I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1596 
To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to promote uses on the 
Outer Continental Shelf. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 13, 2005 
Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself, Mr. BAKER, Mr. JINDAL, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. 
BOUSTANY, Mr. MCCRERY, and Mr. MELANCON) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources 
A BILL 
To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to promote 
uses on the Outer Continental Shelf. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Alternative Energy En-
hancement Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. ALTERNATE ENERGY-RELATED USES ON THE 
OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8 of the Outer Conti-
nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
‘‘(p)(1) The Secretary, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is op-
erating and other relevant departments and agencies of 
the Federal Government, may grant a lease, easement, 
right-of-way, license, or permit on the outer Continental 
Shelf for activities not otherwise authorized under this 
Act, the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 1501 
et seq.), the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Act of 
1980 (42 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.), or other applicable law, 
if those activities support or promote— 
‘‘(A) 
exploration, 
development, 
production, 
transportation, or storage of oil, natural gas, or 
other minerals; 
‘‘(B) production, transportation, or trans-
mission of energy from sources other than oil and 
gas; or 
‘‘(C) use, for energy-related or marine-related 
purposes, of facilities in use on or before the date of 
enactment of this subsection for activities authorized 
under this Act. 
‘‘(2)(A)(i) Subject to paragraph (3), the Secretary 
shall establish reasonable forms of payment for any lease, 
easement, right-of-way, license, or permit under this sub-
section, including a royalty, fee, rental, bonus, or other 
payment, as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
‘‘(ii) The Secretary may establish a form of payment 
described in clause (i) by rule or by agreement with the 
holder of the lease, easement, right-of-way, license, or per-
mit. 
‘‘(B) In establishing a form of, or schedule relating 
to, a payment under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 
take into consideration the economic viability of a pro-
posed activity. 
‘‘(C) The Secretary may, by rule, provide for relief 
from or reduction of a payment under subparagraph (A)— 
‘‘(i) if, without the relief or reduction, an activ-
ity relating to a lease, easement, right-of-way, li-
cense, or permit under this subsection would be un-
economical; 
‘‘(ii) to encourage a particular activity; or 
‘‘(iii) for another reason, as the Secretary de-
termines to be appropriate. 
‘‘(D) If the holder of a lease, easement, right-of-way, 
license, or permit under this subsection fails to make a 
payment by the date required under a rule or term of the 
lease, easement, right-of-way, license, or permit, the Sec-
retary may require the holder to pay interest on the pay-
ment in accordance with the underpayment rate estab-
lished under section 6621(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986, for the period—
‘‘(i) beginning on the date on which the pay-
ment was due; and 
‘‘(ii) ending on the date on which the payment 
is made. 
‘‘(E)(i) The Secretary may allow a credit in the 
amount of any excess payment made by the holder of a 
lease, easement, right-of-way, license, or permit under this 
subsection or provide a refund in the amount of the excess 
payment from the account to or in which the excess pay-
ment was paid or deposited. 
‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall pay, or allow the holder of 
a lease, easement, right-of-way, license, or permit under 
this subsection a credit in the amount of, any interest on 
an amount refunded or credited under clause (i) in accord-
ance with the overpayment rate established under section 
6621(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, for the 
period— 
‘‘(I) beginning on the date on which the Sec-
retary received the excess payment; and 
‘‘(II) ending on the date on which the refund or 
credit is provided. 
‘‘(F)(i) The Secretary, in coordination with the Ad-
ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration, may establish reasonable forms of payment, 
as determined by the Secretary, for a license issued under
the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Act of 1980 (42 
U.S.C. 9101 et seq.), including a royalty, fee, rental, 
bonus, or other payment, as the Secretary determines to 
be appropriate, in addition to the administrative fee under 
section 102(h) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 9112(h)). 
‘‘(ii) A form of payment under clause (i) may be es-
tablished by rule or by agreement with the holder of the 
lease, easement, right-of-way, license, or permit. 
‘‘(3)(A) Any funds received by the Secretary from a 
holder of a lease, easement, right-of-way, license, or permit 
under this subsection shall be distributed in accordance 
with this paragraph. 
‘‘(B)(i) If a lease, easement, right-of-way, license, or 
permit under this subsection covers a specific tract of, or 
regards a facility located on, the outer Continental Shelf 
and is not an easement or right-of-way for transmission 
or transportation of energy, minerals, or other natural re-
sources, the Secretary shall pay 50 percent of any amount 
received from the holder of the lease, easement, right-of- 
way, license, or permit to the State off the shore of which 
the geographic center of the area covered by the lease, 
easement, right-of-way, license, permit, or facility is lo-
cated, in accordance with Federal law determining the sea-
ward lateral boundaries of the coastal States.
