I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3534 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009 

Mr. RAHALL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

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

4 of 2009’’. 

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

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—CONSOLIDATION OF DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

ENERGY AND MINERALS LEASING PROGRAMS 

Sec. 101. Establishment of the Office of Federal Energy and Minerals Leasing. 

Sec. 102. Officers and employees. 

Sec. 103. Ethics. 

TITLE II—OIL AND GAS ROYALTY REFORM 

Sec. 201. Amendments to definitions. 

Sec. 202. Compliance reviews. 

Sec. 203. Clarification of liability for royalty payments. 

Sec. 204. Required recordkeeping. 

Sec. 205. Fines and penalties. 

Sec. 206. Interest on overpayments. 

Sec. 207. Adjustments and refunds. 

Sec. 208. Conforming amendment. 

Sec. 209. Obligation period. 

Sec. 210. Notice regarding tolling agreements and subpoenas. 

Sec. 211. Appeals and final agency action. 

Sec. 212. Assessments. 

Sec. 213. Collection and production accountability. 

Sec. 214. Natural gas reporting. 

Sec. 215. Penalty for late or incorrect reporting of data. 

Sec. 216. Required recordkeeping. 

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

Sec. 218. Shared civil penalties. 

Sec. 219. Applicability to other minerals. 

Sec. 220. Entitlements. 

TITLE III—OIL AND GAS LEASING REFORMS 

Sec. 301. Diligent development. 

Sec. 302. Reporting requirements. 

Sec. 303. Notice requirements. 

Sec. 304. Oil and gas leasing system. 

Sec. 305. Electronic reporting. 

Sec. 306. Best management practices. 

Sec. 307. Coal mine methane recovery. 

Sec. 308. Environmental review. 

Sec. 309. Amendments to Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. 


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TITLE IV—FULL FUNDING FOR THE 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. 

Sec. 404. Allocation of funds. 

TITLE V—NEW ONSHORE LEASING AUTHORITY 

Subtitle A—Solar and Wind Leasing 

Sec. 501. Authority to issue commercial leases for wind and solar projects on 

Federal lands. 

Sec. 502. Land management. 

Sec. 503. Revenues. 

Sec. 504. Recordkeeping and reporting requirements. 

Sec. 505. Audits. 

Sec. 506. Trade secrets. 

Sec. 507. Interest and Substantial Underreporting Assessments. 

Sec. 508. Indian savings provision. 

Subtitle B—Uranium Leasing 

Sec. 511. Federal lands uranium leasing. 

TITLE VI—OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF COORDINATION AND 

PLANNING 

Sec. 601. Regional Outer Continental Shelf coordination. 

Sec. 602. Regional Outer Continental Shelf Councils. 

Sec. 603. Regional Outer Continental Shelf strategic plans. 

Sec. 604. Regulations. 

Sec. 605. Ocean Resources Conservation and Assistance Fund. 

Sec. 606. Waiver. 

Sec. 607. Transition period. 

Sec. 608. Alternative energy on the Outer Continental Shelf. 

TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 701. Repeal of certain taxpayer subsidized royalty relief for the oil and gas 

industry. 

Sec. 702. Production incentive fee. 

Sec. 703. Leasing on Indian lands. 

Sec. 704. Offshore aquaculture clarification. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 For the purposes of this Act: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

5 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 


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1 (2) AFFECTED INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘af2 fected Indian tribe’’ means an Indian tribe that has 

3 federally reserved rights that are affirmed by treaty, 

4 statute, Executive order, Federal court order, or 

5 other Federal law in the area at issue. 

6 (3) ALTERNATIVE ENERGY.—The term ‘‘alter7 native energy’’ means electricity generated by a re8 newable energy resource. 

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

10 State’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

11 304 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 

12 (16 U.S.C. 1453). 

13 (5) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

14 the Director of the Leasing Office, except as other15 wise provided in this Act. 

16 (6) ECOSYSTEM-BASED MANAGEMENT.—The 

17 term ‘‘ecosystem-based management’’ means an inte18 grated approach to management that— 

19 (A) considers the entire ecosystem, includ20 ing humans, and accounts for interactions 

21 among the ecosystem, the range of activities af22 fecting the ecosystem, and the management of 

23 such activities; 

24 (B) aims to maintain ecosystems in a 

25 healthy, productive, sustainable, and resilient 


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1 condition so that they can provide the services 

2 humans want and need; 

3 (C) emphasizes the protection of ecosystem 

4 structure, function, patterns, and important 

5 processes; 

6 (D) considers the impacts, including cumu7 lative impacts, of the range of activities affect8 ing an ecosystem that fall within geographical 

9 boundaries of the ecosystem; 

10 (E) explicitly accounts for the inter11 connectedness within an ecosystem, such as 

12 food webs, and acknowledges the interconnect13 edness among systems, such as between air, 

14 land, and sea; and 

15 (F) integrates ecological, social, economic, 

16 cultural, and institutional perspectives, recog17 nizing their strong interdependencies. 

18 (7) FUNCTION.—The term ‘‘function’’ includes 

19 authorities, powers, rights, privileges, immunities, 

20 programs, projects, activities, duties, and respon21 sibilities. 

22 (8) IMPORTANT ECOLOGICAL AREA.—The term 

23 ‘‘important ecological area’’ means an area that con24 tributes significantly to local or larger marine ecoVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:00 Sep 09, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.IH H3534

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1 system health or is an especially unique or sensitive 

2 marine ecosystem. 

3 (9) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian land’’ 

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

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

6 (10) LEASING OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Leasing Of7 fice’’ means the Office of Federal Energy and Min8 erals Leasing established under this Act. 

9 (11) MARINE ECOSYSTEM HEALTH.—The term 

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

11 ecosystem in ocean and coastal waters to support 

12 and maintain patterns, important processes, and 

13 productive, sustainable, and resilient communities of 

14 organisms, having a species composition, diversity, 

15 and functional organization resulting from the nat16 ural habitat of the region, such that it is capable of 

17 supporting a variety of activities and providing a 

18 complete range of ecological benefits. Such an eco19 system would be characterized by a variety of fac20 tors, including— 

21 (A) a complete diversity of native species 

22 and habitat wherein each native species is able 

23 to maintain an abundance, population struc24 ture, and distribution supporting its ecological 


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1 and evolutionary functions, patterns, and proc2 esses; and 

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

4 microbial environment that is necessary to 

5 achieve such diversity. 

6 (12) MINERAL.—The term ‘‘mineral’’ has the 

7 same meaning that the term ‘‘minerals’’ has in sec8 tion 2(q) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

9 (43 U.S.C. 1331(q)). 

10 (13) NONRENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCE.— 

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

12 and natural gas. 

13 (14) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.—The term 

14 ‘‘Outer Continental Shelf’’ has the meaning that the 

15 term ‘‘outer Continental Shelf’’ has in the Outer 

16 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et 

17 seq.). 

18 (15) PUBLIC LAND STATE.—The term ‘‘public 

19 land State’’ means— 

20 (A) each of the eleven contiguous Western 

21 States (as that term is defined in section 103 

22 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

23 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)); and 

24 (B) Alaska. 


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1 (16) REGIONAL OCEAN PARTNERSHIP.—The 

2 term ‘‘Regional Ocean Partnership’’ means vol3 untary, collaborative management initiatives devel4 oped and entered into by the Governors of two or 

5 more coastal States or created by an interstate com6 pact to implement policies and activities identified 

7 under special area management plans or other 

8 agreements developed and approved by the Gov9 ernors through authority granted to them under the 

10 Coastal Zone Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1451 et 

11 seq.). 

12 (17) RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCE.—The 

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

14 following: 

15 (A) Wind energy. 

16 (B) Solar energy. 

17 (C) Geothermal energy. 

18 (D) Biomass or landfill gas. 

19 (E) A hydropower resource that is a quali20 fied energy resource (as that term is defined in 

21 section 45(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue of 

22 1986, as amended by section 1301(c) of the 

23 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (119 Stat. 987)). 

24 (F) Marine and hydrokinetic renewable en25 ergy, as that term is defined in section 632 of 


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1 the Energy Independence and Security Act of 

2 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17211). 

3 (18) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

4 means the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec5 retary of Commerce. 

6 (19) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

7 means the Secretary of the Interior, except as other8 wise provided in this Act. 

9 (20) SURFACE USE PLAN OF OPERATIONS.— 

10 The term ‘‘surface use plan of operations’’ means a 

11 plan for surface use, disturbance, and reclamation of 

12 Federal lands for energy development that is sub13 mitted by a lessee and approved by the relevant land 

14 management agency. 

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

16 of the terms ‘‘Federal land’’, ‘‘lease’’, ‘‘lease site’’, 

17 and ‘‘mineral leasing law’’ has the meaning that 

18 term has under the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

19 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 

20 (22) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘tribe’’ has the same 

21 meaning as that term has in section 4 of the Indian 

22 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 

23 (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)). 


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1 TITLE I—CONSOLIDATION OF 

2 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTE3 RIOR ENERGY AND MINERALS 

4 LEASING PROGRAMS 

5 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF FEDERAL 

6 ENERGY AND MINERALS LEASING. 

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

8 Department of the Interior the Office of Federal Energy 

9 and Minerals Leasing, which shall be under the direction 

10 and control of the Director. 

11 (b) FUNCTIONS.— 

12 (1) TRANSFERRED FUNCTIONS.—Within 1 year 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec14 retary of the Interior shall transfer to the Director 

15 of the Leasing Office— 

16 (A) the functions of the Minerals Manage17 ment Service as it existed on June 1, 2009, ex18 cept for the auditing and compliance manage19 ment section; 

20 (B) the functions of the Oil and Gas Man21 agement program of the Bureau of Land Man22 agement as in existence as of June 1, 2009, ex23 cept as provided by this Act; and 

24 (C) any other functions assigned by the 

25 Secretary to those programs after June 1, 


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1 2009, and before the date of the enactment of 

2 this Act. 

3 (2) OTHER FUNCTIONS.—In addition to the 

4 functions transferred under paragraph (1), the func5 tions of the Office shall include the following: 

6 (A) Management of the leasing and devel7 opment otherwise authorized by law of all Fed8 eral waters on the Outer Continental Shelf for 

9 purposes of mineral, nonrenewable, and renew10 able energy resource exploration, siting, produc11 tion, and development in a manner protective of 

12 the marine, coastal, and human environment. 

13 (B) Management of the following leasing 

14 activities associated with development of renew15 able energy resources and oil and natural gas 

16 energy resources located on lands managed by 

17 the Bureau of Land Management and the For18 est Service in a manner protective of natural 

19 ecosystems and the human environment: 

20 (i) Establishment of fair market value 

21 for onshore lease sales. 

22 (ii) Conduct of lease sales. 

23 (iii) Issuance and oversight of onshore 

24 leases. 


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1 (iv) Issuance of permits to drill on 

2 lands that are within areas that have been 

3 approved for energy development by the 

4 relevant land management agency under a 

5 surface use plan of operations. 

6 (v) Compliance activities, including 

7 timely payments of rentals, royalties and 

8 other fees, production verification, inspec9 tion and enforcement. 

10 (C) Administration of a program to ensure 

11 the timely and accurate collection, distribution, 

12 and accounting for revenues owed by holders of 

13 mineral, renewable, and nonrenewable energy 

14 leases on Federal lands and offshore and Indian 

15 lands. 

16 (c) TRIBAL LANDS.—Except as provided in sub17 section (b)(2)(C), nothing in this title shall apply with re18 spect to Indian lands. 

19 (d) ADMINISTRATION.—The Office shall administer 

20 its functions by such means as are reasonably necessary 

21 to carry out the purposes of this Act, the Outer Conti22 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.), the Min23 eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), the Mineral 

24 Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.), 

25 the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 


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1 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

2 (Public Law 109–58), the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

3 Simplification and Fairness Act of 1996 (Public Law 104– 

4 185), the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 

5 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.), the Fed6 eral Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

7 1701 et seq.), and all other applicable Federal laws. 

8 (e) LAND USE PLANNING.—Nothing in this title af9 fects the land use planning authorities of the Bureau of 

10 Land Management under the Federal Land Policy and 

11 Management Act of 1976 or of the Forest Service under 

12 the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (Public Law 

13 94–588). 

