[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 49 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 49
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish and implement a
competitive oil and gas leasing program that will result in an
environmentally sound program for the exploration, development, and
production of the oil and gas resources of the Coastal Plain of Alaska,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 3, 2013
Mr. Young of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the
Committees on Energy and Commerce and Science, Space, and Technology,
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 direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish and implement a
competitive oil and gas leasing program that will result in an
environmentally sound program for the exploration, development, and
production of the oil and gas resources of the Coastal Plain of Alaska,
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 ``American Energy Independence and
Price Reduction Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Coastal plain.--The term ``Coastal Plain'' means that
area described in appendix I to part 37 of title 50, Code of
Federal Regulations.
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'', except as otherwise
provided, means the Secretary of the Interior or the
Secretary's designee.
SEC. 3. LEASING PROGRAM FOR LANDS WITHIN THE COASTAL PLAIN.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall take such actions as are
necessary--
(1) to establish and implement, in accordance with this Act
and acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land
Management in consultation with the Director of the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service, a competitive oil and gas
leasing program that will result in an environmentally sound
program for the exploration, development, and production of the
oil and gas resources of the Coastal Plain; and
(2) to administer the provisions of this Act through
regulations, lease terms, conditions, restrictions,
prohibitions, stipulations, and other provisions that ensure
the oil and gas exploration, development, and production
activities on the Coastal Plain will result in no significant
adverse effect on fish and wildlife, their habitat, subsistence
resources, and the environment, including, in furtherance of
this goal, by requiring the application of the best
commercially available technology for oil and gas exploration,
development, and production to all exploration, development,
and production operations under this Act in a manner that
ensures the receipt of fair market value by the public for the
mineral resources to be leased.
(b) Repeal.--
(1) Repeal.--Section 1003 of the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 3143) is repealed.
(2) Conforming amendment.--The table of contents in section
1 of such Act is amended by striking the item relating to
section 1003.
(c) Compliance With Requirements Under Certain Other Laws.--
(1) Compatibility.--For purposes of the National Wildlife
Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et
seq.), the oil and gas leasing program and activities
authorized by this section in the Coastal Plain are deemed to
be compatible with the purposes for which the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge was established, and no further findings or
decisions are required to implement this determination.
(2) Adequacy of the department of the interior's
legislative environmental impact statement.--The ``Final
Legislative Environmental Impact Statement'' (April 1987) on
the Coastal Plain prepared pursuant to section 1002 of the
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (16
U.S.C. 3142) and section 102(2)(C) of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) is
deemed to satisfy the requirements under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 that apply with respect to
prelease activities, including actions authorized to be taken
by the Secretary to develop and promulgate the regulations for
the establishment of a leasing program authorized by this Act
before the conduct of the first lease sale.
(3) Compliance with nepa for other actions.--Before
conducting the first lease sale under this Act, the Secretary
shall prepare an environmental impact statement under the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 with respect to the
actions authorized by this Act that are not referred to in
paragraph (2). Notwithstanding any other law, the Secretary is
not required to identify nonleasing alternative courses of
action or to analyze the environmental effects of such courses
of action. The Secretary shall only identify a preferred action
for such leasing and a single leasing alternative, and analyze
the environmental effects and potential mitigation measures for
those two alternatives. The identification of the preferred
action and related analysis for the first lease sale under this
Act shall be completed within 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act. The Secretary shall only consider public
comments that specifically address the Secretary's preferred
action and that are filed within 20 days after publication of
an environmental analysis. Notwithstanding any other law,
compliance with this paragraph is deemed to satisfy all
requirements for the analysis and consideration of the
environmental effects of proposed leasing under this Act.
(d) Relationship to State and Local Authority.--Nothing in this Act
shall be considered to expand or limit State and local regulatory
authority.
(e) Special Areas.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary, after consultation with the
State of Alaska, the city of Kaktovik, and the North Slope
Borough, may designate up to a total of 45,000 acres of the
Coastal Plain as a Special Area if the Secretary determines
that the Special Area is of such unique character and interest
so as to require special management and regulatory protection.
The Secretary shall designate as such a Special Area the
Sadlerochit Spring area, comprising approximately 4,000 acres.
(2) Management.--Each such Special Area shall be managed so
as to protect and preserve the area's unique and diverse
character including its fish, wildlife, and subsistence
resource values.
(3) Exclusion from leasing or surface occupancy.--The
Secretary may exclude any Special Area from leasing. If the
Secretary leases a Special Area, or any part thereof, for
purposes of oil and gas exploration, development, production,
and related activities, there shall be no surface occupancy of
the lands comprising the Special Area.
