TITLE II—OIL AND GAS LEASING 
CERTAINTY 
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Providing Leasing 
Certainty for American Energy Act of 2013’’. 
SEC. 202. MINIMUM ACREAGE REQUIREMENT FOR ON-
SHORE LEASE SALES. 
In conducting lease sales as required by section 17(a) 
of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(a)), each year 
the Secretary of the Interior shall perform the following: 
(1) The Secretary shall offer for sale no less 
than 25 percent of the annual nominated acreage 
not previously made available for lease. Acreage of-
fered for lease pursuant to this paragraph shall not 
be subject to protest and shall be eligible for cat-
egorical exclusions under section 390 of the Energy 
Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15492), except that 
it shall not be subject to the test of extraordinary 
circumstances. 
(2) In administering this section, the Secretary 
shall only consider leasing of Federal lands that are 
available for leasing at the time the lease sale oc-
curs. 
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SEC. 203. LEASING CERTAINTY. 
Section 17(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 
226(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘All lands’’, 
and by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary shall not withdraw any cov-
ered energy project issued under this Act without finding 
a violation of the terms of the lease by the lessee. 
‘‘(B) The Secretary shall not infringe upon lease 
rights under leases issued under this Act by indefinitely 
delaying issuance of project approvals, drilling and seismic 
permits, and rights of way for activities under such a 
lease. 
‘‘(C) No later than 18 months after an area is des-
ignated as open under the current land use plan the Sec-
retary shall make available nominated areas for lease 
under the criteria in section 2. 
‘‘(D) Notwithstanding any other law, the Secretary 
shall issue all leases sold no later than 60 days after the 
last payment is made. 
‘‘(E) The Secretary shall not cancel or withdraw any 
lease parcel after a competitive lease sale has occurred and 
a winning bidder has submitted the last payment for the 
parcel. 
‘‘(F) Not later than 60 days after a lease sale held 
under this Act, the Secretary shall adjudicate any lease 
protests filed following a lease sale. If after 60 days any 
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protest is left unsettled, said protest is automatically de-
nied and appeal rights of the protestor begin. 
‘‘(G) No additional lease stipulations may be added 
after the parcel is sold without consultation and agree-
ment of the lessee, unless the Secretary deems such stipu-
lations as emergency actions to conserve the resources of 
the United States.’’. 
SEC. 204. LEASING CONSISTENCY. 
Federal land managers must follow existing resource 
management plans and continue to actively lease in areas 
designated as open when resource management plans are 
being amended or revised, until such time as a new record 
of decision is signed. 
SEC. 205. REDUCE REDUNDANT POLICIES. 
Bureau of Land Management Instruction Memo-
randum 2010–117 shall have no force or effect. 
TITLE III—OIL SHALE 
SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Investment 
in Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, En-
ergy, and Resource Security Act’’ or the ‘‘PIONEERS 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 302. EFFECTIVENESS OF OIL SHALE REGULATIONS, 
AMENDMENTS TO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 
PLANS, AND RECORD OF DECISION. 
(a) REGULATIONS.—Notwithstanding any other law 
or regulation to the contrary, the final regulations regard-
ing oil shale management published by the Bureau of 
Land Management on November 18, 2008 (73 Fed. Reg. 
69,414) are deemed to satisfy all legal and procedural re-
quirements under any law, including the Federal Land 
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 
seq.), the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.), the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and the Energy Policy Act 
of 2005 (Public Law 109–58), and the Secretary of the 
Interior shall implement those regulations, including the 
oil shale leasing program authorized by the regulations, 
without any other administrative action necessary. 
(b) AMENDMENTS
TO
RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT 
PLANS
AND RECORD
OF DECISION.—Notwithstanding 
any other law or regulation to the contrary, the November 
17, 2008 U.S. Bureau of Land Management Approved Re-
source Management Plan Amendments/Record of Decision 
for Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources to Address Land 
Use Allocations in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming and 
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement are 
deemed to satisfy all legal and procedural requirements 
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under any law, including the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.), and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public 
Law 109–58), and the Secretary of the Interior shall im-
plement the oil shale leasing program authorized by the 
regulations referred to in subsection (a) in those areas cov-
ered by the resource management plans amended by such 
amendments, and covered by such record of decision, with-
out any other administrative action necessary. 
SEC. 303. OIL SHALE LEASING. 
(a) ADDITIONAL RESEARCH
AND DEVELOPMENT 
LEASE SALES.—The Secretary of the Interior shall hold 
a lease sale within 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act offering an additional 10 parcels for lease for 
research, development, and demonstration of oil shale re-
sources, under the terms offered in the solicitation of bids 
for such leases published on January 15, 2009 (74 Fed. 
Reg. 10). 
(b) COMMERCIAL LEASE SALES.—No later than Jan-
uary 1, 2016, the Secretary of the Interior shall hold no 
less than 5 separate commercial lease sales in areas con-
sidered to have the most potential for oil shale develop-
ment, as determined by the Secretary, in areas nominated 
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through public comment. Each lease sale shall be for an 
area of not less than 25,000 acres, and in multiple lease 
blocs. 
Æ 
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