Energy Regulations Certainty Act
Bill: S.3822 | Sponsor: Sen. Lankford, James (R-OK)
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Energy Regulations Certainty Act
This bill restricts implementation of specified executive orders, air quality and emission standards, and other actions that affect costs and other aspects of energy development until Russian troops are withdrawn from Ukraine. The bill also authorizes construction of the TransCanada Keystone Pipeline for importing oil from Canada to the United States.

To prohibit the President from promulgating new oil and gas regulations 
 until after Russian troops have withdrawn from Ukraine, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Energy Regulations Certainty Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the United States has a demonstrable history of 
        providing assistance to allies of the United States when those 
        allies face threats to democracy or are suffering as a result 
        of geopolitical instability;
            (2) the invasion by the Russian Federation of the sovereign 
        nation of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, threatens the energy 
        security of Ukraine and other European allies;
            (3) Europe relies on Russia for approximately 40 percent of 
        its natural gas and about 25 percent of its oil;
            (4) the United States has demonstrated in recent years that 
        the United States is fully capable of--
                    (A) producing sufficient energy resources 
                domestically to become energy independent;
                    (B) supplying energy resources to allies of the 
                United States; and
                    (C) providing stability in international energy 
                markets; and
            (5) recent and prospective administrative actions 
        jeopardize the ability of the United States to continue to 
        serve the role described in paragraph (4), which is critical to 
        the national security of the United States and allies of the 
        United States.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON NEW OIL AND GAS REGULATIONS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Covered action.--The term ``covered action'' means--
                    (A) any provision of Executive Order 13990 (42 
                U.S.C. 4321 note; relating to protecting public health 
                and the environment and restoring science to tackle the 
                climate crisis) that would impact the cost of energy 
                development;
                    (B) any provision of Executive Order 14008 (42 
                U.S.C. 4321 note; relating to tackling the climate 
                crisis at home and abroad) that would impact the cost 
                of energy development;
                    (C) the final decisions of the Administrator of the 
                Environmental Protection Agency in the document 
                entitled ``Review of the Ozone National Ambient Air 
                Quality Standards'' (85 Fed. Reg. 87256 (December 31, 
                2020));
                    (D) the final decisions of the Administrator of the 
                Environmental Protection Agency in the document 
                entitled ``Review of the National Ambient Air Quality 
                Standards for Particulate Matter'' (85 Fed. Reg. 82684 
                (December 18, 2020));
                    (E) the final rule of the Environmental Protection 
                Agency entitled ``Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission 
                Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources 
                Reconsideration'' (85 Fed. Reg. 57398 (September 15, 
                2020));
                    (F) the updated policy statement of the Federal 
                Energy Regulatory Commission entitled ``Updated Policy 
                Statement on Certification of New Interstate Natural 
                Gas Facilities'' (Docket No. PL18-1-000 (February 18, 
                2022); 87 Fed. Reg. 11548 (March 1, 2022));
                    (G) the interim policy statement of the Federal 
                Energy Regulatory Commission entitled ``Consideration 
                of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Natural Gas 
                Infrastructure Project Reviews'' (Docket No. PL21-3-000 
                (February 18, 2022));
                    (H) the final rule of the Environmental Protection 
                Agency entitled ``Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission 
                Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources 
                Review'' (85 Fed. Reg. 57018 (September 14, 2020));
                    (I) the final rule of the Corps of Engineers and 
                the Environmental Protection Agency entitled ``The 
                Navigable Waters Protection Rule: Definition of `Waters 
                of the United States''' (85 Fed. Reg. 22250 (April 21, 
                2020));
                    (J) Instruction Memorandum No. 2018-034 of the 
                Department of the Interior entitled ``Updating Oil and 
                Gas Leasing Reform--Land Use Planning and Lease Parcel 
                Reviews'' (January 31, 2018);
                    (K) the final rule of the Department of the 
                Interior entitled ``Oil and Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing 
                on Federal and Indian Lands; Rescission of a 2015 
                Rule'' (82 Fed. Reg. 61924 (December 29, 2017));
                    (L) the document entitled ``Technical Support 
                Document: Social Cost of Carbon, Methane, and Nitrous 
                Oxide Interim Estimates under Executive Order 13990'', 
                published by the Interagency Working Group on Social 
                Cost of Greenhouse Gases, United States Government, in 
                February 2021; and
                    (M) any action by the Board of Governors of the 
                Federal Reserve System or other Federal financial 
                regulator that would restrict access to capital or 
                lending to companies in the oil and natural gas 
                subsector of critical infrastructure.
            (2) Covered period.--The term ``covered period'' means the 
        period--
                    (A) beginning on the date of enactment of this Act; 
                and
                    (B) ending on the date that is 180 days after the 
                date on which the President determines that the Russian 
                Federation has withdrawn all troops from the territory 
                of Ukraine.
    (b) Prohibitions.--
            (1) In general.--During the covered period, the President 
        shall not carry out, promulgate any regulations pursuant to, or 
        carry out any policy described in or required by, a covered 
        action.
            (2) Reversion.--During the covered period--
                    (A) all covered actions, including any regulations 
                promulgated, or other agency actions taken, pursuant to 
                the covered actions, shall have no force and effect; 
                and
                    (B) all applicable regulations and agency policies 
                that were in effect on January 19, 2021, shall have 
                full force and effect.

SEC. 4. KEYSTONE PIPELINE.

    TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. may construct, connect, 
operate, and maintain the pipeline facilities at the international 
border of the United States and Canada under the terms described in the 
Presidential Permit of March 29, 2019 (84 Fed. Reg. 13101 (April 3, 
2019)).

SEC. 5. SENSE OF THE SENATE RELATING TO NATURAL GAS EXPORTS AND 
              OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE SALES.

    It is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the Secretary of Energy should act expeditiously to 
        approve applications under subsection (a) of section 3 of the 
        Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b) to export natural gas from the 
        United States to foreign countries not described in subsection 
        (c) of that section;
            (2) the Attorney General should appeal the decision of the 
        United States District Court for the District of Columbia in 
        the memorandum opinion dated January 27, 2022, in Friends of 
        the Earth v. Haaland, No. 1:21-cv-02317-RC;
            (3) not later than June 30, 2022, the Secretary of the 
        Interior should approve a new final 5-year oil and gas leasing 
        program under section 18(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf 
        Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344(a)) that includes at least as many 
        lease sales as are included in the 2017-2022 Outer Continental 
        Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (November 
        2016); and
            (4) the Secretary of State should coordinate with the 
        energy-producing allies of the United States to ensure that the 
        resource needs of the energy-insecure allies of the United 
        States are met.
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