‘‘Director, Bureau of Safety and Environmental 
Enforcement, Department of the Interior. 
‘‘Director, Office of Natural Resources Rev-
enue, Department of the Interior.’’. 
SEC. 108. OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF SAFETY AND ENVI-
RONMENTAL ADVISORY BOARD. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish, 
under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, an Outer Con-
tinental Shelf Safety and Environmental Advisory Board 
(referred to in this section as the ‘‘Board’’), to provide 
the Secretary and the Directors of the bureaus established 
by this title with independent scientific and technical ad-
vice on safe and environmentally compliant nonrenewable 
and renewable energy and mineral resource exploration, 
development, and production activities. 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) SIZE.—The Board shall consist of not more 
than 12 members, chosen to reflect a range of exper-
tise in scientific, engineering, management, environ-
mental, and other disciplines related to safe and en-
vironmentally compliant renewable and nonrenewable 
energy and mineral resource exploration, develop-
ment, and production activities. The Secretary shall 
consult with the National Academy of Sciences and
the National Academy of Engineering to identify po-
tential candidates for the Board. 
(2) TERM.—The Secretary shall appoint Board 
members to staggered terms of not more than 4 
years, and shall not appoint a member for more 
than 2 consecutive terms. 
(3) BALANCE.—In appointing members to the 
Board, the Secretary shall ensure a balanced rep-
resentation of industry- and nonindustry-related in-
terests. 
(c) CHAIR.—The Secretary shall appoint the Chair 
for the Board. 
(d) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet not less than 
3 times per year and, at least once per year, shall host 
a public forum to review and assess the overall safety and 
environmental performance of Outer Continental Shelf 
nonrenewable and renewable energy and mineral resource 
activities. 
(e) OFFSHORE DRILLING SAFETY ASSESSMENTS 
AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—As part of its duties under 
this section, the Board shall, by not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this section and every 5 
years thereafter, submit to the Secretary a report that—
(1) assesses offshore oil and gas well control 
technologies, practices, voluntary standards, and 
regulations in the United States and elsewhere; 
(2) assesses whether existing well control regu-
lations issued by the Secretary under the Outer Con-
tinental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) 
adequately protect safety and the environment; and 
(3) as appropriate, recommends modifications 
to the regulations issued under this Act to ensure 
adequate protection of safety and the environment. 
(f) REPORTS.—Reports of the Board shall be sub-
mitted to the Congress and made available to the public 
in electronically accessible form. 
(g) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members of the Board, 
other than full-time employees of the Federal Government, 
while attending meeting of the Board or while otherwise 
serving at the request of the Secretary or the Director 
while serving away from their homes or regular places of 
business, may be allowed travel expenses, including per 
diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 
of title 5, United States Code, for individuals in the Gov-
ernment serving without pay.
SEC. 109. LIMITATION ON EFFECT ON DEVELOPMENT OF 
OCEAN RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCE FA-
CILITIES. 
Nothing in this title shall delay development of ocean 
renewable energy resource facilities including— 
(1) promotion of offshore wind development; 
(2) planning, leasing, licensing, and fee and 
royalty collection for such development of ocean re-
newable energy resource facilities; and 
(3) developing and administering an efficient 
leasing and licensing process for ocean renewable en-
ergy resource facilities. 
TITLE II—FEDERAL OIL AND GAS 
DEVELOPMENT 
Subtitle A—Safety, Environmental, 
and Financial Reform of the 
Outer Continental Shelf Lands 
Act 
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Outer Continental 
Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 2010’’. 
SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 
(43 U.S.C. 1331) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
‘‘(r) The term ‘safety case’ means a body of evidence 
that provides a basis for determining whether a system 
is adequately safe for a given application in a given oper-
ating environment.’’. 
SEC. 203. NATIONAL POLICY FOR THE OUTER CONTI-
NENTAL SHELF. 
Section 3 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 
(43 U.S.C. 1332) is amended— 
(1) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(3) the outer Continental Shelf is a vital na-
tional resource reserve held by the Federal Govern-
ment for the public, that should be managed in a 
manner that— 
‘‘(A) recognizes the need of the United 
States for domestic sources of energy, food, 
minerals, and other resources; 
‘‘(B) minimizes the potential impacts of 
development of those resources on the marine 
and coastal environment and on safety; and 
‘‘(C) acknowledges the long-term economic 
value to the United States of the balanced and 
orderly management of those resources that 
safeguards the environment and respects the
multiple values and uses of the outer Conti-
nental Shelf;’’; 
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting a semicolon; 
(3) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘should be’’ 
and inserting ‘‘shall be’’, and striking ‘‘; and’’ and 
inserting a semicolon; 
(4) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para-
graph (7); 
(5) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(6) exploration, development, and production 
of energy and minerals on the outer Continental 
Shelf should be allowed only when those activities 
can be accomplished in a manner that minimizes— 
‘‘(A) harmful impacts to life (including fish 
and other aquatic life) and health; 
‘‘(B) damage to the marine, coastal, and 
human environments and to property; and 
‘‘(C) harm to other users of the waters, 
seabed, or subsoil; and’’; and 
(6) in paragraph (7) (as so redesignated), by— 
(A) striking ‘‘should be’’ and inserting 
‘‘shall be’’;
‘‘(11) for the establishment of mandatory safety 
and environmental management systems by opera-
tors on the Outer Continental Shelf; 
‘‘(12) for procedures and technologies to be 
used during drilling operations to minimize the risk 
of ignition and explosion of hydrocarbons;’’; 
(7) in subsection (a), by striking the period at 
the end of paragraph (13), as so redesignated, and 
inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(14) ensuring compliance with other applicable 
environmental and natural resource conservation 
laws.’’; and 
(8) by adding at the end the following new sub-
sections: 
‘‘(k) DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE.— 
Any documents incorporated by reference in regulations 
promulgated by the Secretary pursuant to this Act shall 
be made available to the public, free of charge, on a 
website maintained by the Secretary. 
