ronmental, or engineering data that come to the Sec-
retary’s attention. 
SEC. 424. LEASE SALES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Lands may be leased pursuant to 
this subtitle to any person qualified to obtain a lease for 
deposits of oil and gas under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 
U.S.C. 181 et seq.). 
(b) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall, by regula-
tion, establish procedures for— 
(1) receipt and consideration of sealed nomina-
tions for any area in the Coastal Plain for inclusion 
in, or exclusion (as provided in subsection (c)) from, 
a lease sale; 
(2) the holding of lease sales after such nomina-
tion process; and 
(3) public notice of and comment on designa-
tion of areas to be included in, or excluded from, a 
lease sale. 
(c) LEASE SALE BIDS.—Bidding for leases under 
this subtitle shall be by sealed competitive cash bonus bids. 
(d) ACREAGE MINIMUM IN FIRST SALE.—In the first 
lease sale under this subtitle, the Secretary shall offer for 
lease those tracts the Secretary considers to have the 
greatest potential for the discovery of hydrocarbons, tak-
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ing into consideration nominations received pursuant to 
subsection (b)(1), but in no case less than 200,000 acres. 
(e) TIMING
OF
LEASE
SALES.—The Secretary 
shall— 
(1) conduct the first lease sale under this sub-
title within 22 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act; and 
(2) conduct additional sales so long as sufficient 
interest in development exists to warrant, in the Sec-
retary’s judgment, the conduct of such sales. 
SEC. 425. GRANT OF LEASES BY THE SECRETARY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may grant to the 
highest responsible qualified bidder in a lease sale con-
ducted pursuant to section 424 any lands to be leased on 
the Coastal Plain upon payment by the lessee of such 
bonus as may be accepted by the Secretary. 
(b) SUBSEQUENT
TRANSFERS.—No lease issued 
under this subtitle may be sold, exchanged, assigned, sub-
let, or otherwise transferred except with the approval of 
the Secretary. Prior to any such approval the Secretary 
shall consult with, and give due consideration to the views 
of, the Attorney General. 
SEC. 426. LEASE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. 
An oil or gas lease issued pursuant to this subtitle 
shall— 
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(1) provide for the payment of a royalty of not 
less than 121⁄2 percent in amount or value of the 
production removed or sold from the lease, as deter-
mined by the Secretary under the regulations appli-
cable to other Federal oil and gas leases; 
(2) require that the lessee of lands within the 
Coastal Plain shall be fully responsible and liable for 
the reclamation of lands within the Coastal Plain 
and any other Federal lands that are adversely af-
fected in connection with exploration, development, 
production, or transportation activities conducted 
under the lease and within the Coastal Plain by the 
lessee or by any of the subcontractors or agents of 
the lessee; 
(3) provide that the lessee may not delegate or 
convey, by contract or otherwise, the reclamation re-
sponsibility and liability to another person without 
the express written approval of the Secretary; 
(4) provide that the standard of reclamation for 
lands required to be reclaimed under this subtitle 
shall be, as nearly as practicable, a condition capable 
of supporting the uses which the lands were capable 
of supporting prior to any exploration, development, 
or production activities, or upon application by the 
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lessee, to a higher or better use as approved by the 
Secretary; 
(5) include requirements and restrictions to 
provide for reasonable protection of fish and wildlife, 
their habitat, subsistence resources, and the environ-
ment as determined by the Secretary; 
(6) prohibit the export of oil produced under 
the lease; and 
(7) contain such other provisions as the Sec-
retary determines necessary to ensure compliance 
with the provisions of this subtitle and the regula-
tions issued under this subtitle. 
SEC. 427. COASTAL PLAIN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. 
(a) NO SIGNIFICANT ADVERSE EFFECT STANDARD 
TO GOVERN AUTHORIZED COASTAL PLAIN ACTIVITIES.— 
The Secretary shall, consistent with the requirements of 
section 423, administer the provisions of this subtitle 
through regulations, lease terms, conditions, restrictions, 
prohibitions, stipulations, and other provisions that— 
(1) ensure the oil and gas exploration, develop-
ment, and production activities on the Coastal Plain 
will result in no significant adverse effect on fish 
and wildlife, their habitat, and the environment; 
(2) require the application of the best commer-
cially available technology for oil and gas explo-
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ration, development, and production on all new ex-
ploration, development, and production operations; 
and 
(3) ensure that the maximum amount of sur-
face acreage covered by production and support fa-
cilities, including airstrips and any areas covered by 
gravel berms or piers for support of pipelines, does 
not exceed 2,000 acres on the Coastal Plain. 
(b) SITE-SPECIFIC ASSESSMENT AND MITIGATION.— 
The Secretary shall also require, with respect to any pro-
posed drilling and related activities, that— 
(1) a site-specific analysis be made of the prob-
able effects, if any, that the drilling or related activi-
ties will have on fish and wildlife, their habitat, sub-
sistence resources, and the environment; 
(2) a plan be implemented to avoid, minimize, 
and mitigate (in that order and to the extent prac-
ticable) any significant adverse effect identified 
under paragraph (1); and 
(3) the development of the plan shall occur 
after consultation with the agency or agencies hav-
ing jurisdiction over matters mitigated by the plan. 
(c) REGULATIONS TO PROTECT COASTAL PLAIN 
FISH AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES, SUBSISTENCE USERS, 
AND THE ENVIRONMENT.—Before implementing the leas-
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