I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1229 
To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to facilitate the safe 
and timely production of American energy resources from the Gulf of Mexico. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 29, 2011 
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington (for himself, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. FLEMING, Mr. 
LANDRY, Mr. FLORES, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. DUNCAN of South 
Carolina, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. BROUN of Georgia, Mr. TIPTON, Mr. 
GOHMERT, Mr. DENHAM, Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee, Mr. NUNES, Mr. 
BOUSTANY, Mr. GRIMM, Mr. SCALISE, Mr. ROSS of Florida, Mr. GRAVES 
of Missouri, Mrs. MYRICK, Mrs. LUMMIS, Mr. GINGREY of Georgia, Mr. 
POMPEO, Mr. OLSON, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. LONG, 
Mr. SIMPSON, Ms. JENKINS, Mr. KELLY, Mr. RIGELL, Mr. HELLER, 
Mrs. HARTZLER, and Mr. POSEY) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined 
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to facili-
tate the safe and timely production of American energy 
resources from the Gulf of Mexico. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Putting the Gulf of 
Mexico Back to Work Act’’. 
TITLE I—AMENDMENT TO THE 
OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 
LANDS ACT 
SEC. 101. AMENDMENT TO OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 
LANDS ACT. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Section 11(d) of the Outer Conti-
nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1340(d)) is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(d) DRILLING PERMITS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall by reg-
ulation require that any lessee operating under an 
approved exploration plan— 
‘‘(A) must obtain a permit before drilling 
any well in accordance with such plan; and 
‘‘(B) must obtain a new permit before 
drilling any well of a design that is significantly 
different than the design for which an existing 
permit was issued. 
‘‘(2) SAFETY
REVIEW
REQUIRED.—The Sec-
retary shall not issue a permit under paragraph (1) 
without ensuring that the proposed drilling oper-
ations meet all— 
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‘‘(A) critical safety system requirements, 
including blowout prevention; and 
‘‘(B) oil spill response and containment re-
quirements. 
‘‘(3) TIMELINE.— 
‘‘(A) The Secretary shall decide whether to 
issue a permit under paragraph (1) within 30 
days after receiving an application for the per-
mit. The Secretary may extend such period for 
up to two periods of 15 days each, if the Sec-
retary has given written notice of the delay to 
the applicant. The notice shall be in the form 
of a letter from the Secretary or a designee of 
the Secretary, and shall include the names and 
titles of the persons processing the application, 
the specific reasons for the delay, and a specific 
date a final decision on the application is ex-
pected. 
‘‘(B) If the application is denied, the Sec-
retary shall provide the applicant— 
‘‘(i) in writing, clear and comprehen-
sive reasons why the application was not 
accepted and detailed information con-
cerning any deficiencies, and 
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‘‘(ii) an opportunity to remedy any de-
ficiencies. 
‘‘(C) If the Secretary has not made a deci-
sion on the application by the end of the 60-day 
period beginning on the date the application is 
received by the Secretary, the application is 
deemed approved.’’. 
(b) DEADLINE FOR CERTAIN PERMIT APPLICATIONS 
UNDER EXISTING LEASES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the amend-
ment made by subsection (a), a lease under which a 
covered application is submitted to the Secretary of 
the Interior shall be considered to be in directed sus-
pension during the period beginning May 27, 2010, 
and ending on the date the Secretary issues a final 
decision on the application, if the Secretary does not 
issue a final decision on the application— 
(A) before the end of the 30-day period be-
ginning on the date of enactment of this Act, 
in the case of a covered application submitted 
before such date of enactment; or 
(B) before the end of the 30-day period be-
ginning on the date the application is received 
by the Secretary, in the case of a covered appli-
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cation submitted on or after such date of enact-
ment. 
(2) COVERED APPLICATION.—In this subsection 
the term ‘‘covered application’’ means an application 
for a permit to drill under an oil and gas lease under 
the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act in effect on 
the date of enactment of this Act, that— 
(A) represents a resubmission of an ap-
proved permit to drill (including an application 
for a permit to sidetrack) that was approved by 
the Secretary before May 27, 2010; and 
(B) is received by the Secretary after Octo-
ber 12, 2010, and before the end of the 30-day 
period beginning on the date of enactment of 
this Act. 
TITLE II—JUDICIAL REVIEW OF 
AGENCY ACTIONS RELATING 
TO 
OUTER 
CONTINENTAL 
SHELF ACTIVITIES IN THE 
GULF OF MEXICO 
SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS FOR TITLE. 
In this title— 
(1) the term ‘‘covered civil action’’ means a civil 
action containing a claim under section 702 of title 
5, United States Code, regarding agency action (as 
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defined for the purposes of that section) affecting a 
covered energy project in the Gulf of Mexico; and 
(2) the term ‘‘covered energy project’’ means 
the leasing of Federal lands of the Outer Conti-
nental Shelf (including submerged lands) for the ex-
ploration, development, production, processing, or 
transmission of oil, natural gas, wind, or any other 
source of energy in the Gulf of Mexico, and any ac-
tion under such a lease, except that the term does 
not include any disputes between the parties to a 
lease regarding the obligations under such lease, in-
cluding regarding any alleged breach of the lease. 
SEC. 202. EXCLUSIVE VENUE FOR CERTAIN CIVIL ACTIONS 
RELATING TO COVERED ENERGY PROJECTS 
IN THE GULF OF MEXICO. 
Venue for any covered civil action shall not lie in any 
district court not within the 5th circuit unless there is no 
proper venue in any court within that circuit. 
SEC. 203. TIME LIMITATION ON FILING. 
A covered civil action is barred unless filed no later 
than the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date 
of the final Federal agency action to which it relates. 
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SEC. 204. EXPEDITION IN HEARING AND DETERMINING THE 
ACTION. 
The court shall endeavor to hear and determine any 
covered civil action as expeditiously as possible. 
SEC. 205. STANDARD OF REVIEW. 
In any judicial review of a covered civil action, admin-
istrative findings and conclusions relating to the chal-
lenged Federal action or decision shall be presumed to be 
correct, and the presumption may be rebutted only by the 
preponderance of the evidence contained in the adminis-
trative record. 
SEC. 206. LIMITATION ON PROSPECTIVE RELIEF. 
In a covered civil action, the court shall not grant 
or approve any prospective relief unless the court finds 
that such relief is narrowly drawn, extends no further than 
necessary to correct the violation of a legal requirement, 
and is the least intrusive means necessary to correct that 
violation. 
SEC. 207. LIMITATION ON ATTORNEYS’ FEES. 
Sections 504 of title 5, United States Code, and 2412 
of title 28, United States Code (together commonly called 
the Equal Access to Justice Act) do not apply to a covered 
civil action, nor shall any party in such a covered civil ac-
tion receive payment from the Federal Government for 
their attorneys’ fees, expenses, and other court costs. 
Æ 
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