(4) Directional drilling.--Notwithstanding the other
provisions of this subsection, the Secretary may lease all or a
portion of a Special Area under terms that permit the use of
horizontal drilling technology from sites on leases located
outside the Special Area.
(f) Limitation on Closed Areas.--The Secretary's sole authority to
close lands within the Coastal Plain to oil and gas leasing and to
exploration, development, and production is that set forth in this Act.
(g) Regulations.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall prescribe such
regulations as may be necessary to carry out this Act,
including rules and regulations relating to protection of the
fish and wildlife, their habitat, subsistence resources, and
environment of the Coastal Plain, by no later than 15 months
after the date of enactment of this Act.
(2) Revision of regulations.--The Secretary shall
periodically review and, if appropriate, revise the rules and
regulations issued under subsection (a) to reflect any
significant biological, environmental, or engineering data that
come to the Secretary's attention.
SEC. 4. LEASE SALES.
(a) In General.--Lands may be leased pursuant to this Act to any
person qualified to obtain a lease for deposits of oil and gas under
the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.).
(b) Procedures.--The Secretary shall, by regulation, establish
procedures for--
(1) receipt and consideration of sealed nominations for any
area in the Coastal Plain for inclusion in, or exclusion (as
provided in subsection (c)) from, a lease sale;
(2) the holding of lease sales after such nomination
process; and
(3) public notice of and comment on designation of areas to
be included in, or excluded from, a lease sale.
(c) Lease Sale Bids.--
(1) In general.--Bidding for leases under this Act shall be
by sealed competitive cash bonus bids, except as provided in
paragraph (2).
(2) Lease sale bids.--Lease sales under this Act may be
conducted through an Internet leasing program, if the Secretary
determines that such a system will result in savings to the
taxpayer, an increase in the number of bidders participating,
and higher returns than oral bidding or a sealed bidding
system.
(d) Acreage Minimum in First Sale.--In the first lease sale under
this Act, the Secretary shall offer for lease those tracts the
Secretary considers to have the greatest potential for the discovery of
hydrocarbons, taking into consideration nominations received pursuant
to subsection (b)(1), but in no case less than 200,000 acres.
(e) Timing of Lease Sales.--The Secretary shall--
(1) conduct the first lease sale under this Act within 22
months after the date of the enactment of this Act;
(2) evaluate the bids in such sale and issue leases
resulting from such sale, within 90 days after the date of the
completion of such sale; and
(3) conduct additional sales so long as sufficient interest
in development exists to warrant, in the Secretary's judgment,
the conduct of such sales.
SEC. 5. GRANT OF LEASES BY THE SECRETARY.
(a) In General.--The Secretary may grant to the highest responsible
qualified bidder in a lease sale conducted pursuant to section 4 any
lands to be leased on the Coastal Plain upon payment by the lessee of
such bonus as may be accepted by the Secretary.
(b) Subsequent Transfers.--No lease issued under this Act may be
sold, exchanged, assigned, sublet, or otherwise transferred except with
the approval of the Secretary. Prior to any such approval the Secretary
shall consult with, and give due consideration to the views of, the
Attorney General.
SEC. 6. LEASE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
(a) In General.--An oil or gas lease issued pursuant to this Act
shall--
(1) provide for the payment of a royalty of not less than
12\1/2\ percent in amount or value of the production removed or
sold from the lease, as determined by the Secretary under the
regulations applicable to other Federal oil and gas leases;
(2) provide that the Secretary may close, on a seasonal
basis, portions of the Coastal Plain to exploratory drilling
activities as necessary to protect caribou calving areas and
other species of fish and wildlife;
(3) require that the lessee of lands within the Coastal
Plain shall be fully responsible and liable for the reclamation
of lands within the Coastal Plain and any other Federal lands
that are adversely affected in connection with exploration,
development, production, or transportation activities conducted
under the lease and within the Coastal Plain by the lessee or
by any of the subcontractors or agents of the lessee;
(4) provide that the lessee may not delegate or convey, by
contract or otherwise, the reclamation responsibility and
liability to another person without the express written
approval of the Secretary;
(5) provide that the standard of reclamation for lands
required to be reclaimed under this Act shall be, as nearly as
practicable, a condition capable of supporting the uses which
the lands were capable of supporting prior to any exploration,
development, or production activities, or upon application by
the lessee, to a higher or better use as approved by the
Secretary;
(6) contain terms and conditions relating to protection of
fish and wildlife, their habitat, subsistence resources, and
the environment as required pursuant to section 3(a)(2);
(7) provide that the lessee, its agents, and its
contractors use best efforts to provide a fair share, as
determined by the level of obligation previously agreed to in
the 1974 agreement implementing section 29 of the Federal
Agreement and Grant of Right of Way for the Operation of the
Trans-Alaska Pipeline, of employment and contracting for Alaska
Natives and Alaska Native Corporations from throughout the
State;
(8) prohibit the export of oil produced under the lease;
and
(9) contain such other provisions as the Secretary
determines necessary to ensure compliance with the provisions
of this Act and the regulations issued under this Act.
