Virginia Jobs and Energy Act

To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct offshore oil and gas Lease Sale 220 as soon as practicable, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Virginia Jobs and Energy Act 2. Lease Sale 220 and other OCS oil and gas lease sales offshore Virginia (a) Conduct of lease sale Notwithstanding any 5-year oil and gas leasing program in effect under section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1344 43 U.S.C. 1337 (b) Inclusion in future leasing programs The Secretary of the Interior shall— (1) conduct at least 2 lease sales in the Virginia lease sale planning area during the effective period of the 2017–2022 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program; and (2) include at least 2 lease sales in the Virginia lease sale planning area in each 5-year oil and gas leasing program proposed after the date of the enactment of this Act. (c) NEPA Exclusion Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C) 3. Protection of military operations (a) Prohibition No person may engage in any exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas off the coast of Virginia that would conflict with any military operation, as determined in accordance with the Memorandum of Agreement between the Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior on Mutual Concerns on the Outer Continental Shelf signed July 20, 1983, and any revision or replacement for that agreement that is agreed to by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Interior after that date but before the date of issuance of the lease under which such exploration, development, or production is conducted. (b) Review and updating of MOA The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Defense shall periodically review and revise such memorandum of agreement to account for new offshore energy production technologies, including those that use wind energy. 4. Disposition of revenue (a) Payment of covered leasing revenues to States Notwithstanding section 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1338 (b) Allocation of payments (1) In general The amount of covered leasing revenues received by the United States with respect to a leased tract that are required to be paid to States in accordance with this subsection each fiscal year shall be allocated among and paid to affected States that are within 200 miles of the leased tract, in amounts that are inversely proportional to the respective distances between the point on the coastline of each such affected State that is closest to the geographic center of the lease tract, as determined by the Secretary. (2) Minimum and maximum allocation The amount allocated to a State under paragraph (1) each fiscal year with respect to a leased tract shall be— (A) in the case of a State that is the nearest State to the geographic center of the leased tract, not less than 25 percent of the total amounts allocated with respect to the leased tract; and (B) in the case of any other State, not less than 10 percent, and not more than 15 percent, of the total amounts allocated with respect to the leased tract. (3) Administration Amounts allocated to a State under this subsection— (A) shall be available to the State without further appropriation; (B) shall remain available until expended; and (C) shall be in addition to any other amounts available to the State under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1331 (4) Use of funds (A) In general Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a State may use funds allocated and paid to it under this subsection for any purpose as determined by the laws of that State. (B) Restriction on use for matching Funds allocated and paid to a State under this subsection may not be used as matching funds for any other Federal program. (c) Definitions In this section: (1) Affected State The term affected State 43 U.S.C. 1331 (2) Covered leasing revenues The term covered leasing revenues 5. Offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring projects (a) Offshore meteorological project permitting (1) In general The Secretary of the Interior shall by regulation require that any applicant seeking to conduct an offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring project on the outer Continental Shelf (as that term is defined in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1331 (2) Permit and right-of-way timeline and conditions (A) Deadline for Approval The Secretary shall decide whether to issue a permit and right of way for an offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring project within 30 days after receiving an application. (B) Public comment and consultation During the period referred to in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall— (i) provide an opportunity for submission of comments by the public; and (ii) consult with the Secretary of Defense, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and the heads of other Federal, State, and local agencies that would be affected by issuance of the permit and right of way. (C) Denial of permit; opportunity to remedy deficiencies If the application is denied, the Secretary shall provide the applicant— (i) in writing, clear and comprehensive reasons why the application was not approved and detailed information concerning any deficiencies in the application; and (ii) an opportunity to remedy such deficiencies. (b) NEPA exclusion Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C) (c) Protection of Information The information provided to the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to subsection (d)(3) shall be treated by the Secretary as proprietary information and protected against disclosure. (d) Definition of an offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring project In this section, the term offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring project (1) causes— (A) less than 1 acre of surface or seafloor disruption at the location of each meteorological tower or other device; and (B) not more than 5 acres of surface or seafloor disruption within the proposed area affected by the project (including hazards to navigation); (2) is decommissioned not more than 5 years after the date of commencement of the project, including— (A) removal of towers, buoys, or other temporary ocean infrastructure from the project site; and (B) restoration of the project site to approximately the original condition of the site; and (3) provides meteorological information obtained by the project to the Secretary of the Interior. 6. Definition of Virginia lease sale planning area In this Act, the term Virginia lease sale planning area 43 U.S.C. 1331 (1) a boundary consisting of a straight line extending from the northernmost point of Virginia's seaward boundary to the point on the seaward boundary of the United States exclusive economic zone located at 37 degrees 17 minutes 1 second North latitude, 71 degrees 5 minutes 16 seconds West longitude; and (2) a southern boundary consisting of a straight line extending from the southernmost point of Virginia's seaward boundary to the point on the seaward boundary of the United States exclusive economic zone located at 36 degrees 31 minutes 58 seconds North latitude, 71 degrees 30 minutes 1 second West longitude. 7. Clarifications with respect to existing executive authorities Subsection (a) of section 12 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1341 (a) Executive authorities with respect to unleased lands The President may make, modify, extend, or revoke withdrawals from disposition of any of the unleased lands of the outer Continental Shelf. .

Summary: Virginia Jobs and Energy Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to conduct an oil and gas lease sale off the coast of Virginia within one year, and conduct at least two lease sales in the area during the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program. During each of Interior's five-year leasing programs, two lease sales must be conducted off the coast of Virginia. The bill prohibits oil or natural gas exploration, development, or production off the Virginia coast that would conflict with a military operation. The bill allocates 37.5% of new leasing revenues received each fiscal year by the federal government for payment to states affected with respect to the leases that generate these revenues.Additionally, the bill sets forth the minimum and maximum revenues that an affected state may receive. Interior must require any applicant seeking to conduct an offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring project to obtain a permit and right-of-way.(An offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring project is carried out on or in the waters of the outer Continental Shelf to test or monitor weather using towers, buoys, or other temporary ocean infrastructure).These projects shall be exempt from environmental impact statement requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.