lands, both onshore and on the Outer Continental 
Shelf, in order to achieve greater consistency, cer-
tainty, and timeliness in permit processing require-
ments; 
(3) promote process streamlining and increased 
interagency efficiency, including elimination of inter-
agency duplication of effort; 
(4) improve information sharing among agen-
cies and understanding of respective agency roles 
and responsibilities; 
(5) promote coordination with State agencies 
with expertise and responsibilities related to Federal 
oil and gas permitting decisions; 
(6) promote responsible stewardship of Federal 
oil and gas resources; 
(7) maintain high standards of safety and envi-
ronmental protection; and 
(8) enhance the benefits to Federal permitting 
already occurring as a result of a coordinated and 
timely interagency process for oil and gas permit re-
view for certain Federal oil and gas leases. 
SEC. 2. FEDERAL COORDINATOR. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, as an 
independent agency in the Executive Branch, the Office 
of the Federal Oil and Gas Permit Coordinator. 
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(b) FEDERAL PERMIT COORDINATOR.—The Office 
shall be headed by a Federal Permit Coordinator, who 
shall be appointed by the President within 90 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act. 
(c) DUTIES.—The Federal Permit Coordinator shall 
be responsible for the following: 
(1) Coordinating the timely completion of all 
permitting activities by Federal agencies, and State 
agencies to the maximum extent practicable, with re-
spect to any oil and gas project under a Federal 
lease issued pursuant to the mineral leasing laws, ei-
ther onshore or on the Outer Continental Shelf. For 
purposes of this Act only, such oil and gas projects 
shall include oil shale projects under Federal oil 
shale leases. 
(2) Ensuring the compliance of Federal agen-
cies, and State agencies to the extent they partici-
pate, with this Act. 
SEC. 3. REGIONAL OFFICES AND REGIONAL PERMIT COOR-
DINATORS. 
(a) REGIONAL OFFICES.—Within 90 days after the 
date of appointment of the Federal Permit Coordinator, 
the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), in consultation 
with the Federal Permit Coordinator, shall establish re-
gional offices to coordinate review of Federal permits for 
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oil and gas projects on Federal lands onshore and on the 
Outer Continental Shelf. 
(b) NUMBER
AND LOCATION
OF REGIONAL OF-
FICES.—The number of regional offices shall be estab-
lished by the Secretary in consultation with the Federal 
Permit Coordinator. The Secretary shall ensure that there 
is an adequate number of offices in each region proximate 
to available Federal oil and gas lease tracts onshore and 
on the Outer Continental Shelf to meet the demands for 
expeditious permitting in that region. The Secretary shall 
designate as regional offices under this section all offices 
established under section 365 of the Energy Policy Act 
of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15924). 
(c) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—Within 90 
days after the appointment of the Federal Permit Coordi-
nator, the Federal Permit Coordinator, the Secretary, the 
Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of De-
fense, and the head of any other Federal agency with re-
sponsibilities related to permitting of Federal oil and gas 
leases, shall enter into a memorandum of understanding 
(MOU) establishing respective duties and responsibilities 
for staffing the regional offices and accomplishing the ob-
jectives of this section. 
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(d) DESIGNATION OF QUALIFIED STAFF.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 
the date of signing of the MOU under subsection 
(c), all Federal signatory agencies shall assign to 
each regional office the appropriate employees with 
expertise in the oil and gas permitting issues relat-
ing to that office, including, but not limited, with re-
spect to— 
(A) consultation and preparation of bio-
logical opinions under section 7 of the Endan-
gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536); 
(B) permits under section 404 of Federal 
Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344); 
(C) regulatory matters under the Clean Air 
Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.); 
(D) planning under the National Forest 
Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et 
seq.); 
(E) the preparation of analyses under the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) (NEPA); 
(F) applications for permits to drill under 
the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et 
seq.); and 
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(G) exploration plans and development and 
production plans under the Outer Continental 
Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.). 
(2) PREFERENCE
AND
INCENTIVES.—To the 
maximum extent practicable, for purposes of this 
subsection, Federal agencies shall give preference to 
employees volunteering for reassignment to the re-
gional offices, and shall offer incentives to attract 
and retain regional office employees, including, but 
not limited to, retaining contract employees, rota-
tional assignments, salary incentives of up to 120 
percent of an employee’s existing salary immediately 
prior to reassignment, or any combination of strate-
gies. 
(e) DUTIES.—Each employee assigned under sub-
section (d) shall— 
(1) within 90 days after the date of assignment, 
report to the regional office to which the employee 
is assigned; 
(2) be responsible for all issues relating to the 
jurisdiction of the home office or agency of the em-
ployee; and 
(3) participate as part of the team working on 
proposed oil and gas projects, planning, and environ-
mental analyses. 
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(f) CREATION OF AND DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY 
TO REGIONAL PERMIT COORDINATORS.—The Federal 
Permit Coordinator shall appoint a Regional Permit Coor-
dinator to be located within each regional office estab-
lished under this section, with full authority to act on be-
half of the Federal Permit Coordinator. 
(g) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Federal Permit 
Coordinator or Regional Permit Coordinators may at any 
time direct that any Federal agency party to the MOU 
under subsection (c) assign additional staff required to im-
plement the duties of the regional offices. 
SEC. 4. REVIEWS AND ACTIONS OF FEDERAL AGENCIES. 
(a) SCHEDULES
FOR TIMELY PERMIT DECISION-
MAKING.—Within 10 days after the date on which the Sec-
retary receives any oil and gas permit application or 
amended application, the Secretary shall either notify the 
applicant that the application is complete or notify the ap-
plicant that information is missing and specify the infor-
mation that is required to be submitted for the application 
to be complete. Within 30 days after notifying a permit 
applicant that an application is complete, the Secretary, 
in consultation with the permit applicant as necessary, 
shall determine and inform the Regional Permit Coordi-
nator responsible for that project area whether the pro-
posed permit is a class I, class II, or class III permit. The 
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Regional Permit Coordinator shall as soon as possible but 
in no event later than 30 days following the Secretary’s 
determination establish a binding schedule to ensure the 
most expeditious possible review and processing of the re-
quested permit, in accordance with this section. 
(b) PERMIT CLASSES AND SCHEDULES.— 
(1) CLASS I PERMITS.—An oil and gas permit 
shall be designated as a class I permit under this 
section if the permitted activity is of a nature that 
would typically require preparation of an environ-
mental impact statement under NEPA to inform the 
permitting decision. For such permits, the Regional 
Permit Coordinator shall establish a schedule for 
timely completion of all permit reviews and proc-
essing, not to exceed 30 months. The Regional Per-
mit Coordinator shall make the schedule publicly 
available within 10 days after the schedule is estab-
lished. 
(2) CLASS II PERMITS.—An oil and gas permit 
shall be designated as a class II permit under this 
section if the permitted activity is of a nature that 
would typically be found not to significantly affect 
the quality of the human environment under NEPA. 
For such permits, the Regional Permit Coordinator 
shall establish the most expeditious schedule possible 
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for completion of all permit reviews and processing, 
not to exceed 90 days. The Regional Permit Coordi-
nator may grant a one-time extension of that sched-
ule, not to exceed 60 days, upon a good cause show-
ing that additional time is necessary to complete 
permit decisions. Not later than 15 days after estab-
lishing or extending any schedule for a class II per-
mit, the Regional Permit Coordinator shall provide 
the permit applicant with the schedule. 
(3) CLASS III PERMITS.—Notwithstanding para-
graphs (1) and (2), an oil and gas permit shall be 
designated as a class III permit under this section 
if the permitted activity either qualifies for a statu-
tory or regulatory categorical exclusion under NEPA 
or if the requirements under NEPA and other appli-
cable law for the permit have been completed within 
30 days after the date of a complete application. For 
such permits, the permit shall be issued within 30 
days after the date of a complete application. 
(4) RECLASSIFICATION OF CLASS II PERMIT.— 
If prior to the expiration of the established schedule 
for a class II permit newly discovered information 
indicates that the class II permit will significantly 
affect the quality of the human environment, the 
Secretary may, in consultation with the permit appli-
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cant, reclassify the permit as a class I permit under 
paragraph (1), and the Regional Coordinator shall 
establish an amended schedule that complies with 
the provisions of that paragraph. 
(c) REPORTING.—The Regional Permit Coordinators 
shall include data on all schedule timing and compliance 
in their reports to the Federal Permit Coordinator re-
quired under subsection (i), who shall include such data 
in the report to the President and Congress required 
under subsection (i). 
