Union Calendar No. 447

112th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 6082

[Report No. 112–615]

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 9, 2012

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

July 20, 2012

Additional sponsors: Mr. Lamborn and Mr. Landry

July 20, 2012

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic

For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 9, 2012

A BILL

To officially replace, within the 60-day Congressional review period under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, President Obama’s Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012–2017) with a congressional plan that will conduct additional oil and natural gas lease sales to promote offshore energy development, job creation, and increased domestic energy production to ensure a more secure energy future in the United States, and for other purposes.

This Act may be cited as the Congressional Replacement of President Obama’s Energy-Restricting and Job-Limiting Offshore Drilling Plan.

In this Act:

(1)OCS Planning AreaAny reference to an OCS Planning Area means such Outer Continental Shelf Planning Area as specified by the Department of the Interior as of January 1, 2012.

(2)Proposed Oil and Gas Leasing Program (2012–2017)The term Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012–2017) means such plan as transmitted to the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate on June 28, 2012.

(a)Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall implement the Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012–2017) in accordance with the schedule for conducting oil and gas lease sales set forth in such proposed program, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), and otherwise applicable law.

(b)Notwithstanding the schedule of lease sales in the Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012–2017), the Secretary shall conduct under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) oil and gas lease sales in OCS Planning Areas as specified in the following table, in the year specified in the table for each lease sale:

Lease Sale No.

OCS Planning Area

Year

229

Western Gulf of Mexico

2012

220

Mid-Atlantic

2013

225

Eastern Gulf of Mexico

2013

227

Central Gulf of Mexico

2013

249

Southern California (existing infrastructure sale)

2013

233

Western Gulf of Mexico

2013

244

Cook Inlet

2013

212

Chukchi Sea

2013

228

Southern California

2014

230

Mid-Atlantic

2014

231

Central Gulf of Mexico

2014

238

Western Gulf of Mexico

2014

242

Beaufort Sea

2014

221

Chukchi Sea

2014

245

Mid-Atlantic

2015

232

North Atlantic

2015

234

Eastern Gulf of Mexico

2015

235

Central Gulf of Mexico

2015

246

Western Gulf of Mexico

2015

237

Chukchi Sea

2016

239

North Aleutian Basin

2016

248

Western Gulf of Mexico

2016

241

Central Gulf of Mexico

2016

226

Eastern Gulf of Mexico

2016

217

Beaufort Sea

2016

243

Southern California

2017

250

Mid-Atlantic

2017

247

Central Gulf of Mexico

2017

255

South Atlantic-South Carolina

2015

(c)For purposes of subsection (b)—

(1)lease sale numbers 229, 227, 233, 244, 225, 231, 238, 235, 242, 246, 226, 241, 237, 248, and 247 are such sales proposed in, and shall be conducted in accordance with, the Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012–2017), except each such lease sale shall be conducted in the year specified for such sale in the table in subsection (b);

(2)lease sale numbers 220, 212, 228, 230, 221, 245, 232, 234, 239, 217, and 243 are such sales proposed in, and shall be conducted in accordance with, the Draft Proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2010–2015 as published in Federal Register on January 21, 2009 (74 Fed. Reg. 12), except each such lease sale shall be conducted in the year specified for such sale in the table in subsection (b); and

(3)lease sale numbers 249 and 250 shall be conducted—

(A)for lease tracts in the Southern California OCS Planning Area and Mid-Atlantic OCS Planning Area, respectively, as determined by and at the discretion of the Secretary, subject to subparagraph (C);

(B)in the year specified for each such lease sale in the table in subsection (b); and

(C)in accordance with the other provisions of this Act.

(a)In lease sale 249 under section 3, the Secretary shall offer for sale leases of tracts in the Santa Maria and Santa Barbara/Ventura Basins of the Southern California OCS Planning Area as soon as practicable, but not later than December 31, 2013.

(b)The Secretary of the Interior shall include in leases offered for sale under lease sale 249 such terms and conditions as are necessary to require that development and production may occur only from offshore infrastructure in existence on the date of the enactment of this Act or from onshore-based drilling.

(a)This Act shall in no way affect the existing authority of the Secretary of Defense, with the approval of the President, to designate national defense areas on the outer Continental Shelf pursuant to section 12(d) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1341(d)).

(b)No person may engage in any exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas on the Outer Continental Shelf under a lease issued under this Act that would conflict with any military operation, as determined in accordance with the Memorandum of Agreement between the Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior on Mutual Concerns on the Outer Continental Shelf signed July 20, 1983, and any revision or replacement for that agreement that is agreed to by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Interior after that date but before the date of issuance of the lease under which such exploration, development, or production is conducted.

(a)For the purposes of this Act and in order to conduct lease sales in accordance with the lease sale schedule established by this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall prepare a multisale environmental impact statement under section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) for all lease sales required under this Act that are not included in the Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012–2017).

(b)Notwithstanding section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332), in such statement—

(1)the Secretary is not required to identify nonleasing alternative courses of action or to analyze the environmental effects of such alternative courses of action; and

(2)the Secretary shall only—

(A)identify a preferred action for leasing and not more than one alternative leasing proposal; and

(B)analyze the environmental effects and potential mitigation measures for such preferred action and such alternative leasing proposal.

Nothing in this Act affects restrictions on oil and gas leasing under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (title I of division C of Public Law 109–432; 43 U.S.C. 1331 note).

In determining the areas off the coast of South Carolina to be made available for leasing under this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall—

(1)consult with the Governor and legislature of the State of South Carolina; and

(2)focus on areas considered to have the most geologically promising energy resources.

July 20, 2012

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed