amounts as may be appro18 priated or credited to such Account by section 311A of 

19 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. 

20 (c) EXPENDITURES.—Amounts in the Gulf of Mexico 

21 Restoration Account shall be available, as provided in ap22 propriations Acts, to carry out projects, programs, and ac23 tivities as recommended by the Gulf of Mexico Restoration 

24 Task Force established in this title. 


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1 (d) AMENDMENT TO THE FEDERAL WATER POLLU2 TION CONTROL ACT.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal 

4 Water Pollution Control Act is amended by inserting 

5 after section 311 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 311A. ADDITIONAL PENALTIES FOR LARGE SPILLS IN 

7 THE GULF OF MEXICO. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an offshore facility 

9 from which more than 1,000,000 barrels of oil or a haz10 ardous substance is discharged into the Gulf of Mexico 

11 in violation of section 311(b)(3), any person who is the 

12 owner or operator of the facility shall be subject to a civil 

13 penalty of $200,000,000 for each 1,000,000 barrels dis14 charged. 

15 ‘‘(b) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PENALTIES.—The 

16 civil penalty under subsection (a) shall be in addition to 

17 any other penalties to which the owner or operator of the 

18 facility is subject, including those under section 311.’’. 

19 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

20 by paragraph (1) takes effect on April 1, 2010. 

21 TITLE VI—COORDINATION AND 

22 PLANNING 

23 SEC. 601. REGIONAL COORDINATION. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The purpose of this title is to pro25 mote— 


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1 (1) better coordination, communication, and 

2 collaboration between Federal agencies with authori3 ties for ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes manage4 ment; and 

5 (2) coordinated and collaborative regional plan6 ning efforts using the best available science, and to 

7 ensure the protection and maintenance of marine 

8 ecosystem health, in decisions affecting the sustain9 able development and use of Federal renewable and 

10 nonrenewable resources on, in, or above the ocean 

11 (including the Outer Continental Shelf) and the 

12 Great Lakes for the long-term economic and envi13 ronmental benefit of the United States. 

14 (b) OBJECTIVES OF REGIONAL EFFORTS.—Such re15 gional efforts shall achieve the following objectives: 

16 (1) Greater systematic communication and co17 ordination among Federal, coastal State, and af18 fected tribal governments concerned with the con19 servation of and the sustainable development and 

20 use of Federal renewable and nonrenewable re21 sources of the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes. 

22 (2) Greater reliance on a multiobjective, 

23 science- and ecosystem-based, spatially explicit man24 agement approach that integrates regional economic, 

25 ecological, affected tribal, and social objectives into 


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1 ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes management deci2 sions. 

3 (3) Identification and prioritization of shared 

4 State and Federal ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes 

5 management issues. 

6 (4) Identification of data and information need7 ed by the Regional Coordination Councils established 

8 under section 602. 

9 (c) REGIONS.—There are hereby designated the fol10 lowing Coordination Regions: 

11 (1) PACIFIC REGION.—The Pacific Coordination 

12 Region, which shall consist of the coastal waters and 

13 Exclusive Economic Zone adjacent to the States of 

14 Washington, Oregon, and California. 

15 (2) GULF OF MEXICO REGION.—The Gulf of 

16 Mexico Coordination Region, which shall consist of 

17 the coastal waters and Exclusive Economic Zone ad18 jacent to the States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, 

19 and Alabama, and the west coast of Florida. 

20 (3) NORTH ATLANTIC REGION.—The North At21 lantic Coordination Region, which shall consist of 

22 the coastal waters and Exclusive Economic Zone ad23 jacent to the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Mas24 sachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. 


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1 (4) MID ATLANTIC REGION.—The Mid Atlantic 

2 Coordination Region, which shall consist of the 

3 coastal waters and Exclusive Economic Zone adja4 cent to the States of New York, New Jersey, Penn5 sylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. 

6 (5) SOUTH ATLANTIC REGION.—The South At7 lantic Coordination Region, which shall consist of 

8 the coastal waters and Exclusive Economic Zone ad9 jacent to the States of North Carolina, South Caro10 lina, Georgia, the east coast of Florida, and the 

11 Straits of Florida Planning Area. 

12 (6) ALASKA REGION.—The Alaska Coordination 

13 Region, which shall consist of the coastal waters and 

14 Exclusive Economic Zone adjacent to the State of 

15 Alaska. 

16 (7) PACIFIC ISLANDS REGION.—The Pacific Is17 lands Coordination Region, which shall consist of the 

18 coastal waters and Exclusive Economic Zone adja19 cent to the State of Hawaii, the Commonwealth of 

20 the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, 

21 and Guam. 

22 (8) CARIBBEAN REGION.—The Caribbean Co23 ordination Region, which shall consist of the coastal 

24 waters and Exclusive Economic Zone adjacent to 

25 Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. 


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1 (9) GREAT LAKES REGION.—The Great Lakes 

2 Coordination Region, which shall consist of waters of 

3 the Great Lakes in the States of Illinois, Indiana, 

4 Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsyl5 vania, and Wisconsin. 

6 SEC. 602. REGIONAL COORDINATION COUNCILS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act, the Chairman of the Council on 

9 Environmental Quality, in consultation with the affected 

10 coastal States and affected Indian tribes, shall establish 

11 or designate a Regional Coordination Council for each of 

12 the Coordination Regions designated by section 601(c). 

13 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

14 (1) FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES.—Within 90 

15 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

16 Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality 

17 shall publish the titles of the officials of each Fed18 eral agency and department that shall participate in 

19 each Council. The Councils shall include representa20 tives of each Federal agency and department that 

21 has authorities related to the development of ocean, 

22 coastal, or Great Lakes policies or engages in plan23 ning, management, or scientific activities that sig24 nificantly affect or inform the use of ocean, coastal, 

25 or Great Lakes resources. The Chairman of the 


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1 Council on Environmental Quality shall determine 

2 which Federal agency representative shall serve as 

3 the chairperson of each Council. 

4 (2) COASTAL STATE REPRESENTATIVES.— 

5 (A) NOTICE OF INTENT TO PARTICI6 PATE.—The Governor of each coastal State 

7 within each Coordination Region designated by 

8 section 601(c) shall within 3 months after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, inform the Chair10 man of the Council on Environmental Quality 

11 whether or not the State intends to participate 

12 in the Regional Coordination Council for the 

13 Region. 

14 (B) APPOINTMENT OF RESPONSIBLE

15 STATE OFFICIAL.—If a coastal State intends to 

16 participate in such Council, the Governor of the 

17 coastal State shall appoint an officer or em18 ployee of the coastal State agency with primary 

19 responsibility for overseeing ocean and coastal 

20 policy or resource management to that Council. 

21 (C) ALASKA REGIONAL COORDINATION

22 COUNCIL.—The Regional Coordination Council 

23 for the Alaska Coordination Region shall in24 clude representation from each of the States of 

25 Alaska, Washington, and Oregon, if appointed 


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1 by the Governor of that State in accordance 

2 with this paragraph. 

3 (3) REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL

4 REPRESENTATION.—A representative of each Re5 gional Fishery Management Council with jurisdiction 

6 in the Coordination Region of a Regional Coordina7 tion Council (who is selected by the Regional Fish8 ery Management Council) and the executive director 

9 of the interstate marine fisheries commission with 

10 jurisdiction in the Coordination Region of a Regional 

11 Coordination Council shall each serve as a member 

12 of the Council. 

13 (4) REGIONAL OCEAN PARTNERSHIP REP14 RESENTATION.—A representative of any Regional 

15 Ocean Partnership that has been established for any 

16 part of the Coordination Region of a Regional Co17 ordination Council may appoint a representative to 

18 serve on the Council in addition to any Federal or 

19 State appointments. 

20 (5) TRIBAL REPRESENTATION.—An appropriate 

21 tribal official selected by affected Indian tribes situ22 ated in the affected Coordination Region may elect 

23 to appoint a representative of such tribes collectively 

24 to serve as a member of the Regional Coordination 

25 Council for that Region. 


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1 (6) LOCAL REPRESENTATION.—The Chairman 

2 of the Council on Environmental Quality shall, in 

3 consultation with the Governors of the coastal States 

4 within each Coordination Region, identify and ap5 point representatives of county and local govern6 ments, as appropriate, to serve as members of the 

7 Regional Coordination Council for that Region. 

8 (c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Each Regional Coordi9 nation Council shall establish advisory committees for the 

10 purposes of public and stakeholder input and scientific ad11 vice, made up of a balanced representation from the en12 ergy, shipping, transportation, commercial and rec13 reational fishing, and recreation industries, from marine 

14 environmental nongovernmental organizations, and from 

15 scientific and educational authorities with expertise in the 

16 conservation and management of ocean, coastal, and 

17 Great Lakes resources to advise the Council during the 

18 development of Regional Assessments and Regional Stra19 tegic Plans and in its other activities. 

20 (d) COORDINATION WITH EXISTING PROGRAMS.— 

21 Each Regional Coordination Council shall build upon and 

22 complement current State, multistate, and regional capac23 ity and governance and institutional mechanisms to man24 age and protect ocean waters, coastal waters, and ocean 

25 resources. 


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1 SEC. 603. REGIONAL STRATEGIC PLANS. 

2 (a) INITIAL REGIONAL ASSESSMENT.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Regional Coordination 

4 Council, shall, within one year after the date of en5 actment of this Act, prepare an initial assessment of 

6 its Coordination Region that shall identify defi7 ciencies in data and information necessary to in8 formed decisionmaking by Federal, State, and af9 fected tribal governments concerned with the con10 servation of and management of the oceans, coasts, 

11 and Great Lakes. Each initial assessment shall to 

12 the extent feasible— 

13 (A) identify the Coordination Region’s re14 newable and non renewable resources, including 

15 current and potential energy resources, except 

16 for the assessment for the Great Lakes Coordi17 nation Region, for which the Regional Coordi18 nation Council for such Coordination Region 

19 shall only identify the Great Lakes Coordina20 tion Region’s renewable energy resources, in21 cluding current and potential renewable energy 

22 resources; 

23 (B) identify and include a spatially and 

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1 ing fishing and fish habitat, recreation, and en2 ergy development; 

3 (C) document the health and relative envi4 ronmental sensitivity of the marine ecosystem 

5 within the Coordination Region, including a 

6 comprehensive survey and status assessment of 

7 species, habitats, and indicators of ecosystem 

8 health; 

9 (D) identify marine habitat types and im10 portant ecological areas within the Coordination 

11 Region; 

12 (E) assess the Coordination Region’s ma13 rine economy and cultural attributes and in14 clude regionally-specific ecological and socio15 economic baseline data; 

16 (F) identify and prioritize additional sci17 entific and economic data necessary to inform 

18 the development of Strategic Plans; and 

19 (G) include other information to improve 

20 decision making as determined by the Regional 

21 Coordination Council. 

22 (2) DATA.—Each initial assessment shall— 

23 (A) use the best available data; 

24 (B) collect and provide data in a spatially 

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1 vide such data to the interagency comprehensive 

2 digital mapping initiative as described in section 

3 2 of Public Law 109–58 (42 U.S.C. 15801); 

4 and 

5 (C) make publicly available any such data 

6 that is not classified information. 

7 (3) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—Each Regional 

8 Coordination Council shall provide adequate oppor9 tunity for review and input by stakeholders and the 

10 general public during the preparation of the initial 

11 assessment and any revised assessments. 

12 (b) REGIONAL STRATEGIC PLANS.— 

13 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Each Regional Coordina14 tion Council shall, within 3 years after the comple15 tion of the initial regional assessment, prepare and 

16 submit to the Chairman of the Council on Environ17 mental Quality a multiobjective, science- and eco18 system-based, spatially explicit, integrated Strategic 

19 Plan in accordance with this subsection for the 

20 Council’s Coordination Region. 

21 (2) OBJECTIVE AND GOALS.—The objective of 

22 the Strategic Plans under this subsection shall be to 

23 foster comprehensive, integrated, and sustainable de24 velopment and use of ocean, coastal, and Great 

25 Lakes resources, while protecting marine ecosystem 


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1 health and sustaining the long-term economic and 

2 ecosystem values of the oceans, coasts, and Great 

3 Lakes. 

4 (3) CONTENTS.—Each Strategic Plan prepared 

5 by a Regional Coordination Council shall— 

6 (A) be based on the initial regional assess7 ment and updates for the Coordination Region 

8 under subsections (a) and (c), respectively; 

9 (B) foster the sustainable and integrated 

10 development and use of ocean, coastal, and 

11 Great Lakes resources in a manner that pro12 tects the health of marine ecosystems; 

13 (C) identify areas with potential for siting 

14 and developing renewable and nonrenewable en15 ergy resources in the Coordination Region cov16 ered by the Strategic Plan, except for the Stra17 tegic Plan for the Great Lakes Coordination 

18 Region which shall identify only areas with po19 tential for siting and developing renewable en20 ergy resources in the Great Lakes Coordination 

21 Region; 

22 (D) identify other current and potential 

23 uses of the ocean and coastal resources in the 

24 Coordination Region; 


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1 (E) identify and recommend long-term 

2 monitoring needs for ecosystem health and so3 cioeconomic variables within the Coordination 

4 Region covered by the Strategic Plan; 

5 (F) identify existing State and Federal 

6 regulating authorities within the Coordination 

7 Region covered by the Strategic Plan and meas8 ures to assist those authorities in carrying out 

9 their responsibilities; 

10 (G) identify best available technologies to 

11 minimize adverse environmental impacts and 

12 use conflicts in the development of ocean and 

13 coastal resources in the Coordination Region; 

14 (H) identify additional research, informa15 tion, and data needed to carry out the Strategic 

16 Plan; 

17 (I) identify performance measures and 

18 benchmarks for purposes of fulfilling the re19 sponsibilities under this section to be used to 

20 evaluate the Strategic Plan’s effectiveness; 

21 (J) define responsibilities and include an 

22 analysis of the gaps in authority, coordination, 

23 and resources, including funding, that must be 

24 filled in order to fully achieve those perform25 ance measures and benchmarks; and 


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1 (K) include such other information at the 

2 Chairman of the Council on Environmental 

3 Quality determines is appropriate. 

4 (4) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—Each Regional 

5 Coordination Council shall provide adequate oppor6 tunities for review and input by stakeholders and the 

7 general public during the development of the Stra8 tegic Plan and any Strategic Plan revisions. 

9 (c) UPDATED REGIONAL ASSESSMENTS.—Each Re10 gional Coordination Council shall update the initial re11 gional assessment prepared under subsection (a) in coordi12 nation with each Strategic Plan revision under subsection 

13 (e), to provide more detailed information regarding the re14 quired elements of the assessment and to include any rel15 evant new information that has become available in the 

16 interim. 

17 (d) REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— 

18 (1) COMMENCEMENT OF REVIEW.—Within 10 

19 days after receipt of a Strategic Plan under this sec20 tion, or any revision to such a Strategic Plan, from 

21 a Regional Coordination Council, the Chairman of 

22 the Council of Environmental Quality shall com23 mence a review of the Strategic Plan or the revised 

24 Strategic Plan, respectively. 


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1 (2) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—Imme2 diately after receipt of such a Strategic Plan or revi3 sion, the Chairman of the Council of Environmental 

4 Quality shall publish the Strategic Plan or revision 

5 in the Federal Register and provide an opportunity 

6 for the submission of public comment for a 90-day 

7 period beginning on the date of such publication. 

8 (3) REQUIREMENTS FOR APPROVAL.—Before 

9 approving a Strategic Plan, or any revision to a 

10 Strategic Plan, the Chairman of the Council on En11 vironmental Quality must find that the Strategic 

12 Plan or revision— 

13 (A) complies with subsection (b); and 

14 (B) complies with the purposes of this title 

15 as identified in section 601(a) and the objec16 tives identified in section 601(b). 

17 (4) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION.—Within 180 

18 days after the receipt of a Strategic Plan, or a revi19 sion to a Strategic Plan, the Chairman of the Coun20 cil of Environmental Quality shall approve or dis21 approve the Strategic Plan or revision. If the Chair22 man disapproves the Strategic Plan or revision, the 

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1 ommendations to improve it. The Council shall sub2 mit a revised Strategic Plan or revision to such plan 

3 with 180 days after receiving the recommendations 

4 from the Chairman. 

5 (e) PLAN REVISION.—Each Strategic Plan shall be 

6 reviewed and revised by the relevant Regional Coordina7 tion Council at least once every 5 years. Such review and 

8 revision shall be based on the most recently updated re9 gional assessment. Any proposed revisions to the Strategic 

10 Plan shall be submitted to the Chairman of the Council 

11 on Environmental Quality for review and approval pursu12 ant to this section. 

13 SEC. 604. REGULATIONS AND SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

14 (a) REGULATIONS.—The Chairman of the Council on 

15 Environmental Quality may issue such regulations as the 

16 Chairman considers necessary to implement sections 601 

17 through 603. 

18 (b) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this title shall be 

19 construed to affect existing authorities under Federal law. 

