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 title 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 title. 
(d) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE AND LOCAL AUTHOR-
ITY.—Nothing in this title shall be considered to expand 
or limit State and local regulatory authority. 
(e) SPECIAL AREAS.— 
(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 
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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-
nology from sites on leases located outside the Spe-
cial Area. 
(f) LIMITATION
ON
CLOSED
AREAS.—The Sec-
retary’s sole authority to close lands within the Coastal 
Plain to oil and gas leasing and to exploration, develop-
ment, and production is that set forth in this title. 
(g) REGULATIONS.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pre-
scribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry 
out this title, including rules and regulations relating 
to protection of the fish and wildlife, their habitat, 
subsistence resources, and environment of the Coast-
al Plain, by no later than 15 months after the date 
of enactment of this Act. 
(2) REVISION
OF
REGULATIONS.—The Sec-
retary shall periodically review and, if appropriate, 
revise the rules and regulations issued under sub-
section (a) to reflect any significant biological, envi-
ronmental, or engineering data that come to the Sec-
retary’s attention. 
SEC. 104. LEASE SALES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Lands may be leased pursuant to 
this title to any person qualified to obtain a lease for de-
posits 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; 
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(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 title shall be by sealed competitive cash bonus bids. 
(d) ACREAGE MINIMUM IN FIRST SALE.—In the first 
lease sale under this title, the Secretary shall offer for 
lease those tracts the Secretary considers to have the 
greatest potential for the discovery of hydrocarbons, tak-
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 title 
within 22 months after the date of the enactment of 
this Act; 
(2) evaluate the bids in such sale and issue 
leases resulting from such sale, within 90 days after 
the date of the completion of such sale; and 
(3) conduct additional sales so long as sufficient 
interest in development exists to warrant, in the Sec-
retary’s judgment, the conduct of such sales. 
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SEC. 105. 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 104 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 title may be sold, exchanged, assigned, sublet, 
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. 106. LEASE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—An oil or gas lease issued pursu-
ant to this title shall— 
(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) provide that the Secretary may close, on a 
seasonal basis, portions of the Coastal Plain to ex-
ploratory drilling activities as necessary to protect 
caribou calving areas and other species of fish and 
wildlife; 
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(3) 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; 
(4) 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; 
(5) provide that the standard of reclamation for 
lands required to be reclaimed under this title 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 les-
see, to a higher or better use as approved by the 
Secretary; 
(6) contain terms and conditions relating to 
protection of fish and wildlife, their habitat, subsist-
ence resources, and the environment as required 
pursuant to section 103(a)(2); 
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(7) provide that the lessee, its agents, and its 
contractors use best efforts to provide a fair share, 
as determined by the level of obligation previously 
agreed to in the 1974 agreement implementing sec-
tion 29 of the Federal Agreement and Grant of 
Right of Way for the Operation of the Trans-Alaska 
Pipeline, of employment and contracting for Alaska 
Natives and Alaska Native Corporations from 
throughout the State; 
(8) prohibit the export of oil produced under 
the lease; and 
(9) contain such other provisions as the Sec-
retary determines necessary to ensure compliance 
with the provisions of this title and the regulations 
issued under this title. 
(b) PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary, 
as a term and condition of each lease under this title and 
in recognizing the Government’s proprietary interest in 
labor stability and in the ability of construction labor and 
management to meet the particular needs and conditions 
of projects to be developed under the leases issued pursu-
ant to this title and the special concerns of the parties 
to such leases, shall require that the lessee and its agents 
and contractors negotiate to obtain a project labor agree-
ment for the employment of laborers and mechanics on 
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production, maintenance, and construction under the 
lease. 
SEC. 107. 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 103, administer the provisions of this title through 
regulations, lease terms, conditions, restrictions, prohibi-
tions, 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-
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. 
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(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-
ing program authorized by this title, the Secretary shall 
prepare and promulgate regulations, lease terms, condi-
tions, restrictions, prohibitions, stipulations, and other 
measures designed to ensure that the activities undertaken 
on the Coastal Plain under this title are conducted in a 
manner consistent with the purposes and environmental 
requirements of this title. 
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(d) COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL AND STATE ENVI-
RONMENTAL LAWS AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The 
proposed regulations, lease terms, conditions, restrictions, 
prohibitions, and stipulations for the leasing program 
under this title shall require compliance with all applicable 
provisions of Federal and State environmental law, and 
shall also require the following: 
(1) Standards at least as effective as the safety 
and environmental mitigation measures set forth in 
items 1 through 29 at pages 167 through 169 of the 
‘‘Final Legislative Environmental Impact State-
ment’’ (April 1987) on the Coastal Plain. 
(2) Seasonal limitations on exploration, develop-
ment, and related activities, where necessary, to 
avoid significant adverse effects during periods of 
concentrated fish and wildlife breeding, denning, 
nesting, spawning, and migration. 
(3) That exploration activities, except for sur-
face geological studies, be limited to the period be-
tween approximately November 1 and May 1 each 
year and that exploration activities shall be sup-
ported, if necessary, by ice roads, winter trails with 
adequate snow cover, ice pads, ice airstrips, and air 
transport methods, except that such exploration ac-
tivities may occur at other times if the Secretary 
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