I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3041 
To direct the executive agencies to ensure continuity of certain federal permits 
that are required to develop the nation’s offshore energy resources. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 28, 2025 
Mr. HUNT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transpor-
tation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the executive agencies to ensure continuity of cer-
tain federal permits that are required to develop the 
nation’s offshore energy resources. 
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 bill may be cited as the ‘‘Regulatory Integrity 
for Gulf Energy Development Act of 2025’’ or the 
‘‘RIGED Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
For the purposes of this Act: 
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(a) Offshore Energy Resource Development refers to 
oil and gas leasing, exploration, and production activities 
conducted on the Outer Continental Shelf, as defined in 
Section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 
U.S.C. 1331). 
(b) Secretary refers to the Secretaries of the Interior 
and/or Commerce. 
(c) Administrator refers to the Administrator or Act-
ing Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration (NOAA). 
SEC. 3. CONTINUITY OF PERMITS FOR OFFSHORE ENERGY 
DEVELOPMENT. 
(a) FEDERAL PERMITS FOR OIL AND GAS LEAS-
ING.—Section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 
(43 U.S.C. 1337) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(q) CONTINUITY OF FEDERAL PERMITS.—If a pre-
viously issued permit under this Act is required for off-
shore oil and gas production and has expired, the Sec-
retary shall, to the extent of his or her authority, ensure 
that all terms, conditions, and requirements of the expired 
permit remain in effect for any permittee previously cov-
ered under the permit, as well as any similarly situated 
new or prospective permittee, until a new permit is final-
ized and issued. In determining the equivalence of, or ap-
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plicability to, new or prospective permittees, the Secretary 
shall consider consistency with applicable federal laws, fed-
eral regulations, and the protection of human life and the 
environment. 
‘‘(1) In carrying out subsection (q), the Sec-
retary is authorized and directed to coordinate with 
any other Federal agency having jurisdiction over an 
expiring or expired permit to ensure that the terms, 
conditions, and requirements of such permit remain 
in effect, consistent with applicable laws and regula-
tions. 
‘‘(A) To facilitate the coordination required 
under paragraph (1), the Secretary may estab-
lish joint agency working groups composed of 
representatives from relevant Federal agencies. 
These working groups shall be responsible for 
ensuring interagency collaboration, streamlining 
permit continuity processes, and maintaining 
compliance with applicable environmental and 
regulatory requirements. 
‘‘(B) Establishment of joint agency work-
ing groups pursuant to this subsection shall be 
notified to Congress and the President no later 
than 15 days following establishment of the 
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working group’s creation. Notification shall in-
clude: 
‘‘(i) The names and titles of the Fed-
eral officials serving on the working group; 
‘‘(ii) The scope, objectives, and in-
tended outcomes of the working group; and 
‘‘(iii) An estimated duration of the 
working group’s activities, expressed in 
days.’’. 
(b) FEDERAL PERMITS FOR OIL AND GAS PRODUC-
TION.—Section 402(a) of the Federal Water Pollution 
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342(a)) is amended by inserting 
before the period at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) If the Administrator is in the process of 
issuing a new permit under this subsection that cov-
ers multiple permittees with similar operations and 
types of discharges, and the new permit is reason-
ably similar to an expired permit covering such per-
mittees, the Administrator shall continue to apply 
the same terms, conditions, and requirements as the 
expired permit to both existing and prospective per-
mittees, until the new permit is issued.’’. 
(c) CONTINUITY OF FEDERAL BIOLOGICAL OPIN-
IONS.—For purposes of the Bureau of Ocean Energy 
Management’s National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and 
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Gas Leasing Program, compliance with the Biological 
Opinion on Federally Regulated Oil and Gas Program Ac-
tivities in the Gulf of Mexico, issued by the National Ma-
rine Fisheries Service on March 13, 2020, and amended 
on April 24, 2021, shall be deemed compliance with all 
applicable requirements of the Endangered Species Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the Marine Mammal Protec-
tion Act (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), until the Secretary of 
the Interior or Secretary of Commerce approves a new bio-
logical opinion under their respective authorities pursuant 
to those Acts or any other applicable federal law, super-
seding the existing opinion and establishing new compli-
ance obligations. 
Æ 
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