14 (f) RESPONSIBILITIES OF LAND MANAGEMENT

15 AGENCIES.—In addition to the land use planning respon16 sibilities authorized under the Federal Land Policy Man17 agement Act of 1976, the National Forest Management 

18 Act of 1976, and the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 

19 Resources Planning Act of 1974, the Director of the Bu20 reau of Land Management and the Chief of the Forest 

21 Service shall be responsible for the following activities re22 lated to energy leasing, exploration, and development on 

23 land under his or her authority: 

24 (1) Establishment of best management prac25 tices for environmentally sound energy production. 


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1 (2) Review and approval of general land use 

2 plans that identify areas in which energy develop3 ment would not conflict with other land uses. 

4 (3) Determination and enforcement of condi5 tions for surface occupancy. 

6 (4) Authorization of any modification, waiver, 

7 or exception to a stipulation or other condition to be 

8 included in a lease issued by the Leasing Office. 

9 (5) Establishment and enforcement of reclama10 tion requirements. 

11 (6) Establishment and enforcement of financial 

12 assurances that shall be sufficient to assure the com13 pletion of reclamation and restoration satisfying the 

14 requirements of appropriate law if the work were to 

15 be performed by the Secretary concerned in the 

16 event of forfeiture, including the construction and 

17 maintenance costs for any treatment facilities nec18 essary to meet Federal and State environmental re19 quirements. The calculation of such amount shall 

20 take into account the maximum level of financial ex21 posure that may arise during the leasing activity and 

22 administrative costs associated with a government 

23 agency reclaiming the site. 


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1 (7) Inspection of areas of operation to ensure 

2 that operations are in compliance with approved sur3 face use land plans. 

4 (8) Issuance of notices of noncompliance lease 

5 cancellation for noncompliance with terms of permits 

6 and plans. 

7 (9) Such other activities that either of the Sec8 retaries determines are necessary to ensure that en9 ergy development on Bureau of Land Management 

10 and Forest Service lands is accomplished in a man11 ner protective of natural ecosystems and the human 

12 environment. 

13 (g) INSPECTION AUTHORITY.—The responsibilities 

14 delineated in subsection (f) do not limit the authority of 

15 the Director of the Leasing Office to issue notices of non16 compliance, assess civil penalties, or provide for lease can17 cellation in the event that an employee of the Leasing Of18 fice identifies violations of a surface use plan of operations 

19 while conducting production inspections or other inspec20 tions under the auspices of the Leasing Office. 

21 (h) AUDITS.—In order to ensure that the fiduciary 

22 duties of the United States on behalf of the American peo23 ple, as they relate to development of Federal energy and 

24 mineral resources, are fully realized, no later than one 

25 year after the date of enactment, the Secretary shall 


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1 transfer to the Inspector General of the Department of 

2 the Interior the functions of the Audit and Compliance 

3 Management Section of the Minerals Management Serv4 ice. 

5 SEC. 102. OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES. 

6 (a) DIRECTOR.— 

7 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Director shall be ap8 pointed by the President, by and with the advice and 

9 consent of the Senate, on the basis of— 

10 (A) professional competence; and 

11 (B) capacity to— 

12 (i) administer the provisions of this 

13 Act; and 

14 (ii) ensure that the fiduciary duties of 

15 the United States Government on behalf of 

16 the American people, as they relate to de17 velopment of energy resources, are duly 

18 met. 

19 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall be 

20 compensated at the rate provided for Level V of the 

21 Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, 

22 United States Code. 

23 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 5315 

24 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 

25 at the end the following new item: 


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1 ‘‘Director, Office of Federal Energy and Min2 erals Leasing.’’. 

3 (b) OTHER OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall also be in the 

5 Leasing Office such subordinate officers and employ6 ees as may be appropriated for by Congress. 

7 (2) TRANSFERS.—Within one year after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

9 permanently transfer from the Bureau of Land 

10 Management and the Minerals Management Service 

11 and or other bureaus of the Department of the Inte12 rior to the Leasing Office such personnel as nec13 essary to administer the programs authorized to be 

14 carried out or managed by the Leasing Office under 

15 this Act. 

16 (c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 2 years after the 

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

18 regulations that— 

19 (1) require that all Leasing Office employees 

20 that conduct audits or compliance reviews for the 

21 Leasing Office shall meet professional auditor quali22 fications that are consistent with the latest revision 

23 of the Government Auditing Standards published by 

24 the Government Accountability Office; and 


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1 (2) ensure that all such audits conducted by the 

2 Department of the Interior are performed in accord3 ance with such standards. 

4 SEC. 103. ETHICS. 

5 The Secretary shall certify annually that all Leasing 

6 Office employees having regular, direct contact with les7 sees and operators as a function of their official duties 

8 are in full compliance with all Federal employee ethics 

9 laws and regulations, under the Ethics in Government Act 

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

11 of Federal Regulations. 

12 TITLE II—OIL AND GAS ROYALTY 

13 REFORM 

14 SEC. 201. AMENDMENTS TO DEFINITIONS. 

15 Section 3 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man16 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1702) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking the semicolon 

18 and inserting ‘‘including but not limited to the Act 

19 of October 20, 1914 (38 Stat. 741); the Act of Feb20 ruary 25, 1920 (41 Stat. 437); the Act of April 17, 

21 1926 (44 Stat. 301); the Act of February 7, 1927 

22 (44 Stat. 1057); and all Acts heretofore or hereafter 

23 enacted that are amendatory of or supplementary to 

24 any of the foregoing Acts;’’ 


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1 (2) in paragraph (20)(A), by striking ‘‘: Pro2 vided, That’’ and all that follows through ‘‘subject of 

3 the judicial proceeding’’; 

4 (3) in paragraph (20)(B), by striking ‘‘(with 

5 written notice to the lessee who designated the des6 ignee)’’; 

7 (4) in paragraph (23)(A), by striking ‘‘(with 

8 written notice to the lessee who designated the des9 ignee)’’; 

10 (5) by striking paragraph (24) and inserting 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(24) ‘designee’ means a person who pays, off13 sets, or credits monies, makes adjustments, requests 

14 and receives refunds, or submits reports with respect 

15 to payments a lessee must make pursuant to section 

16 102(a);’’; 

17 (6) in paragraph (25)(B)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘(subject to the provisions 

19 of section 102(a) of this Act)’’; and 

20 (B) in clause (ii) by striking the matter 

21 after subclause (IV) and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘that arises from or relates to any lease, 

23 easement, right-of-way, permit, or other 

24 agreement regardless of form administered 

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1 ing law related to, the exploration, produc2 tion, and development of oil and gas or 

3 other energy resource on Federal lands or 

4 the Outer Continental Shelf;’’; 

5 (7) in paragraph (29), by inserting ‘‘or permit’’ 

6 after ‘‘lease’’; and 

7 (8) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the 

8 end of paragraph (32), by striking the period at the 

9 end of paragraph (33) and inserting a semicolon, 

10 and by adding at the end the following new para11 graphs: 

12 ‘‘(34) ‘compliance review’ means a full-scope or 

13 a limited-scope examination of a lessee’s lease ac14 counts to compare one or all elements of the royalty 

15 equation (volume, value, royalty rate, and allow16 ances) against anticipated elements of the royalty 

17 equation to test for variances; and 

18 ‘‘(35) ‘marketing affiliate’ means an affiliate of 

19 a lessee whose function is to acquire the lessee’s pro20 duction and to market that production.’’. 

21 SEC. 202. COMPLIANCE REVIEWS. 

22 Section 101 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man23 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1711) is amended by 

24 adding at the end the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(d) The Secretary may, as an adjunct to audits of 

2 accounts for leases, utilize compliance reviews of accounts. 

3 Such reviews shall not constitute nor substitute for audits 

4 of lease accounts. Any disparity uncovered in such a com5 pliance review shall be immediately referred to a program 

6 auditor. The Secretary shall, before completion of a com7 pliance review, provide notice of the review to designees 

8 whose obligations are the subject of the review.’’. 

9 SEC. 203. CLARIFICATION OF LIABILITY FOR ROYALTY PAY10 MENTS. 

11 Section 102(a) of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

12 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1712(a)) is amended 

13 to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(a) In order to increase receipts and achieve effec15 tive collections of royalty and other payments, a lessee who 

16 is required to make any royalty or other payment under 

17 a lease, easement, right-of-way, permit, or other agree18 ment, regardless of form, or under the mineral leasing 

19 laws, shall make such payment in the time and manner 

20 as may be specified by the Secretary or the applicable dele21 gated State. Any person who pays, offsets, or credits mon22 ies, makes adjustments, requests and receives refunds, or 

23 submits reports with respect to payments the lessee must 

24 make is the lessee’s designee under this Act. Notwith25 standing any other provision of this Act to the contrary, 


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1 a designee shall be liable for any payment obligation of 

2 any lessee on whose behalf the designee pays royalty under 

3 the lease. The person owning operating rights in a lease 

4 and a person owning legal record title in a lease shall be 

5 liable for that person’s pro rata share of payment obliga6 tions under the lease.’’. 

7 SEC. 204. REQUIRED RECORDKEEPING. 

8 Section 103(b) of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

9 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1712(a)) is amended 

10 by striking ‘‘6’’ and inserting ‘‘7’’. 

11 SEC. 205. FINES AND PENALTIES. 

12 Section 109 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man13 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1719) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a) in the matter following 

15 paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘$500’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘$1,000’’; 

17 (2) in subsection (a)(2)(B), by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ 

18 after ‘‘such person’’, and by striking the period at 

19 the end and inserting ‘‘; and (ii) has not received no20 tice, pursuant to paragraph (1), of more than two 

21 prior violations in the current calendar year.’’; 

22 (3) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘$5,000’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘$10,000’’; 

24 (4) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘; or’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘, including any failure or refusal 

3 to promptly tender requested documents;’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘$20,000’’; and 

7 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

8 and inserting a semicolon; and 

9 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

10 paragraphs: 

11 ‘‘(4) knowingly or willfully fails to make any 

12 royalty payment in the amount or value as specified 

13 by statute, regulation, order, or terms of the lease; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(5) fails to correctly report and timely provide 

16 operations or financial records necessary for the Sec17 retary or any authorized designee of the Secretary to 

18 accomplish lease management responsibilities,’’; 

19 (5) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘$50,000’’; 

21 (6) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘by registered 

22 mail’’ and inserting ‘‘a common carrier that provides 

23 proof of delivery’’; and 

24 (7) by adding at the end the following sub25 section: 


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1 ‘‘(l)(1) Any determination by the Secretary or a des2 ignee of the Secretary that a person has committed a vio3 lation under subsection (a), (c), or (d)(1) shall toll any 

4 applicable statute of limitations for all oil and gas leases 

5 held or operated by such person, until the later of— 

6 ‘‘(A) the date on which the person corrects the 

7 violation and certifies that all violations of a like na8 ture have been corrected for all of the oil and gas 

9 leases held or operated by such person; or 

10 ‘‘(B) the date a final, nonappealable order has 

11 been issued by the Secretary or a court of competent 

12 jurisdiction. 

13 ‘‘(2) A person determined by the Secretary or a des14 ignee of the Secretary to have violated subsection (a), (c), 

15 or (d)(1) shall maintain all records with respect to the per16 son’s oil and gas leases until the later of— 

17 ‘‘(A) the date the Secretary releases the person 

18 from the obligation to maintain such records; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the expiration of the period during which 

20 the records must be maintained under section 

21 103(b).’’. 

22 SEC. 206. INTEREST ON OVERPAYMENTS. 

23 Section 111 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man24 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1721) is amended— 


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1 (1) by amending subsections (h) and (i) to read 

2 as follows: 

3 ‘‘(h) Interest shall not be allowed nor paid nor cred4 ited on any overpayment, and no interest shall accrue from 

5 the date such overpayment was made. 

6 ‘‘(i) A lessee or its designee may make a payment 

7 for the approximate amount of royalties (hereinafter in 

8 this subsection referred to as the ‘estimated payment’) 

9 that would otherwise be due for such lease by the date 

10 royalties are due for that lease. When an estimated pay11 ment is made, actual royalties are payable at the end of 

12 the month following the month in which the estimated 

13 payment is made. If the estimated payment was less than 

14 the amount of actual royalties due, interest is owed on 

15 the underpaid amount. If the lessee or its designee makes 

16 a payment for such actual royalties, the lessee or its des17 ignee may apply the estimated payment to future royal18 ties. Any estimated payment may be adjusted, recouped, 

19 or reinstated by the lessee or its designee provided such 

20 adjustment, recoupment or reinstation is made within the 

21 limitation period for which the date royalties were due for 

22 that lease.’’; 

23 (2) by striking subsection (j); and 

24 (3) in subsection (k)(4)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘or overpaid royalties and 

2 associated interest’’; and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘, refunded, or credited’’. 