20 SEC. 605. OCEAN RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND ASSIST21 ANCE FUND. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

24 Treasury of the United States a separate account to 


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1 be known as the Ocean Resources Conservation and 

2 Assistance Fund. 

3 (2) CREDITS.—The ORCA Fund shall be cred4 ited with amounts as specified in section 9 of the 

5 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

6 1338), as amended by section 207 of this Act. 

7 (3) ALLOCATION OF THE ORCA FUND.—Of the 

8 amounts appropriated from the ORCA Fund each 

9 fiscal year— 

10 (A) 70 percent shall be allocated to the 

11 Secretary, of which— 

12 (i) one-half shall be used to make 

13 grants to coastal States and affected In14 dian tribes under subsection (b); and 

15 (ii) one-half shall be used for the 

16 ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes grants 

17 program established by subsection (c); 

18 (B) 20 percent shall be allocated to the 

19 Secretary to carry out the purposes of sub20 section (e); and 

21 (C) 10 percent shall be allocated to the 

22 Secretary to make grants to Regional Ocean 

23 Partnerships under subsection (d) and the Re24 gional Coordination Councils established under 

25 section 602. 


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1 (4) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall estab2 lish application, review, oversight, financial account3 ability, and performance accountability procedures 

4 for each grant program for which funds are allo5 cated under this subsection. 

6 (b) GRANTS TO COASTAL STATES.— 

7 (1) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may 

8 use amounts allocated under subsection 

9 (a)(3)(A)(I)(I) to make grants to— 

10 (A) coastal States pursuant to the formula 

11 established under section 306(c) of the Coastal 

12 Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 

13 1455(c)); and 

14 (B) affected Indian tribes based on and 

15 proportional to any specific coastal and ocean 

16 management authority granted to an affected 

17 tribe pursuant to affirmation of a Federal re18 served right. 

19 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

20 grant under this subsection, a coastal State or af21 fected Indian tribe must prepare and revise a 5-year 

22 plan and annual work plans that— 

23 (A) demonstrate that activities for which 

24 the coastal State or affected Indian tribe will 

25 use the funds are consistent with the eligible 


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1 uses of the Fund described in subsection (f); 

2 and 

3 (B) provide mechanisms to ensure that 

4 funding is made available to government, non5 government, and academic entities to carry out 

6 eligible activities at the county and local level. 

7 (3) APPROVAL OF STATE AND AFFECTED TRIB8 AL PLANS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Plans required under 

10 paragraph (2) must be submitted to and ap11 proved by the Secretary. 

12 (B) PUBLIC INPUT AND COMMENT.—In de13 termining whether to approve such plans, the 

14 Secretary shall provide opportunity for, and 

15 take into consideration, public input and com16 ment on the plans from stakeholders and the 

17 general public. 

18 (5) ENERGY PLANNING GRANTS.—For each of 

19 the fiscal years 2011 through 2015, the Secretary 

20 may use funds allocated for grants under this sub21 section to make grants to coastal States and affected 

22 tribes under section 320 of the Coastal Zone Man23 agement Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.), as 

24 amended by this Act. 


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1 (6) USE OF FUNDS.—Any amounts provided as 

2 a grant under this subsection, other than as a 

3 grants under paragraph (5), may only be used for 

4 activities described in subsection (f). 

5 (c) OCEAN AND COASTAL COMPETITIVE GRANTS

6 PROGRAM.— 

7 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall use 

8 amounts allocated under subsection (a)(3)(A)(I)(II) 

9 to make competitive grants for conservation and 

10 management of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes eco11 systems and marine resources. 

12 (2) OCEAN, COASTAL, AND GREAT LAKES RE13 VIEW PANEL.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es15 tablish an Ocean, Coastal, and Great Lakes Re16 view Panel (in this subsection referred to as the 

17 ‘‘Panel’’), which shall consist of 12 members 

18 appointed by the Secretary with expertise in the 

19 conservation and management of ocean, coastal, 

20 and Great Lakes ecosystems and marine re21 sources. In appointing members to the Council, 

22 the Secretary shall include a balanced diversity 

23 of representatives of relevant Federal agencies, 

24 the private sector, nonprofit organizations, and 

25 academia. 


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1 (B) FUNCTIONS.—The Panel shall— 

2 (i) review, in accordance with the pro3 cedures and criteria established under 

4 paragraph (3), grant applications under 

5 this subsection; 

6 (ii) make recommendations to the 

7 Secretary regarding which grant applica8 tions should be funded and the amount of 

9 each grant; and 

10 (iii) establish any specific require11 ments, conditions, or limitations on a grant 

12 application recommended for funding. 

13 (3) PROCEDURES AND ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

14 FOR GRANTS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es16 tablish— 

17 (i) procedures for applying for a grant 

18 under this subsection and criteria for eval19 uating applications for such grants; and 

20 (ii) criteria, in consultation with the 

21 Panel, to determine what persons are eligi22 ble for grants under the program. 

23 (B) ELIGIBLE PERSONS.—Persons eligible 

24 under the criteria under subparagraph (A)(ii) 

25 shall include Federal, State, affected tribal, and 


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1 local agencies, fishery or wildlife management 

2 organizations, nonprofit organizations, and aca3 demic institutions. 

4 (4) APPROVAL OF GRANTS.—In making grants 

5 under this subsection the Secretary shall give the 

6 highest priority to the recommendations of the 

7 Panel. If the Secretary disapproves a grant rec8 ommended by the Panel, the Secretary shall explain 

9 that disapproval in writing. 

10 (5) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Any amounts pro11 vided as a grant under this subsection may only be 

12 used for activities described in subsection (f). 

13 (d) GRANTS TO REGIONAL OCEAN PARTNERSHIPS.— 

14 (1) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may 

15 use amounts allocated under subsection (a)(3)(A)(iii) 

16 to make grants to Regional Ocean Partnerships. 

17 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to be eligible to re18 ceive a grant, a Regional Ocean Partnership must 

19 prepare and annually revise a plan that— 

20 (A) identifies regional science and informa21 tion needs, regional goals and priorities, and 

22 mechanisms for facilitating coordinated and col23 laborative responses to regional issues; 

24 (B) establishes a process for coordinating 

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1 tion Councils established under section 602 to 

2 address regional issues and information needs 

3 and achieve regional goals and priorities; and 

4 (C) demonstrates that activities to be car5 ried out with such funds are eligible uses of the 

6 funds identified in subsection (f). 

7 (3) APPROVAL BY SECRETARY.—Such plans 

8 must be submitted to and approved by the Sec9 retary. 

10 (4) PUBLIC INPUT AND COMMENT.—In deter11 mining whether to approve such plans, the Secretary 

12 shall provide opportunity for, and take into consider13 ation, input and comment on the plans from stake14 holders and the general public. 

15 (5) USE OF FUNDS.—Any amounts provided as 

16 a grant under this subsection may only be used for 

17 activities described in subsection (f). 

18 (e) LONG-TERM OCEAN AND COASTAL OBSERVA19 TIONS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use the 

21 amounts allocated under subsection (a)(3)(A)(ii) to 

22 build, operate, and maintain the system established 

23 under section 12304 of Public Law 111–11 (33 

24 U.S.C. 3603), in accordance with the purposes and 

25 policies for which the system was established. 


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1 (2) ADMINISTRATION OF FUNDS.—The Sec2 retary shall administer and distribute funds under 

3 this subsection based upon comprehensive system 

4 budgets adopted by the Council referred to in section 

5 12304(c)(1)(A) of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

6 Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 

7 3603(c)(1)(A)). 

8 (f) ELIGIBLE USE OF FUNDS.—Any funds made 

9 available under this section may only be used for activities 

10 that contribute to the conservation, protection, mainte11 nance, and restoration of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes 

12 ecosystems in a manner that is consistent with Federal 

13 environmental laws and that avoids environmental deg14 radation, including— 

15 (1) activities to conserve, protect, maintain, and 

16 restore coastal, marine, and Great Lakes ecosystem 

17 health; 

18 (2) activities to protect marine biodiversity and 

19 living marine and coastal resources and their habi20 tats, including fish populations; 

21 (3) the development and implementation of 

22 multiobjective, science- and ecosystem-based plans 

23 for monitoring and managing the wide variety of 

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1 systems and resources that consider cumulative im2 pacts and are spatially explicit where appropriate; 

3 (4) activities to improve the resiliency of those 

4 ecosystems; 

5 (5) activities to improve the ability of those eco6 systems to become more resilient, and to adapt to 

7 and withstand the impacts of climate change and 

8 ocean acidification; 

9 (6) planning for and managing coastal develop10 ment to minimize the loss of life and property asso11 ciated with sea level rise and the coastal hazards re12 sulting from it; 

13 (7) research, education, assessment, monitoring, 

14 and dissemination of information that contributes to 

15 the achievement of these purposes; 

16 (8) research of, protection of, enhancement to, 

17 and activities to improve the resiliency of culturally 

18 significant areas and resources; and 

19 (9) activities designed to rescue, rehabilitate, 

20 and recover injured marine mammals, marine birds, 

21 and sea turtles. 

22 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 (1) ORCA FUND.—The term ‘‘ORCA Fund’’ 

24 means the Ocean Resources Conservation and As25 sistance Fund established by this section. 


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1 (2) SECRETARY.—Notwithstanding section 3, 

2 the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Com3 merce. 

4 SEC. 606. WAIVER. 

5 The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 

6 shall not apply to the Regional Coordination Councils es7 tablished under section 602. 

8 TITLE VII—OIL SPILL ACCOUNT9 ABILITY AND ENVIRON10 MENTAL PROTECTION 

11 SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE. 

12 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Oil Spill Account13 ability and Environmental Protection Act of 2010’’. 

14 SEC. 702. REPEAL OF AND ADJUSTMENTS TO LIMITATION 

15 ON LIABILITY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1004 of the Oil Pollution 

17 Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2704) is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (i) by striking ‘‘$800,000,,’’ and in21 serting ‘‘$800,000,’’; and 

22 (ii) by adding ‘‘and’’ after the semi23 colon at the end; 

24 (B) by striking paragraph (3); and 


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1 (C) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

2 paragraph (3); 

3 (2) in subsection (b)(2) by striking the second 

4 sentence; and 

5 (3) by striking subsection (d)(4) and inserting 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(4) ADJUSTMENT OF LIMITS ON LIABILITY.— 

8 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

9 of the Oil Spill Accountability and Environmental 

10 Protection Act of 2010, and at least once every 3 

11 years thereafter, the President shall review the limits 

12 on liability specified in subsection (a) and shall by 

13 regulation revise such limits upward to reflect either 

14 the amount of liability that the President determines 

15 is commensurate with the risk of discharge of oil 

16 presented by a particular category of vessel, facility, 

17 or port or any increase in the Consumer Price Index, 

18 whichever is greater.’’. 

19 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

20 section apply to— 

21 (1) any claim arising from an event occurring 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act; and 

23 (2) any claim arising from an event occurring 

24 before such date of enactment, if the claim is 


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1 brought within the limitations period applicable to 

2 the claim. 

3 SEC. 703. EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR 

4 OFFSHORE FACILITIES. 

5 Section 1016 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

6 U.S.C. 2716) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (c)(1)— 

8 (A) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘sub9 paragraph (A) is’’ and all that follows before 

10 the period and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A) is 

11 $300,000,000’’; and 

12 (B) by striking subparagraph (C) and in13 serting the following: 

14 ‘‘(C) ALTERNATE AMOUNT.— 

15 ‘‘(i) SPECIFIC FACILITIES.— 

16 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If the Presi17 dent determines that an amount of fi18 nancial responsibility for a responsible 

19 party that is less than the amount re20 quired by subparagraph (B) is justi21 fied based on the criteria established 

22 under clause (ii), the evidence of fi23 nancial responsibility required shall be 

24 for an amount determined by the 

25 President. 


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1 ‘‘(II) MINIMUM AMOUNTS.—In 

2 no case shall the evidence of financial 

3 responsibility required under this sec4 tion be less than— 

5 ‘‘(aa) $105,000,000 for an 

6 offshore facility located seaward 

7 of the seaward boundary of a 

8 State; or 

9 ‘‘(bb) $30,000,000 for an 

10 offshore facility located landward 

11 of the seaward boundary of a 

12 State. 

13 ‘‘(ii) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINATION

14 OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.—The 

15 President shall prescribe the amount of fi16 nancial responsibility required under clause 

17 (i)(I) based on the following: 

18 ‘‘(I) The market capacity of the 

19 insurance industry to issue such in20 struments. 

21 ‘‘(II) The operational risk of a 

22 discharge and the effects of that dis23 charge on the environment and the re24 gion. 


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1 ‘‘(III) The quantity and location 

2 of the oil and gas that is explored for, 

3 drilled for, produced, or transported 

4 by the responsible party. 

5 ‘‘(IV) The asset value of the 

6 owner of the offshore facility, includ7 ing the combined asset value of all 

8 partners that own the facility. 

9 ‘‘(V) The cost of all removal 

10 costs and damages for which the 

11 owner may be liable under this Act 

12 based on a worst-case-scenario. 

13 ‘‘(VI) The safety history of the 

14 owner of the offshore facility. 

15 ‘‘(VII) Any other factors that the 

16 President considers appropriate. 

17 ‘‘(iii) ADJUSTMENT FOR ALL OFF18 SHORE FACILITIES.— 

19 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later 

20 than 3 years after the date of enact21 ment of the Oil Spill Accountability 

22 and Environmental Protection Act of 

23 2010, and at least once every 3 years 

24 thereafter, the President shall review 

25 the levels of financial responsibility 


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1 specified in this subsection and the 

2 limit on liability specified in sub3 section (f)(4) and may by regulation 

4 revise such levels and limit upward to 

5 the levels and limit that the President 

6 determines are justified based on the 

7 relative operational, environmental, 

8 and other risks posed by the quantity, 

9 quality, or location of oil that is ex10 plored for, drilled for, produced, or 

11 transported by the responsible party. 

12 ‘‘(II) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.— 

13 Upon completion of a review specified 

14 in subclause (I), the President shall 

15 notify Congress as to whether the 

16 President will revise the levels of fi17 nancial responsibility and limit on li18 ability referred to in subclause (I) and 

19 the factors used in making such deter20 mination.’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (e) by striking ‘‘self-insurer,’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘self-insurer, participation in coopera23 tive arrangements such as pooling or joint insur24 ance,’’; and 

25 (3) in subsection (f)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘Subject’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph 

3 (4) and subject’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(4) MAXIMUM LIABILITY.—The maximum li6 ability of a guarantor of an offshore facility under 

7 this subsection is $300,000,000.’’. 

8 SEC. 704. DAMAGES TO HUMAN HEALTH. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1002(b)(2) of the Oil Pol10 lution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2702(b)(2)) is amended by 

11 adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(G) HUMAN HEALTH.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Damages to 

14 human health, including fatal injuries, 

15 which shall be recoverable by any claimant 

16 who has a demonstrable, adverse impact to 

17 human health or, in the case of a fatal in18 jury to an individual, a claimant filing a 

19 claim on behalf of such individual. 

20 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSION.—For purposes of 

21 clause (i), the term ‘human health’ in22 cludes mental health.’’. 

23 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

24 section apply to— 


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1 (1) any claim arising from an event occurring 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act; and 

3 (2) any claim arising from an event occurring 

4 before such date of enactment, if the claim is 

5 brought within the limitations period applicable to 

6 the claim. 

7 SEC. 705. CLARIFICATION OF LIABILITY FOR DISCHARGES 

8 FROM MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1004(b)(2) of the Oil Pol10 lution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2704(b)(2)) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘from any incident described in 

12 paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘from any discharge of 

13 oil, or substantial threat of a discharge of oil, into 

14 or upon the water’’; and 

15 (2) by striking ‘‘liable’’ and inserting ‘‘liable as 

16 described in paragraph (1)’’. 

17 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

18 section shall apply to— 

19 (1) any claim arising from an event occurring 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act; and 

21 (2) any claim arising from an event occurring 

22 before such date of enactment, if the claim is 

23 brought within the limitations period applicable to 

24 the claim. 


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1 SEC. 706. STANDARD OF REVIEW FOR DAMAGE ASSESS2 MENT. 

3 Section 1006(e)(2) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 

4 (33 U.S.C. 2706(e)(2)) is amended— 

5 (1) in the heading by striking ‘‘REBUTTABLE

6 PRESUMPTION’’ and inserting ‘‘JUDICIAL REVIEW OF

7 ASSESSMENTS’’; and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘have the force and effect’’ and 

9 all that follows before the period and inserting the 

10 following: ‘‘be subject to judicial review under sub11 chapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United States 

12 Code (commonly known as the Administrative Proce13 dure Act), on the basis of the administrative record 

14 developed by the lead Federal trustee as provided in 

15 such regulations’’. 

