A BILL 
To amend the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act 
of 1976 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct 
an expeditious program of competitive leasing of oil and 
gas in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, includ-
ing at least one lease sale in the Reserve each year 
in the period 2011 through 2021, and for other purposes. 
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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 shall be called the ‘‘National Petroleum Re-
serve Alaska Access Act’’. 
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS AND REAFFIRMING NATIONAL 
POLICY FOR THE NATIONAL PETROLEUM RE-
SERVE IN ALASKA. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska 
remains explicitly designated, both in name and legal 
status, for purposes of providing oil and natural gas 
resources to the United States; and 
(2) accordingly, the national policy is to actively 
advance oil and gas development within the Reserve 
by facilitating the expeditious exploration, produc-
tion, and transportation of oil and natural gas from 
and through the Reserve. 
SEC. 3. NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA: 
LEASE SALES. 
Section 107(a) of the Naval Petroleum Reserves Pro-
duction Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6506a(a)) is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct an 
expeditious program of competitive leasing of oil and gas 
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in the reserve in accordance with this Act. Such program 
shall include at least one lease sale annually in those areas 
of the reserve most likely to produce commercial quantities 
of oil and natural gas each year in the period 2011 
through 2021.’’. 
SEC. 4. NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA: PLAN-
NING AND PERMITTING PIPELINE AND ROAD 
CONSTRUCTION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation 
with the Secretary of Transportation, shall facilitate and 
ensure permits, in an environmentally responsible manner, 
for all surface development activities, including for the 
construction of pipelines and roads, necessary to— 
(1) develop and bring into production any areas 
within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska 
that are subject to oil and gas leases; and 
(2) transport oil and gas from and through the 
National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska to existing 
transportation or processing infrastructure on the 
North Slope of Alaska. 
(b) TIMELINE.—The Secretary shall ensure that any 
Federal permitting agency shall issue permits in accord-
ance with the following timeline: 
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(1) Permits for such construction for transpor-
tation of oil and natural gas produced under existing 
Federal oil and gas leases with respect to which the 
Secretary has issued a permit to drill shall be ap-
proved within 60 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act. 
(2) Permits for such construction for transpor-
tation of oil and natural gas produced under Federal 
oil and gas leases shall be approved within 6 months 
after the submission to the Secretary of a request 
for a permit to drill. 
(c) PLAN.—To ensure timely future development of 
the Reserve, within 270 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit 
to Congress a plan for approved rights-of-way for a plan 
for pipeline, road, and any other surface infrastructure 
that may be necessary infrastructure that will ensure that 
all leasable tracts in the Reserve are within 25 miles of 
an approved road and pipeline right-of-way that can serve 
future development of the Reserve. 
SEC. 5. DEPARTMENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR DEVELOP-
MENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 
issue regulations within 180 days after the date of enact-
ment of this Act that establish clear requirements to en-
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sure that the Department of the Interior is supporting de-
velopment of oil and gas leases in the National Petroleum 
Reserve in Alaska. 
(b) DEADLINES.—At a minimum, the regulations 
shall— 
(1) require the Department to respond within 5 
business days acknowledging receipt of any permit 
application for such development; and 
(2) establish a timeline for the processing of 
each such application, that— 
(A) specifies deadlines for decisions and 
actions on permit applications; and 
(B) provide that the period for issuing 
each permit after submission of such an appli-
cation shall not exceed 60 days without the con-
currence of the applicant. 
(c) ACTIONS REQUIRED FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY 
WITH DEADLINES.—If the Department fails to comply 
with any deadline under subsection (b) with respect to a 
permit application, the Secretary shall notify the applicant 
every 5 days with specific information regarding the rea-
sons for the permit delay, the name of the specific Depart-
ment office or offices responsible for issuing the permit 
and for monitoring the permit delay, and an estimate of 
the time that the permit will be issued. 
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SEC. 6. UPDATED RESOURCE ASSESSMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 
complete a comprehensive assessment of all technically re-
coverable fossil fuel resources within the National Petro-
leum Reserve in Alaska, including all conventional and un-
conventional oil and natural gas. 
(b) COOPERATION
AND CONSULTATION.—The re-
source assessment required by subsection (a) shall be car-
ried out by the United States Geological Survey in co-
operation and consultation with the State of Alaska and 
the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. 
(c) TIMING.—The resource assessment required by 
subsection (a) shall be completed within 24 months of the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
(d) FUNDING.—The United States Geological Survey 
may, in carrying out the duties under this section, coop-
eratively use resources and funds provided by the State 
of Alaska. 
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Union Calendar No. 165 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 2150 
[Report No. 112–249] 
A BILL 
To amend the Naval Petroleum Reserves Produc-
tion Act of 1976 to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct an expeditious program of 
competitive leasing of oil and gas in the National 
Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, including at least 
one lease sale in the Reserve each year in the pe-
riod 2011 through 2021, and for other purposes. 
OCTOBER 14, 2011 
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
State of the Union and ordered to be printed 
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