4 SEC. 207. ADJUSTMENTS AND REFUNDS. 

5 Section 111A of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

6 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1721a) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)(3), by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ 

9 after ‘‘(3)’’, and by striking the last sentence and in10 serting the following: 

11 ‘‘(B) Except as provided in subparagraph 

12 (C), no adjustment may be made with respect 

13 to an obligation that is the subject of an audit 

14 or compliance review after completion of the 

15 audit or compliance review, respectively, unless 

16 such adjustment is approved by the Secretary 

17 or the applicable delegated State, as appro18 priate. 

19 ‘‘(C) If an overpayment is identified during 

20 an audit, the Secretary shall allow a credit in 

21 the amount of the overpayment.’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (a)(4)— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘six’’ and inserting ‘‘four’’; 

24 and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘shall’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘may’’; and 

3 (3) in subsection (b)(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

4 the semicolon at the end of subparagraph (C), by 

5 striking the period at the end of subparagraph (D) 

6 and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(E) is made within the adjustment period 

9 for that obligation.’’. 

10 SEC. 208. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

11 Section 114 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man12 agement Act of 1982 is repealed. 

13 SEC. 209. OBLIGATION PERIOD. 

14 Section 115(c) of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

15 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1724(c)) is amended 

16 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENTS.—In the case of an adjust18 ment under section 111A(a) in which a recoupment 

19 by the lessee results in an underpayment of an obli20 gation, for purposes of this Act the obligation be21 comes due on the date the lessee or its designee 

22 makes the adjustment.’’. 


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1 SEC. 210. NOTICE REGARDING TOLLING AGREEMENTS AND 

2 SUBPOENAS. 

3 (a) TOLLING AGREEMENTS.—Section 115(d)(1) of 

4 the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 

5 (30 U.S.C. 1724(d)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘(with no6 tice to the lessee who designated the designee)’’. 

7 (b) SUBPOENAS.—Section 115(d)(2)(A) of the Fed8 eral Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 

9 U.S.C. 1724(d)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘(with no10 tice to the lessee who designated the designee, which notice 

11 shall not constitute a subpoena to the lessee)’’. 

12 SEC. 211. APPEALS AND FINAL AGENCY ACTION. 

13 Paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 115(h) the Federal 

14 Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 

15 1724(h)) are amended by striking ‘‘33’’ each place it ap16 pears and inserting ‘‘48’’. 

17 SEC. 212. ASSESSMENTS. 

18 Section 116 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man19 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1724) is repealed. 

20 SEC. 213. COLLECTION AND PRODUCTION ACCOUNT21 ABILITY. 

22 (a) PILOT PROJECT.—Within two years after the 

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

24 a pilot project with willing operators of oil and gas leases 

25 on the Outer Continental Shelf that assesses the costs and 

26 benefits of automatic transmission of oil and gas volume 


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1 and quality data produced under Federal leases on the 

2 Outer Continental Shelf in order to improve the produc3 tion verification systems used to ensure accurate royalty 

4 collection and audit. 

5 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to Con6 gress a report on findings and recommendations of the 

7 pilot project within 3 years after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act. 

9 SEC. 214. NATURAL GAS REPORTING. 

10 The Secretary shall, within 180 days after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act, implement the steps necessary 

12 to ensure accurate determination and reporting of BTU 

13 values of natural gas from all Federal oil and gas leases 

14 to ensure accurate royalty payments to the United States. 

15 Such steps shall include, but not be limited to— 

16 (1) establishment of consistent guidelines for 

17 onshore and offshore BTU information from gas 

18 producers; 

19 (2) development of a procedure to determine 

20 the potential BTU variability of produced natural 

21 gas on a by-reservoir or by-lease basis; 

22 (3) development of a procedure to adjust BTU 

23 frequency requirements for sampling and reporting 

24 on a case-by-case basis; 


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1 (4) systematic and regular verification of BTU 

2 information; and 

3 (5) revision of the ‘‘MMS–2014’’ reporting 

4 form to record, in addition to other information al5 ready required, the natural gas BTU values that 

6 form the basis for the required royalty payments. 

7 SEC. 215. PENALTY FOR LATE OR INCORRECT REPORTING 

8 OF DATA. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall issue regula10 tions by not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

11 of this Act that establish a civil penalty for late or incor12 rect reporting of data under the Federal Oil and Gas Roy13 alty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 

14 (b) AMOUNT.—The amount of the civil penalty shall 

15 be— 

16 (1) an amount (subject to paragraph (2)) that 

17 the Secretary determines is sufficient to ensure filing 

18 of data in accordance with that Act; and 

19 (2) not less than $10 for each failure to file 

20 correct data in accordance with that Act. 

21 (c) CONTENT OF REGULATIONS.—Except as provided 

22 in subsection (b), the regulations issued under this section 

23 shall be substantially similar to part 216.40 of title 30, 

24 Code of Federal Regulations, as most recently in effect 

25 before the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 216. REQUIRED RECORDKEEPING. 

2 Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

3 the Secretary shall publish final regulations concerning re4 quired recordkeeping of natural gas measurement data as 

5 set forth in part 250.1203 of title 30, Code of Federal 

6 Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 

7 Act), to include operators and other persons involved in 

8 the transporting, purchasing, or selling of gas under the 

9 requirements of that rule, under the authority provided 

10 in section 103 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man11 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1713). 

12 SEC. 217. LIMITATION ON ROYALTY IN-KIND PROGRAM. 

13 (a) MINERAL LEASING ACT.—Section 36 of the Min14 eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 192) is amended by inserting 

15 before the period at the end of the first paragraph the 

16 following: ‘‘, except that the Secretary shall not conduct 

17 a regular program to take oil and gas lease royalties in 

18 oil or gas’’. 

19 (b) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT.—Sec20 tion 27(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

21 U.S.C. 1353(a)) is amended by striking so much as pre22 cedes paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 27. FEDERAL PURCHASE AND DISPOSITION OF OIL 

24 AND GAS. 

25 ‘‘Except as may be necessary to comply with sections 

26 6 and 7 of this Act, all royalties or net profit shares, or 


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1 both, accruing to the United States under any oil and gas 

2 lease issued or maintained in accordance with this Act, 

3 shall, on demand of the Secretary, be paid in oil or gas, 

4 except that the Secretary shall not conduct a regular pro5 gram to take oil and gas lease royalties in oil or gas.’’. 

6 SEC. 218. SHARED CIVIL PENALTIES. 

7 Section 206 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man8 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1724) is amended by 

9 striking ‘‘Such amount shall be deleted from any com10 pensation due such State or Indian Tribe under section 

11 202 or section 205 or such State under section 205.’’. 

12 SEC. 219. APPLICABILITY TO OTHER MINERALS. 

13 Section 304 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man14 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1753) is amended by 

15 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

16 ‘‘(e) APPLICABILITY TO OTHER MINERALS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

18 law, sections 107, 109, and 110 of this Act and the 

19 regulations duly promulgated with respect thereto 

20 shall apply to any lease authorizing the development 

21 of coal or any other solid mineral on any Federal 

22 lands or Indian lands, to the same extent as if such 

23 lease were an oil and gas lease, on the same terms 

24 and conditions as those authorized for oil and gas 

25 leases. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

2 law, sections 107, 109, and 110 of this Act and the 

3 regulations duly promulgated with respect thereto 

4 shall apply with respect to any lease, easement, 

5 right-of-way, or other agreement, regardless of form 

6 (including any royalty, rent, or other payment due 

7 thereunder)— 

8 ‘‘(A) under section 8(k) or 8(p) of the 

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

10 1337(k) and 1337(p)); or 

11 ‘‘(B) under the Geothermal Steam Act (30 

12 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), to the same extent as if 

13 such lease, easement, right-of-way, or other 

14 agreement were an oil and gas lease on the 

15 same terms and conditions as those authorized 

16 for oil and gas leases. 

17 ‘‘(3) For the purposes of this subsection, the 

18 term ‘solid mineral’ means any mineral other than 

19 oil, gas, and geo-pressured-geothermal resources, 

20 that is authorized by an Act of Congress to be pro21 duced from public lands (as that term is defined in 

22 section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage23 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)).’’. 


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1 SEC. 220. ENTITLEMENTS. 

2 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Secretary shall publish final regulations 

4 prescribing when a Federal lessee or designee must report 

5 and pay royalties on the volume of oil and gas it takes 

6 under either a Federal or Indian lease or on the volume 

7 to which it is entitled to based upon its ownership interest 

8 in the Federal or Indian lease. The Secretary shall give 

9 consideration to requiring 100 percent entitlement report10 ing and paying based upon the lease ownership. 

11 TITLE III—OIL AND GAS 

12 LEASING REFORMS 

13 SEC. 301. DILIGENT DEVELOPMENT. 

14 (a) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue regula15 tions within one year after the date of enactment of this 

16 Act that define ‘‘diligent development’’ for purposes of all 

17 new leases issued under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

18 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) and all new leases issued under the 

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

20 seq.). Such regulations shall— 

21 (1) include benchmarks for oil and gas develop22 ment that will ensure that leaseholders take all ap23 propriate measures necessary to produce oil and gas 

24 from each lease that contains commercial quantities 

25 of oil and gas within the original term of the lease; 


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1 (2) require each leaseholder to submit to the 

2 Secretary a diligent development plan showing how 

3 the lessee will meet the benchmarks; 

4 (3) provide accommodation for development 

5 delays, including lease suspensions, directed by the 

6 Secretary that restrict diligent development in order 

7 to meet environmental stipulations and consider8 ations; and 

9 (4) require submission of diligent development 

10 plans in an electronic format proscribed by the Sec11 retary, which the Secretary shall make available for 

12 public review. 

13 (b) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 If any person fails to comply with the requirements of any 

15 regulation issued under this section, or any order issued 

16 to implement such a regulation, with respect to a lease, 

17 such lease may be terminated by the Secretary. 

18 SEC. 302. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

19 (a) BIANNUAL REPORTS.—The Secretary shall re20 quire biannual reports from each Federal oil and gas les21 see that holds a nonproducing lease on the actions the les22 see has taken to diligently develop each Federal lease the 

23 lessee holds. 

24 (b) ELECTRONIC DATABASE.—The Secretary shall 

25 establish and maintain an electronic database that is availVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:00 Sep 09, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.IH H3534

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1 able to the public that identifies each Federal oil and gas 

2 lease, each lessee under such lease, the acreage held by 

3 each such lessee, and the progress made toward produc4 tion under each such lease. 

5 SEC. 303. NOTICE REQUIREMENTS. 

6 Section 17(f) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

7 226(f)) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking all through the first 2 sentences 

9 and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(f)(1) At least 45 days before offering lands for 

11 lease under this section, and at least 30 days before ap12 proving applications for permits to drill under the provi13 sions of a lease or substantially modifying the terms of 

14 any lease issued under this section, the Secretary shall 

15 provide notice of the proposed action to— 

16 ‘‘(A) the general public by posting such no17 tice in the appropriate local office and on the 

18 electronic website of the leasing and land man19 agement agencies offering the lands for lease; 

20 ‘‘(B) all surface land owners in the area of 

21 the lands being offered for lease; and 

22 ‘‘(C) the holders of special recreation per23 mits for commercial use, competitive events, 

24 and other organized activities on the lands 

25 being offered for lease. 


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1 ‘‘(2)’’; and 

2 (2) by designating the last sentence as para3 graph (3). 

4 SEC. 304. OIL AND GAS LEASING SYSTEM. 

5 (a) ONSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING.—Section 17(a) 

6 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(a)) is amended 

7 to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(a)(1) All lands subject to disposition under this Act 

9 that are known or believed to contain oil or gas deposits 

10 may be leased by the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(2) Leasing activities under this Act shall be con12 ducted to assure receipt of fair market value for the lands 

13 and resources leased and the rights conveyed by the Fed14 eral Government.’’. 