(d) DISPUTE RESOLUTION.—The Regional Permit 
Coordinator shall resolve all administrative issues that af-
fect oil and gas permit reviews. The Regional Permit Coor-
dinator shall report jointly to the Federal Permit Coordi-
nator and to the head of the relevant action agency, or 
his or her designee, for resolution of any issue regarding 
an oil and gas permit that may result in missing the 
schedule deadlines established pursuant to subsection (b). 
The Regional Permit Coordinators shall include data re-
garding the incidence and resolution of disputes under this 
subsection in their reports to the Federal Permit Coordi-
nator required under subsection (i), who shall include such 
reported data and develop recommendations in the report 
to the President and Congress required under subsection 
(i). 
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(e) REMEDIES.—An applicant for a class I permit 
may bring a cause of action to seek expedited mandamus 
review, pursuant to the procedures in section 7, if a Re-
gional Permit Coordinator or the Secretary fails to— 
(1) establish a schedule in accordance with sub-
section (b); 
(2) enforce and ensure completion of reviews 
within schedule deadlines; or 
(3) take all actions as are necessary and proper 
to avoid jeopardizing the timely completion of the 
entire schedule. 
If an agency fails to complete its review of and issue a 
decision upon a permit within the schedule established by 
the Court pursuant to section 7(f), that permit shall be 
deemed granted to the applicant. 
(f) PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN TERMS AND CONDI-
TIONS.—No Federal agency may include in any permit, 
right-of-way, or other authorization issued for an oil and 
gas project subject to the provisions of this Act, any term 
or condition that may be authorized, but is not required, 
by the provisions of any applicable law, if the Federal Per-
mit Coordinator determines that such term or condition 
would prevent or impair in any significant respect comple-
tion of a permit review within the time schedule estab-
lished pursuant to subsection (b) or would otherwise im-
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pair in any significant respect expeditious oil and gas de-
velopment. The Federal Permit Coordinator shall not have 
any authority to impose any terms, conditions, or require-
ments beyond those imposed by any Federal law, agency, 
regulation, or lease term. 
(g) CONSOLIDATED RECORD.—The Federal Permit 
Coordinator, acting through the appropriate Regional Per-
mit Coordinator, with the cooperation of Federal and 
State administrative officials and agencies, shall maintain 
a complete, consolidated record of all decisions made or 
actions taken by the Federal Permit Coordinator or Re-
gional Permit Coordinator or by any Federal agency with 
respect to any oil and gas permit. 
(h) RELATIONSHIP TO NEPA AND ENERGY POLICY 
ACT OF 2005.— 
(1) Section 390(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 
2005 (42 U.S.C. 15942(a)) is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘rebuttable presumption 
that the use of a’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘would apply’’. 
(2) Section 17(p) of the Mineral Leasing Act 
(30 U.S.C. 226(p)) is repealed. 
(i) ADDITIONAL POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.— 
(1) REGIONAL
PERMIT
COORDINATOR
RE-
PORTS.—The Regional Permit Coordinators shall 
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each submit a report to the Federal Permit Coordi-
nator by December 31 of each year that documents 
each office’s performance in meeting the objectives 
under this Act, including recommendations to fur-
ther streamline the permitting process. 
(2) REDIRECTION
OF
PRIORITIES
OR
RE-
SOURCES.—In order to expedite overall permitting 
activity, the Federal Permit Coordinator may redi-
rect the priority of regional office activities or the al-
location of resources among such offices, and shall 
engage the agencies that are parties to the MOU to 
the extent such adjustments implicate their respec-
tive staffs or resources. 
(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Beginning three 
years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Federal Permit Coordinator shall prepare and sub-
mit a report to the President and Congress by April 
15 of each year that outlines the results achieved 
under this Act and makes recommendations to the 
President and Congress for further improvements in 
processing oil and gas permits on Federal lands. 
SEC. 5. STATE COORDINATION. 
The Governor of any State wherein an oil and gas 
operation may require a Federal permit, or the coastline 
of which is in immediate geographic proximity to oil and 
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gas operations on the Outer Continental Shelf, may be a 
signatory to the MOU for purposes of fulfilling any State 
responsibilities with respect to Federal oil and gas permit-
ting decisions. The Regional Permit Coordinators shall fa-
cilitate and coordinate concurrent State reviews of re-
quested permits for oil and gas projects on the Outer Con-
tinental Shelf. 