16 SEC. 707. PROCEDURES FOR CLAIMS AGAINST FUND; IN17 FORMATION ON CLAIMS. 

18 (a) PROCEDURES FOR CLAIMS AGAINST FUND.— 

19 Section 1013(e) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

20 U.S.C. 2713(e)) is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: ‘‘In the event of a spill of national significance, 

22 the President may exercise the authorities under this sec23 tion to ensure that the presentation, filing, processing, set24 tlement, and adjudication of claims occurs within the 

25 States and local governments affected by such spill to the 

26 greatest extent practicable.’’. 


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1 (b) INFORMATION ON CLAIMS.—Title I of the Oil 

2 Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) is amended 

3 by inserting after section 1013 the following: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 1013A. INFORMATION ON CLAIMS. 

5 ‘‘In the event of a spill of national significance, the 

6 President may require a responsible party or a guarantor 

7 of a source designated under section 1014(a) to provide 

8 to the President any information on or related to claims, 

9 either individually, in the aggregate, or both, that the 

10 President requests, including— 

11 ‘‘(1) the transaction date or dates of such 

12 claims, including processing times; and 

13 ‘‘(2) any other data pertaining to such claims 

14 necessary to ensure the performance of the respon15 sible party or the guarantor with regard to the proc16 essing and adjudication of such claims.’’. 

17 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con18 tents contained in section 2 of such Act is amended by 

19 inserting after the item relating to section 1013 the fol20 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 1013A. Information on claims.’’. 

21 (d) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

22 section apply to— 

23 (1) any claim arising from an event occurring 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act; and 


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1 (2) any claim arising from an event occurring 

2 before such date of enactment, if the claim is 

3 brought within the limitations period applicable to 

4 the claim. 

5 SEC. 708. ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS AND CLARIFICATIONS 

6 TO OIL POLLUTION ACT OF 1990. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.— 

8 (1) REMOVAL COSTS.—Section 1001(31) of the 

9 Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701(31)) is 

10 amended by inserting before the semicolon the fol11 lowing: ‘‘and includes all costs of Federal enforce12 ment activities related thereto’’. 

13 (2) RESPONSIBLE PARTY.—Section 

14 1001(32)(B) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 2701(32)(B)) 

15 is amended by inserting before ‘‘, except a’’ the fol16 lowing: ‘‘any person who owns or who has a lease17 hold interest or other property interest in the land 

18 or in the minerals beneath the land on which the fa19 cility is located, and any person who is the assignor 

20 of a property interest in the land or in the minerals 

21 beneath the land on which the facility is located,’’. 

22 (b) ELEMENTS OF LIABILITY.—Section 

23 1002(b)(1)(A) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 2702(b)(1)(A)) is 

24 amended by inserting before the semicolon the following: 


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1 ‘‘, including all costs of Federal enforcement activities re2 lated thereto’’. 

3 (c) SUBROGATION.—Section 1015(c) of such Act (33 

4 U.S.C. 2715(c)) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: ‘‘In such actions, the Fund shall recover all costs 

6 and damages paid from the Fund unless the decision to 

7 make the payment is found to be arbitrary or capricious.’’. 

8 (d) FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.—Section 

9 1016(f)(1) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 2717(f)(1)) is amend10 ed— 

11 (1) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara12 graph (A); 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of subpara14 graph (B) and inserting a period; and 

15 (3) by striking subparagraph (C). 

16 (e) CONSIDERATIONS OF TRUSTEES.—Section 

17 1006(d) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 2706(d)) is amended by 

18 adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATIONS OF TRUSTEES.— 

20 ‘‘(A) EQUAL AND FULL CONSIDERATION.— 

21 Trustees shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) give equal and full consideration 

23 to restoration, rehabilitation, replacement, 

24 and the acquisition of the equivalent of the 


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1 natural resources under their trusteeship; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) consider restoration, rehabilita4 tion, replacement, and the acquisition of 

5 the equivalent of the natural resources 

6 under their trusteeship in a holistic eco7 system context and using, where available, 

8 eco-regional or natural resource plans. 

9 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE ON ACQUISITION.— 

10 Acquisition shall only be given full and equal 

11 consideration under subparagraph (A) if it pro12 vides a substantially greater likelihood of im13 proving the resilience of the lost or damaged re14 source and supports local ecological processes.’’. 

15 (f) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

16 section apply to— 

17 (1) any claim arising from an event occurring 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act; and 

19 (2) any claim arising from an event occurring 

20 before such date of enactment, if the claim is 

21 brought within the limitations period applicable to 

22 the claim. 

23 SEC. 709. AMERICANIZATION OF OFFSHORE OPERATIONS 

24 IN THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE. 

25 (a) REGISTRY ENDORSEMENT REQUIRED.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 12111 of title 46, 

2 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

3 end the following: 

4 ‘‘(e) RESOURCE ACTIVITIES IN THE EEZ.—Except 

5 for activities requiring an endorsement under sections 

6 12112 or 12113, only a vessel for which a certificate of 

7 documentation with a registry endorsement is issued and 

8 that is owned by a citizen of the United States (as deter9 mined under section 50501(d)) may engage in support of 

10 exploration, development, or production of resources in, 

11 on, above, or below the exclusive economic zone or any 

12 other activity in the exclusive economic zone to the extent 

13 that the regulation of such activity is not prohibited under 

14 customary international law.’’. 

15 (2) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by 

16 paragraph (1) applies only with respect to explo17 ration, development, production, and support activi18 ties that commence on or after July 1, 2011. 

19 (b) LEGAL AUTHORITY.—Section 2301 of title 46, 

20 United States Code, is amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘chapter’’ and inserting ‘‘title’’; 

22 and 

23 (2) by inserting after ‘‘1988’’ the following: 

24 ‘‘and the exclusive economic zone to the extent that 


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1 the regulation of such operation is not prohibited 

2 under customary international law’’. 

3 (c) TRAINING FOR COAST GUARD PERSONNEL.—Not 

4 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

5 Act, the Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

6 Guard is operating shall establish a program to provide 

7 Coast Guard personnel with the training necessary for the 

8 implementation of the amendments made by this section. 

9 SEC. 710. SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FOR MOBILE 

10 OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS. 

11 Section 3203 of title 46, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub14 section (c); and 

15 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(b) MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS.—The 

18 safety management system described in subsection (a) for 

19 a mobile offshore drilling unit operating in waters subject 

20 to the jurisdiction of the United States (including the ex21 clusive economic zone) shall include processes, procedures, 

22 and policies related to the safe operation and maintenance 

23 of the machinery and systems on board the vessel that 

24 may affect the seaworthiness of the vessel in a worst-case 

25 event.’’. 


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1 SEC. 711. SAFETY STANDARDS FOR MOBILE OFFSHORE 

2 DRILLING UNITS. 

3 Section 3306 of title 46, United States Code, is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(k) In prescribing regulations for mobile offshore 

6 drilling units, the Secretary shall develop standards to ad7 dress a worst-case event on the vessel.’’. 

8 SEC. 712. OPERATIONAL CONTROL OF MOBILE OFFSHORE 

9 DRILLING UNITS. 

10 (a) LICENSES FOR MASTERS OF MOBILE OFFSHORE

11 DRILLING UNITS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 71 of title 46, 

13 United States Code, is amended by redesignating 

14 sections 7104 through 7114 as sections 7105 

15 through 7115, respectively, and by inserting after 

16 section 7103 the following: 

17 ‘‘§ 7104. Licenses for masters of mobile offshore drill18 ing units 

19 ‘‘A license as master of a mobile offshore drilling unit 

20 may be issued only to an applicant who has been issued 

21 a license as master under section 7101(c)(1) and has dem22 onstrated the knowledge, understanding, proficiency, and 

23 sea service for all industrial business or functions of a mo24 bile offshore drilling unit.’’. 

25 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 7109 

26 of such title, as so redesignated, is amended by 


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1 striking ‘‘section 7106 or 7107’’ and inserting ‘‘sec2 tion 7107 or 7108’’. 

3 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis at 

4 the beginning of such chapter is amended by strik5 ing the items relating to sections 7104 through 7114 

6 and inserting the following: 

‘‘7104. Licenses for masters of mobile offshore drilling units. 

‘‘7105. Certificates for medical doctors and nurses. 

‘‘7106. Oaths. 

‘‘7107. Duration of licenses. 

‘‘7108. Duration of certificates of registry. 

‘‘7109. Termination of licenses and certificates of registry. 

‘‘7110. Review of criminal records. 

‘‘7111. Exhibiting licenses. 

‘‘7112. Oral examinations for licenses. 

‘‘7113. Licenses of masters or mates as pilots. 

‘‘7114. Exemption from draft. 

‘‘7115. Fees.’’. 

7 (b) REQUIREMENT FOR CERTIFICATE OF INSPEC8 TION.—Section 8101(a)(2) of title 46, United States 

9 Code, is amended by inserting before the semicolon the 

10 following: ‘‘and shall at all times be under the command 

11 of a master licensed under section 7104’’. 

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

13 this section shall take effect 6 months after the date of 

14 enactment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 713. SINGLE-HULL TANKERS. 

16 (a) APPLICATION OF TANK VESSEL CONSTRUCTION

17 STANDARDS.—Section 3703a(b) of title 46, United States 

18 Code, is amended by striking paragraph (3), and redesig19 nating paragraphs (4) through (6) as paragraphs (3) 

20 through (5), respectively. 


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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

2 subsection (a) takes effect on January 1, 2011. 

3 SEC. 714. REPEAL OF RESPONSE PLAN WAIVER. 

4 Section 311(j)(5)(G) of the Federal Water Pollution 

5 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(5)(G)) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘a tank vessel, nontank vessel, 

7 offshore facility, or onshore facility’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘a nontank vessel’’; 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘tank vessel, nontank vessel, or 

10 facility’’ and inserting ‘‘nontank vessel’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘A mo12 bile offshore drilling unit, as such term is defined in 

13 section 1001 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

14 U.S.C. 2701), is not eligible to operate without a re15 sponse plan approved under this section.’’. 

16 SEC. 715. NATIONAL CONTINGENCY PLAN. 

17 (a) GUIDELINES FOR CONTAINMENT BOOMS.—Sec18 tion 311(d)(2) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

19 (33 U.S.C. 1321(d)(2)) is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(N) Guidelines regarding the use of con22 tainment booms to contain a discharge of oil or 

23 a hazardous substance, including identification 

24 of quantities of containment booms likely to be 

25 needed, available sources of containment booms, 


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1 and best practices for containment boom place2 ment, monitoring, and maintenance.’’. 

3 (b) SCHEDULE, CRITERIA, AND FEES.—Section 

4 311(d) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

5 U.S.C. 1321(d)) is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(5) SCHEDULE FOR USE OF DISPERSANTS, 

8 OTHER CHEMICALS, AND OTHER SPILL MITIGATING

9 DEVICES AND SUBSTANCES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 2 

11 years after the date of enactment of this para12 graph, the President, acting through the Ad13 ministrator, after providing notice and an op14 portunity for public comment, shall issue a re15 vised regulation for the development of the 

16 schedule for the use of dispersants, other 

17 chemicals, and other spill mitigating devices 

18 and substances developed under paragraph 

19 (2)(G) in a manner that is consistent with the 

20 requirements of this paragraph and shall mod21 ify the existing schedule to take into account 

22 the requirements of the revised regulation. 

23 ‘‘(B) SCHEDULE LISTING REQUIRE24 MENTS.—In issuing the regulation under sub25 paragraph (A), the Administrator shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) with respect to dispersants, other 

2 chemicals, and other spill mitigating sub3 stances included or proposed to be included 

4 on the schedule under paragraph (2)(G)— 

5 ‘‘(I) establish minimum toxicity 

6 and efficacy testing criteria, taking 

7 into account the results of the study 

8 carried out under subparagraph (D); 

9 ‘‘(II) provide for testing or other 

10 verification (independent from the in11 formation provided by an applicant 

12 seeking the inclusion of such dispers13 ant, chemical, or substance on the 

14 schedule) related to the toxicity and 

15 effectiveness of such dispersant, chem16 ical, or substance; 

17 ‘‘(III) establish a framework for 

18 the application of any such dispersant, 

19 chemical, or substance, including— 

20 ‘‘(aa) application conditions; 

21 ‘‘(bb) the quantity thresh22 olds for which approval by the 

23 Administrator is required; 

24 ‘‘(cc) the criteria to be used 

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1 imum quantity of any such dis2 persant, chemical, or substance 

3 that the Administrator deter4 mines may be used, both on a 

5 daily and cumulative basis; and 

6 ‘‘(dd) a ranking, by geo7 graphic area, of any such dis8 persant, chemical, or substance 

9 based on a combination of its ef10 fectiveness for each type of oil 

11 and its level of toxicity; 

12 ‘‘(IV) establish a requirement 

13 that the volume of oil or hazardous 

14 substance discharged, and the volume 

15 and location of any such dispersant, 

16 chemical, or substance used, be meas17 ured and made publicly available, in18 cluding on the Internet; 

19 ‘‘(V) require the public disclosure 

20 of all ingredients, including the chem21 ical and common name of such ingre22 dients, contained in any such dispers23 ant, chemical, or substance; and 

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1 nism for the delisting of any such dis2 persant, chemical, or substance that 

3 the Administrator determines poses a 

4 significant risk or impact to water 

5 quality, the environment, or any other 

6 factor the Administrator determines 

7 appropriate; 

8 ‘‘(ii) with respect to a dispersant, 

9 other chemical, and other spill mitigating 

10 substance not specifically identified on the 

11 schedule, and prior to the use of such dis12 persant, chemical, or substance in accord13 ance with paragraph (2)(G)— 

14 ‘‘(I) establish the minimum tox15 icity and efficacy levels for such dis16 persant, chemical, or substance; 

17 ‘‘(II) require the public disclosure 

18 of all ingredients, including the chem19 ical and common name of such ingre20 dients, contained in any such dispers21 ant, chemical, or substance; and 

22 ‘‘(III) require the provision of 

23 such additional information as the Ad24 ministrator determines necessary; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) with respect to other spill miti2 gating devices included or proposed to be 

3 included on the schedule under paragraph 

4 (2)(G)— 

5 ‘‘(I) require the manufacturer of 

6 such device to carry out a study of the 

7 risks and effectiveness of the device 

8 according to guidelines developed and 

9 published by the Administrator; and 

10 ‘‘(II) in addition to existing au11 thority, expressly provide a mecha12 nism for the delisting of any such de13 vice based on any information made 

14 available to the Administrator that 

15 demonstrates that such device poses a 

16 significant risk or impact to water 

17 quality, the environment, or any other 

18 factor the Administrator determines 

19 appropriate. 

20 ‘‘(C) DELISTING.—In carrying out sub21 paragraphs (B)(i)(VI) and (B)(iii)(II), the Ad22 ministrator, after posting a notice in the Fed23 eral Register and providing an opportunity for 

24 public comment, shall initiate a formal review 

25 of the potential risks and impacts associated 


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1 with a dispersant, chemical, substance, or de2 vice prior to delisting the dispersant, chemical, 

3 substance, or device. 

4 ‘‘(D) STUDY.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 

6 months after the date of enactment of this 

7 paragraph, the Administrator shall initiate 

8 a study of the potential risks and impacts 

9 to water quality, the environment, or any 

10 other factor the Administrator determines 

11 appropriate, including acute and chronic 

12 risks, from the use of dispersants, other 

13 chemicals, and other spill mitigating sub14 stances, if any, that may be used to carry 

15 out the National Contingency Plan, includ16 ing an assessment of such risks and im17 pacts— 

18 ‘‘(I) on a representative sample 

19 of biota and types of oil from loca20 tions where such dispersants, chemi21 cals, or substances may potentially be 

22 used; and 

23 ‘‘(II) that result from any by24 products created from the use of such 

25 dispersants, chemicals, or substances. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) INFORMATION FROM MANUFAC2 TURERS.— 

3 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In conjunc4 tion with the study authorized by 

5 clause (i), the Administrator shall de6 termine the requirements for manu7 facturers of dispersants, chemicals, or 

8 substances to evaluate the potential 

9 risks and impacts to water quality, 

10 the environment, or any other factor 

11 the Administrator determines appro12 priate, including acute and chronic 

13 risks, associated with the use of the 

14 dispersants, chemicals, or substances 

15 and any byproducts generated by such 

16 use and to provide the details of such 

17 evaluation as a condition for listing on 

18 the schedule, or approving for use 

19 under this section, according to guide20 lines developed and published by the 

21 Administrator. 

22 ‘‘(II) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

23 FOR EVALUATION.—In carrying out 

24 this clause, the Administrator shall re25 quire a manufacturer to include— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) information on the oils 

2 and locations where such 

3 dispersants, chemicals, or sub4 stances may potentially be used; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(bb) if appropriate, an as7 sessment of application and im8 pacts from subsea use of the dis9 persant, chemical, or substance, 

10 including the potential long term 

11 effects of such use on water qual12 ity and the environment. 