(b) Project Labor Agreements.--The Secretary, as a term and
condition of each lease under this Act and in recognizing the
Government's proprietary interest in labor stability and in the ability
of construction labor and management to meet the particular needs and
conditions of projects to be developed under the leases issued pursuant
to this Act and the special concerns of the parties to such leases,
shall require that the lessee and its agents and contractors negotiate
to obtain a project labor agreement for the employment of laborers and
mechanics on production, maintenance, and construction under the lease.
SEC. 7. COASTAL PLAIN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.
(a) No Significant Adverse Effect Standard To Govern Authorized
Coastal Plain Activities.--The Secretary shall, consistent with the
requirements of section 3, administer the provisions of this Act
through regulations, lease terms, conditions, restrictions,
prohibitions, stipulations, and other provisions that--
(1) ensure the oil and gas exploration, development, and
production activities on the Coastal Plain will result in no
significant adverse effect on fish and wildlife, their habitat,
and the environment;
(2) require the application of the best commercially
available technology for oil and gas exploration, development,
and production on all new exploration, development, and
production operations; and
(3) ensure that the maximum amount of surface acreage
covered by production and support facilities, including
airstrips and any areas covered by gravel berms or piers for
support of pipelines, does not exceed 2,000 acres on the
Coastal Plain.
(b) Site-Specific Assessment and Mitigation.--The Secretary shall
also require, with respect to any proposed drilling and related
activities, that--
(1) a site-specific analysis be made of the probable
effects, if any, that the drilling or related activities will
have on fish and wildlife, their habitat, subsistence
resources, and the environment;
(2) a plan be implemented to avoid, minimize, and mitigate
(in that order and to the extent practicable) any significant
adverse effect identified under paragraph (1); and
(3) the development of the plan shall occur after
consultation with the agency or agencies having jurisdiction
over matters mitigated by the plan.
(c) Regulations To Protect Coastal Plain Fish and Wildlife
Resources, Subsistence Users, and the Environment.--Before implementing
the leasing program authorized by this Act, the Secretary shall prepare
and promulgate regulations, lease terms, conditions, restrictions,
prohibitions, stipulations, and other measures designed to ensure that
the activities undertaken on the Coastal Plain under this Act are
conducted in a manner consistent with the purposes and environmental
requirements of this Act.
(d) Compliance With Federal and State Environmental Laws and Other
Requirements.--The proposed regulations, lease terms, conditions,
restrictions, prohibitions, and stipulations for the leasing program
under this Act shall require compliance with all applicable provisions
of Federal and State environmental law, and shall also require the
following:
(1) Standards at least as effective as the safety and
environmental mitigation measures set forth in items 1 through
29 at pages 167 through 169 of the ``Final Legislative
Environmental Impact Statement'' (April 1987) on the Coastal
Plain.
(2) Seasonal limitations on exploration, development, and
related activities, where necessary, to avoid significant
adverse effects during periods of concentrated fish and
wildlife breeding, denning, nesting, spawning, and migration.
(3) That exploration activities, except for surface
geological studies, be limited to the period between
approximately November 1 and May 1 each year and that
exploration activities shall be supported, if necessary, by ice
roads, winter trails with adequate snow cover, ice pads, ice
airstrips, and air transport methods, except that such
exploration activities may occur at other times if the
Secretary finds that such exploration will have no significant
adverse effect on the fish and wildlife, their habitat, and the
environment of the Coastal Plain.
(4) Design safety and construction standards for all
pipelines and any access and service roads, that--
(A) minimize, to the maximum extent possible,
adverse effects upon the passage of migratory species
such as caribou; and
(B) minimize adverse effects upon the flow of
surface water by requiring the use of culverts,
bridges, and other structural devices.
(5) Prohibitions on general public access and use on all
pipeline access and service roads.
