Title: Seismic Moratorium Act
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Seismic Moratorium Act
This bill prohibits conducting geological or geophysical activities in support of oil or gas exploration and development in any area located within a specified exclusive economic zone located off the coastline of Florida.
This moratorium shall only be terminated if the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration determines that the reasonably foreseeable impacts of such activities are minimal to individuals or populations of marine mammals, sea turtles, or fish.
These geological and geophysical activities are described in the final programmatic environmental impact statement of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management entitled "Atlantic OCS Proposed Geological and Geophysical Activities, Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic Planning Areas," which was completed in February 2014.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2469 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2469

To establish a moratorium on oil and gas-related seismic activities off 
     the coastline of the State of Florida, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 16, 2017

Mr. Posey (for himself, Mr. Mast, Ms. Castor of Florida, Ms. Wasserman 
 Schultz, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, and Mr. Hastings) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a moratorium on oil and gas-related seismic activities off 
     the coastline of the State of Florida, 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 ``Seismic Moratorium Act''.

SEC. 2. MORATORIUM ON OIL AND GAS-RELATED SEISMIC ACTIVITIES IN THE 
              EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF THE COASTLINE OF THE STATE OF 
              FLORIDA.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b) and 
notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person may conduct 
geological or geophysical activities (as those terms are described in 
the final programmatic environmental impact statement of the Bureau of 
Ocean Energy Management entitled ``Atlantic OCS Proposed Geological and 
Geophysical Activities, Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic Planning 
Areas'' and completed February 2014) in support of oil or gas 
exploration and development in any area located within the exclusive 
economic zone (as defined in section 107 of title 46, United States 
Code) located off the coastline of the State of Florida.
    (b) Termination of Moratorium.--The moratorium described in 
subsection (a) shall only be terminated if the Administrator of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration determines that the 
reasonably foreseeable impacts of the geological or geophysical 
activities described in subsection (a) to individuals or populations of 
marine mammals, sea turtles, or fish are minimal.
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