13 ‘‘(E) PERIODIC REVISIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 

15 years after the date of the issuance of the 

16 regulation under this paragraph, and on an 

17 ongoing basis thereafter (and at least once 

18 every 5 years), the Administrator shall re19 view the schedule for the use of 

20 dispersants, other chemicals, and other 

21 spill mitigating devices and substances that 

22 may be used to carry out the National 

23 Contingency Plan and update or revise the 

24 schedule, as necessary, to ensure the pro25 tection of water quality, the environment, 


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1 and any other factor the Administrator de2 termines appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(ii) EFFECTIVENESS.—The Adminis4 trator shall ensure, to the maximum extent 

5 practicable, that each update or revision to 

6 the schedule increases the minimum effec7 tiveness value necessary for listing a dis8 persant, other chemical, or other spill miti9 gating device or substance on the schedule. 

10 ‘‘(F) APPROVAL OF USE AND APPLICATION

11 OF DISPERSANTS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In issuing the reg13 ulation under subparagraph (A), the Ad14 ministrator shall require the approval of 

15 the Federal On-Scene Coordinator, in co16 ordination with the Administrator, for all 

17 uses of a dispersant, other chemical, or 

18 other spill mitigating substance in any re19 moval action, including— 

20 ‘‘(I) any such dispersant, chem21 ical, or substance that is included on 

22 the schedule developed pursuant to 

23 this subsection; or 

24 ‘‘(II) any dispersant, chemical, or 

25 other substance that is included as 


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1 part an approved area contingency 

2 plan or response plan developed under 

3 this section. 

4 ‘‘(ii) REPEAL.—Any part of section 

5 300.910 of title 40, Code of Federal Regu6 lations, that is inconsistent with this para7 graph is hereby repealed. 

8 ‘‘(G) TOXICITY DEFINITION.—In this sec9 tion, the term ‘toxicity’ is used in reference to 

10 the potential impacts of a dispersant, sub11 stance, or device on water quality or the envi12 ronment. 

13 ‘‘(6) REVIEW OF AND DEVELOPMENT OF CRI14 TERIA FOR EVALUATING RESPONSE PLANS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) REVIEW.—Not later than 6 months 

16 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

17 the President shall review the procedures and 

18 standards developed under paragraph (2)(J) to 

19 determine their sufficiency in ceasing and re20 moving a worst case discharge of oil or haz21 ardous substances, and for mitigating or pre22 venting a substantial threat of such a dis23 charge. 

24 ‘‘(B) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 2 

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1 graph, the President, after providing notice and 

2 an opportunity for public comment, shall issue 

3 a final rule to— 

4 ‘‘(i) revise the procedures and stand5 ards for ceasing and removing a worst case 

6 discharge of oil or hazardous substances, 

7 and for mitigating or preventing a substan8 tial threat of such a discharge; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) develop a metric for evaluating 

10 the National Contingency Plan, Area Con11 tingency Plans, and tank vessel, nontank 

12 vessel, and facility response plans con13 sistent with the procedures and standards 

14 developed pursuant to this paragraph. 

15 ‘‘(7) FEES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) GENERAL AUTHORITY AND FEES.— 

17 Subject to subparagraph (B), the Administrator 

18 shall establish a schedule of fees to be collected 

19 from the manufacturer of a dispersant, chem20 ical, or spill mitigating substance or device to 

21 offset the costs of the Administrator associated 

22 with evaluating the use of the dispersant, chem23 ical, substance, or device in accordance with 

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1 ical, substance, or device on the schedule under 

2 paragraph (2)(G). 

3 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON COLLECTION.—No 

4 fee may be collected under this subsection un5 less the expenditure of the fee to pay the costs 

6 of activities and services for which the fee is im7 posed is provided for in advance in an appro8 priations Act. 

9 ‘‘(C) FEES CREDITED AS OFFSETTING

10 COLLECTIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

12 section 3302 of title 31, United States 

13 Code, any fee authorized to be collected 

14 under this paragraph shall— 

15 ‘‘(I) be credited as offsetting col16 lections to the account that finances 

17 the activities and services for which 

18 the fee is imposed; 

19 ‘‘(II) be available for expenditure 

20 only to pay the costs of activities and 

21 services for which the fee is imposed, 

22 including all costs associated with col23 lecting such fees; and 

24 ‘‘(III) remain available until ex25 pended. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 The Administrator may continue to assess, 

3 collect, and spend fees established under 

4 this section during any period in which the 

5 funding for the Environmental Protection 

6 Agency is provided under an Act providing 

7 continuing appropriations in lieu of the 

8 Administration’s regular appropriations. 

9 ‘‘(iii) ADJUSTMENTS.—The Adminis10 trator shall adjust the fees established by 

11 subparagraph (A) periodically to ensure 

12 that each of the fees required by subpara13 graph (A) is reasonably related to the Ad14 ministration’s costs, as determined by the 

15 Administrator, of performing the activity 

16 for which the fee is imposed.’’. 

17 (c) TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON APPROVAL OF USE

18 OF DISPERSANTS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

20 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

21 Agency may not approve the use of a dispersant 

22 under section 311(d) of the Oil Pollution Act of 

23 1990 (33 U.S.C. 1321(d)), and shall withdraw any 

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1 making and study required by subparagraphs (A) 

2 and (D) of section 311(d)(5) of such Act (as added 

3 by subsection (b) of this section) are complete. 

4 (2) CONDITIONAL APPROVAL.—The Adminis5 trator may approve the use of a dispersant under 

6 section 311(d) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(d)) for 

7 the period of time before the date on which the rule8 making and study required by subparagraphs (A) 

9 and (D) of section 311(d)(5) of such Act (as added 

10 by subsection (b) of this section) are complete if the 

11 Administrator determines that such use will not 

12 have a negative impact on water quality, the envi13 ronment, or any other factor the Administrator de14 termines appropriate. 

15 (3) INFORMATION.—In approving the use of a 

16 dispersant under paragraph (2), the Administrator 

17 may require the manufacturer of the dispersant to 

18 provide such information as the Administrator deter19 mines necessary to satisfy the requirements of that 

20 paragraph. 

21 (d) INCLUSION OF CONTAINMENT BOOMS IN AREA

22 CONTINGENCY PLANS.—Section 311(j)(4)(C)(iv) of such 

23 Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(4)(C)(iv)) is amended by striking 

24 ‘‘(including firefighting equipment)’’ and inserting ‘‘(in25 cluding firefighting equipment and containment booms)’’. 


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1 SEC. 716. TRACKING DATABASE. 

2 Section 311(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Con3 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(b)) is amended by adding at the 

4 end the following: 

5 ‘‘(13) TRACKING DATABASE.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall 

7 create a database to track all discharges of oil 

8 or hazardous substances— 

9 ‘‘(i) into the waters of the United 

10 States, onto adjoining shorelines, or into or 

11 upon the waters of the contiguous zone; 

12 ‘‘(ii) in connection with activities 

13 under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

14 Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) or the Deep15 water Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 1501 

16 et seq.); or 

17 ‘‘(iii) which may affect natural re18 sources belonging to, appertaining to, or 

19 under the exclusive management authority 

20 of the United States (including resources 

21 under the Fishery Conservation and Man22 agement Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1801 et 

23 seq.)). 

24 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The database 

25 shall— 

26 ‘‘(i) include— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the name of the vessel or fa2 cility; 

3 ‘‘(II) the name of the owner, op4 erator, or person in charge of the ves5 sel or facility; 

6 ‘‘(III) the date of the discharge; 

7 ‘‘(IV) the volume of the dis8 charge; 

9 ‘‘(V) the location of the dis10 charge, including an identification of 

11 any receiving waters that are or could 

12 be affected by the discharge; 

13 ‘‘(VI) the type, volume, and loca14 tion of the use of any dispersant, 

15 other chemical, or other spill miti16 gating substance used in any removal 

17 action; 

18 ‘‘(VII) a record of any deter19 mination of a violation of this section 

20 or liability under section 1002 of the 

21 Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 

22 2702); 

23 ‘‘(VIII) a record of any enforce24 ment action taken against the owner, 

25 operator, or person in charge; and 


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1 ‘‘(IX) any additional information 

2 that the President determines nec3 essary; 

4 ‘‘(ii) use data provided by the Envi5 ronmental Protection Agency, the Coast 

6 Guard, and other appropriate Federal 

7 agencies; 

8 ‘‘(iii) use data protocols developed and 

9 managed by the Environmental Protection 

10 Agency; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) be publicly accessible, including 

12 by electronic means.’’. 

13 SEC. 717. EVALUATION AND APPROVAL OF RESPONSE 

14 PLANS; MAXIMUM PENALTIES. 

15 (a) AGENCY REVIEW OF RESPONSE PLANS.— 

16 (1) LEAD FEDERAL AGENCY FOR REVIEW OF

17 RESPONSE PLANS.—Section 311(j)(5)(A) of the Fed18 eral Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

19 1321(j)(5)(A)) is amended by adding at the end the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(iii) In issuing the regulations under this para22 graph, the President shall ensure that— 

23 ‘‘(I) the owner, operator, or person in 

24 charge of a tank vessel, nontank vessel, or off25 shore facility described in subparagraph (C) will 


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1 not be considered to have complied with this 

2 paragraph until the owner, operator, or person 

3 in charge submits a plan under clause (i) or 

4 (ii), as appropriate, to the Secretary of the de5 partment in which the Coast Guard is oper6 ating, the Secretary of the Interior, or the Ad7 ministrator, with respect to such offshore facili8 ties as the President may designate, and the 

9 Secretary or Administrator, as appropriate, de10 termines and notifies the owner, operator, or 

11 person in charge that the plan, if implemented, 

12 will provide an adequate response to a worst 

13 case discharge of oil or a hazardous substance 

14 or a substantial threat of such a discharge; and 

15 ‘‘(II) the owner, operator, or person in 

16 charge of an onshore facility described in sub17 paragraph (C)(iv) will not be considered to have 

18 complied with this paragraph until the owner, 

19 operator, or person in charge submits a plan 

20 under clause (i) either to the Secretary of 

21 Transportation, with respect to transportation22 related onshore facilities, or the Administrator, 

23 with respect to all other onshore facilities, and 

24 the Secretary or Administrator, as appropriate, 

25 determines and notifies the owner, operator, or 


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1 person in charge that the plan, if implemented, 

2 will provide an adequate response to a worst3 case discharge of oil or a hazardous substance 

4 or a substantial threat of such a discharge. 

5 ‘‘(iv)(I) The Secretary of the department in 

6 which the Coast Guard is operating, the Secretary of 

7 the Interior, the Secretary of Transportation, or the 

8 Administrator, as appropriate, shall require that a 

9 plan submitted to the Secretary or Administrator for 

10 a vessel or facility under clause (iii)(I) or (iii)(II) by 

11 an owner, operator, or person in charge— 

12 ‘‘(aa) contain a probabilistic risk analysis 

13 for all critical engineered systems of the vessel 

14 or facility; and 

15 ‘‘(bb) adequately address all risks identi16 fied in the risk analysis. 

17 ‘‘(II) The Secretary or Administrator, as appro18 priate, shall require that a risk analysis developed 

19 under subclause (I) include, at a minimum, the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(aa) An analysis of human factors risks, 

22 including both organizational and management 

23 failure risks. 


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1 ‘‘(bb) An analysis of technical failure risks, 

2 including both component technologies and inte3 grated systems risks. 

4 ‘‘(cc) An analysis of interactions between 

5 humans and critical engineered systems. 

6 ‘‘(dd) Quantification of the likelihood of 

7 modes of failure and potential consequences. 

8 ‘‘(ee) A description of methods for reduc9 ing known risks. 

10 ‘‘(III) The Secretary or Administrator, as ap11 propriate, shall require an owner, operator, or per12 son in charge that develops a risk analysis under 

13 subclause (I) to make the risk analysis available to 

14 the public.’’. 

15 (2) REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF RESPONSE

16 PLANS.—Section 311(j)(5)(E) of such Act (33 

17 U.S.C. 1321(j)(5)(E)) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(E) With respect to any response plan sub19 mitted under this paragraph for an onshore facility 

20 that, because of its location, could reasonably be ex21 pected to cause significant and substantial harm to 

22 the environment by discharging into or on the navi23 gable waters or adjoining shorelines or the exclusive 

24 economic zone, and with respect to each response 

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1 sel, nontank vessel, or offshore facility, the President 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) promptly review the response plan; 

4 ‘‘(ii) verify that the response plan complies 

5 with subparagraph (A)(iv), relating to risk anal6 yses; 

7 ‘‘(iii) with respect to a plan for an offshore 

8 or onshore facility or a tank vessel that carries 

9 liquefied natural gas, provide an opportunity for 

10 public notice and comment on the response 

11 plan; 

12 ‘‘(iv) taking into consideration any public 

13 comments received and other appropriate fac14 tors, as determined by the President, require 

15 revisions to the response plan; 

16 ‘‘(v) approve, approve with revisions, or 

17 disapprove the response plan; 

18 ‘‘(vi) review the response plan periodically 

19 thereafter, and if applicable requirements are 

20 not met, acting through the head of the appro21 priate Federal department or agency— 

22 ‘‘(I) issue administrative orders di23 recting the owner, operator, or person in 

24 charge to comply with the response plan or 

25 any regulation issued under this section; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) assess civil penalties or conduct 

2 other appropriate enforcement actions in 

3 accordance with subsections (b)(6), (b)(7), 

4 and (b)(8) for failure to develop, submit, 

5 receive approval of, adhere to, or maintain 

6 the capability to implement the response 

7 plan, or failure to comply with any other 

8 requirement of this section; 

9 ‘‘(vii) acting through the head of the ap10 propriate Federal department or agency, con11 duct, at a minimum, biennial inspections of the 

12 tank vessel, nontank vessel, or facility to ensure 

13 compliance with the response plan or identify 

14 deficiencies in such plan; 

15 ‘‘(viii) acting through the head of the ap16 propriate Federal department or agency, make 

17 the response plan available to the public, includ18 ing on the Internet; and 

19 ‘‘(ix) in the case of a plan for a nontank 

20 vessel, consider any applicable State-mandated 

21 response plan in effect on the date of enactment 

22 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transpor23 tation Act of 2004 and ensure consistency to 

24 the extent practicable.’’. 


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1 (3) BIENNIAL REPORT.—Section 311(j)(5) of 

2 such Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(5)) is amended by add3 ing at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(J) Not later than 2 years after the date of 

5 enactment of this subparagraph, and biennially 

6 thereafter, the President, acting through the Admin7 istrator, the Secretary of the department in which 

8 the Coast Guard is operating, and the Secretary of 

9 Transportation, shall submit to Congress a report 

10 containing the following information for each owner, 

11 operator, or person in charge that submitted a re12 sponse plan for a tank vessel, nontank vessel, or fa13 cility under this paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(i) The number of response plans ap15 proved, disapproved, or approved with revisions 

16 under subparagraph (E) annually for tank ves17 sels, nontank vessels, and facilities of the 

18 owner, operator, or person in charge. 

19 ‘‘(ii) The number of inspections conducted 

20 under subparagraph (E) annually for tank ves21 sels, nontank vessels, and facilities of the 

22 owner, operator, or person in charge. 

23 ‘‘(iii) A summary of each administrative or 

24 enforcement action concluded with respect each 

25 tank vessel, nontank vessel, and facility of the 


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1 owner, operator, or person in charge, including 

2 a description of the violation, the date of viola3 tion, the amount of each penalty proposed, and 

4 the final assessment of each penalty and an ex5 planation for any reduction in a penalty.’’. 

6 (4) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS FOR FACILI7 TIES.—Section 311(m)(2) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

8 1321(m)(2)) is amended in each of subparagraphs 

9 (A) and (B) by inserting ‘‘, the Secretary of Trans10 portation,’’ before ‘‘or the Secretary of the depart11 ment in which the Coast Guard is operating’’. 

12 (b) PENALTIES.— 

13 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES.— 

14 (A) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF TRANS15 PORTATION TO ASSESS PENALTIES.—Section 

16 311(b)(6)(A) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

17 1321(b)(6)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, the 

18 Secretary of Transportation,’’ before ‘‘or the 

19 Administrator’’. 

20 (B) ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES FOR

21 FAILURE TO PROVIDE NOTICE.—Section 

22 311(b)(6)(A) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

23 1321(b)(6)(A)) is further amended— 


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1 (i) in clause (i) by striking ‘‘para2 graph (3), or’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

3 (3),’’; 

4 (ii) in clause (ii) by striking ‘‘any reg5 ulation issued under subsection (j)’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘any order or action required by 

7 the President under subsection (c) or (e) 

8 or any regulation issued under subsection 

9 (d) or (j)’’; 

10 (iii) by redesignating clause (ii) as 

11 clause (iii); 

12 (iv) by inserting after clause (i) the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(ii) who fails to provide notice to the 

15 appropriate Federal agency pursuant to 

16 paragraph (5), or’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘Whenever the President delegates the au19 thority to issue regulations under sub20 section (j), the head of the agency who 

21 issues regulations pursuant to that author22 ity shall have the authority to assess a civil 

23 penalty in accordance with this section for 

24 violations of such regulations.’’. 