SEC. 6. SAVINGS PROVISION. 
Except as expressly stated, nothing in this Act af-
fects— 
(1) the applicability of any Federal or State 
law; or 
(2) any delegation of authority made by the 
head of a Federal agency the employees of which are 
participating in the implementation of this section. 
SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW. 
(a) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—Any oil and gas per-
mitting decision for Federal lands onshore or on the Outer 
Continental Shelf that was issued in accordance with the 
procedures established by this Act shall not be subject to 
further administrative review within the respective Federal 
agency responsible for that decision, and shall be the final 
decision of that agency for purposes of judicial review. 
(b) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OVER PERMIT DECI-
SIONS.—Only the United States District Court for the 
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District of Columbia shall have original jurisdiction over 
any civil action for the review of such a permit decision, 
including any civil action brought pursuant to section 4(e) 
and subsection (f) of this section. 
(c) LIMITATIONS ON CLAIMS.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, any action arising under Federal 
law seeking judicial review of a permit, license, or approval 
issued by a Federal agency for an oil and gas permit sub-
ject to this Act shall be barred unless it is filed within 
90 days of the date of the decision. Nothing in this Act 
shall creates a right to judicial review or places any limit 
on filing a claim that a person has violated the terms of 
a permit, license, or approval. 
(d) FILING OF RECORD.—When any civil action is 
brought pursuant to this Act, the Federal Permit Coordi-
nator shall immediately prepare for the court the consoli-
dated record compiled pursuant to section 4(f). 
(e) EXPEDITED REVIEW.—Any action for judicial re-
view challenging a decision approved pursuant to this sec-
tion shall be set for consideration by not later than 90 
days after the date the action is filed. 
(f) EXPEDITED
MANDAMUS
REVIEW.—Notwith-
standing subsection (e), within 30 days after the filing of 
an action under section 4(e) challenging or seeking to en-
force an established permit review schedule for a class I 
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permit, the court shall issue a decision either compelling 
permit issuance or sanctioning the delay and establishing 
a new schedule that enables the most expeditious possible 
completion of proceedings. In rendering its decision, the 
court shall review whether the agencies subject to the 
schedule have been acting in good faith, whether the per-
mit applicant has been cooperating fully with the agencies 
that are responsible for issuing the requested permits, and 
any other relevant matters. The court may issue orders 
to enforce any schedule it establishes under this sub-
section. 
(g) NO PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Except as ex-
pressly provided in section 4(e) and subsection (f) of this 
section, this Act shall not be construed to create any addi-
tional right, benefit, or trust responsibility, substantive or 
procedural, enforceable at law or equity, by a person 
against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or any 
person. 
(h) FINALITY
OF LEASING DECISIONS.—Notwith-
standing the provisions of any law or regulation to the 
contrary, a decision by the Bureau of Land Management 
or the Minerals Management Service to issue a Final No-
tice of Sale and proceed with an oil and gas lease sale 
pursuant to any mineral leasing law shall not be subject 
to further administrative review within the Department of 
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the Interior, and shall be the final decision of the agency 
for purposes of judicial review. 
SEC. 8. AMENDMENTS TO PUBLICATION PROCESS. 
Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 
(43 U.S.C. 1344) is amended— 
(1) by amending subsection (c)(2) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall publish a proposed 
leasing program in the Federal Register, and shall 
submit a copy of such proposed program to the Gov-
ernor of each affected State, for review and com-
ment. The Governor may solicit comments from 
those executives of local governments in his State 
which he, in his discretion, determines will be af-
fected by the proposed program.’’; 
(2) by striking subsection (c)(3); and 
(3) in subsection (d)(2) by inserting ‘‘final’’ 
after ‘‘proposed’’. 
SEC. 9. TRANSFER OF FUNDS. 
The Secretary may use any Federal oil and gas lease 
revenues that otherwise would be deposited to the Treas-
ury of the United States as ‘‘miscellaneous receipts’’ pur-
suant to section 35 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 
191) or section 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 
Act (43 U.S.C. 1338), for all costs of staffing and oper-
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ating the regional offices authorized pursuant to this Act. 
The Secretary may use such funds to reimburse each Fed-
eral agency for the costs of its personnel assigned to the 
regional offices. 
Æ 
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