‘‘(ii) Not later than the last day of the month after 
the month during which the Secretary receives a payment 
from the holder of a lease, easement, right-of-way, license, 
or permit described in clause (i), the Secretary shall make 
payments in accordance with clause (i). 
‘‘(C)(i) The Secretary shall deposit 20 percent of the 
funds described in subparagraph (A) to a special account 
maintained and administered by the Secretary to provide 
research and development grants for improving energy 
technologies. 
‘‘(ii) An amount deposited under clause (i) shall re-
main available until expended, without further appropria-
tion. 
‘‘(D) The Secretary shall credit 5 percent of the 
funds described in subparagraph (A) to the annual oper-
ating appropriation of the Minerals Management Service. 
‘‘(E) The Secretary shall deposit any funds described 
in subparagraph (A) that are not deposited or credited 
under subparagraphs (B) through (D) in the general fund 
of the Treasury. 
‘‘(F) This paragraph does not apply to any amount 
received by the Secretary under section 9701 of title 31, 
United States Code, or any other law (including regula-
tions) under which the Secretary may recover the costs 
of administering this subsection.
‘‘(4) Before carrying out this subsection, the Sec-
retary shall consult with the Secretary of Defense and 
other appropriate Federal agencies regarding the effect of 
this subsection on national security and navigational ob-
struction. 
‘‘(5)(A) The Secretary may issue a lease, easement, 
right-of-way, license, or permit under paragraph (1) on 
a competitive or noncompetitive basis. 
‘‘(B) In determining whether a lease, easement right- 
of-way, license, or permit shall be granted competitively 
or noncompetitively, the Secretary shall consider factors 
including— 
‘‘(i) prevention of waste and conservation of 
natural resources; 
‘‘(ii) the economic viability of a project; 
‘‘(iii) protection of the environment; 
‘‘(iv) the national interest and national security; 
‘‘(v) human safety; 
‘‘(vi) protection of correlative rights; and 
‘‘(vii) the potential return of the lease, ease-
ment, right-of-way, license, or permit. 
‘‘(6) The Secretary, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is op-
erating, other relevant Federal agencies, and affected 
States, as the Secretary determines appropriate, shall pro-
mulgate any regulation the Secretary determines to be 
necessary to administer this subsection to achieve the 
goals of— 
‘‘(A) ensuring public safety; 
‘‘(B) protecting the environment; 
‘‘(C) preventing waste; 
‘‘(D) conserving the natural resources of, and 
protecting correlative rights in, the outer Conti-
nental Shelf; 
‘‘(E) protecting national security interests; 
‘‘(F) auditing and reconciling payments made 
and owed by each holder of a lease, easement, right- 
of-way, license, or permit under this subsection to 
ensure a correct accounting and collection of the 
payments; and 
‘‘(G) requiring each holder of a lease, easement, 
right-of-way, license, or permit under this subsection 
to— 
‘‘(i) establish such records as the Secretary 
determines to be necessary; 
‘‘(ii) retain all records relating to an activ-
ity under a lease, easement, right-of-way, li-
cense, or permit under this subsection for such 
period as the Secretary may prescribe; and
‘‘(iii) produce the records on receipt of a 
request from the Secretary. 
‘‘(7) Section 22 shall apply to any activity relating 
to a lease, easement, right-of-way, license, or permit under 
this subsection. 
‘‘(8) The Secretary shall require the holder of a lease, 
easement, right-of-way, license, or permit under this sub-
section to— 
‘‘(A) submit to the Secretary a surety bond or 
other form of security, as determined by the Sec-
retary; and 
‘‘(B) comply with any other requirement the 
Secretary determines to be necessary to protect the 
interests of the United States. 
‘‘(9) Nothing in this subsection displaces, supersedes, 
limits, or modifies the jurisdiction, responsibility, or au-
thority of any Federal or State agency under any other 
Federal law. 
‘‘(10) This subsection does not apply to any area on 
the outer Continental Shelf designated as a National Ma-
rine Sanctuary.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 8 of the 
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) is 
amended in the section heading by striking ‘‘LEASING’’ 
and all that follows and inserting ‘‘LEASES, EASE-
MENTS, AND RIGHTS-OF-WAY ON THE OUTER CONTI-
NENTAL SHELF.’’. 
(c) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in the amendment 
made by subsection (a) requires any resubmission of docu-
ments previously submitted or any reauthorization of ac-
tions previously authorized with respect to any project— 
(1) for which offshore test facilities have been 
constructed before the date of enactment of this Act; 
or 
(2) for which a request for proposals has been 
issued by a public authority. 
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