(6) Stringent reclamation and rehabilitation requirements,
consistent with the standards set forth in this Act, requiring
the removal from the Coastal Plain of all oil and gas
development and production facilities, structures, and
equipment upon completion of oil and gas production operations,
except that the Secretary may exempt from the requirements of
this paragraph those facilities, structures, or equipment that
the Secretary determines would assist in the management of the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and that are donated to the
United States for that purpose.
(7) Appropriate prohibitions or restrictions on access by
all modes of transportation.
(8) Appropriate prohibitions or restrictions on sand and
gravel extraction.
(9) Consolidation of facility siting.
(10) Appropriate prohibitions or restrictions on use of
explosives.
(11) Avoidance, to the extent practicable, of springs,
streams, and river system; the protection of natural surface
drainage patterns, wetlands, and riparian habitats; and the
regulation of methods or techniques for developing or
transporting adequate supplies of water for exploratory
drilling.
(12) Avoidance or minimization of air traffic-related
disturbance to fish and wildlife.
(13) Treatment and disposal of hazardous and toxic wastes,
solid wastes, reserve pit fluids, drilling muds and cuttings,
and domestic wastewater, including an annual waste management
report, a hazardous materials tracking system, and a
prohibition on chlorinated solvents, in accordance with
applicable Federal and State environmental law.
(14) Fuel storage and oil spill contingency planning.
(15) Research, monitoring, and reporting requirements.
(16) Field crew environmental briefings.
(17) Avoidance of significant adverse effects upon
subsistence hunting, fishing, and trapping by subsistence
users.
(18) Compliance with applicable air and water quality
standards.
(19) Appropriate seasonal and safety zone designations
around well sites, within which subsistence hunting and
trapping shall be limited.
(20) Reasonable stipulations for protection of cultural and
archeological resources.
(21) All other protective environmental stipulations,
restrictions, terms, and conditions deemed necessary by the
Secretary.
(e) Considerations.--In preparing and promulgating regulations,
lease terms, conditions, restrictions, prohibitions, and stipulations
under this section, the Secretary shall consider the following:
(1) The stipulations and conditions that govern the
National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska leasing program, as set forth
in the 1999 Northeast National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Final
Integrated Activity Plan/Environmental Impact Statement.
(2) The environmental protection standards that governed
the initial Coastal Plain seismic exploration program under
parts 37.31 to 37.33 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations.
(3) The land use stipulations for exploratory drilling on
the KIC-ASRC private lands that are set forth in appendix 2 of
the August 9, 1983, agreement between Arctic Slope Regional
Corporation and the United States.
(f) Facility Consolidation Planning.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, after providing for
public notice and comment, prepare and update periodically a
plan to govern, guide, and direct the siting and construction
of facilities for the exploration, development, production, and
transportation of Coastal Plain oil and gas resources.
(2) Objectives.--The plan shall have the following
objectives:
(A) Avoiding unnecessary duplication of facilities
and activities.
(B) Encouraging consolidation of common facilities
and activities.
(C) Locating or confining facilities and activities
to areas that will minimize impact on fish and
wildlife, their habitat, and the environment.
(D) Utilizing existing facilities wherever
practicable.
(E) Enhancing compatibility between wildlife values
and development activities.
(g) Access to Public Lands.--The Secretary shall--
(1) manage public lands in the Coastal Plain subject to
subsections (a) and (b) of section 811 of the Alaska National
Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3121); and
(2) ensure that local residents shall have reasonable
access to public lands in the Coastal Plain for traditional
uses.
SEC. 8. EXPEDITED JUDICIAL REVIEW.
(a) Filing of Complaint.--
(1) Deadline.--Subject to paragraph (2), any complaint
seeking judicial review of any provision of this Act or any
action of the Secretary under this Act shall be filed--
(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), within
the 90-day period beginning on the date of the action
being challenged; or
(B) in the case of a complaint based solely on
grounds arising after such period, within 90 days after
the complainant knew or reasonably should have known of
the grounds for the complaint.
(2) Venue.--Any complaint seeking judicial review of any
provision of this Act or any action of the Secretary under this
Act may be filed only in the United States Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia.
(3) Limitation on scope of certain review.--Judicial review
of a Secretarial decision to conduct a lease sale under this
Act, including the environmental analysis thereof, shall be
limited to whether the Secretary has complied with the terms of
this Act and shall be based upon the administrative record of
that decision. The Secretary's identification of a preferred
course of action to enable leasing to proceed and the
Secretary's analysis of environmental effects under this Act
shall be presumed to be correct unless shown otherwise by clear
and convincing evidence to the contrary.