15 (b) COMPETITIVE BIDDING.—Section 17(b) of the 

16 Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(b)), is amended by 

17 striking so much as precedes paragraph (2) and inserting 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(b)(1)(A) All lands to be leased shall be leased as 

20 provided in this paragraph to the highest responsible 

21 qualified bidder by competitive bidding under general reg22 ulations in units of not more than 2,560 acres, except in 

23 Alaska, where units shall be not more than 5,760 acres. 

24 Such units shall be as nearly compact as possible. Lease 

25 sales shall be conducted by sealed bid. Lease sales shall 


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1 be held for a State on a statewide basis where eligible 

2 lands in such States are available no more than 3 times 

3 per year per State, unless the Secretary of the Interior 

4 determines additional sales are necessary. A lease shall be 

5 conditioned upon the payment of a royalty at a rate of 

6 not less than 12.5 percent in amount or value of the pro7 duction removed or sold from the lease. The Secretary 

8 may issue a lease to the responsible qualified bidder with 

9 the highest bid that is equal to or greater than the na10 tional minimum acceptable bid, with evaluation of the 

11 value of the lands proposed for lease. The Secretary shall 

12 decide whether to accept a bid and issue a lease within 

13 90 days following payment by the successful bidder of the 

14 remainder of the bonus bid, if any, and the annual rental 

15 for the first lease year. All bids for less than the national 

16 minimum acceptable bid shall be rejected. 

17 ‘‘(B)(i) The national minimum acceptable bid shall 

18 be $2.50 per acre, except that the Secretary may establish 

19 a higher minimum acceptable bid for leases of areas in 

20 a State for all leases awarded after the 2-year period be21 ginning on the date of enactment of the Consolidated 

22 Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2009, if the 

23 Secretary finds that such a higher amount is necessary— 

24 ‘‘(I) to enhance financial returns to the United 

25 States; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) to promote more efficient management of 

2 oil and gas resources on Federal lands. 

3 ‘‘(ii) The proposal or promulgation of any regulation 

4 to establish a higher minimum acceptable bid for a State 

5 shall not be considered a major Federal action that is sub6 ject to the requirements of section 102(2)(C) of the Na7 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969.’’. 

8 (c) RENTALS.—Section 17(d) of the Mineral Leasing 

9 (30 U.S.C. 226(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(d)(1) During the 2-year period beginning on the 

11 date of enactment of the Consolidated Land, Energy, and 

12 Aquatic Resources Act of 2009, all leases issued under 

13 this section shall be conditioned upon payment by the les14 see of a rental of not less than $2.50 per acre per year 

15 for the first through fifth years of the lease and not less 

16 than $3 per acre per year for each year thereafter. After 

17 the end of such 2-year period, the Secretary may establish 

18 higher rental rates for all subsequent years, if the Sec19 retary finds that such action is necessary— 

20 ‘‘(A) to enhance financial returns to the United 

21 States; and 

22 ‘‘(B) to promote more efficient management of 

23 oil and gas and alternative energy resources on Fed24 eral lands. 


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1 ‘‘(2) A minimum royalty in lieu of rental of not less 

2 than the rental that otherwise would be required for that 

3 lease year shall be payable at the expiration of each lease 

4 year beginning on or after a discovery of oil or gas in pay5 ing quantities on the land leased.’’. 

6 (d) ELIMINATION OF NONCOMPETITIVE LEASING.— 

7 The Mineral Leasing Act is amended— 

8 (1) in section 17(b) (30 U.S.C. 226(b)), by 

9 striking paragraph (3); 

10 (2) in section 17 (30 U.S.C. 226) by striking 

11 subsection (c); 

12 (3) in section 17(e) (30 U.S.C. 226(e))— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘Competitive and non14 competitive leases’’ and inserting ‘‘Leases’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘competitive’’; 

16 (4) in section 31(d)(1) (30 U.S.C. 188(d)(1) by 

17 striking ‘‘or section 17(c)’’; 

18 (5) in section 31(e) (30 U.S.C. 188(e))— 

19 (A) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘, or the 

20 inclusion’’ and all that follows and inserting a 

21 semicolon; and 

22 (B) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘(A)’’ 

23 and by striking subparagraph (B); 

24 (6) by striking section 31(f) (30 U.S.C. 188(f)); 

25 and 


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1 (7) in section 31(g) (30 U.S.C. 188(g))— 

2 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘a com3 petitive’’ and all that follows through the semi4 colon and inserting ‘‘in the same manner as the 

5 original lease issued pursuant to section 17;’’; 

6 (B) by striking paragraph (2); and 

7 (C) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘, appli8 cable to leases issued under subsection 17(c) of 

9 this Act (30 U.S.C. 226(c)) except,’’ and insert10 ing ‘‘, except’’. 

11 SEC. 305. ELECTRONIC REPORTING. 

12 (a) RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—Section 28(w) of the Mineral 

13 Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 185(w)) is amended by adding 

14 at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(4) Upon request of a Committee listed under 

16 paragraph (1), that Committee may receive notifica17 tions under this subsection in electronic format in 

18 addition to in writing, or in electronic format alone. 

19 The Committee shall designate to the Secretary the 

20 appropriate individual or individuals on the Com21 mittee to receive such electronic notices.’’. 

22 (b) LEASE REINSTATEMENT.—Section 31(e) of the 

23 Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 188(e)) is amended by 

24 adding at the end the following: ‘‘Upon request of such 

25 a Committee, that Committee may receive notifications 


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1 under this subsection in electronic format in addition to 

2 in writing, or in electronic format alone. The Committee 

3 shall designate to the Secretary the appropriate individual 

4 or individuals on the Committee to receive such electronic 

5 notices.’’. 

6 SEC. 306. BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. 

7 Not later than one year after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall promulgate 

9 final regulations that require oil and gas operators to use 

10 best management practices that ensure the sound, effi11 cient, and environmentally responsible development of oil 

12 and gas on Federal lands in a manner that avoids where 

13 practical, minimizes, and mitigates actual and anticipated 

14 impacts to environmental habitat functions resulting from 

15 oil and gas development. Such regulations may allow the 

16 Secretary to approve site-specific adjustments to address 

17 unique issues and circumstances, on a case-by-case basis. 

18 All such regulations shall be consistent with the United 

19 States trust responsibility to Indian tribes. 

20 SEC. 307. COAL MINE METHANE RECOVERY. 

21 Section 2 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 201 

22 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 

24 Federal coal lease and any modification of an existing coal 


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1 lease issued under this section shall include terms that es2 tablish the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) Coal mine methane released in conjunction 

4 with mining activities shall be deemed to be included 

5 within the scope of the coal lease if the United 

6 States owns both the coal and gas resources. 

7 ‘‘(2) Any coal lease issued on lands for which 

8 the United States owns both the coal and gas re9 sources shall include a requirement that the lessee 

10 recover the coal mine methane associated with the 

11 leased coal resources to the maximum feasible ex12 tent, taking into account the economics of both the 

13 mining and methane capture operations. 

14 ‘‘(3) Prior to the issuance of a lease for recov15 ery of coal by deep mining operations, the Secretary 

16 shall require an analysis to determine the extent to 

17 which coal mine methane can be economically cap18 tured and either put to productive use or flared. The 

19 cost of the analysis shall be paid by the lessee and 

20 carried out by a person chosen by the Secretary with 

21 professional qualifications in the capture of coal 

22 mine methane and without financial or other eco23 nomic ties to the lessee. 

24 ‘‘(4) If the Secretary determines that recovery 

25 or flaring of coal mine methane under a lease is not 


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1 economically feasible pursuant to paragraph (2), or 

2 cannot be carried out in a manner that assures the 

3 protection of mine workers, coal mining under such 

4 lease may proceed without requiring recovery or flar5 ing of the coal mine methane. 

6 ‘‘(5) Any coal lease that involves federally 

7 owned coal and nonfederally owned gas resources 

8 shall require the coal operator to make a reasonable 

9 effort to negotiate an arrangement with the gas 

10 owner in advance of conducting any mining oper11 ations. If the coal lessee and gas owner are unable 

12 to arrange for the joint development of the coal and 

13 coal mine methane, and if the joint development of 

14 those resources is economically feasible, the Sec15 retary may seek a court order to allow coal mining 

16 and methane capture to proceed by the coal lessee, 

17 subject to a reasonable division of the proceeds from 

18 the sale of the coal and methane resources. 

19 ‘‘(6) Any assessment of fair market value re20 quired by subsection (a)(1) shall include the value of 

21 any Federal coal mine methane that is associated 

22 with Federal coal resources and subject to capture 

23 and use under this section. 

24 ‘‘(7) Any Federal coal mine methane resources 

25 that are captured and used or sold pursuant to a 


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1 Federal coal lease shall be subject to a royalty of not 

2 less than 12.5 percent.’’. 

3 SEC. 308. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW. 

4 Section 390 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public 

5 Law 109–58; 42 U.S.C. 15942) is repealed. 

6 SEC. 309. AMENDMENTS TO OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 

7 LANDS ACT. 

8 (a) CLARIFICATION RELATING TO ALTERNATIVE EN9 ERGY DEVELOPMENT.—Section 8(p)(1) of the Outer Con10 tinental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(1)) is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

13 by striking ‘‘or other applicable law,’’; and 

14 (2) by amending subparagraph (D) to read as 

15 follows: 

16 ‘‘(D) use, for energy-related purposes, fa17 cilities currently or previously used for activities 

18 authorized under this Act, except that any oil 

19 and gas energy-related uses shall not be author20 ized in areas in which oil and gas preleasing, 

21 leasing, and related activities are prohibited by 

22 a moratorium.’’. 

23 (b) NONCOMPETITIVE ALTERNATIVE ENERGY LEASE

24 OPTIONS.—Section 8(p)(3) of such Act (43 U.S.C. 

25 1337(p)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(3) COMPETITIVE OR NONCOMPETITIVE

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

3 authorization granted under paragraph (1) shall be 

4 issued on a competitive basis, unless— 

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

6 other authorization relates to a project that 

7 meets the criteria established under section 

8 388(d) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (43 

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

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

11 other authorization— 

12 ‘‘(i) is for the placement and oper13 ation of a meteorological or marine data 

14 collection facility; and 

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

16 years; or 

17 ‘‘(C) the Secretary determines, after pro18 viding public notice of a proposed lease, ease19 ment, right-of-way, or other authorization, that 

20 no competitive interest exists.’’. 

21 (c) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LEASING PRO22 GRAM.—Section 18(a) of such Act (43 U.S.C. 1344(a)) 

23 is amended by adding at the end the following new para24 graph: 


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1 ‘‘(5) If a Strategic Plan has been approved 

2 under section 603 of the Consolidated Land, En3 ergy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2009 for a re4 gion of the outer Continental Shelf before publica5 tion of a proposed leasing program under subsection 

6 (c)(3), the Secretary— 

7 ‘‘(A) shall not include in such leasing pro8 gram any location in such region unless it is 

9 identified in that Strategic Plan as being suit10 able for oil and gas leasing; and 

11 ‘‘(B) shall comply with any restrictions on 

12 the timing of leasing of such location as are 

13 recommended in that Strategic Plan.’’. 

14 (d) DEPOSITS INTO OCEAN RESOURCES CONSERVA15 TION AND ASSISTANCE FUND.—Section 8 of such Act (43 

16 U.S.C. 1337) is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(q) DEPOSITS INTO OCEAN RESOURCES CONSERVA19 TION AND ASSISTANCE FUND.—For fiscal year 2009 and 

20 for each fiscal year thereafter, 10 percent of the revenues 

21 generated by this section in that fiscal year shall be depos22 ited in the Ocean Resources Conservation and Assistance 

23 Fund established by section 605 of the Consolidated Land, 

24 Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2009.’’. 


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1 TITLE IV—FULL FUNDING FOR 

2 THE LAND AND WATER CON3 SERVATION FUND 

4 SEC. 401. AMENDMENTS TO THE LAND AND WATER CON5 SERVATION FUND ACT OF 1965. 

6 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

7 this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

8 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi9 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

10 section or other provision of the Land and Water Con11 servation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–4 et seq.). 

12 SEC. 402. EXTENSION OF THE LAND AND WATER CON13 SERVATION FUND. 

14 Section 2 (16 U.S.C. 460l–5) is amended by striking 

15 ‘‘September 30, 2015’’ both places it appears and insert16 ing ‘‘September 30, 2040’’. 