‘‘(l) REGULATORY STANDARDS FOR BLOWOUT PRE-
VENTERS, WELL DESIGN, AND CEMENTING.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—In promulgating regula-
tions under this Act related to blowout preventers, 
well design, and cementing, the Secretary shall en-
sure that such regulations include the minimum 
standards included in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), 
unless, after notice and an opportunity for public 
comment, the Secretary determines that a standard 
required under this subsection would be less effective 
in ensuring safe operations than an available alter-
native technology or practice. Such regulations shall 
require independent third-party certification, pursu-
ant to paragraph (5), of blowout preventers, well de-
sign, and cementing programs and procedures prior 
to the commencement of drilling operations. Such 
regulations shall also require re-certification by an 
independent third-party certifier, pursuant to para-
graph (5), of a blowout preventer upon any material 
modification to the blowout preventer or well design 
and of a well design upon any material modification 
to the well design. 
‘‘(2) BLOWOUT PREVENTERS.—Subject to para-
graph (1), regulations issued under this Act for 
blowout preventers shall include at a minimum the 
following requirements: 
‘‘(A) Two sets of blind shear rams appro-
priately spaced to prevent blowout preventer 
failure if a drill pipe joint or drill tool is across
one set of blind shear rams during a situation 
that threatens loss of well control. 
‘‘(B) Redundant emergency backup control 
systems capable of activating the relevant com-
ponents of a blowout preventer, including when 
the communications link or other critical links 
between the drilling rig and the blowout pre-
venter are destroyed or inoperable. 
‘‘(C) Regular testing of the emergency 
backup control systems, including testing dur-
ing deployment of the blowout preventer. 
‘‘(D) As appropriate, remotely operated ve-
hicle intervention capabilities for secondary con-
trol of all subsea blowout preventer functions, 
including adequate hydraulic capacity to acti-
vate blind shear rams, casing shear rams, and 
other critical blowout preventer components. 
‘‘(3) WELL DESIGN.—Subject to paragraph (1), 
regulations issued under this Act for well design 
standards shall include at a minimum the following 
requirements: 
‘‘(A) In connection with the installation of 
the final casing string, the installation of at 
least two independent, tested mechanical bar-
riers, in addition to a cement barrier, across
each flow path between hydrocarbon bearing 
formations and the blowout preventer. 
‘‘(B) That wells shall be designed so that 
a failure of one barrier does not significantly in-
crease the likelihood of another barrier’s failure. 
‘‘(C) That the casing design is appropriate 
for the purpose for which it is intended under 
reasonably expected wellbore conditions. 
‘‘(D) The installation and verification with 
a pressure test of a lockdown device at the time 
the casing is installed in the wellhead. 
‘‘(4) CEMENTING.—Subject to paragraph (1), 
regulations issued under this Act for cementing 
standards shall include at a minimum the following 
requirements: 
‘‘(A) Adequate centralization of the casing 
to ensure proper distribution of cement. 
‘‘(B) A full circulation of drilling fluids 
prior to cementing. 
‘‘(C) The use of an adequate volume of ce-
ment to prevent any unintended flow of hydro-
carbons between any hydrocarbon-bearing for-
mation zone and the wellhead.
‘‘(D) Cement bond logs for all cementing 
jobs intended to provide a barrier to hydro-
carbon flow. 
‘‘(E) Cement bond logs or such other in-
tegrity tests as the Secretary may prescribe for 
cement jobs other than those identified in sub-
paragraph (D). 
‘‘(5) 
INDEPENDENT
THIRD-PARTY
CER-
TIFIERS.—The Secretary shall establish appropriate 
standards for the approval of independent third- 
party certifiers capable of exercising certification 
functions for blowout preventers, well design, and ce-
menting. For any certification required for regula-
tions related to blowout preventers, well design, or 
cementing, the operator shall use a qualified inde-
pendent third-party certifier chosen by the Sec-
retary. The costs of any certification shall be borne 
by the operator. 
‘‘(6) APPLICATION TO INSHORE WATERS; STATE 
IMPLEMENTATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Requirements estab-
lished under this subsection shall apply, as pro-
vided in subparagraph (B), to offshore drilling 
operations that take place on lands that are 
landward of the outer Continental Shelf and
seaward of the line of mean high tide, and that 
the Secretary determines, based on criteria es-
tablished by rule, could, in the event of a blow-
out, lead to extensive and widespread harm to 
safety or the environment. 
‘‘(B) SUBMISSION OF STATE REGULATORY 
REGIME.—Any State may submit to the Sec-
retary a plan demonstrating that the State’s 
regulatory regime for wells identified in sub-
paragraph (A) establishes requirements for 
such wells that are comparable to, or alter-
native requirements providing an equal or 
greater level of safety than, those established 
under this section for wells on the outer Conti-
nental Shelf. The Secretary shall promptly de-
termine, after notice and an opportunity for 
public comment, whether a State’s regulatory 
regime meets the standard set forth in the pre-
ceding sentence. If the Secretary determines 
that a State’s regulatory regime does not meet 
such standard, the Secretary shall identify the 
deficiencies that are the basis for such deter-
mination and provide a reasonable period of 
time for the State to remedy the deficiencies. If 
the State does not do so within such reasonable