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1 (C) PENALTY AMOUNTS.—Section 

2 311(b)(6)(B) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

3 1321(b)(6)(B)) is amended— 

4 (i) in clause (i)— 

5 (I) by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and in6 serting ‘‘$100,000’’; and 

7 (II) by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘$250,000’’; and 

9 (ii) in clause (ii)— 

10 (I) by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and in11 serting ‘‘$100,000’’; and 

12 (II) by striking ‘‘$125,000’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘$1,000,000’’. 

14 (2) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 311(b)(7) of 

15 such Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(b)(7)) is amended— 

16 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘$100,000’’; and 

19 (ii) by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘$2,500’’; 

21 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘described in subpara23 graph (A)’’; 

24 (ii) in clause (i) by striking ‘‘carry out 

25 removal of the discharge under an order of 


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1 the President pursuant to subsection (c); 

2 or’’ and inserting ‘‘comply with any order 

3 or action required by the President pursu4 ant to subsection (c),’’; 

5 (iii) in clause (ii) by striking 

6 ‘‘(1)(B)’’; 

7 (iv) by redesignating clause (ii) as 

8 clause (iii); 

9 (v) by inserting after clause (i) the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(ii) fails to provide notice to the ap12 propriate Federal agency pursuant to para13 graph (5), or’’; and 

14 (vi) by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘$100,000’’; 

16 (C) in subparagraph (C)— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘(j)’’ and inserting ‘‘(d) 

18 or (j)’’; 

19 (ii) by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘$100,000’’; and 

21 (iii) by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: ‘‘Whenever the President delegates 

23 the authority to issue regulations under 

24 subsection (j), the head of the agency who 

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1 ity shall have the authority to seek injunc2 tive relief or assess a civil penalty in ac3 cordance with this section for violations of 

4 such regulations and the authority to refer 

5 the matter to the Attorney General for ac6 tion under subparagraph (E).’’; 

7 (D) in subparagraph (D)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘$300,000’’; and 

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘$3,000’’ and insert11 ing ‘‘$7,500’’; and 

12 (E) in subparagraph (E) by adding at the 

13 end the following: ‘‘The court may award ap14 propriate relief, including a temporary or per15 manent injunction, civil penalties, and punitive 

16 damages.’’. 

17 (3) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made 

18 by this subsection apply to— 

19 (A) any claim arising from an event occur20 ring after the date of enactment of this Act; 

21 and 

22 (B) any claim arising from an event occur23 ring before such date of enactment, if the claim 

24 is brought within the limitations period applica25 ble to the claim. 


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1 (c) CLARIFICATION OF FEDERAL REMOVAL AUTHOR2 ITY.—Section 311(c)(1)(B)(ii) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

3 1321(c)(1)(B)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘direct’’ and in4 serting ‘‘direct, including through the use of an adminis5 trative order,’’. 

6 SEC. 718. OIL AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE CLEANUP 

7 TECHNOLOGIES. 

8 Section 311(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

9 Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)) is amended by adding at the end 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(9) OIL AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE CLEAN12 UP TECHNOLOGIES.—The President, acting through 

13 the Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

14 Guard is operating, shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) in coordination with the Secretary of 

16 the Interior and the heads of other appropriate 

17 Federal agencies, establish a process for— 

18 ‘‘(i) quickly and effectively soliciting, 

19 assessing, and deploying offshore oil and 

20 hazardous substance cleanup technologies 

21 in the event of a discharge or substantial 

22 threat of a discharge of oil or a hazardous 

23 substance; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) effectively coordinating with 

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1 demia, small businesses, and others to en2 sure the best technology available is imple3 mented in the event of such a discharge or 

4 threat; and 

5 ‘‘(B) in coordination with the Secretary of 

6 the Interior and the heads of other appropriate 

7 Federal agencies, maintain a database on best 

8 available oil and hazardous substance cleanup 

9 technologies in the event of a discharge or sub10 stantial threat of a discharge of oil or a haz11 ardous substance.’’. 

12 SEC. 719. IMPLEMENTATION OF OIL SPILL PREVENTION 

13 AND RESPONSE AUTHORITIES. 

14 Section 311(l) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

15 Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(l)) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘(l) The President’’ and insert17 ing the following: 

18 ‘‘(l) DELEGATION AND IMPLEMENTATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) DELEGATION.—The President’’; and 

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

21 ‘‘(2) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall 

23 delegate the responsibilities under subparagraph 

24 (B) to the Administrator. 


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1 ‘‘(B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—With respect to 

2 onshore facilities (other than transportation-re3 lated facilities) and such offshore facilities as 

4 the President may designate, the Administrator 

5 shall ensure that Environmental Protection 

6 Agency personnel develop and maintain oper7 ational capability— 

8 ‘‘(i) for effective inspection, moni9 toring, prevention, preparedness, and re10 sponse authorities related to the discharge 

11 or substantial threat of a discharge of oil 

12 or a hazardous substance; 

13 ‘‘(ii) to protect water quality and the 

14 environment from impacts of a discharge 

15 or substantial threat of a discharge of oil 

16 or a hazardous substance; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) to review and approve of, dis18 approve of, or require revisions (if nec19 essary) to facility response plans and to 

20 carry out all other responsibilities under 

21 subsection (j)(5)(E). 

22 ‘‘(3) COAST GUARD.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall 

24 delegate the responsibilities under subparagraph 


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1 (B) to the Secretary of the department in which 

2 the Coast Guard is operating. 

3 ‘‘(B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Secretary 

4 shall ensure that Coast Guard personnel de5 velop and maintain operational capability— 

6 ‘‘(i) to establish and enforce regula7 tions and standards for procedures, meth8 ods, equipment, and other requirements to 

9 prevent and to contain a discharge of oil or 

10 a hazardous substance from a tank vessel 

11 or nontank vessel or such an offshore facil12 ity as the President may designate; 

13 ‘‘(ii) to establish and enforce regula14 tions, and to carry out all other respon15 sibilities, under subsection (j)(5) with re16 spect to such vessels and offshore facilities 

17 as the President may designate; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) to protect the environment and 

19 natural resources from impacts of a dis20 charge or substantial threat of a discharge 

21 of oil or a hazardous substance from such 

22 vessels and offshore facilities as the Presi23 dent may designate. 

24 ‘‘(C) ROLE AS FIRST RESPONDER.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The responsibil2 ities delegated to the Secretary under sub3 paragraph (B) shall be sufficient to allow 

4 the Coast Guard to act as a first responder 

5 to a discharge or substantial threat of a 

6 discharge of oil or a hazardous substance 

7 from a tank vessel, nontank vessel, or off8 shore facility. 

9 ‘‘(ii) CAPABILITIES.—The President 

10 shall ensure that the Coast Guard has suf11 ficient personnel and resources to act as a 

12 first responder as described in clause (i), 

13 including the resources necessary for on14 going training of personnel, acquisition of 

15 equipment (including containment booms, 

16 dispersants, and skimmers), and 

17 prepositioning of equipment. 

18 ‘‘(D) CONTRACTS.—The Secretary may 

19 enter into contracts with private and nonprofit 

20 organizations for personnel and equipment in 

21 carrying out the responsibilities delegated to the 

22 Secretary under subparagraph (B). 

23 ‘‘(4) DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall 

2 delegate the responsibilities under subparagraph 

3 (B) to the Secretary of Transportation. 

4 ‘‘(B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Secretary 

5 of Transportation shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) establish and enforce regulations 

7 and standards for procedures, methods, 

8 equipment, and other requirements to pre9 vent and to contain discharges of oil and 

10 hazardous substances from transportation11 related onshore facilities; 

12 ‘‘(ii) have the authority to review and 

13 approve of, disapprove of, or require revi14 sions (if necessary) to transportation-re15 lated onshore facility response plans and to 

16 carry out all other responsibilities under 

17 subsection (j)(5)(E); and 

18 ‘‘(iii) ensure that Department of 

19 Transportation personnel develop and 

20 maintain operational capability— 

21 ‘‘(I) for effective inspection, mon22 itoring, prevention, preparedness, and 

23 response authorities related to the dis24 charge or substantial threat of a dis25 charge of oil or a hazardous substance 


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1 from a transportation-related onshore 

2 facility; and 

3 ‘‘(II) to protect the environment 

4 and natural resources from the im5 pacts of a discharge or substantial 

6 threat of a discharge of oil or a haz7 ardous substance from a transpor8 tation-related onshore facility. 

9 ‘‘(5) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall 

11 delegate the responsibilities under subparagraph 

12 (B) to the Secretary of the Interior. 

13 ‘‘(B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Secretary 

14 of the Interior shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) establish and enforce regulations 

16 and standards for procedures, methods, 

17 equipment, and other requirements to pre18 vent and to contain discharges of oil and 

19 hazardous substances from such offshore 

20 facilities as the President may designate; 

21 ‘‘(ii) establish and enforce regulations 

22 to carry out all other responsibilities under 

23 subsection (j)(5) for such offshore facilities 

24 as the President may designate; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) have the authority to review and 

2 approve of, disapprove of, or require revi3 sions (if necessary) to offshore facility re4 sponse plans under subsection (j)(5) for 

5 such offshore facilities as the President 

6 may designate; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) ensure that Department of the 

8 Interior personnel develop and maintain 

9 operational capability for effective inspec10 tion, monitoring, prevention, and prepared11 ness authorities related to the discharge or 

12 a substantial threat of a discharge of oil or 

13 hazardous material from such offshore fa14 cilities as the President may designate.’’. 

15 SEC. 720. IMPACTS TO INDIAN TRIBES AND PUBLIC SERV16 ICE DAMAGES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1002(b)(2) of the Oil Pol18 lution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2702(b)(2)) is amended— 

19 (1) in subparagraph (D) by striking ‘‘or a polit20 ical subdivision thereof’’ and inserting ‘‘a political 

21 subdivision of a State, or an Indian tribe’’; and 

22 (2) in subparagraph (F) by striking ‘‘by a 

23 State’’ and all that follows before the period and in24 serting ‘‘the United States, a State, a political sub25 division of a State, or an Indian tribe’’. 


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1 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

2 section apply to— 

3 (1) any claim arising from an event occurring 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act; and 

5 (2) any claim arising from an event occurring 

6 before such date of enactment, if the claim is 

7 brought within the limitations period applicable to 

8 the claim. 

9 SEC. 721. FEDERAL ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS. 

10 Section 309(g)(6)(A) of the Federal Water Pollution 

11 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1319(g)(6)(A)) is amended by 

12 striking ‘‘or section 311(b)’’. 

13 SEC. 722. TIME REQUIRED BEFORE ELECTING TO PROCEED 

14 WITH JUDICIAL CLAIM OR AGAINST THE 

15 FUND. 

16 Paragraph (2) of section 1013(c) of the Oil Pollution 

17 Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2713(c)) is amended by striking 

18 ‘‘90’’ and inserting ‘‘45’’. 

19 SEC. 723. AUTHORIZED LEVEL OF COAST GUARD PER20 SONNEL. 

21 The authorized end-of-year strength for active duty 

22 personnel of the Coast Guard for fiscal year 2011 is here23 by increased by 300 personnel, above any other level au24 thorized by law, for implementing the activities of the 


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1 Coast Guard under this title, including the amendments 

2 made by this title. 

3 SEC. 724. CLARIFICATION OF MEMORANDUMS OF UNDER4 STANDING. 

5 Not later than September 30, 2011, the President 

6 (acting through the head of the appropriate Federal de7 partment or agency) shall implement or revise, as appro8 priate, memorandums of understanding to clarify the roles 

9 and jurisdictional responsibilities of the Environmental 

10 Protection Agency, the Coast Guard, the Department of 

11 the Interior, the Department of Transportation, and other 

12 Federal agencies relating to the prevention of oil dis13 charges from tank vessels, nontank vessels, and facilities 

14 subject to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. 

15 SEC. 725. BUILD AMERICA REQUIREMENT FOR OFFSHORE 

16 FACILITIES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VI of the Oil Pollution Act 

18 of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) is amended by adding 

19 at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 6005. BUILD AMERICA REQUIREMENT FOR OFFSHORE 

21 FACILITIES. 

22 ‘‘(a) BUILD AMERICA REQUIREMENT.—Except as 

23 provided by subsection (b), a person may not use an off24 shore facility to engage in support of exploration, develop25 ment, or production of oil or natural gas in, on, above, 


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1 or below the exclusive economic zone unless the facility 

2 was built in the United States, including construction of 

3 any major component of the hull or superstructure of the 

4 facility. 

5 ‘‘(b) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—A person seeking to 

6 charter an offshore facility in the exclusive economic zone 

7 may seek a waiver of subsection (a). The Secretary may 

8 waive subsection (a) if the Secretary, in consultation with 

9 the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Trans10 portation, finds that— 

11 ‘‘(1) the offshore facility was built in a foreign 

12 country and is under contract, on the date of enact13 ment of this section, in support of exploration, devel14 opment, or production of oil or natural gas in, on, 

15 above, or below the exclusive economic zone; 

16 ‘‘(2) an offshore facility built in the United 

17 States is not available within a reasonable period of 

18 time, as defined in subsection (e), or of sufficient 

19 quality to perform drilling operations required under 

20 a contract; or 

21 ‘‘(3) an emergency requires the use of an off22 shore facility built in a foreign country. 

23 ‘‘(c) WRITTEN JUSTIFICATION AND PUBLIC NOTICE

24 OF NONAVAILABILITY WAIVER.—When issuing a waiver 

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1 retary shall issue a detailed written justification as to why 

2 the waiver meets the requirement of such subsection. The 

3 Secretary shall publish the justification in the Federal 

4 Register and provide the public with 45 days for notice 

5 and comment. 

6 ‘‘(d) FINAL DECISION.—The Secretary shall approve 

7 or deny any waiver request submitted under subsection (b) 

8 not later than 90 days after the date of receipt of the re9 quest. 

10 ‘‘(e) REASONABLE PERIOD OF TIME DEFINED.—For 

11 purposes of subsection (b)(2), the term ‘reasonable period 

12 of time’ means the time needed for a person seeking to 

13 charter an offshore facility in the exclusive economic zone 

14 to meet the requirements in the primary term of the per15 son’s lease.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

17 contained in section 2 of such Act is amended by inserting 

18 after the item relating to section 6004 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 6005. Build America requirement for offshore facilities.’’. 

19 SEC. 726. OIL SPILL RESPONSE VESSEL DATABASE. 

20 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the 

22 Coast Guard shall complete an inventory of all vessels op23 erating in the waters of the United States that are capable 

24 of meeting oil spill response needs designated in the Na25 tional Contingency Plan authorized by section 311(d) of 


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1 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

2 1321(d)). 

3 (b) CATEGORIZATION.—The inventory required under 

4 subsection (a) shall categorize such vessels by capabilities, 

5 type, function, and location. 

6 (c) MAINTENANCE OF DATABASE.—The Com7 mandant shall maintain a database containing the results 

8 of the inventory required under subsection (a) and update 

9 the information in the database on no less than a quar10 terly basis. 

11 (d) AVAILABILITY.—The Commandant may make in12 formation regarding the location and capabilities of oil 

13 spill response vessels available to a Federal On-Scene Co14 ordinator designated under section 311 of such Act (33 

15 U.S.C. 1321) to assist in the response to an oil spill or 

16 other incident in the waters of the United States. 

17 SEC. 727. OFFSHORE SENSING AND MONITORING SYSTEMS. 

18 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Subtitle A of title IV of the Oil 

19 Pollution Act of 1990 is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following new section: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 4119. OFFSHORE SENSING AND MONITORING SYS22 TEMS. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The equipment required to be 

24 available under section 311(j)(5)(D)(iii) of the Federal 

25 Water Pollution Control Act for facilities listed in section 


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1 311(j)(5)(C)(iii) of such Act and located in more than 500 

2 feet of water includes sensing and monitoring systems that 

3 meet the requirements of this section. 

4 ‘‘(b) SYSTEMS REQUIREMENTS.—Sensing and moni5 toring systems required under subsection (a) shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) use an integrated, modular, expandable, 

7 multi-sensor, open-architecture design and tech8 nology with interoperable capability; 

9 ‘‘(2) be capable of— 

10 ‘‘(A) operating for at least 25 years; 

11 ‘‘(B) real-time physical, biological, geologi12 cal, and environmental monitoring; 

13 ‘‘(C) providing alerts in the event of anom14 alous circumstances; 

15 ‘‘(D) providing docking bases to accommo16 date spatial sensors for remote inspection and 

17 monitoring; and 

18 ‘‘(E) collecting chemical boundary condi19 tion data for drift and flow modeling; and 

20 ‘‘(3) include— 

21 ‘‘(A) an uninterruptible power source; 

22 ‘‘(B) a spatial sensor; 

23 ‘‘(C) secure Internet access to real-time 

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1 mental monitoring data gathered by the system 

2 sensors; and 

3 ‘‘(D) a process by which such observation 

4 data and information will be made available to 

5 Federal Regulators and to the system estab6 lished under section 12304 of Public Law 111– 

7 11 (33 U.S.C. 3603).’’. 

