I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2615
To prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from permitting oil and gas leasing,
exploration, or development activity off the coast of North Carolina
unless the Governor of the State notifies the Secretary that the State
does not object to the activity.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 6, 1997
Mr. JONES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Resources
A BILL
To prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from permitting
oil and gas leasing, exploration, or development activity
off the coast of North Carolina unless the Governor
of the State notifies the Secretary that the State does
not object to the activity.
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 ‘‘North Carolina Outer
Banks Protection Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) the Outer Banks of North Carolina is an
area of exceptional environmental fragility and
beauty;
(2) the annual economic benefits to North
Carolina of commercial and recreational fishing ac-
tivities that could be adversely affected by oil or gas
development 
off 
the 
State’s 
coast 
exceed
$1,000,000,000; and
(3) the major industry in coastal North Caro-
lina is tourism, which is subject to potentially sig-
nificant disruption by offshore oil or gas develop-
ment.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF OIL AND GAS LEASING, EXPLO-
RATION, AND DEVELOPMENT.
(a) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary of the Interior
shall not—
(1) issue any leases;
(2) approve any plan of exploration;
(3) approve any permit to drill; or
(4) permit any drilling;
for oil or gas on any land of the Outer Continental Shelf
off the coast of North Carolina.
(b) BOUNDARIES.—For purposes of subsection (a),
the lateral seaward boundary between areas off the coast
of North Carolina and areas off the coast of—
(1) Virginia shall be as provided in the Joint
Resolution entitled ‘‘Joint resolution granting the
consent of Congress to an agreement between the
States of North Carolina and Virginia establishing
their lateral seaward boundary’’, approved October
27, 1972 (86 Stat. 1298); and
(2) South Carolina shall be as provided in the
Act entitled ‘‘An Act granting the consent of Con-
gress to the agreement between the States of North
Carolina and South Carolina establishing their lat-
eral seaward boundary’’, approved October 9, 1981
(95 Stat. 988).
(c) DURATION OF PROHIBITION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The prohibition of an activ-
ity under subsection (a) shall remain in effect until
45 days of continuous session of Congress after the
date on which the Secretary of the Interior submits
to Congress a certification that the Governor of the
State of North Carolina has notified the Secretary
that the State does not object to the activity.
(2) CONTINUOUS SESSION OF CONGRESS.—In
computing any 45-day period of continuous session
of Congress for the purpose of paragraph (1)(B)—
(A) continuity of session shall be consid-
ered to be broken only by an adjournment of
Congress sine die; and
(B) the days on which either House of
Congress is not in session because of an ad-
journment of more than 3 days to a day certain
shall be excluded.
Æ