I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 583
To prohibit activities other than certain required environmental or oceano-
graphic studies under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act within
the outer continental shelf off the State of Florida, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 26, 1993
Mr. GOSS (for himself, Ms. THURMAN, Mr. STEARNS, Mr. MCCOLLUM, Mr.
BILIRAKIS, Mr. BACCHUS of Florida, Ms. MEEK, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN,
Mr. DEUTSCH, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. SHAW, and Mr. JOHNSTON
of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the
Committees on Natural Resources and Merchant Marine and Fisheries
A BILL
To prohibit activities other than certain required environ-
mental or oceanographic studies under the Outer Con-
tinental Shelf Lands Act within the outer continental
shelf off the State of Florida, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. PROHIBITION OF ACTIVITIES OTHER THAN EN-
VIRONMENTAL OR OCEANOGRAPHIC STUD-
IES.
(a) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary of the Interior (in
this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall not—
(1) conduct a lease sale; or
(2) issue any new leases,
in any area of the outer continental shelf off the State
of Florida, between the seaward lateral boundary between
Florida and Alabama and the seaward lateral boundary
between Florida and Georgia.
(b) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—(1) The prohibition in sub-
section (a) shall remain in effect until the later of—
(A) January 1, 2002; or
(B) 180 days after the date on which the Sec-
retary submits to the Congress and to the Governor
of the State of Florida a report documenting the
completion of the studies described in subsection (c).
(2) Each study that is documented in a report de-
scribed in paragraph (1)(B) shall be reviewed, before sub-
mission of the report, by at least 3 scientists who—
(A) shall be nominated by the Florida Academy
of Sciences, and approved by the Secretary and the
Governor of the State of Florida;
(B) are not employees of the Department of the
Interior; and
(C) are well qualified in the scientific disciplines
required for performance of the particular study or
studies that they review.
(3) A report described in paragraph (1)(B) shall in-
clude each reviewer’s written evaluations of each study’s
methodology and results.
(c) STUDIES.—The Secretary shall undertake, di-
rectly or by contract, ecological and socioeconomic studies,
physical oceanographic studies, endangered and threat-
ened species and marine mammal surveys, and other envi-
ronmental studies, including fieldwork and correlation of
existing data and information, sufficient to obtain infor-
mation about all significant conditions, processes, re-
sources, and environments that may influence or be influ-
enced by any of the activities described in subsection (a).
SEC. 2. CANCELLATION OF LEASES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 10 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall com-
mence the process of canceling, and thereafter shall pro-
ceed with dispatch to cancel, all leases in the area south
of 26 degrees north latitude and east of 86 degrees west
longitude that were issued under the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act on or before the date of enactment of
this Act.
(b) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit
a report to Congress annually, on the anniversary of the
date of enactment of this Act, on the status of the can-
cellation proceedings, until all of the leases described in
subsection (a) have been canceled.
SEC. 3. COMPENSATION.
(a) AMOUNT OF COMPENSATION.—For any lease that
is canceled pursuant to section 2, to the extent that it is
determined that the lessee is entitled to compensation, the
lessee shall receive compensation as provided in section
5(a)(2)(C) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43
U.S.C. 1334(a)(2)(C)).
(b) PAYMENT BY THE UNITED STATES.—All of the
compensation to which a lessee may be entitled under sub-
section (a) shall be paid out of the Treasury of the United
States, and the State of Florida shall incur no cost or
other liability of any kind as a consequence of cancellation
of any lease under this Act.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000
for each of fiscal years 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998,
1999, 2000, and 2001, for the purpose of conducting or
contracting for performance of the studies required by sec-
tion 1(c), to remain available until expended.
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