8 (b) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION.—Within 60 days 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

10 the department in which the Coast Guard is operating 

11 shall issue a request for information to determine the most 

12 capable and efficient domestic systems that meet the re13 quirements under section 4119 of the Oil Pollution Act 

14 of 1990, as amended by this section. 

15 (c) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.—Within 180 

16 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

17 of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating 

18 shall issue regulations to implement section 4119 of the 

19 Oil Pollution Act of 1990 as amended by this section. 

20 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

21 in section 2 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 is amended 

22 by adding at the end of the items relating to such subtitle 

23 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 4119. Offshore sensing and monitoring systems.’’. 


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1 SEC. 728. OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION. 

2 Section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

3 Act (33 U.S.C. 1362) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking paragraph (24); and 

5 (2) by redesignating paragraph (25) as para6 graph (24). 

7 SEC. 729. LEAVE RETENTION AUTHORITY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 14, United 

9 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 425 the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘§ 426. Emergency leave retention authority 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A duty assignment for an active 

13 duty member of the Coast Guard in support of a declara14 tion of a major disaster or emergency by the President 

15 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer16 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) or in re17 sponse to a spill of national significance shall be treated, 

18 for the purpose of section 701(f)(2) of title 10, as a duty 

19 assignment in support of a contingency operation. 

20 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) SPILL OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE.—The 

22 term ‘spill of national significance’ means a dis23 charge of oil or a hazardous substance that is de24 clared by the Commandant to be a spill of national 

25 significance. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DISCHARGE.—The term ‘discharge’ has 

2 the meaning given that term in section 1001 of the 

3 Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701).’’. 

4 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for such 

5 chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating 

6 to section 425 the following: 

‘‘426. Emergency leave retention authority.’’. 

7 SEC. 730. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 (a) COAST GUARD.—In addition to amounts made 

9 available pursuant to section 1012(a)(5)(A) of the Oil Pol10 lution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2712(a)(5)(A)), there is au11 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the depart12 ment in which the Coast Guard is operating from the Oil 

13 Spill Liability Trust Fund established by section 9509 of 

14 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 9509) to 

15 carry out the purposes of this title and the amendments 

16 made by this title the following: 

17 (1) For fiscal year 2011, $30,000,000. 

18 (2) For each of fiscal years 2012 through 2015, 

19 $32,000,000. 

20 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.—In ad21 dition to amounts made available pursuant to section 1012 

22 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2712), there 

23 is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator of 

24 the Environmental Protection Agency from the Oil Spill 

25 Liability Trust Fund to implement this title and the 


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1 amendments made by this title $10,000,000 for each of 

2 fiscal years 2011 through 2015. 

3 (c) DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.—In addi4 tion to amounts made available pursuant to section 60125 

5 of title 49, United States Code, there is authorized to be 

6 appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation from the 

7 Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to carry out the purposes 

8 of this title and the amendments made by this title the 

9 following: 

10 (1) For each of fiscal years 2011 through 2013, 

11 $7,000,000. 

12 (2) For each of fiscal years 2014 and 2015, 

13 $6,000,000. 

14 SEC. 731. EXTENSION OF LIABILITY TO PERSONS HAVING 

15 OWNERSHIP INTERESTS IN RESPONSIBLE 

16 PARTIES. 

17 (a) DEFINITION OF RESPONSIBLE PARTY.—Section 

18 1001(32) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 

19 2701(32)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(G) PERSON HAVING OWNERSHIP INTER21 EST.—Any person, other than an individual, 

22 having an ownership interest (directly or indi23 rectly) in any entity described in any of sub24 paragraphs (A) through (F) of more than 25 

25 percent, in the aggregate, of the total ownership 


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1 interests in such entity, if the assets of such en2 tity are insufficient to pay the claims owed by 

3 such entity as a responsible party under this 

4 Act.’’. 

5 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

6 this section shall apply to an incident occurring on or after 

7 January 1, 2010. 

8 SEC. 732. CLARIFICATION OF LIABILITY UNDER OIL POLLU9 TION ACT OF 1990. 

10 The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 is amended— 

11 (1) in section 1013 (33 U.S.C. 2713), by insert12 ing after subsection (d) the following: 

13 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON RELEASE OF LIABILITY.—No 

14 release of liability in connection with compensation re15 ceived by a claimant under this Act shall apply to liability 

16 for any tope of harm unless— 

17 ‘‘(1) the claimant presented a claim under sub18 section (a) with respect to such type of harm; and 

19 ‘‘(2) the claimant received compensation for 

20 such type of harm, from the responsible party or 

21 from guarantor of the source designated under sec22 tion 1014(a), in connection with such release.’’; and 

23 (2) in section 1018 (33 U.S.C. 2718), by— 

24 (A) striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph 

25 (1); 


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1 (B) striking the period at the end of para2 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (C) inserting after paragraph (2) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(3) with respect to a claim described in section 

6 1013(e), affect, or be construed or interpreted to af7 fect or modify in any way, the obligations or liabil8 ities of any person under other Federal law.’’. 

9 SEC. 733. SALVAGE ACTIVITIES. 

10 Section 311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

11 Act (33 U.S.C. 1321) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(D) by inserting ‘‘or sal13 vage activities’’ after ‘‘removal’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (c)(4)(A) by inserting ‘‘or con15 ducting salvage activities’’ after ‘‘advice’’. 

16 SEC. 734. REQUIREMENT FOR REDUNDANCY IN RESPONSE 

17 PLANS. 

18 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Section 311(j)(5)(D) of the 

19 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

20 1331(j)(5)(D)) is amended by redesignating clauses (v) 

21 and (vi) as clauses (vii) and (viii), and by inserting after 

22 clause (iv) the following new clauses: 

23 ‘‘(v) include redundancies that specify 

24 response actions that will be taken if other 

25 response actions specified in the plan fail; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) be vetted by impartial experts;’’. 

2 (b) CONDITION OF PERMIT.—The Outer Continental 

3 Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) is amended by 

4 adding at the end the following new section: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 32. RESPONSE PLAN REQUIRED FOR PERMIT OR LI6 CENSE AUTHORIZING DRILLING FOR OIL AND 

7 GAS. 

8 ‘‘The Secretary may not issue any license or permit 

9 authorizing drilling for oil and gas on the Outer Conti10 nental Shelf unless the applicant for the license or permit 

11 has a response plan approved under section 311(j)(5)(D) 

12 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

13 1331(j)(5)(D)) for the vessel or facility that will be used 

14 to conduct such drilling.’’. 

15 TITLE VIII—MISCELLANEOUS 

16 PROVISIONS 

17 SEC. 801. REPEAL OF CERTAIN TAXPAYER SUBSIDIZED 

18 ROYALTY RELIEF FOR THE OIL AND GAS IN19 DUSTRY. 

20 (a) PROVISIONS RELATING TO PLANNING AREAS

21 OFFSHORE ALASKA.—Section 8(a)(3)(B) of the Outer 

22 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(a)(3)(B)) 

23 is amended by striking ‘‘and in the Planning Areas off24 shore Alaska’’ after ‘‘West longitude’’. 


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1 (b) PROVISIONS RELATING TO NAVAL PETROLEUM

2 RESERVE IN ALASKA.—Section 107 of the Naval Petro3 leum Reserves Production Act of 1976 (as transferred, re4 designated, moved, and amended by section 347 of the En5 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (119 Stat. 704)) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (i) by striking paragraphs (2) 

7 through (6); and 

8 (2) by striking subsection (k). 

9 SEC. 802. CONSERVATION FEE. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall, within 

11 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, issue 

12 regulations to establish an annual conservation fee for all 

13 oil and gas leases on Federal onshore and offshore lands. 

14 (b) AMOUNT.—The amount of the fee shall be, for 

15 each barrel or barrel equivalent produced from land that 

16 is subject to a lease from which oil or natural gas is pro17 duced in a calendar year, $2 per barrel of oil and 20 cents 

18 per million BTU of natural gas in 2010 dollars. 

19 (c) ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION.—The Secretary 

20 shall assess and collect the fee established under this sec21 tion. 

22 (d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may issue regula23 tions to prevent evasion of the fee under this section. 

24 (e) SUNSET.—This section and the fee established 

25 under this section shall expire on December 31, 2021. 


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1 SEC. 803. LEASING ON INDIAN LANDS. 

2 Nothing in this Act modifies, amends, or affects leas3 ing on Indian lands as currently carried out by the Bureau 

4 of Indian Affairs. 

5 SEC. 804. OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF STATE BOUND6 ARIES. 

7 (a) GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act, the President, acting through 

9 the Secretary of the Interior, shall publish a final deter10 mination under section 4(a)(2) of the Outer Continental 

11 Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1333(a)(2)) of the boundaries 

12 of coastal States projected seaward to the outer margin 

13 of the Outer Continental Shelf. 

14 (b) NOTICE AND COMMENT.—In determining the 

15 projected boundaries specified in subsection (a), the Sec16 retary shall comply with the notice and comment require17 ments under chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code. 

18 (c) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—The determination and publi19 cation of projected boundaries under subsection (a) shall 

20 not be construed to alter, limit, or modify the jurisdiction, 

21 control, or any other authority of the United States over 

22 the Outer Continental Shelf. 


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1 SEC. 805. LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES TO NATIONAL WILDLIFE 

2 REFUGES. 

3 Section 4 of the National Wildlife Refuge System Ad4 ministration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd) is amended 

5 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(p) DESTRUCTION OR LOSS OF, OR INJURY TO, 

7 REFUGE RESOURCES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) LIABILITY.— 

9 ‘‘(A) LIABILITY TO UNITED STATES.—Any 

10 person who destroys, causes the loss of, or in11 jures any refuge resource is liable to the United 

12 States for an amount equal to the sum of— 

13 ‘‘(i) the amount of the response costs 

14 and damages resulting from the destruc15 tion, loss, or injury; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) interest on that amount cal17 culated in the manner described under sec18 tion 1005 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 

19 (33 U.S.C. 2705). 

20 ‘‘(B) LIABILITY IN REM.—Any instrumen21 tality, including a vessel, vehicle, aircraft, or 

22 other equipment, that destroys, causes the loss 

23 of, or injures any refuge resource shall be liable 

24 in rem to the United States for response costs 

25 and damages resulting from such destruction, 


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1 loss, or injury to the same extent as a person 

2 is liable under subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(C) DEFENSES.—A person is not liable 

4 under this paragraph if that person establishes 

5 that— 

6 ‘‘(i) the destruction or loss of, or in7 jury to, the refuge resource was caused 

8 solely by an act of God, an act of war, or 

9 an act or omission of a third party, and 

10 the person acted with due care; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the destruction, loss, or injury 

12 was caused by an activity authorized by 

13 Federal or State law; or 

14 ‘‘(iii) the destruction, loss, or injury 

15 was negligible. 

16 ‘‘(D) LIMITS TO LIABILITY.—Nothing in 

17 sections 30501 to 30512 or section 30706 of 

18 title 46, United States Code, shall limit the li19 ability of any person under this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) RESPONSE ACTIONS.—The Secretary may 

21 undertake or authorize all necessary actions to pre22 vent or minimize the destruction or loss of, or injury 

23 to, refuge resources, or to minimize the imminent 

24 risk of such destruction, loss, or injury. 


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1 ‘‘(3) CIVIL ACTIONS FOR RESPONSE COSTS AND

2 DAMAGES.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, 

4 upon request of the Secretary, may commence 

5 a civil action against any person or instrumen6 tality who may be liable under paragraph (1) 

7 for response costs and damages. The Secretary, 

8 acting as trustee for refuge resources for the 

9 United States, shall submit a request for such 

10 an action to the Attorney General whenever a 

11 person may be liable for such costs or damages. 

12 ‘‘(B) JURISDICTION AND VENUE.—An ac13 tion under this subsection may be brought in 

14 the United States district court for any district 

15 in which— 

16 ‘‘(i) the defendant is located, resides, 

17 or is doing business, in the case of an ac18 tion against a person; 

19 ‘‘(ii) the instrumentality is located, in 

20 the case of an action against an instru21 mentality; or 

22 ‘‘(iii) the destruction of, loss of, or in23 jury to a refuge resource occurred. 

24 ‘‘(4) USE OF RECOVERED AMOUNTS.—Response 

25 costs and damages recovered by the Secretary under 


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1 this subsection shall be retained by the Secretary in 

2 the manner provided for in section 107(f)(1) of the 

3 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa4 tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 

5 9607(f)(1)) and used as follows: 

6 ‘‘(A) RESPONSE COSTS.—Amounts recov7 ered by the United States for costs of response 

8 actions and damage assessments under this 

9 subsection shall be used, as the Secretary con10 siders appropriate— 

11 ‘‘(i) to reimburse the Secretary or any 

12 other Federal or State agency that con13 ducted those activities; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) after reimbursement of such 

15 costs, to restore, replace, or acquire the 

16 equivalent of any refuge resource. 

17 ‘‘(B) OTHER AMOUNTS.—All other 

18 amounts recovered shall be used, in order of 

19 priority— 

20 ‘‘(i) to restore, replace, or acquire the 

21 equivalent of the refuge resources that 

22 were the subject of the action, including 

23 the costs of monitoring the refuge re24 sources; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) to restore degraded refuge re2 sources of the refuge that was the subject 

3 of the action, giving priority to refuge re4 sources that are comparable to the refuge 

5 resources that were the subject of the ac6 tion; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) to restore degraded refuge re8 sources of other refuges. 

9 ‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 

10 term— 

11 ‘‘(A) ‘damages’ includes— 

12 ‘‘(i) compensation for— 

13 ‘‘(I)(aa) the cost of replacing, re14 storing, or acquiring the equivalent of 

15 a refuge resource; and 

16 ‘‘(bb) the value of the lost use of 

17 a refuge resource pending its restora18 tion or replacement or the acquisition 

19 of an equivalent refuge resource; or 

20 ‘‘(II) the value of a refuge re21 source if the refuge resource cannot 

22 be restored or replaced or if the equiv23 alent of such resource cannot be ac24 quired; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the cost of conducting damage 

2 assessments; 

3 ‘‘(iii) the reasonable cost of moni4 toring appropriate to the injured, restored, 

5 or replaced refuge resource; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) the cost of enforcement actions 

7 undertaken by the Secretary in response to 

8 the destruction or loss of, or injury to, a 

9 refuge resource; 

10 ‘‘(B) ‘response costs’ means the costs of 

11 actions taken or authorized by the Secretary to 

12 minimize destruction or loss of, or injury to, 

13 refuge resources, or to minimize the imminent 

14 risks of such destruction, loss, or injury, includ15 ing costs related to seizure, forfeiture, storage, 

16 or disposal arising from liability, or to monitor 

17 ongoing effects of incidents causing such de18 struction, loss, or injury under this subsection; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(C) ‘refuge resource’ means any living or 

21 nonliving resource of a refuge that contributes 

22 to the conservation, management, and restora23 tion mission of the System, including living or 

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1 ment that may be managed as a unit of the 

2 System.’’. 

3 SEC. 806. STRENGTHENING COASTAL STATE OIL SPILL 

4 PLANNING AND RESPONSE. 

5 The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 

6 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) is amended adding at the end the 

7 following new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 320. STRENGTHENING COASTAL STATE OIL SPILL RE9 SPONSE AND PLANNING. 

10 ‘‘(a) GRANTS TO STATES.—The Secretary may make 

11 grants to eligible coastal States— 

12 ‘‘(1) to revise management programs approved 

13 under section 306 (16 U.S.C. 1455) to identify and 

14 implement new enforceable policies and procedures 

15 to ensure sufficient response capabilities at the State 

16 level to address the environmental, economic, and so17 cial impacts of oil spills or other accidents resulting 

18 from Outer Continental Shelf energy activities with 

19 the potential to affect any land or water use or nat20 ural resource of the coastal zone; and 

21 ‘‘(2) to review and revise where necessary appli22 cable enforceable policies within approved State 

23 management programs affecting coastal energy ac24 tivities and energy to ensure that these policies are 

25 consistent with— 


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1 ‘‘(A) other emergency response plans and 

2 policies developed under Federal or State law; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(B) new policies and procedures developed 

5 under paragraph (1); and 

6 ‘‘(3) after a State has adopted new or revised 

7 enforceable policies and procedures under para8 graphs (1) and (2)— 

9 ‘‘(A) the State shall submit the policies 

10 and procedures to the Secretary; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the Secretary shall notify the State 

12 whether the Secretary approves or disapproves 

13 the incorporation of the policies and procedures 

14 into the State’s management program pursuant 

15 to section 306(e). 

