Opinion ID: 398884
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the leasing program

Text: 20
21 As is apparent from the foregoing brief summary, the procedures embodied in the 1978 Amendments are pyramidic in structure, proceeding from broad-based planning to an increasingly narrower focus as actual development grows more imminent. The first important step in this process is the one with which we are primarily concerned today-preparation of the five-year leasing program pursuant to section 18. 22 Section 18 establishes a process which will permit the Secretary of Interior to weigh energy potential, and other benefits against environmental and other risks in determining how, when and where oil and gas should be made available from the various Outer Continental Shelf areas to meet national energy needs. 35 It requires the Secretary to prepare, maintain and periodically revise a leasing program consisting of a schedule of proposed sales, indicating, as precisely as possible, the size, timing and location of leasing activity which he determines will best meet national energy needs for the five-year period following its approval or reapproval. 36 The Secretary must prepare and maintain the program consistent with four basic principles:(1) Management of the outer Continental Shelf shall be conducted in a manner which considers economic, social, and environmental values of the renewable and nonrenewable resources contained in the outer Continental Shelf, and the potential impact of oil and gas exploration on other resource values of the outer Continental Shelf and the marine, coastal, and human environments. 23 (2) Timing and location of exploration, development, and production of oil and gas among the oil- and gas-bearing physiographic regions of the outer Continental Shelf shall be based on a consideration of- 24 (A) existing information concerning the geographical, geological, and ecological characteristics of such regions; 25 (B) an equitable sharing of developmental benefits and environmental risks among the various regions; 26 (C) the location of such regions with respect to, and the relative needs of, regional and national energy markets; 27 (D) the location of such regions with respect to other uses of the sea and seabed, including fisheries, navigation, existing or proposed sealanes, potential sites of deepwater ports, and other anticipated uses of the resources and space of the outer Continental Shelf; 28 (E) the interest of potential oil and gas producers in the development of oil and gas resources as indicated by exploration or nomination; 29 (F) laws, goals, and policies of affected States which have been specifically identified by the Governors of such States as relevant matters for the Secretary's consideration; 30 (G) the relative environmental sensitivity and marine productivity of different areas of the outer Continental Shelf; and 31 (H) relevant environmental and predictive information for different areas of the outer Continental Shelf. 32 (3) The Secretary shall select the timing and location of leasing, to the maximum extent practicable, so as to obtain a proper balance between the potential for environmental damage, the potential for the discovery of oil and gas, and the potential for adverse impact on the coastal zone. 33 (4) Leasing activities shall be conducted to assure receipt of fair market value for the lands leased and the rights conveyed by the Federal Government. 37 34 Section 18 also establishes a mechanism whereby state governments, among others, are authorized to offer suggestions and comments on the development of the leasing program. Under section 18(c), the Secretary is required, when preparing a proposed leasing program, to invite and consider suggestions for such program from the Governors of any state which might be affected thereby. 38 The Secretary is also obliged, after he has drawn up the proposed program and at least sixty days before he publishes it in the Federal Register, to submit it to the Governor of each affected state for review and comment. 39 If any such Governor submits timely comments requesting modification of the proposed program, the Secretary must reply in writing, granting or denying the request in whole or in part, and stating his reasons therefor. 40 Under section 18(d), states may also submit comments and recommendations as to any aspect of the proposed program within ninety days after it is published in the Federal Register. 41 The Secretary must then submit the proposed program and any comments received thereon to the Congress and the President at least sixty days before he approves it, indicating why any specific recommendation of a state government was not accepted. 42 35 Once the Secretary approves the leasing program, it achieves important practical and legal significance. No lease may be issued for any area unless the area is included in the approved leasing program and unless the lease contains provisions consistent with the approved program. 43 The approved program also becomes the basis for future planning by all affected entities, from federal, state and local governments to the oil industry itself. Compliance with the mandates of section 18, therefore, is extremely important to the expeditious but orderly exploitation of OCS resources. 36
37 The leasing program challenged in this litigation was developed over a 20-month period. The major stages in this development were preparation of two Draft Proposed Programs (March and May 1979), a Proposed Program (June 1979), a Proposed Final Program (April 1980), and a Final Program (June 1980). An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was also prepared, the draft of which was issued in August 1979 and the final statement in January 1980. 38 Development of the first Draft Proposed Program began in October 1978, when the Secretary, pursuant to section 18(c)(1), requested information from interested Governors, federal agencies, and private parties. Pursuant to section 18(c)(2), the Secretary then submitted his first Draft Proposed Program, proposing 26 sales over five years, to the Governors of affected states in early March 1979. 44 39 In April 1979, President Carter delivered his second Energy Message to the nation and directed the Secretary to increase the amount of proposed acreage over that contained in the first Draft Proposed Program. 45 Shortly thereafter the Secretary directed his staff to develop alternative leasing schedules to meet the President's directive, 46 resulting in the development of the second Draft Proposed Program in May, 1979. In June 1979, the Secretary submitted his proposed Program, calling for a total of 30 sales and an acceleration of leasing in frontier areas, to the Governors of affected states and other interested persons. 47 Extensive Comments were then received by Secretary Andrus on the Proposed Program. 40 In August, 1979, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement was issued on the Proposed Program. In January 1980, the staff of the House Ad Hoc Select Committee on the OCS issued a study entitled Offshore Oil and Gas in the Five-Year Leasing Program and Implementation of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978. 48 In this study, which was endorsed by the Committee Chairman and ranking member, the Committee staff recommended a leasing schedule involving more sales and earlier entry into frontier areas than the Secretary's June 1979 Proposed Program. 49 The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FES) was also issued in January, 1980. 41 Materials to assist the Secretary in making his decision on the Final Program were then assembled in February 1980 and submitted to the Secretary. These included, among other things, a Secretarial Issue Document (SID), describing 12 alternative leasing schedules and pertinent decisional information; 50 the Federal Environmental Impact Statement; and a summary of the comments received on the Proposed Program, and on the draft and final environmental impact statements. 42 The Secretary then decided upon a Proposed Final Program, which he transmitted to the President and Congress, as required by section 18(d)(2), on April 4, 1980. The program scheduled 36 proposed lease sales for the period from June 1980 through May 1985, covering virtually the entire Outer Continental Shelf, with the exception of the Florida Straits, the Southern Aleutian Shelf in Alaska, and the area seaward of the Washington and Oregon coasts. All these excluded areas possessed a very low industry rating for hydrocarbon potential. 51 43 During the 60-day statutory period that the program was before Congress, oversight hearings were held by the House Ad Hoc Select Committee on the OCS. The committee chairman and the ranking minority member both expressed the view that the leasing was inadequate because it was not as aggressive as the Select Committee Staff had recommended in its January 1980 report. 52 44 On June 16, 1980, after the expiration of the 60-day congressional consideration period specified in section 18(d)(2), the Secretary approved the Final Program. Its leasing schedule is essentially the same as that contained in the April 1980 Proposed Final Program, specifying 11 proposed sales in the Gulf of Mexico, 6 in the Atlantic, 4 off California, 10 off Alaska, and 5 reoffering sales. 53