I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1756 
To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct offshore oil and gas 
Lease Sale 220 as soon as practicable, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 28, 2017 
Mrs. COMSTOCK (for herself, Mr. WITTMAN, and Mr. GRIFFITH) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct offshore 
oil and gas Lease Sale 220 as soon as practicable, and 
for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Virginia Jobs and En-
ergy Act’’. 
SEC. 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 
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U.S.C. 1344), the Secretary of the Interior shall conduct 
lease sale 220 (as defined in the Draft Proposed Outer 
Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program 
for 2010–2015 as published in the Federal Register on 
January 21, 2009 (74 Fed. Reg. 3631)) under section 8 
of such Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) as soon as practicable, but 
not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
Act. 
(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 Pro-
gram; 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 en-
actment 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)) shall not apply with respect to any lease sale 
conducted under subsection (a) or subsection (b)(1). 
SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF MILITARY OPERATIONS. 
(a) PROHIBITION.—No person may engage in any ex-
ploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas 
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off the coast of Virginia that would conflict with any mili-
tary 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 Sec-
retary of the Interior after that date but before the date 
of issuance of the lease under which such exploration, de-
velopment, or production is conducted. 
(b) REVIEW AND UPDATING OF MOA.—The Sec-
retary of the Interior and the Secretary of Defense shall 
periodically review and revise such memorandum of agree-
ment to account for new offshore energy production tech-
nologies, including those that use wind energy. 
SEC. 4. DISPOSITION OF REVENUE. 
(a) PAYMENT OF COVERED LEASING REVENUES TO 
STATES.—Notwithstanding section 9 of the Outer Conti-
nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1338), of the amount 
of covered leasing revenues received by the United States 
each fiscal year under any lease in the Virginia lease sale 
planning area, 37.5 percent shall be allocated and paid 
in accordance with subsection (b) to States that are af-
fected States with respect to the leases under which those 
revenues are received by the United States. 
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(2) COVERED LEASING REVENUES.—The term 
‘‘covered leasing revenues’’ means amounts received 
by the United States as bonuses, rents, and royalties 
under leases for oil and gas, wind, tidal, or other en-
ergy exploration, development, and production under 
any lease in the Virginia lease sale planning area. 
SEC. 5. OFFSHORE METEOROLOGICAL SITE TESTING AND 
MONITORING PROJECTS. 
(a) OFFSHORE METEOROLOGICAL PROJECT PERMIT-
TING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte-
rior shall by regulation require that any applicant 
seeking to conduct an offshore meteorological site 
testing and monitoring project on the outer Conti-
nental Shelf (as that term is defined in the Outer 
Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et 
seq.)) must obtain a permit and right of way for the 
project in accordance with this subsection. 
(2) PERMIT AND RIGHT-OF-WAY TIMELINE AND 
CONDITIONS.— 
(A) DEADLINE FOR APPROVAL.—The Sec-
retary 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. 
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(B) PUBLIC
COMMENT
AND
CONSULTA-
TION.—During the period referred to in sub-
paragraph (A), the Secretary shall— 
(i) provide an opportunity for submis-
sion of comments by the public; and 
(ii) consult with the Secretary of De-
fense, the Commandant of the Coast 
Guard, and the heads of other Federal, 
State, and local agencies that would be af-
fected 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 appli-
cant— 
(i) in writing, clear and comprehensive 
reasons why the application was not ap-
proved and detailed information concerning 
any deficiencies in the application; and 
(ii) an opportunity to remedy such de-
ficiencies. 
(b) NEPA EXCLUSION.—Section 102(2)(C) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
4332(2)(C)) shall not apply with respect to an offshore 
meteorological site testing and monitoring project. 
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(c) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.—The informa-
tion provided to the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to 
subsection (d)(3) shall be treated by the Secretary as pro-
prietary information and protected against disclosure. 
(d) DEFINITION OF AN OFFSHORE METEOROLOG-
ICAL SITE TESTING AND MONITORING PROJECT.—In this 
section, the term ‘‘offshore meteorological site testing and 
monitoring project’’ means a project carried out on or in 
the waters of the Outer Continental Shelf administered 
by the Department of the Interior to test or monitor 
weather (including wind, tidal, current, and solar energy) 
using towers, buoys, or other temporary ocean infrastruc-
ture, that— 
(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 af-
fected by the project (including hazards to navi-
gation); 
(2) is decommissioned not more than 5 years 
after the date of commencement of the project, in-
cluding— 
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(A) removal of towers, buoys, or other tem-
porary ocean infrastructure from the project 
site; and 
(B) restoration of the project site to ap-
proximately the original condition of the site; 
and 
(3) provides meteorological information ob-
tained by the project to the Secretary of the Inte-
rior. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITION OF VIRGINIA LEASE SALE PLANNING 
AREA. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘Virginia lease sale planning 
area’’ means the area of the outer Continental Shelf (as 
that term is defined in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 
Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.)) that has— 
(1) a boundary consisting of a straight line ex-
tending 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 Vir-
ginia’s seaward boundary to the point on the sea-
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ward boundary of the United States exclusive eco-
nomic zone located at 36 degrees 31 minutes 58 sec-
onds North latitude, 71 degrees 30 minutes 1 second 
West longitude. 
SEC. 7. CLARIFICATIONS WITH RESPECT TO EXISTING EX-
ECUTIVE AUTHORITIES. 
Subsection (a) of section 12 of the Outer Continental 
Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1341) is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(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.’’. 
Æ 
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