16 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—New enforceable policies and pro17 cedures developed by coastal States with grants awarded 

18 under this section shall consider, but not be limited to— 

19 ‘‘(1) other existing emergency response plans, 

20 procedures and enforceable policies developed under 

21 other Federal or State law that affect the coastal 

22 zone; 

23 ‘‘(2) identification of critical infrastructure es24 sential to facilitate spill or accident response activi25 ties; 


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1 ‘‘(3) identification of coordination, logistics and 

2 communication networks between Federal and State 

3 government agencies, and between State agencies 

4 and affected local communities, to ensure the effi5 cient and timely dissemination of data and other in6 formation; 

7 ‘‘(4) inventories of shore locations and infra8 structure and equipment necessary to respond to oil 

9 spills or other accidents resulting from Outer Conti10 nental Shelf energy activities; 

11 ‘‘(5) identification and characterization of sig12 nificant or sensitive marine ecosystems or other 

13 areas possessing important conservation, rec14 reational, ecological, historic, or aesthetic values; 

15 ‘‘(6) inventories and surveys of shore locations 

16 and infrastructure capable of supporting alternative 

17 energy development; and 

18 ‘‘(7) other information or actions as may be 

19 necessary. 

20 ‘‘(c) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall, within 180 

21 days after the date of enactment of this section and after 

22 consultation with the coastal states, publish guidelines for 

23 the application for and use of grants under this section. 

24 ‘‘(d) PARTICIPATION.—A coastal state shall provide 

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1 forceable policies and procedures under this section pursu2 ant to sections 306(d)(1) and 306(e), especially by rel3 evant Federal agencies, other coastal state agencies, local 

4 governments, regional organizations, port authorities, and 

5 other interested parties and stakeholders, public and pri6 vate, that are related to, or affected by Outer Continental 

7 Shelf energy activities. 

8 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL GRANTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 

10 2011 through 2015, the Secretary may make a 

11 grant to a coastal state to develop new enforceable 

12 polices and procedures as required under this sec13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(2) GRANT AMOUNTS AND LIMIT ON

15 AWARDS.—The amount of any grant to any one 

16 coastal State under this section shall not exceed 

17 $750,000 for any fiscal year. No coastal state may 

18 receive more than two grants under this section. 

19 ‘‘(3) NO STATE MATCHING CONTRIBUTION RE20 QUIRED.—As it is in the national interest to be able 

21 to respond efficiently and effectively at all levels of 

22 government to oil spills and other accidents resulting 

23 from Outer Continental Shelf energy activities, a 

24 coastal state shall not be required to contribute any 


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1 portion of the cost of a grant awarded under this 

2 section. 

3 ‘‘(4) SECRETARIAL REVIEW AND LIMIT ON

4 AWARDS.—After an initial grant is made to a coastal 

5 state under this section, no subsequent grant may be 

6 made to that coastal state under this section unless 

7 the Secretary finds that the coastal state is satisfac8 torily developing revisions to address offshore energy 

9 impacts. No coastal state is eligible to receive grants 

10 under this section for more than 2 fiscal years. 

11 ‘‘(f) APPLICABILITY.—The requirements of this sec12 tion shall only apply if appropriations are provided to the 

13 Secretary to make grants under this section. This section 

14 shall not be construed to convey any new authority to any 

15 coastal state, or repeal or supersede any existing authority 

16 of any coastal state, to regulate the siting, licensing, leas17 ing, or permitting of energy facilities in areas of the Outer 

18 Continental Shelf under the administration of the Federal 

19 Government. Nothing in this section repeals or supersedes 

20 any existing coastal state authority. 

21 ‘‘(g) ASSISTANCE BY THE SECRETARY.—The Sec22 retary as authorized under section 310(a) and to the ex23 tent practicable, shall make available to coastal states the 

24 resources and capabilities of the National Oceanic and At25 mospheric Administration to provide technical assistance 


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1 to the coastal states to prepare revisions to approved man2 agement programs to meet the requirements under this 

3 section.’’. 

4 SEC. 807. INFORMATION SHARING. 

5 Section 388(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (43 

6 U.S.C. 1337 note) is amended by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY OF DATA AND INFORMA9 TION.—All heads of departments and agencies of the 

10 Federal Government shall, upon request of the Sec11 retary, provide to the Secretary all data and infor12 mation that the Secretary deems necessary for the 

13 purpose of including such data and information in 

14 the mapping initiative, except that no department or 

15 agency of the Federal Government shall be required 

16 to provide any data or information that is privileged 

17 or proprietary.’’. 

18 SEC. 808. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS. 

19 None of the funds authorized or made available by 

20 this Act may be used to carry out any activity or pay any 

21 costs for removal or damages for which a responsible party 

22 (as such term is defined in section 1001 of the Oil Pollu23 tion Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701)) is liable under the 

24 Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or 

25 other law. 


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1 SEC. 809. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW. 

2 Section 390 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public 

3 Law 109–58; 42 U.S.C. 15942) is repealed. 

4 SEC. 810. FEDERAL RESPONSE TO STATE PROPOSALS TO 

5 PROTECT STATE LANDS AND WATERS. 

6 Any State shall be entitled to timely decisions regard7 ing permit applications or other approvals from any Fed8 eral official, including the Secretary of the Interior or the 

9 Secretary of Commerce, for any State or local government 

10 response activity to protect State lands and waters that 

11 is directly related to the discharge of oil determined to 

12 be a spill of national significance. Within 48 hours of the 

13 receipt of the State application or request for approval, 

14 the Federal official shall provide a clear determination on 

15 the permit application or approval request to the State, 

16 or provide a definite date by which the determination shall 

17 be made to the State. If the Federal official fails to meet 

18 either of these deadlines, the permit application is pre19 sumed to be approved or other approval granted. 

20 SEC. 811. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE EVALUA21 TION. 

22 (a) EVALUATION.—The Comptroller General shall 

23 conduct an evaluation of the Department of the Interior 

24 to determine— 

25 (1) whether the reforms carried out under this 

26 Act and the amendments made by this Act address 


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1 concerns of the Government Accountability Office 

2 and the Inspector General expressed before the date 

3 of enactment of this Act; 

4 (2) whether the increased hiring authority given 

5 to the Secretary of the Interior under this Act and 

6 the amendments made by this Act has resulted in 

7 the Department of the Interior being more effective 

8 in addressing its oversight missions; and 

9 (3) whether there has been a sufficient reduc10 tion in the conflict between mission and interest 

11 within the Department of the Interior. 

12 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 

13 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

14 submit to Congress a report containing the results of the 

15 evaluation conducted under subsection (a). 

16 SEC. 812. STUDY ON RELIEF WELLS. 

17 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 

18 of this Act, the Secretary shall enter into an arrangement 

19 with the National Academy of Engineering under which 

20 the Academy shall, not later than 1 year after such ar21 rangement is entered into, submit to the Secretary and 

22 to Congress a report that assesses the economic, safety, 

23 and environmental impacts of requiring that 1 or more 

24 relief wells be drilled in tandem with the drilling of some 


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1 or all wells subject to the requirements of this Act and 

2 the amendments made by this Act. 

3 TITLE IX—STUDY OF ACTIONS 

4 TO IMPROVE THE ACCURACY 

5 OF COLLECTION OF ROYAL6 TIES 

7 SEC. 901. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Study of Ways to Im9 prove the Accuracy of the Collection of Federal Oil, Con10 densate, and Natural Gas Royalties Act of 2010’’. 

11 SEC. 902. STUDY OF ACTIONS TO IMPROVE THE ACCURACY 

12 OF COLLECTION OF FEDERAL OIL, CONDEN13 SATE, AND NATURAL GAS ROYALTIES. 

14 The Secretary of the Interior shall seek to enter into 

15 an arrangement with the National Academy of Engineer16 ing under which the Academy, by not later than six 

17 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, shall 

18 study and report to the Secretary regarding whether the 

19 accuracy of collection of royalties on production of oil, con20 densate, and natural gas under leases of Federal lands (in 

21 eluding submerged and deep water lands) and Indian 

22 lands would be improved by any of the following: 

23 (1) Requiring the installation of digital meters, 

24 calibrated at least monthly to an absolute zero value, 


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1 for all lands from which natural gas (including con2 densate) is produced under such leases. 

3 (2) Requiring that— 

4 (A) the size of every orifice plate on each 

5 natural gas well operated under such leases be 

6 inspected at least quarterly by the Secretary; 

7 and 

8 (B) chipped orifice plates and wrong-sized 

9 orifice plates be replaced immediately after 

10 those inspections and reported to the Secretary 

11 for retroactive volume measurement corrections 

12 and royalty payments with interest of 8 percent 

13 compounded monthly. 

14 (3) Requiring that any plug valves that are in 

15 natural gas gathering lines be removed and replaced 

16 with ball valves. 

17 (4) Requiring that— 

18 (A) all meter runs should be opened for in19 spection by the Secretary and the producer at 

20 all times; and 

21 (B) any welding or closing of the meter 

22 runs leading to the orifice plates should be pro23 hibited unless authorized by the Secretary. 

24 (5) Requiring the installation of straightening 

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1 ters each orifice meter, including each master meter 

2 and each sales meter. 

3 (6) Requiring that all master meters be in4 spected and the results of such inspections be made 

5 available to the Secretary and the producers imme6 diately. 

7 (7) Requiring that— 

8 (A) all sampling of natural gas for heating 

9 content analysis be performed monthly up10 stream of each natural gas meter, including up11 stream of each master meter; 

12 (B) records of such sampling and heating 

13 content analysis be maintained by the pur14 chaser and made available to the Secretary and 

15 to the producer monthly; 

16 (C) probes for such upstream sampling be 

17 installed upstream within three feet of each 

18 natural gas meter; 

19 (D) any oil and natural gas lease for which 

20 heat content analysis is falsified shall be subject 

21 to cancellation; 

22 (E) natural gas sampling probes be lo23 cated— 

24 (i) upstream of the natural gas meter 

25 at all times; 


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1 (ii) within a few feet of the natural 

2 gas meter; and 

3 (iii) after the natural gas goes 

4 through a Welker or Y–Z vanishing cham5 ber; and 

6 (F) temperature probes and testing probes 

7 be located between the natural gas sampling 

8 probe and the orifice of the natural gas meter. 

9 (8) Prohibiting the dilution of natural gas with 

10 inert nitrogen or inert carbon dioxide gas for royalty 

11 determination, sale, or resale at any point. 

12 (9) Requiring that both the measurement of the 

13 volume of natural gas and the heating content anal14 yses be reported only on the basis of 14.73 PSI and 

15 60 degrees Fahrenheit, regardless of the elevation 

16 above sea level of such volume measurement and 

17 heating content analysis, for both purchases and 

18 sales of natural gas. 

19 (10) Prohibiting the construction of bypass 

20 pipes that go around the natural gas meter, and im21 posing criminal penalties for any such construction 

22 or subsequent removal including, but not limited to, 

23 automatic cancellation of the lease. 

24 (11) Requiring that all natural gas sold to con25 sumers have a minimum BTU content of 960 at an 


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1 atmospheric pressure of 14.73 PSI and be at a tem2 perature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit, as required by 

3 the State of Wyoming Public Utilities Commission. 

4 (12) Requiring that all natural gas sold in the 

5 USA will be on a MMBTU basis with the BTU con6 tent adjusted for elevation above sea level in higher 

7 altitudes. Thus all natural gas meters must correct 

8 for BTU content in higher elevations (altitudes). 

9 (13) Issuance by the Secretary of rules for the 

10 measurement at the wellhead of the standard volume 

11 of natural gas produced, based on independent in12 dustry standards such as those suggested by the 

13 American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM). 

14 (14) Requiring use of the fundamental orifice 

15 meter mass flow equation, as revised in 1990, for 

16 calculating the standard volume of natural gas pro17 duced. 

18 (15) Requiring the use of Fpv in standard vol19 ume measurement computations as described in the 

20 1992 American Gas Association Report No. 8 enti21 tled Compressibility Factor of Natural Gas and 

22 Other Related Hydrocarbon Gases. 

23 (16) Requiring that gathering lines must be 

24 constructed so as to have as few angles and turns 


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1 as possible, with a maximum of three angles, before 

2 they connect with the natural gas meter. 

3 (17) Requiring that for purposes of reporting 

4 the royalty value of natural gas, condensate, oil, and 

5 associated natural gases, such royalty value must be 

6 based upon the natural gas’ condensate’s, oil’s, and 

7 associated natural gases’ arm’s length, independent 

8 market value, as reported in independent, respected 

9 market reports such as Platts or Bloombergs, and 

10 not based upon industry controlled posted prices, 

11 such as Koch’s. 

12 (18) Requiring that royalties be paid on all the 

13 condensate recovered through purging gathering 

14 lines and pipelines with a cone-shaped device to push 

15 out condensate (popularly referred to as a pig) and 

16 on condensate recovered from separators, dehydra17 tors, and processing plants. 

18 (19) Requiring that all royalty deductions for 

19 dehydration, treating, natural gas gathering, com20 pression, transportation, marketing, removal of im21 purities such as carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen (N2), 

22 hydrogen sulphide (H2S), mercaptain (HS), helium 

23 (He), and other similar charges on natural gas, con24 densate, and oil produced under such leases that are 

25 now in existence be eliminated. 


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1 (20) Requiring that at all times— 

2 (A) the quantity, quality, and value ob3 tained for natural gas liquids (condensate) be 

4 reported to the Secretary; and 

5 (B) such reported value be based on fair 

6 independent arm’s length market value. 

7 (21) Issuance by the Secretary of regulations 

8 that prohibit venting or flaring (or both) of natural 

9 gas in cases for which technology exists to reason10 ably prevent it, strict enforcement of such prohibi11 tions, and cancellation of leases for violations. 

12 (22) Requiring lessees to pay full royalties on 

13 any natural gas that is vented, flared, or otherwise 

14 avoidably lost. 

15 (23)(A) Requiring payment of royalties on car16 bon dioxide at the wellhead used for tertiary oil re17 covery from depleted oil fields on the basis of 5 per18 cent of the West Texas Intermediate crude oil fair 

19 market price to be used for one MCF (1,000 cubic 

20 feet) of carbon dioxide gas. 

21 (B) Requiring that— 

22 (i) carbon dioxide used for edible purposes 

23 should be subjected to a royalty per thousand 

24 cubic feet (MCF) on the basis of the sales price 

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1 ducting for removal of impurities, processing, 

2 transportation, and marketing costs; 

3 (ii) such price to apply with respect to gas4 eous forms, liquid forms, and solid (dry ice) 

5 forms of carbon dioxide converted to equivalent 

6 MCF; and 

7 (iii) such royalty to apply with respect to 

8 both a direct producer of carbon dioxide and 

9 purchases of carbon dioxide from another per10 son that is either affiliated or not affiliated with 

11 the purchaser. 

12 (24) Requiring that— 

13 (A) royalties be paid on the fair market 

14 value of nitrogen extracted from such leases 

15 that is used industrially for well stimulation, 

16 helium recovery, or other uses; and 

17 (B) royalties be paid on the fair market 

18 value of ultimately processed helium recovered 

19 from such leases. 

20 (25) Allowing only 5 percent of the value of the 

21 elemental sulfur recovered during processing of hy22 drogen sulfide gas from such leases to be deducted 

23 for processing costs in determining royalty pay24 ments. 


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1 (26) Requiring that all heating content analysis 

2 of natural gas be conducted to a minimum level of 

3 C15. 

4 (27) Eliminating artificial conversion from dry 

5 BTU to wet BTU, and requiring that natural gas be 

6 analyzed and royalties paid for at all times on the 

7 basis of dry BTU only. 

8 (28) Requiring that natural gas sampling be 

9 performed at all times with a floating piston cylinder 

10 container at the same pressure intake as the pres11 sure of the natural gas gathering line. 

12 (29) Requiring use of natural gas filters with a 

13 minimum of 10 microns, and preferably 15 microns, 

14 both in the intake to natural gas sampling con15 tainers and in the exit from the natural gas sam16 pling containers into the chromatograph. 

17 (30) Mandate the use of a Quad Unit for both 

18 portable and stationary chromatographs in order to 

19 correct for the presence of nitrogen and oxygen, if 

20 any, in certain natural gas streams. 

21 (31) Require the calibration of all chro22 matograph equipment every three months and the 

23 use of only American Gas Association-approved 

24 standard comparison containers for such calibration. 


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1 (32) Requiring payment of royalties on any 

2 such natural gas stored on Federal or Indian lands 

3 on the basis of corresponding storage charges for the 

4 use of Federal or Indian lands, respectively, for such 

5 storage service. 

6 (33) Imposing penalties for the intentional non7 payment of royalties for natural gas liquids recov8 ered— 

9 (A) from purging of natural gas gathering 

10 lines and natural gas pipelines; or 

11 (B) from field separators, dehydrators, and 

12 processing plants, 

13 including cancellation of oil and natural gas leases 

14 and criminal penalties. 

15 (34) Requiring that the separator, dehydrator, 

16 and natural gas meter be located within 100 feet of 

17 each natural gas wellhead. 

18 (35) Requiring that BTU heating content anal19 ysis be performed when the natural gas is at a tem20 perature of 140 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit at all 

21 times, as required by the American Gas Association 

22 (AGA) regulations. 

23 (36) Requiring that heating content analysis 

24 and volume measurements are identical at the sales 

25 point to what they are at the purchase point, after 


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1 allowing for a small volume for leakage in old pipes, 

2 but with no allowance for heating content discrep3 ancy. 