17 SEC. 403. PERMANENT FUNDING. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 460l–6) is 

19 amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘APPROPRIATIONS

21 ‘‘SEC. 3. Of the moneys covered into the fund, 

22 $900,000,000 shall be available each fiscal year for ex23 penditure for the purposes of this Act without further ap24 propriation.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2(c)(2) (16 

2 U.S.C. 460l–5(c)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘: Provided,’’ 

3 and all that follows through the end of the sentence and 

4 inserting a period. 

5 SEC. 404. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS. 

6 Section 5 (16 U.S.C. 460l–7) is amended to read as 

7 follows: 

8 ‘‘ALLOCATION

9 ‘‘SEC. 5. Of the amounts made available for each fis10 cal year to carry out this Act— 

11 ‘‘(1) 50 percent shall be used to provide finan12 cial assistance to States under section 6; and 

13 ‘‘(2) 50 percent shall be used for Federal pur14 poses under section 7.’’. 

15 TITLE V—NEW ONSHORE 

16 LEASING AUTHORITY 

17 Subtitle A—Solar and Wind 

18 Leasing 

19 SEC. 501. COMMERCIAL WIND AND SOLAR LEASING PRO20 GRAM. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to the Federal Land 

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

23 seq.) and the National Forest Management Act of 1976 

24 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.), the Secretary, acting through 

25 the Director, may issue leases, on a competitive basis, for 

26 commercial solar or wind energy development on Federal 


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1 lands under the administrative jurisdiction of the Bureau 

2 of Land Management or of the Forest Service, except that 

3 the Secretary may not issue any such lease on National 

4 Forest System lands over the objection of the Secretary 

5 of Agriculture. 

6 (b) FINAL REGULATIONS.—Not later than 18 months 

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

8 the Interior shall publish final regulations establishing a 

9 commercial wind and solar leasing program under sub10 section (a). 

11 (c) COMMENCEMENT OF COMMERCIAL LEASING FOR

12 SOLAR AND WIND ENERGY ON PUBLIC LANDS.—Not 

13 later than 90 days after completion of regulations required 

14 under subsection (b), or as soon as practicable thereafter, 

15 and following consultation with affected governors and 

16 other stakeholders, the Secretary shall conduct lease sales 

17 under the regulations under this subtitle. 

18 (d) EASEMENTS, SPECIAL-USE PERMITS, AND

19 RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—Upon completion of regulations re20 quired under subsection (b), easements, special-use per21 mits, and rights-of-way shall not be available for commer22 cial wind and solar projects on Federal lands under the 

23 administrative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Man24 agement or Forest Service, except for the placement and 

25 operation of testing or data collection devices or facilities 


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1 that will not result in the commercial sale of electric 

2 power. 

3 (e) NONCOMPETITIVE LEASING.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may issue 

5 leases under this section on a noncompetitive basis 

6 if— 

7 (A) the lease is for resource data collection 

8 or equipment testing; 

9 (B) the lease will not result in the commer10 cial sale of electric power; 

11 (C) the lease has a term of not more than 

12 5 years; and 

13 (D) the Secretary, after public notice of a 

14 proposed lease, determines that there is no 

15 competitive interest. 

16 (2) PREFERENCE.—In any competitive lease 

17 sale for lands subject to a lease awarded under this 

18 subsection, the Secretary may give a preference to 

19 the holder of the lease under this subsection. 

20 (f) TRANSITION TO COMMERCIAL LEASING.—The 

21 Secretary of the Interior, for lands under the jurisdiction 

22 of the Bureau of Land Management, and the Secretary 

23 of Agriculture, for lands under the jurisdiction of the For24 est Service, may issue an easement, special-use permit, or 


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1 right-of-way for a commercial wind or solar project for 

2 which— 

3 (1) a plan of development has been submitted 

4 to the relevant Secretary before the date of enact5 ment of this Act; or 

6 (2) a meteorological testing tower or other data 

7 collection device has been installed under an ap8 proved easement, special-use permit, or right-of-way 

9 before the date of enactment of this Act. 

10 (g) DILIGENT DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS.—The 

11 Secretary shall, by regulation, designate work require12 ments and milestones to ensure that diligent development 

13 is carried out under each lease issued under this subtitle. 

14 SEC. 502. LAND MANAGEMENT. 

15 The Secretary, in consultation with the Director of 

16 the Bureau of Land Management and the Chief of the 

17 Forest Service, shall issue regulations that— 

18 (1) establish the duration of leases under this 

19 subtitle; 

20 (2) require the holder of a lease granted under 

21 this subtitle to— 

22 (A) furnish a surety bond or other form of 

23 security, as prescribed by the Director; 

24 (B) upon completion of activities author25 ized by the lease provide for— 


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1 (i) the restoration of the area that is 

2 subject to the lease to the condition in 

3 which the area existed before the granting 

4 of the lease; or 

5 (ii) mitigation activities if restoration 

6 to such condition is impractical; and 

7 (C) comply with such other requirements 

8 as the Director and affected Federal land man9 ager consider necessary to protect the interests 

10 of the public and the United States; and 

11 (3) establish best management practices and re12 quire renewable energy operators to comply with 

13 those practices to ensure the sound, efficient, and 

14 environmentally responsible development of wind and 

15 solar resources on Federal lands in a manner that 

16 shall avoid, minimize, and mitigate actual and an17 ticipated impacts to habitat and ecosystem function 

18 resulting from such development and to areas pro19 posed for wilderness or other protection. 

20 SEC. 503. REVENUES. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PAYMENT REQUIRE22 MENTS.—The Secretary shall establish royalties, fees, 

23 rentals, bonus bids, or other payments for leases issued 

24 under this subtitle, that shall— 


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1 (1) encourage development of solar and wind 

2 energy on public lands; 

3 (2) ensure a fair return to the United States; 

4 and 

5 (3) be commensurate with similar payments for 

6 the development of solar and wind energy on State 

7 and private lands. 

8 (b) DEPOSIT.—All revenues for payments established 

9 under this section shall be deposited in the general fund 

10 of the Treasury. 

11 SEC. 504. RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING REQUIRE12 MENTS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—A lessee, permit holder, operator, 

14 or other person directly involved in developing, producing, 

15 processing, transporting, purchasing, or selling renewable 

16 energy under this title, through the point of royalty com17 putation, shall establish and maintain any records, make 

18 any reports, and provide any information that the Sec19 retary may reasonably require for the purposes of imple20 menting this section or determining compliance with rules 

21 or orders under this section. Such records shall include, 

22 but not be limited to, periodic reports, records, documents, 

23 and other data. Such reports may include, but not be lim24 ited to, pertinent technical and financial data relating to 

25 the resources being developed under the lease. Upon the 


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1 request of any officer or employee duly designated by the 

2 Secretary conducting an audit or investigation pursuant 

3 to this section, the appropriate records, reports, or infor4 mation that may be required by this section shall be made 

5 available for inspection and duplication by such officer or 

6 employee. Failure by a claim holder, operator, or other 

7 person referred to in the first sentence to cooperate with 

8 such an audit, provide data required by the Secretary, or 

9 grant access to information may, at the discretion of the 

10 Secretary, result in involuntary forfeiture of the lease or 

11 permit. 

12 (b) MAINTENANCE.—Records required by the Sec13 retary under this section shall be maintained for 7 years 

14 after release of financial assurance unless the Secretary 

15 notifies the operator that the Secretary has initiated an 

16 audit or investigation involving such records and that such 

17 records must be maintained for a longer period. In any 

18 case when an audit or investigation is underway, records 

19 shall be maintained until the Secretary releases the oper20 ator of the obligation to maintain such records. 

21 SEC. 505. AUDITS. 

22 The Secretary may conduct such audits of all lessees 

23 and permit holders, operators, transporters, purchasers, 

24 processors, or other persons directly or indirectly involved 

25 in the production or sales of renewable energy resources 


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1 covered by this Act, as the Secretary deems necessary for 

2 the purposes of ensuring compliance with the require3 ments of this title. For purposes of performing such au4 dits, the Secretary shall, at reasonable times and upon re5 quest, have access to, and may copy, all books, papers and 

6 other documents that relate to compliance with any provi7 sion of this section by any person. 

8 SEC. 506. TRADE SECRETS. 

9 Trade secrets, proprietary information, and other 

10 confidential information protected from disclosure under 

11 section 552 of title 5, United States Code (popularly 

12 known as the Freedom of Information Act), shall be made 

13 available by the Secretary to other Federal agencies as 

14 necessary to assure compliance with this Act and other 

15 Federal laws. 

16 SEC. 507. INTEREST AND SUBSTANTIAL UNDERREPORTING 

17 ASSESSMENTS. 

18 (a) INTEREST.—In the case of renewable energy 

19 leases or permits under which royalty payments are not 

20 received by the Secretary on the date that such payments 

21 are due, the Secretary shall charge interest on such under22 payments at the same interest rate as the rate applicable 

23 under section 6621(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

24 1986. In the case of an underpayment, interest shall be 


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1 computed and charged only on the amount of the defi2 ciency and not on the total amount. 

3 (b) PENALTY.—If there is any underreporting of roy4 alty owed on production from a lease or permit for any 

5 production month by any person liable for royalty pay6 ments under this title, the Secretary shall assess a penalty 

7 of not greater than 25 percent of the amount of that 

8 underreporting. 

9 (c) UNDERREPORTING DEFINED.—For the purposes 

10 of this section, the term ‘‘underreporting’’ means the dif11 ference between the royalty on the value of the production 

12 that should have been reported and the royalty on the 

13 value of the production that was reported, if the value that 

14 should have been reported is greater than the value that 

15 was reported. 

16 (d) WAIVER OR REDUCTION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may waive or 

18 reduce the assessment provided in subsection (b) if 

19 the person liable for royalty payments under this 

20 section corrects the underreporting before the date 

21 such person receives notice from the Secretary that 

22 an underreporting may have occurred, or before 90 

23 days after the date of the enactment of this section, 

24 whichever is later. 


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1 (2) REQUIRED WAIVER.—The Secretary shall 

2 waive any portion of an assessment under subsection 

3 (b) attributable to that portion of the underreporting 

4 for which the person responsible for paying the roy5 alty demonstrates that— 

6 (A) such person had written authorization 

7 from the Secretary to report royalty on the 

8 value of the production on basis on which it was 

9 reported; 

10 (B) such person had substantial authority 

11 for reporting royalty on the value of the produc12 tion on the basis on which it was reported; 

13 (C) such person previously had notified the 

14 Secretary, in such manner as the Secretary may 

15 by rule prescribe, of relevant reasons or facts 

16 affecting the royalty treatment of specific pro17 duction that led to the underreporting; or 

18 (D) such person meets any other exception 

19 that the Secretary may, by rule, establish. 

20 (e) EXPANDED ROYALTY OBLIGATIONS.—Each per21 son liable for royalty payments under this section shall 

22 be jointly and severally liable for royalty on renewable en23 ergy resources produced under a lease issued under this 

24 Act when such loss or waste is due to negligence on the 


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1 part of any person or due to the failure to comply with 

2 any rule, regulation, or order issued under this section. 

3 (f) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ROYALTY REQUIRE4 MENTS.—Any person who fails to comply with the require5 ments of this section or any regulation or order issued to 

6 implement this section shall be liable for a civil penalty 

7 under section 109 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

8 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1719) to the same 

9 extent as if the failure to comply occurred under that Act. 

10 (g) DEPOSIT OF PENALTIES.—All penalties collected 

11 under this subsection shall be deposited in the general 

12 fund of the Treasury. 

13 SEC. 508. INDIAN SAVINGS PROVISION. 

14 Nothing in this subtitle shall abridge, diminish, or 

15 alter any right or interest of any affected Indian tribe. 

16 Nothing in this subtitle shall authorize any Federal agency 

17 or official to abridge, diminish, or alter any right or inter18 est of any affected Indian tribe. 

19 Subtitle B—Uranium Leasing 

20 SEC. 511. FEDERAL LANDS URANIUM LEASING. 

21 The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is 

22 amended by redesignating section 44 as section 45, and 

23 by inserting after section 43 the following new section: 

24 ‘‘SEC. 44. LEASING OF LANDS FOR URANIUM MINING. 

