SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Energy Inde-
pendence and Price Reduction Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) COASTAL
PLAIN.—The term ‘‘Coastal 
Plain’’ means that area described in appendix I to 
part 37 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations. 
(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’, except 
as otherwise provided, means the Secretary of the 
Interior or the Secretary’s designee. 
SEC. 3. LEASING PROGRAM FOR LANDS WITHIN THE 
COASTAL PLAIN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall take such ac-
tions as are necessary— 
(1) to establish and implement, in accordance 
with this Act and acting through the Director of the 
Bureau of Land Management in consultation with 
the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 
Service, a competitive oil and gas leasing program 
that will result in an environmentally sound program 
for the exploration, development, and production of 
the oil and gas resources of the Coastal Plain; and 
(2) to administer the provisions of this Act 
through regulations, lease terms, conditions, restric-
tions, prohibitions, stipulations, and other provisions 
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that ensure the oil and gas exploration, development, 
and production activities on the Coastal Plain will 
result in no significant adverse effect on fish and 
wildlife, their habitat, subsistence resources, and the 
environment, including, in furtherance of this goal, 
by requiring the application of the best commercially 
available technology for oil and gas exploration, de-
velopment, and production to all exploration, devel-
opment, and production operations under this Act in 
a manner that ensures the receipt of fair market 
value by the public for the mineral resources to be 
leased. 
(b) REPEAL.— 
(1) REPEAL.—Section 1003 of the Alaska Na-
tional Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (16 
U.S.C. 3143) is repealed. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 
contents in section 1 of such Act is amended by 
striking the item relating to section 1003. 
(c) COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS UNDER CER-
TAIN OTHER LAWS.— 
(1) COMPATIBILITY.—For purposes of the Na-
tional Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 
1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.), the oil and gas 
leasing program and activities authorized by this 
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section in the Coastal Plain are deemed to be com-
patible with the purposes for which the Arctic Na-
tional Wildlife Refuge was established, and no fur-
ther findings or decisions are required to implement 
this determination. 
(2) ADEQUACY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE 
INTERIOR’S LEGISLATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 
STATEMENT.—The 
‘‘Final 
Legislative 
Environ-
mental Impact Statement’’ (April 1987) on the 
Coastal Plain prepared pursuant to section 1002 of 
the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation 
Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 3142) and section 102(2)(C) 
of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) is deemed to satisfy the re-
quirements under the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 that apply with respect to prelease ac-
tivities, including actions authorized to be taken by 
the Secretary to develop and promulgate the regula-
tions for the establishment of a leasing program au-
thorized by this Act before the conduct of the first 
lease sale. 
(3) COMPLIANCE WITH NEPA FOR OTHER AC-
TIONS.—Before conducting the first lease sale under 
this Act, the Secretary shall prepare an environ-
mental impact statement under the National Envi-
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ronmental Policy Act of 1969 with respect to the ac-
tions authorized by this Act that are not referred to 
in paragraph (2). Notwithstanding any other law, 
the Secretary is not required to identify nonleasing 
alternative courses of action or to analyze the envi-
ronmental effects of such courses of action. The Sec-
retary shall only identify a preferred action for such 
leasing and a single leasing alternative, and analyze 
the environmental effects and potential mitigation 
measures for those two alternatives. The identifica-
tion of the preferred action and related analysis for 
the first lease sale under this Act shall be completed 
within 18 months after the date of enactment of this 
Act. The Secretary shall only consider public com-
ments that specifically address the Secretary’s pre-
ferred action and that are filed within 20 days after 
publication of an environmental analysis. Notwith-
standing any other law, compliance with this para-
graph is deemed to satisfy all requirements for the 
analysis and consideration of the environmental ef-
fects of proposed leasing under this Act. 
(d) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE AND LOCAL AUTHOR-
ITY.—Nothing in this Act shall be considered to expand 
or limit State and local regulatory authority. 
(e) SPECIAL AREAS.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary, after con-
sultation with the State of Alaska, the city of 
Kaktovik, and the North Slope Borough, may des-
ignate up to a total of 45,000 acres of the Coastal 
Plain as a Special Area if the Secretary determines 
that the Special Area is of such unique character 
and interest so as to require special management 
and regulatory protection. The Secretary shall des-
ignate as such a Special Area the Sadlerochit Spring 
area, comprising approximately 4,000 acres. 
(2) MANAGEMENT.—Each such Special Area 
shall be managed so as to protect and preserve the 
area’s unique and diverse character including its 
fish, wildlife, and subsistence resource values. 
(3) EXCLUSION
FROM
LEASING
OR
SURFACE 
OCCUPANCY.—The Secretary may exclude any Spe-
cial Area from leasing. If the Secretary leases a Spe-
cial Area, or any part thereof, for purposes of oil 
and gas exploration, development, production, and 
related activities, there shall be no surface occu-
pancy of the lands comprising the Special Area. 
(4) DIRECTIONAL DRILLING.—Notwithstanding 
the other provisions of this subsection, the Secretary 
may lease all or a portion of a Special Area under 
terms that permit the use of horizontal drilling tech-
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