4 (37) Verification by the Secretary that the spe5 cific gravity of natural gas produced under such 

6 leases, as measured at the meter run, corresponds to 

7 the heating content analysis data for such natural 

8 gas, in accordance with the Natural Gas Processors 

9 Association Publication 2145–71(1), entitled ‘‘Phys10 ical Constants Of Paraffin Hydrocarbons And Other 

11 Components Of Natural Gas’’, and reporting of all 

12 discrepancies immediately. 

13 (38) Prohibiting all deductions on royalty pay14 ments for marketing of natural gas, condensate, and 

15 oil by an affiliate or agent. 

16 (39) Requiring that all standards of the Amer17 ican Petroleum Institute, the American Gas Associa18 tion, the Gas Processors Association, and the Amer19 ican Society of Testing Materials, Minerals Manage20 ment Service Order No. 5, and all other Minerals 

21 Management Service orders be faithfully observed 

22 and applied, and willful misconduct of such stand23 ards and orders be subject to oil and gas lease can24 cellation. 


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1 SEC. 903. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this title: 

3 (1) COVERED LANDS.—The term ‘‘covered 

4 lands’’ means— 

5 (A) all Federal onshore lands and offshore 

6 lands that are under the administrative jurisdic7 tion of the Department of the Interior for pur8 poses of oil and gas leasing; and 

9 (B) Indian onshore lands. 

10 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of the Interior. 

12 TITLE X—OFFSHORE OIL AND 

13 GAS WORKER WHISTLE14 BLOWER PROTECTION 

15 SEC. 1001. SHORT TITLE. 

16 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Offshore Oil and Gas 

17 Worker Whistleblower Protection Act of 2010’’. 

18 SEC. 1002. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS; EMPLOYEE 

19 PROTECTION FROM OTHER RETALIATION. 

20 (a) PROHIBITION AGAINST RETALIATION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—No employer may discharge 

22 or otherwise discriminate against a covered employee 

23 because the covered employee, whether at the cov24 ered employee’s initiative or in the ordinary course 

25 of the covered employee’s duties— 


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1 (A) provided, caused to be provided, or is 

2 about to provide or cause to be provided to the 

3 employer or to a Federal or State Government 

4 official, information relating to any violation of, 

5 or any act or omission the covered employee 

6 reasonably believes to be a violation of, any pro7 vision of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

8 (43 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.), or any order, rule, 

9 regulation, standard, or prohibition under that 

10 Act, or exercised any rights provided to employ11 ees under that Act; 

12 (B) testified or is about to testify in a pro13 ceeding concerning such violation; 

14 (C) assisted or participated or is about to 

15 assist or participate in such a proceeding; 

16 (D) testified or is about to testify before 

17 Congress on any matter covered by such Act; 

18 (E) objected to, or refused to participate in 

19 any activity, policy, practice, or assigned task 

20 that the covered employee reasonably believed 

21 to be in violation of any provision of such Act, 

22 or any order, rule, regulation, standard, or ban 

23 under such Act; 

24 (F) reported to the employer or a State or 

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1 lowing related to the employer’s activities de2 scribed in section 1003(1): an illness, injury, 

3 unsafe condition, or information regarding the 

4 adequacy of any oil spill response plan required 

5 by law; or 

6 (G) refused to perform the covered employ7 ee’s duties, or exercised stop work authority, re8 lated to the employer’s activities described in 

9 section 1003(1) if the covered employee had a 

10 good faith belief that performing such duties 

11 could result in injury to or impairment of the 

12 health of the covered employee or other employ13 ees, or cause an oil spill to the environment. 

14 (2) GOOD FAITH BELIEF.—For purposes of 

15 paragraph (1)(E), the circumstances causing the 

16 covered employee’s good faith belief that performing 

17 such duties would pose a health and safety hazard 

18 shall be of such a nature that a reasonable person 

19 under circumstances confronting the covered em20 ployee would conclude there is such a hazard. 

21 (b) PROCESS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered employee who be23 lieves that he or she has been discharged or other24 wise discriminated against (hereafter referred to as 

25 the ‘‘complainant’’) by any employer in violation of 


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1 subsection (a)(1) may, not later than 180 days after 

2 the date on which such alleged violation occurs or 

3 the date on which the covered employee knows or 

4 should reasonably have known that such alleged vio5 lation occurred, file (or have any person file on his 

6 or her behalf) a complaint with the Secretary of 

7 Labor (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec8 retary’’) alleging such discharge or discrimination 

9 and identifying employer or employers responsible 

10 for such act. Upon receipt of such a complaint, the 

11 Secretary shall notify, in writing, the employer or 

12 employers named in the complaint of the filing of 

13 the complaint, of the allegations contained in the 

14 complaint, of the substance of evidence supporting 

15 the complaint, and of the opportunities that will be 

16 afforded to such person under paragraph (2). 

17 (2) INVESTIGATION.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

19 after the date of receipt of a complaint filed 

20 under paragraph (1) the Secretary shall initiate 

21 an investigation and determine whether there is 

22 reasonable cause to believe that the complaint 

23 has merit and notify, in writing, the complain24 ant and the employer or employers alleged to 

25 have committed a violation of subsection (a)(1) 


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1 of the Secretary’s findings. The Secretary shall, 

2 during such investigation afford the complain3 ant and the employer or employers named in 

4 the complaint an opportunity to submit to the 

5 Secretary a written response to the complaint 

6 and an opportunity to meet with a representa7 tive of the Secretary to present statements from 

8 witnesses. The complainant shall be provided 

9 with an opportunity to review the information 

10 and evidence provided by employer or employers 

11 to the Secretary, and to review any response or 

12 rebuttal by such the complaint, as part of such 

13 investigation. 

14 (B) REASONABLE CAUSE FOUND; PRELIMI15 NARY ORDER.—If the Secretary concludes that 

16 there is reasonable cause to believe that a viola17 tion of subsection (a)(1) has occurred, the Sec18 retary shall accompany the Secretary’s findings 

19 with a preliminary order providing the relief 

20 prescribed by paragraph (3)(B). Not later than 

21 30 days after the date of notification of find22 ings under this paragraph, the employer or em23 ployers alleged to have committed the violation 

24 or the complainant may file objections to the 

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1 quest a hearing on the record before an admin2 istrative law judge of the Department of Labor. 

3 The filing of such objections shall not operate 

4 to stay any reinstatement remedy contained in 

5 the preliminary order. Any such hearing shall 

6 be conducted expeditiously. If a hearing is not 

7 requested in such 30-day period, the prelimi8 nary order shall be deemed a final order that is 

9 not subject to judicial review. The Secretary of 

10 Labor is authorized to enforce preliminary rein11 statement orders in the United States district 

12 court for the district in which the violation was 

13 found to occur, or in the United States district 

14 court for the District of Columbia. 

15 (C) DISMISSAL OF COMPLAINT.— 

16 (i) STANDARD FOR COMPLAINANT.— 

17 The Secretary shall dismiss a complaint 

18 filed under this subsection and shall not 

19 conduct an investigation otherwise required 

20 under subparagraph (A) unless the com21 plainant makes a prima facie showing that 

22 any behavior described in subparagraphs 

23 (A) through (G) of subsection (a)(1) was a 

24 contributing factor in the adverse action 

25 alleged in the complaint. 


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1 (ii) STANDARD FOR EMPLOYER.—Not2 withstanding a finding by the Secretary 

3 that the complainant has made the show4 ing required under clause (i), no investiga5 tion otherwise required under subpara6 graph (A) shall be conducted if the em7 ployer demonstrates, by clear and con8 vincing evidence, that the employer would 

9 have taken the same adverse action in the 

10 absence of that behavior. 

11 (iii) VIOLATION STANDARD.—The 

12 Secretary may determine that a violation 

13 of subsection (a)(1) has occurred only if 

14 the complainant demonstrates that any be15 havior described in subparagraphs (A) 

16 through (G) of such subsection was a con17 tributing factor in the adverse action al18 leged in the complaint. 

19 (iv) RELIEF STANDARD.—Relief may 

20 not be ordered under subparagraph (A) if 

21 the employer demonstrates by clear and 

22 convincing evidence that the employer 

23 would have taken the same adverse action 

24 in the absence of that behavior. 

25 (3) ORDERS.— 


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

2 after the receipt of a request for a hearing 

3 under subsection (b)(2)(B), the administrative 

4 law judge shall issue findings of fact and order 

5 the relief provided under this paragraph or 

6 deny the complaint. At any time before issuance 

7 of an order, a proceeding under this subsection 

8 may be terminated on the basis of a settlement 

9 agreement entered into by the Secretary, the 

10 complainant, and the person alleged to have 

11 committed the violation. Such a settlement may 

12 not be agreed by such parties if it contains con13 ditions which conflict with rights protected 

14 under this title, are contrary to public policy, or 

15 include a restriction on a complainant’s right to 

16 future employment with employers other than 

17 the specific employers named in the complaint. 

18 (B) CONTENT OF ORDER.—If, in response 

19 to a complaint filed under paragraph (1), the 

20 administrative law judge determines that a vio21 lation of subsection (a)(1) has occurred, the ad22 ministrative law judge shall order the employer 

23 or employers who committed such violation— 

24 (i) to take affirmative action to abate 

25 the violation; 


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1 (ii) to reinstate the complainant to his 

2 or her former position together with com3 pensation (including back pay and prejudg4 ment interest) and restore the terms, con5 ditions, and privileges associated with his 

6 or her employment; and 

7 (iii) to provide compensatory and con8 sequential damages, and, as appropriate, 

9 exemplary damages to the complainant. 

10 (C) ATTORNEY FEES.—If such an order is 

11 issued under this paragraph, the Secretary, at 

12 the request of the complainant, shall assess 

13 against the employer or employers a sum equal 

14 to the aggregate amount of all costs and ex15 penses (including attorneys’ and expert witness 

16 fees) reasonably incurred by the complainant 

17 for, or in connection with, the bringing of the 

18 complaint upon which the order was issued at 

19 the conclusion of any stage of the proceeding. 

20 (D) BAD FAITH CLAIM.—If the Secretary 

21 finds that a complaint under paragraph (1) is 

22 frivolous or has been brought in bad faith, the 

23 Secretary may award to the prevailing employer 

24 reasonable attorneys’ fees, not exceeding 

25 $1,000, to be paid by the complainant. 


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1 (E) ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL.—Not later 

2 than 30 days after the receipt of findings of 

3 fact or an order under subparagraph (B), the 

4 employer or employers alleged to have com5 mitted the violation or the complainant may 

6 file, with objections, an administrative appeal 

7 with the Secretary, who may designate such ap8 peal to a review board. In reviewing a decision 

9 and order of the administrative law judge, the 

10 Secretary shall affirm the decision and order if 

11 it is determined that the factual findings set 

12 forth therein are supported by substantial evi13 dence and the decision and order are made in 

14 accordance with applicable law. The Secretary 

15 shall issue a final decision and order affirming, 

16 or reversing, in whole or in part, the decision 

17 under review within 90 days after receipt of the 

18 administrative appeal under this subparagraph. 

19 If it is determined that a violation of subsection 

20 (a)(1) has occurred, the Secretary shall order 

21 relief provided under subparagraphs (B) and 

22 (C). Such decision shall constitute a final agen23 cy action with respect to the matter appealed. 

24 (4) ACTION IN COURT.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary has 

2 not issued a final decision within 300 days after 

3 the filing of the complaint, the complainant 

4 may bring an action at law or equity for de 

5 novo review in the appropriate district court of 

6 the United States, which action shall, at the re7 quest of either party to such action, be tried by 

8 the court with a jury. The proceedings shall be 

9 governed by the same legal burdens of proof 

10 specified in paragraph (2)(C). 

11 (B) RELIEF.—The court may award all 

12 appropriate relief including injunctive relief, 

13 compensatory and consequential damages, in14 cluding— 

15 (i) reinstatement with the same se16 niority status that the covered employee 

17 would have had, but for the discharge or 

18 discrimination; 

19 (ii) the amount of back pay sufficient 

20 to make the covered employee whole, with 

21 prejudgment interest; 

22 (iii) exemplary damages, as appro23 priate; and 

24 (iv) litigation costs, including reason25 able attorney fees and expert witness fees. 


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1 (5) REVIEW.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any person aggrieved 

3 by a final order issued under paragraph (3) or 

4 a judgment or order under paragraph (4) may 

5 obtain review of the order in the appropriate 

6 United States Court of Appeals. The petition 

7 for review must be filed not later than 60 days 

8 after the date of the issuance of the final order 

9 of the Secretary. Review shall be in accordance 

10 with chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code. 

11 The commencement of proceedings under this 

12 subparagraph shall not, unless ordered by the 

13 court, operate as a stay of the order. 

14 (B) NO OTHER JUDICIAL REVIEW.—An 

15 order of the Secretary with respect to which re16 view could have been obtained under subpara17 graph (A) shall not be subject to judicial review 

18 in any other proceeding. 

19 (6) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ORDER.—When20 ever any employer has failed to comply with an order 

21 issued under paragraph (3), the Secretary may ob22 tain in a civil action in the United States district 

23 court for the district in which the violation was 

24 found to occur, or in the United States district court 

25 for the District of Columbia, all appropriate relief 


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1 including, but not limited to, injunctive relief and 

2 compensatory damages. 

3 (7) CIVIL ACTION TO REQUIRE COMPLIANCE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Whenever an employer 

5 has failed to comply with an order issued under 

6 paragraph (3), the complainant on whose behalf 

7 the order was issued may obtain in a civil ac8 tion in an appropriate United States district 

9 court against the employer to whom the order 

10 was issued, all appropriate relief. 

11 (B) AWARD.—The court, in issuing any 

12 final order under this paragraph, may award 

13 costs of litigation (including reasonable attor14 neys’ and expert witness fees) to any party 

15 whenever the court determines such award is 

16 appropriate. 

17 (c) CONSTRUCTION.— 

18 (1) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this 

19 section preempts or diminishes any other safeguards 

20 against discrimination, demotion, discharge, suspen21 sion, threats, harassment, reprimand, retaliation, or 

22 any other manner of discrimination provided by Fed23 eral or State law. 

24 (2) RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES.—Nothing in this 

25 section shall be construed to diminish the rights, 


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1 privileges, or remedies of any employee under any 

2 Federal or State law or under any collective bar3 gaining agreement. The rights and remedies in this 

4 section may not be waived by any agreement, policy, 

5 form, or condition of employment. 

6 (d) ENFORCEMENT OF NONDISCRETIONARY DU7 TIES.—Any nondiscretionary duty imposed by this section 

8 shall be enforceable in a mandamus proceeding brought 

9 under section 1361 of title 28, United States Code. 

10 (e) POSTING OF NOTICE AND TRAINING.—All em11 ployers shall post a notice which has been approved as to 

12 form and content by the Secretary of Labor in a con13 spicuous location in the place of employment where cov14 ered employees frequent which explains employee rights 

15 and remedies under this section. Each employer shall pro16 vide training to covered employees of their rights under 

17 this section within 30 days of employment, and at not less 

18 than once every 12 months thereafter, and provide covered 

19 employees with a card which contains a toll free telephone 

20 number at the Department of Labor which covered em21 ployees can call to get information or file a complaint 

22 under this section. 

23 (f) DESIGNATION BY THE SECRETARY.—The Sec24 retary of Labor shall, within 30 days of the date of enact25 ment of this Act, designate by order the appropriate agenVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:29 Aug 05, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00278 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.PCS H3534

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1 cy officials to receive, investigate, and adjudicate com2 plaints of violations of subsection (a)(1). 

3 SEC. 1003. DEFINITIONS. 

4 As used in this title the following definitions apply: 

5 (1) The term ‘‘covered employee’’— 

6 (A) means an individual performing serv7 ices on behalf of an employer that is engaged 

8 in activities on or in waters above the Outer 

9 Continental Shelf related to— 

10 (i) supporting, or carrying out explo11 ration, development, production, proc12 essing, or transportation of oil or gas; or 

13 (ii) oil spill cleanup, emergency re14 sponse, environmental surveillance, protec15 tion, or restoration, or other oil spill activi16 ties related to occupational safety and 

17 health; and 

18 (B) includes an applicant for such employ19 ment. 

20 (2) The term ‘‘employer’’ means one or more 

21 individuals, partnerships, associations, corporations, 

22 trusts, unincorporated organizations, nongovern23 mental organizations, or trustees, and includes any 

24 agent, contractor, subcontractor, grantee or consult25 ant of such employer. 


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1 (3) The term ‘‘Outer Continental Shelf’’ has 

2 the meaning that the term ‘‘outer Continental Shelf’’ 

3 has in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

4 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.). 

Passed the House of Representatives July 30, 2010. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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Calendar No. 510 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3534 

AN ACT 

To provide greater efficiencies, transparency, reof the Interior, and for other purposes. Energy and Minerals Leasing of the Department one entity to be known as the Office of Federal minerals management and leasing programs into dating administration of various Federal energy Federal mineral and energy resources by consoli- turns, and accountability in the administration of 


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