25 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) WITHDRAWAL FROM ENTRY; LEASING RE2 QUIREMENT.—Effective upon the date of enactment 

3 of the Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Re4 sources Act of 2009, all Federal lands are hereby 

5 permanently withdrawn from location and entry 

6 under section 2319 of the Revised Statutes (30 

7 U.S.C. 22 et seq.) for uranium. After the end of the 

8 2-year period beginning on such date of enactment, 

9 no uranium may be produced from Federal lands ex10 cept pursuant to a lease issued under this Act. 

11 ‘‘(2) LEASING.—The Secretary— 

12 ‘‘(A) may divide any lands subject to this 

13 Act that are not withdrawn from mineral leas14 ing and that are otherwise available for ura15 nium leasing under applicable law, including 

16 lands available under the terms of land use 

17 plans prepared by the Federal agency managing 

18 the land, into leasing tracts of such size as the 

19 Secretary finds appropriate and in the public 

20 interest; and 

21 ‘‘(B) thereafter shall, in the Secretary’s 

22 discretion, upon the request of any qualified ap23 plicant or on the Secretary’s own motion, from 

24 time to time, offer such lands for uranium leasVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:00 Sep 09, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.IH H3534

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1 ing and award uranium leases thereon by com2 petitive bidding. 

3 ‘‘(b) FAIR MARKET VALUE REQUIRED.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No bid for a uranium lease 

5 shall be accepted that is less than the fair market 

6 value, as determined by the Secretary, of the ura7 nium subject to the lease. 

8 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC COMMENT.—Prior to the Sec9 retary’s determination of the fair market value of 

10 the uranium subject to the lease, the Secretary shall 

11 give opportunity for and consideration to public com12 ments on the fair market value. 

13 ‘‘(3) DISCLOSURE NOT REQUIRED.—Nothing in 

14 this section shall be construed to require the Sec15 retary to make public the Secretary’s judgment as to 

16 the fair market value of the uranium to be leased, 

17 or the comments the Secretary receives thereon prior 

18 to the issuance of the lease. 

19 ‘‘(c) LANDS UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF OTHER

20 AGENCIES.—Leases covering lands the surface of which 

21 is under the jurisdiction of any Federal agency other than 

22 the Department of the Interior may be issued only— 

23 ‘‘(1) upon consent of the head of the other Fed24 eral agency; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) upon such conditions the head of such 

2 other Federal agency may prescribe with respect to 

3 the use and protection of the nonmineral interests in 

4 those lands. 

5 ‘‘(d) CONSIDERATION OF EFFECTS OF MINING.—Be6 fore issuing any uranium lease, the Secretary shall con7 sider effects that mining under the proposed lease might 

8 have on an impacted community or area, including im9 pacts on the environment, on agricultural, on cultural re10 sources, and other economic activities, and on public serv11 ices. 

12 ‘‘(e) NOTICE OF PROPOSED LEASE.—No lease sale 

13 shall be held for lands until after a notice of the proposed 

14 offering for lease has been given once a week for three 

15 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation 

16 in the county in which the lands are situated, or in elec17 tronic format, in accordance with regulations prescribed 

18 by the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(f) AUCTION REQUIREMENTS.—All lands to be 

20 leased under this section shall be leased to the highest re21 sponsible qualified bidder— 

22 ‘‘(1) under general regulations; 

23 ‘‘(2) in units of not more than 2,560 acres that 

24 are as nearly compact as possible; and 

25 ‘‘(3) by oral bidding. 


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1 ‘‘(g) REQUIRED PAYMENTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A lease under this section 

3 shall be conditioned upon the payment by the lessee 

4 of— 

5 ‘‘(A) a royalty at a rate of not less than 

6 12.5 percent in amount or value of the produc7 tion removed or sold under the lease; and 

8 ‘‘(B) a rental of— 

9 ‘‘(i) not less than $2.50 per acre per 

10 year for the first through fifth years of the 

11 lease; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) not less than $3 per acre per 

13 year for each year thereafter. 

14 ‘‘(2) USE OF REVENUES.—Amounts received as 

15 revenues under this subsection with respect to a 

16 lease may be used by the Secretary of the Interior, 

17 subject to the availability of appropriations, for 

18 cleaning up uranium mill tailings and reclaiming 

19 abandoned uranium mines on Federal lands in ac20 cordance with the priorities and eligibility restric21 tions, respectively, under subsections (c) and (d) of 

22 section 411 of the Surface Mining Control and Rec23 lamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1240a). 

24 ‘‘(h) LEASE TERM.—A lease under this section— 


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1 ‘‘(1) shall be effective for a primary term of 10 

2 years; and 

3 ‘‘(2) shall continue in effect after such primary 

4 term for so long is as uranium is produced under 

5 the lease in paying quantities. 

6 ‘‘(i) EXPLORATION LICENSES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, under 

8 such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, 

9 issue to any person an exploration license. No per10 son may conduct uranium exploration for commer11 cial purposes on lands subject to this Act without 

12 such an exploration license. Each exploration license 

13 shall be for a term of not more than two years and 

14 shall be subject to a reasonable fee. An exploration 

15 license shall confer no right to a lease under this 

16 Act. The issuance of exploration licenses shall not 

17 preclude the Secretary from issuing uranium leases 

18 at such times and locations and to such persons as 

19 the Secretary deems appropriate. No exploration li20 cense may be issued for any land on which a ura21 nium lease has been issued. A separate exploration 

22 license shall be required for exploration in each 

23 State. An application for an exploration license shall 

24 identify general areas and probable methods of ex25 ploration. Each exploration license shall be limited 


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1 to specific geographic areas in each State as deter2 mined by the Secretary, and shall contain such rea3 sonable conditions as the Secretary may require, in4 cluding conditions to ensure the protection of the en5 vironment, and shall be subject to all applicable Fed6 eral, State, and local laws and regulations. Upon vio7 lation of any such conditions or laws the Secretary 

8 may revoke the exploration license. 

9 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—A licensee may not cause 

10 substantial disturbance to the natural land surface. 

11 A licensee may not remove any uranium for sale but 

12 may remove a reasonable amount of uranium from 

13 the lands subject to this Act included under the Sec14 retary’s license for analysis and study. A licensee 

15 must comply with all applicable rules and regula16 tions of the Federal agency having jurisdiction over 

17 the surface of the lands subject to this Act. Explo18 ration licenses covering lands the surface of which is 

19 under the jurisdiction of any Federal agency other 

20 than the Department of the Interior may be issued 

21 only upon such conditions as it may prescribe with 

22 respect to the use and protection of the nonmineral 

23 interests in those lands. 

24 ‘‘(3) SHARING OF DATA.—The licensee shall 

25 furnish to the Secretary copies of all data (including 


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1 geological, geophysical, and core drilling analyses) 

2 obtained during such exploration. The Secretary 

3 shall maintain the confidentiality of all data so ob4 tained until after the areas involved have been leased 

5 or until such time as the Secretary determines that 

6 making the data available to the public would not 

7 damage the competitive position of the licensee, 

8 whichever comes first. 

9 ‘‘(4) EXPLORATION WITHOUT A LICENSE.—Any 

10 person who willfully conducts uranium exploration 

11 for commercial purposes on lands subject to this Act 

12 without an exploration license issued under this sub13 section shall be subject to a fine of not more than 

14 $1,000 for each day of violation. All data collected 

15 by such person on any Federal lands as a result of 

16 such violation shall be made immediately available to 

17 the Secretary, who shall make the data available to 

18 the public as soon as it is practicable. No penalty 

19 under this subsection shall be assessed unless such 

20 person is given notice and opportunity for a hearing 

21 with respect to such violation. 

22 ‘‘(j) CONVERSION OF MINING CLAIMS TO MINERAL

23 LEASES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The owner of any mining 

25 claim (in this subsection referred to as a ‘claimant’) 


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1 located prior to the date of enactment of the Con2 solidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act 

3 of 2009 may, within two years after such date, apply 

4 to the Secretary of the Interior to convert the claim 

5 to a lease under this section. The Secretary shall 

6 issue a uranium lease under this section to the 

7 claimant upon a demonstration by the claimant, to 

8 the satisfaction of the Secretary, within one year 

9 after the date of the application to the Secretary, 

10 that the claim was, as of such date of enactment, 

11 supported by the discovery of a valuable deposit of 

12 uranium on the claimed land. The holder of a lease 

13 issued upon conversion from a mining claim under 

14 this subsection shall be subject to all the require15 ments of this section governing uranium leases, ex16 cept that the holder shall pay a royalty of 6.25 per17 cent on the value of the uranium produced under the 

18 lease, until beginning ten years after the date the 

19 claim is converted to a lease. 

20 ‘‘(2) OTHER CLAIMS EXTINGUISHED.—All min21 ing claims located for uranium on Federal lands 

22 whose claimant does not apply to the Secretary for 

23 conversion to a lease, or whose claimant cannot 

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1 come null and void by operation of law three years 

2 after such date of enactment.’’. 

3 TITLE VI—OUTER CONTINENTAL 

4 SHELF COORDINATION AND 

5 PLANNING 

6 SEC. 601. REGIONAL OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF COORDI7 NATION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The purpose of this title is to pro9 mote coordinated regional planning efforts, to require that 

10 decisions are made using the best available science, and 

11 to ensure the protection and maintenance of ecosystem 

12 health in decisions affecting the siting of energy facilities 

13 and development of Federal renewable and nonrenewable 

14 energy resources on, in, or above the Outer Continental 

15 Shelf for the long-term economic and environmental ben16 efit of the United States. 

17 (b) OBJECTIVES OF REGIONAL EFFORTS.—Such re18 gional efforts shall achieve the following: 

19 (1) Greater systematic communication and co20 ordination among Federal, coastal State, and af21 fected tribal governments concerned with the siting 

22 and development of Federal renewable and non23 renewable energy resources on, in, or above the 

24 Outer Continental Shelf. 


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1 (2) To the maximum extent feasible, greater re2 liance on a multiobjective, science- and ecosystem3 based, spatially explicit management approach that 

4 integrates regional economic, ecological, affected 

5 tribal, and social objectives into energy development 

6 decisions. 

7 (3) Identification and prioritization of shared 

8 State and Federal energy development issues. 

9 (4) Identification of data and information need10 ed by the Regional Outer Continental Shelf Councils 

11 established under section 602. 

12 (c) REGIONS.—There are hereby designated the fol13 lowing Outer Continental Shelf Regions: 

14 (1) PACIFIC OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF RE15 GION.—The Pacific Outer Continental Shelf Region, 

16 which shall consist of the Outer Continental Shelf 

17 adjacent to the States of Washington, Oregon, Cali18 fornia, and Hawaii. 

19 (2) GULF OF MEXICO OUTER CONTINENTAL

20 SHELF REGION.—The Gulf of Mexico Outer Conti21 nental Shelf Region, which shall consist of the Outer 

22 Continental Shelf adjacent to the States of Texas, 

23 Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and the west 

24 coast of Florida. 


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1 (3) ATLANTIC OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF RE2 GION.—The Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Re3 gion, which shall consist of the Outer Continental 

4 Shelf adjacent to the States of Maine, New Hamp5 shire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, 

6 New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, 

7 Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, 

8 and Georgia, the east coast of Florida, and the 

9 Straits of Florida Planning Area. 

10 (4) ALASKA OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF RE11 GION.—The Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Region, 

12 which shall consist of the Outer Continental Shelf 

13 adjacent to the State of Alaska. 

14 SEC. 602. REGIONAL OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF COUN15 CILS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days after the date 

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

18 the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the af19 fected coastal States and affected Indian tribes, shall es20 tablish or designate a Regional Outer Continental Shelf 

21 Council for each of the Outer Continental Shelf Regions 

22 designated by section 601(c). 

23 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

24 (1) FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES.—Within 90 

25 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 


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1 Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the 

2 Secretary of Commerce, shall publish the titles of 

3 the officials of each Federal agency and department 

4 that shall participate in each Council. The Secretary 

5 of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of 

6 Commerce, shall include in such officials representa7 tives of each Federal agency and department that 

8 has expertise in energy production facility siting and 

9 development or ocean and coastal policy, or engages 

10 in planning, management, or scientific activities that 

11 significantly affect or inform the use of ocean wa12 ters, coastal waters, or ocean resources or other af13 fected uses. The Secretary of the Interior, or at the 

14 Secretary of the Interior’s discretion, the Secretary 

15 of Commerce, shall serve as the chairperson of each 

16 Council. 

17 (2) COASTAL STATE REPRESENTATIVES.— 

18 (A) NOTICE OF INTENT TO PARTICI19 PATE.—The Governor of each coastal State 

20 within each Outer Continental Shelf Region 

21 designated by section 601(c) shall within 3 

22 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 

23 inform the Secretary and the Secretary of Com24 merce whether or not the State intends to parVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:00 Sep 09, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.IH H3534

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1 ticipate in the Council for the Outer Conti2 nental Shelf Region. 

3 (B) APPOINTMENT OF RESPONSIBLE

4 STATE OFFICIAL.—If the Governor of a coastal 

5 State informs the Secretaries in accordance 

6 with subparagraph (A) that the State intends 

7 to participate in such Council, the Governor 

8 shall appoint an officer or employee of the 

9 coastal State agency with primary responsibility 

10 for overseeing ocean and coastal policy or re11 source management to that Council. 

12 (3) REGIONAL FISHERIES REPRESENTATION.— 

13 The Chair of each Regional Fishery Management 

14 Council with jurisdiction in the Outer Continental 

15 Shelf Region of a Council and the executive director 

16 of the interstate marine fisheries commission with 

17 jurisdiction in the Outer Continental Shelf Region of 

18 a Council shall each serve as a member of the Coun19 cil. 

20 (4) REGIONAL OCEAN PARTNERSHIP REP21 RESENTATION.—A representative of any Regional 

22 Ocean Partnership that has been established for any 

23 part of the Outer Continental Shelf Region of a 

24 Council may appoint a representative to serve on the 


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1 Council in addition to any Federal or State appoint2 ment. 

3 (5) TRIBAL REPRESENTATION.—An appropriate 

4 tribal official selected by affected Indian tribes situ5 ated in the affected Outer Continental Shelf Region 

6 may elect to appoint a representative of such tribes 

7 collectively to serve as a member of the Council. 

8 (6) OTHER REPRESENTATION.—The Director 

9 shall appoint such other representatives to serve on 

10 a Council as the Director determines appropriate to 

11 achieve balanced representation from the energy, 

12 shipping and transportation, marine tourism, and 

13 recreation industries, and from marine environ14 mental nongovernmental organizations, and scientific 

15 and educational authorities with expertise in energy 

16 siting and development, land and water resource 

17 management, and conservation of ocean and coastal 

18 species and the habitat that they depend upon. 

19 (c) COORDINATION WITH EXISTING REGIONAL

20 OCEAN PARTNERSHIPS AND OTHER SIMILAR PRO21 GRAMS.—Each Council shall build upon and complement 

22 current State, multistate, and regional capacity and gov23 ernance and institutional mechanisms to manage and pro24 tect ocean waters, coastal waters, and ocean resources. 


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1 SEC. 603. REGIONAL OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF STRA2 TEGIC PLANS. 

3 (a) INITIAL OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF REGION

4 ASSESSMENT.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta6 tion with the Secretary of Commerce and the heads 

7 of other Federal agencies authorized to provide ma8 rine ecosystem science expertise, shall, within one 

9 year after the date of enactment of this Act, prepare 

10 an initial assessment of each Outer Continental 

11 Shelf Region that shall identify deficiencies in data 

12 and information necessary to informed decision13 making. Each initial assessment shall to the extent 

14 feasible— 

15 (A) identify the Region’s potential alter16 native energy resources and energy-related min17 eral resources; 

18 (B) identify the Region’s existing infra19 structure and projections for future trans20 mission requirements; 

21 (C) document the health and relative envi22 ronmental sensitivity of the marine ecosystem 

23 including a comprehensive survey of species, 

24 habitats, and indicators of ecosystem health; 


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1 (D) identify marine habitat types and im2 portant marine ecological areas within the Re3 gion; 

4 (E) assess the Region’s marine economy 

5 and cultural attributes; and 

6 (F) inventory other existing uses of the 

7 Outer Continental Shelf in the Region. 

8 (2) DATA.—Each initial assessment shall— 

9 (A) use the best available data; 

10 (B) collect and provide data in a spatially 

11 explicit manner wherever practicable and pro12 vide such data to the interagency comprehensive 

13 digital mapping initiative as described in section 

14 2 of Public Law 109–58 (42 U.S.C. 15801); 

15 and 

16 (C) make publicly available any such data 

17 that is not classified information. 

18 (b) REGIONAL OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF STRA19 TEGIC PLANS.— 

20 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Each Council shall, within 

21 2 years after the completion of the initial Outer 

22 Continental Shelf Region assessment, prepare and 

23 submit to the Secretaries a multiobjective, science 

24 and ecosystem-based, spatially explicit, integrated 


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1 marine energy and energy-related mineral resources 

2 Strategic Plan in accordance with this subsection. 

3 (2) MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVE.—The manage4 ment objective of the Strategic Plans under this sub5 section shall be to foster sustainable development of 

6 additional energy resources from the Outer Conti7 nental Shelf, while protecting marine ecosystem 

8 health and sustaining the long-term economic and 

9 ecosystem values of the oceans. 

10 (3) CONTENTS.—Each Strategic Plan prepared 

11 by a Council shall— 

12 (A) be based on the Outer Continental 

13 Shelf Region assessment and updates for the 

14 Region under subsections (a) and (c), respec15 tively; 

16 (B) foster sustainable ocean energy devel17 opment in a manner that protects the health of 

18 marine ecosystems; 

19 (C) identify areas with potential for siting 

20 and developing renewable and nonrenewable en21 ergy resources in the Outer Continental Shelf 

22 Region covered by the Strategic Plan; 

23 (D) identify and recommend long-term 

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1 nental Shelf Region covered by the Strategic 

2 Plan; 

3 (E) identify existing State and Federal 

4 regulating authorities within the Outer Conti5 nental Shelf Region covered by the Strategic 

6 Plan; 

7 (F) identify best available technologies that 

8 can minimize adverse environmental impacts of 

9 construction and operation of energy facilities 

10 in the Region; 

11 (G) identify additional research, informa12 tion, and data needed to carry out the Strategic 

13 Plan; 

14 (H) identify research, information, and 

15 data needed to carry out the Strategic Plan; 

16 (I) identify performance measures and 

17 benchmarks for purposes of fulfilling the re18 sponsibilities under this section to be used to 

19 evaluate the Strategic Plan’s effectiveness; and 

20 (J) define responsibilities and include an 

21 analysis of the gaps in authority, coordination, 

22 and resources, including funding, that must be 

23 filled in order to fully achieve those perform24 ance measures and benchmarks. 


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1 (4) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—Each Council 

2 shall provide adequate opportunities for review and 

3 input by stakeholders and the general public during 

4 the development of the Strategic Plan and any Stra5 tegic Plan revisions. 

6 (c) UPDATED OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF REGION

7 ASSESSMENTS.—The Secretary, in consultation with the 

8 Secretary of Commerce, and in consultation with the ap9 propriate Council and other experts, shall update the ini10 tial Outer Continental Shelf Region assessment prepared 

11 under subsection (a) in coordination with each plan revi12 sion under subsection (e), to provide more detailed infor13 mation regarding the required elements of the assessment 

14 and to include any relevant new information that has be15 come available in the interim. 

16 (d) REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— 

17 (1) COMMENCEMENT OF REVIEW.—Within 10 

18 days after transmittal of a Strategic Plan under this 

19 section, or any revision to such a Strategic Plan, by 

20 a Council, the Secretary, in consultation with the 

21 Secretary of Commerce, shall commence a review of 

22 the Strategic Plan or the revised Strategic Plan, re23 spectively. 

24 (2) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—Imme25 diately after receipt of such a Strategic Plan or reviVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:00 Sep 09, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.IH H3534

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1 sion, the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec2 retary of Commerce, shall publish the Strategic Plan 

3 or revision in the Federal Register and provide an 

4 opportunity for the submission of public comment 

5 for a 90-day period beginning on the date of such 

6 publication. 

7 (3) REQUIREMENTS FOR APPROVAL.—Before 

8 approving a Strategic Plan, or any revision to a 

9 Strategic Plan, the Secretary, in consultation with 

10 the Secretary of Commerce, must find that the Stra11 tegic Plan or revision— 

12 (A) is consistent with the Outer Conti13 nental Shelf Lands Act; 

14 (B) complies with subsection (b); and 

15 (C) complies with the purposes of this title 

16 as identified in section 601(a). 

17 (4) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION.—Within 180 

18 days after transmittal of a Strategic Plan, or a revi19 sion to a Strategic Plan, the Secretary, in consulta20 tion with the Secretary of Commerce, shall approve 

21 or disapprove the Strategic Plan or revision by writ22 ten notice to the Council that submitted the Stra23 tegic Plan. If the Secretary disapproves the Stra24 tegic Plan, the Secretary, in consultation with the 

25 Secretary of Commerce, shall transmit to the CounVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:00 Sep 09, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.IH H3534

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1 cil that submitted the strategic Plan an identifica2 tion of the deficiencies in the Strategic Plan and rec3 ommendations to improve the Strategic Plan. The 

4 Council shall submit a revised Strategic Plan to the 

5 Secretaries within 180 days after the Secretary 

6 transmits such deficiencies and recommendations. 

7 (e) PLAN REVISION.—Each Strategic Plan that is ap8 proved by the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation 

9 with the Secretary of Commerce, shall be reviewed and 

10 revised by the relevant Council at least once every 5 years. 

11 Such review and revision shall be based on the most re12 cently updated Outer Continental Shelf Region assess13 ment. Any proposed revisions to the Strategic Plan shall 

14 be transmitted to the Secretaries for review and approval 

15 pursuant to this section. 

16 SEC. 604. REGULATIONS. 

17 The Secretaries shall issue such regulations as the 

18 Secretaries consider necessary to ensure proper adminis19 tration of this title. 

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 

25 be known as the Ocean Resources Conservation and 


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1 Assistance Fund (in this section referred to as the 

2 ‘‘ORCA Fund’’). 

3 (2) CREDITS.—The ORCA Fund shall be cred4 ited with amounts as specified in subsection (q) of 

5 section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

6 (43 U.S.C. 1337), as amended by section 401 of this 

7 Act. 

8 (3) ALLOCATION OF THE ORCA FUND.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts depos10 ited in the ORCA Fund each fiscal year— 

11 (i) 50 percent shall be used by the 

12 Secretary to make grants to coastal States 

13 and affected Indian tribes under subsection 

14 (b); 

15 (ii) 40 percent shall be allocated by 

16 the Secretary to the Ocean, Coastal and 

17 Great Lakes Grants Program established 

18 by subsection (c); and 

19 (iii) 10 percent shall be used by the 

20 Secretary to make grants to Regional 

21 Ocean Partnerships under subsection (d). 

22 (B) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts deposited in 

23 the Fund shall be available to the Secretary of 

24 Commerce (in this section referred to as the 


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1 ‘‘Secretary’’) for allocation under subparagraph 

2 (A) without further appropriation. 

3 (4) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall estab4 lish application, review, oversight, financial account5 ability, and performance accountability procedures 

6 for each grant program to which funds are allocated 

7 under this subsection. 

8 (b) GRANTS TO COASTAL STATES.— 

9 (1) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may 

10 use amounts allocated under subsection (a)(3)(A)(i) 

11 to make grants to— 

12 (A) coastal States pursuant to the formula 

13 established under section 306(c) of the Coastal 

14 Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 

15 1455(c)); and 

16 (B) to affected Indian tribes based on and 

17 proportional to any specific coastal and ocean 

18 management authority granted to an affected 

19 tribe pursuant to affirmation of a Federal re20 served right. 

21 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

22 grant under this subsection, a coastal State or af23 fected Indian tribe must prepare and revise a 5-year 

24 plan and annual work plans that— 


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1 (A) demonstrate that activities for which 

2 the coastal State or affected Indian tribe will 

3 use the funds are consistent with the eligible 

4 uses of the Fund identified in subsection (e); 

5 and 

6 (B) provide mechanisms to ensure that 

7 funding is made available to government, non8 government, and academic entities to carry out 

9 eligible activities at the county and local level. 

10 (3) APPROVAL OF STATE AND AFFECTED TRIB11 AL PLANS.—Such plans must be submitted to and 

12 approved by the Secretary. 

13 (4) PUBLIC INPUT AND COMMENT.—In deter14 mining whether to approve such plans, the Secretary 

15 shall provide opportunity for, and take into consider16 ation, public input and comment on the plans from 

17 stakeholders and the general public. 

18 (5) USE OF FUNDS.—Any amounts provided as 

19 a grant under this subsection may only be used for 

20 activities described in subsection (e). 

21 (c) OCEAN AND COASTAL GRANTS PROGRAM.— 

22 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es23 tablish an Ocean, Coastal, and Great Lakes Grants 

24 Program for the purposes of allocating funds avail25 able under subsection (a)(3)(A)(ii). 


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1 (2) OCEAN, COASTAL, AND GREAT LAKES COUN2 CIL.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es4 tablish an Ocean, Coastal, and Great Lakes 

5 Council (in this section referred to as the 

6 ‘‘Council’’), which shall consist of 12 members 

7 appointed by the Secretary with expertise in the 

8 conservation and management of ocean, coastal, 

9 and Great Lakes ecosystems and marine re10 sources. In appointing members to the Council, 

11 the Secretary shall include a balanced diversity 

12 of representatives of relevant Federal agencies, 

13 affected Indian tribes, the private sector, non14 profit organizations, and academia. 

15 (B) TERMS AND VACANCIES.—The term of 

16 office of members of the Council shall be 3 

17 years, except the Secretary shall designate 

18 shorter terms of initial members of the Council 

19 so that the terms of subsequent members are 

20 staggered. Whenever a vacancy occurs among 

21 members of the Council, the Secretary shall ap22 point an individual to fill that vacancy for the 

23 remainder of the applicable term. 

24 (C) OFFICERS OF THE COUNCIL.—The 

25 Council shall have a Chair and a Vice Chair, 


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1 both of whom shall be elected by the Council by 

2 and from its members. The Chair and Vice 

3 Chair shall serve for a 3-year term, except that 

4 the first Chair and Vice Chair may be elected 

5 for a term of less than 3 years, as determined 

6 by the Council. The Council may elect any 

7 other officers it deems necessary to carry out 

8 its duties under this Act. 

9 (D) QUORUM.—Eight members of the 

10 Council shall constitute a quorum for the trans11 action of business. 

12 (E) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet 

13 at the call of the Chair at least twice per year. 

14 Each meeting shall be open to the public. 

15 (F) STAFF.—The Chair of the Council 

16 may hire staff as needed within the constraints 

17 of available administrative funds to carry out 

18 its duties under this Act. 

19 (G) FUNCTIONS.—The Council shall— 

20 (i) in consultation with the Secretary, 

21 establish procedures for applying for a 

22 grant under this subsection and criteria for 

23 evaluating applications for such grants 

24 consistent with subsection (e); 


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1 (ii) receive and review in accordance 

2 with those procedures and criteria grant 

3 applications under this subsection; 

4 (iii) make recommendations to the 

5 Secretary regarding which grant applica6 tions should be funded and the amount of 

7 each grant; and 

8 (iv) establish any specific require9 ments, conditions, or limitations on a grant 

10 application recommended for funding. 

11 (3) ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.—The Secretary 

12 shall establish criteria in consultation with the Coun13 cil to determine what persons are eligible for grants 

14 under the program. Such persons shall include but 

15 not be limited to Federal, State, affected tribal, and 

16 local agencies, fishery or wildlife management orga17 nizations, nonprofit organizations, and academic in18 stitutions. 

19 (4) APPROVAL OF GRANTS.—The Secretary 

20 shall approve grant applications on the basis of the 

21 Council’s recommendations. If the Secretary dis22 approves a grant recommended by the Council, the 

23 Secretary shall explain that disapproval in writing. 


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1 (5) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Any amounts pro2 vided as a grant under this subsection may only be 

3 used for activities described in subsection (e). 

4 (d) GRANTS TO REGIONAL OCEAN PARTNERSHIPS.— 

5 (1) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may 

6 use amounts allocated under subsection (a)(3)(A)(iii) 

7 to make grants to Regional Ocean Partnerships. 

8 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to be eligible to re9 ceive funds under subsection (a)(3)(A)(iii), a Re10 gional Ocean Partnership must prepare and annu11 ally revise a plan that demonstrates that activities to 

12 be carried out with such funds are consistent with 

13 the eligible uses of the funds identified in subsection 

14 (e). 

15 (3) APPROVAL BY SECRETARY.—Such plans 

16 must be submitted to and approved by the Sec17 retary. 

18 (4) PUBLIC INPUT AND COMMENT.—In deter19 mining whether to approve such plans, the Secretary 

20 shall provide opportunity for, and take into consider21 ation, input and comment on the plans from stake22 holders and the general public. 

23 (5) USE OF FUNDS.—Any amounts provided as 

24 a grant under this subsection may only by used for 

25 activities described in subsection (e). 


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1 (e) ELIGIBLE USE OF FUNDS.—Any funds made 

2 available under this section may only be used for activities 

3 that contribute to the conservation, protection, mainte4 nance, and restoration of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes 

5 ecosystems in a manner that is consistent with Federal 

6 environmental laws and that avoids environmental 

7 degredation, including— 

8 (1) activities to conserve, protect, maintain, and 

9 restore coastal, marine, and Great Lakes ecosystem 

10 health; 

11 (2) activities to protect marine biodiversity and 

12 living marine and coastal resources and their habi13 tats, including fish populations; 

14 (3) the development and implementation of 

15 multiobjective, science- and ecosystem-based plans 

16 for monitoring and managing the wide variety of 

17 uses affecting ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes eco18 systems and resources that consider cumulative im19 pacts and are spatially explicit where appropriate; 

20 (4) activities to improve the resiliency of those 

21 ecosystems; 

22 (5) activities to improve the ability of those eco23 systems to become more resilient, and to adapt to 

24 and withstand the impacts of climate change and 

25 ocean acidification; 


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1 (6) planning for and managing coastal develop2 ment to minimize the loss of life and property asso3 ciated with global climate change and the coastal 

4 hazards resulting from it; 

5 (7) research, assessment, monitoring, and dis6 semination of information that contributes to the 

7 achievement of these purposes; and 

8 (8) research of, protection of, enhancement to, 

9 and activities to improve the resiliency of culturally 

10 significant areas and resources. 

11 SEC. 606. WAIVER. 

12 The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 

13 shall not apply to the Regional Outer Continental Shelf 

14 Councils established under section 602. 

15 SEC. 607. TRANSITION PERIOD. 

16 (a) ACTIVITIES BEFORE APPROVAL OF STRATEGIC

17 PLAN.—Prior to approval by the Secretary of a Strategic 

18 Plan for an Outer Continental Shelf Region under section 

19 603(d), the following activities shall not be affected by the 

20 preparation or proposal of such a Plan: 

21 (1) Initiation of the process to develop a new 5- 

22 year leasing plan or amendment to such plan pursu23 ant to section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf 

24 Lands Act. 


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1 (2) Ongoing planning processes being conducted 

2 for that Region pursuant to section 18 of the Outer 

3 Continental Shelf Lands Act. 

4 (3) Administrative procedures necessary to ap5 prove a 5-year plan developed pursuant to section 18 

6 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, including 

7 approval and adoption of a 5-year plan. 

8 (4) Leasing activity being conducted in that Re9 gion under a 5-year leasing plan approved by the 

10 Secretary of the Interior pursuant to section 18 of 

11 the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. 

12 (5) Other activities that the Secretary may au13 thorize pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf 

14 Lands Act. 

15 (b) FAILURE TO PRODUCE A PLAN.—Failure by a 

16 Council to produce a Strategic Plan for an Outer Conti17 nental Shelf Region, or failure of the Secretary, in con18 sultation with the Secretary of Commerce, to approve a 

19 Strategic Plan for such a Region, shall not delay the proc20 ess of preparing and approving any new 5-year drilling 

21 plan under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and 

22 shall not delay any activities being conducted pursuant to 

23 an existing Outer Continental Shelf leasing program pre24 pared and approved by the Secretary under section 18 of 


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1 the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) 

2 prior to the enactment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 608. ALTERNATIVE ENERGY ON THE OUTER CONTI4 NENTAL SHELF. 

5 (a) PRIOR TO APPROVAL OF STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

6 Prior to approval of a Strategic Plan for an Outer Conti7 nental Shelf Region under subsection 603(d), the Sec8 retary of the Interior shall continue to implement without 

9 delay the rule for Renewable Energy and Alternate Uses 

10 of Existing Facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf, as 

11 published in the Federal Register on April 29, 2009, in 

12 that Region. 

13 (b) APPROVAL OF STRATEGIC PLAN.—The approval 

14 of a Strategic Plan shall not affect— 

15 (1) projects for which leases have been obtained 

16 under that rule prior to submittal of the Plan for 

17 approval; and 

18 (2) tracts of the Outer Continental Shelf for 

19 which the competitive alternative energy leasing 

20 process under that rule has been initiated prior to 

21 submittal of the Plan for approval. 


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1 TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS 

2 PROVISIONS 

3 SEC. 701. REPEAL OF CERTAIN TAXPAYER SUBSIDIZED 

4 ROYALTY RELIEF FOR THE OIL AND GAS IN5 DUSTRY. 

6 (a) REPEAL OF PROVISIONS OF ENERGY POLICY ACT

7 OF 2005.—The following provisions of the Energy Policy 

8 Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58) are repealed: 

9 (1) Section 344 (42 U.S.C. 15904; relating to 

10 incentives for natural gas production from deep wells 

11 in shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico). 

12 (2) Section 345 (42 U.S.C. 15905; relating to 

13 royalty relief for deep water production in the Gulf 

14 of Mexico). 

15 (b) PROVISIONS RELATING TO PLANNING AREAS

16 OFFSHORE ALASKA.—Section 8(a)(3)(B) of the Outer 

17 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(a)(3)(B)) 

18 is amended by striking ‘‘and in the Planning Areas off19 shore Alaska’’ after ‘‘West longitude’’. 

20 (c) PROVISIONS RELATING TO NAVAL PETROLEUM

21 RESERVE IN ALASKA.—Section 107 of the Naval Petro22 leum Reserves Production Act of 1976 (as transferred, re23 designated, moved, and amended by section 347 of the En24 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (119 Stat. 704)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (i) by striking paragraphs (2) 

2 through (6); and 

3 (2) by striking subsection (k). 

4 SEC. 702. PRODUCTION INCENTIVE FEE. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall, within 

6 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, issue 

7 regulations to establish an annual production incentive fee 

8 for all leases in effect on the date of enactment of this 

9 Act, of Federal onshore and offshore lands for production 

10 of oil or natural gas under which production is not occur11 ring in commercial quantities or is not included in a unit12 ization agreement under which production is not occuring 

13 in commercial quantities. 

14 (b) AMOUNT.—The amount of the fee shall be, for 

15 each acre that is subject to a lease from which oil or nat16 ural gas is not produced in a calendar year, $4 per acre 

17 in 2009 dollars. 

18 (c) ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION.—The Secretary 

19 shall assess and collect the fee established under this sec20 tion. 

21 (d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may issue regula22 tions to prevent evasion of the fee under this section. 


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1 SEC. 703. 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. 704. OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE CLARIFICATION. 

6 (a) NO AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Commerce, 

7 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos8 pheric Administration, or the Regional Fishery Manage9 ment Councils shall not develop or approve a fishery man10 agement plan or fishery management plan amendment to 

11 permit or regulate offshore aquaculture. 

12 (b) PERMITS INVALID.—Any permit issued for the 

13 conduct of offshore aquaculture, including the siting or op14 eration of offshore aquaculture facilities, under the Mag15 nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

16 (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) shall be invalid upon enactment 

17 of this Act. 

18 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE.—The term ‘‘off20 shore aquaculture’’ means all activities related to— 

21 (A) the placement of any installation, facil22 ity, or structure in the exclusive economic zone 

23 for the purposes of propagation or rearing, or 

24 attempting to propagate or rear, any species; or 

25 (B) the operation of offshore aquaculture 

26 facilities in the exclusive economic zone involved 


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1 in the propagation or rearing, or attempted 

2 propagation or rearing, of species. 

3 (2) OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE FACILITY.—The 

4 term ‘‘offshore aquaculture facility’’ means— 

5 (A) a structure, installation, or other com6 plex used, in whole or in part, for offshore 

7 aquaculture; or 

8 (B) an area of the seabed or the subsoil 

9 used for offshore aquaculture. 

Æ 


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