(b) Limitation on Other Review.--Actions of the Secretary with
respect to which review could have been obtained under this section
shall not be subject to judicial review in any civil or criminal
proceeding for enforcement.
SEC. 9. TREATMENT OF REVENUES.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 50 percent of the
amount of bonus, rental, and royalty revenues from Federal oil and gas
leasing and operations authorized under this Act shall be deposited in
the ANWR Alternative Energy Trust Fund established by section 12.
SEC. 10. RIGHTS-OF-WAY ACROSS THE COASTAL PLAIN.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall issue rights-of-way and
easements across the Coastal Plain for the transportation of oil and
gas--
(1) except as provided in paragraph (2), under section 28
of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 185), without regard to
title XI of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
(30 U.S.C. 3161 et seq.); and
(2) under title XI of the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act (30 U.S.C. 3161 et seq.), for access
authorized by sections 1110 and 1111 of that Act (16 U.S.C.
3170 and 3171).
(b) Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary shall include in any
right-of-way or easement issued under subsection (a) such terms and
conditions as may be necessary to ensure that transportation of oil and
gas does not result in a significant adverse effect on the fish and
wildlife, subsistence resources, their habitat, and the environment of
the Coastal Plain, including requirements that facilities be sited or
designed so as to avoid unnecessary duplication of roads and pipelines.
(c) Regulations.--The Secretary shall include in regulations under
section 3(g) provisions granting rights-of-way and easements described
in subsection (a) of this section.
SEC. 11. CONVEYANCE.
In order to maximize Federal revenues by removing clouds on title
to lands and clarifying land ownership patterns within the Coastal
Plain, the Secretary, notwithstanding the provisions of section
1302(h)(2) of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16
U.S.C. 3192(h)(2)), shall convey--
(1) to the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation the surface estate
of the lands described in paragraph 1 of Public Land Order
6959, to the extent necessary to fulfill the Corporation's
entitlement under sections 12 and 14 of the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1611 and 1613) in accordance
with the terms and conditions of the Agreement between the
Department of the Interior, the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Kaktovik
Inupiat Corporation effective January 22, 1993; and
(2) to the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation the remaining
subsurface estate to which it is entitled pursuant to the
August 9, 1983, agreement between the Arctic Slope Regional
Corporation and the United States of America.
SEC. 12. ANWR ALTERNATIVE ENERGY TRUST FUND.
(a) Establishment of Trust Fund.--There is established in the
Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known as the ``ANWR
Alternative Energy Trust Fund'', consisting of such amounts as may be
transferred to the ANWR Alternative Energy Trust Fund as provided in
section 9.
(b) Expenditures From ANWR Alternative Energy Trust Fund.--
(1) In general.--Amounts in the ANWR Alternative Energy
Trust Fund shall be available without further appropriation to
carry out specified provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005
(Public Law 109-58; in this section referred to as
``EPAct2005'') and the Energy Independence and Security Act of
2007 (Public Law 110-140; in this section referred to as
``EISAct2007''), as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following percentage of
annual receipts to the
ANWR Alternative Energy
To carry out the provisions of: Trust Fund, but not to
exceed the limit on amount
authorized, if any:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EPAct2005:
Section 210........................... 1.5 percent
Section 242........................... 1.0 percent
Section 369........................... 2.0 percent
Section 401........................... 6.0 percent
Section 812........................... 6.0 percent
Section 931........................... 19.0 percent
Section 942........................... 1.5 percent
Section 962........................... 3.0 percent
Section 968........................... 1.5 percent
Section 1704.......................... 6.0 percent
EISAct2007:
Section 207........................... 15.0 percent
Section 607........................... 1.5 percent
Title VI, Subtitle B.................. 3.0 percent
Title VI, Subtitle C.................. 1.5 percent
Section 641........................... 9.0 percent
Title VII, Subtitle A................. 15.0 percent
Section 1112.......................... 1.5 percent
Section 1304.......................... 6.0 percent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) Apportionment of excess amount.--Notwithstanding
paragraph (1), any amounts allocated under paragraph (1) that
are in excess of the amounts authorized in the applicable cited
section or subtitle of EPAct2005 and EISAct2007 shall be
reallocated to the remaining sections and subtitles cited in
paragraph (1), up to the amounts otherwise authorized by law to
carry out such sections and subtitles, in proportion to the
amounts authorized by law to be appropriated for such other
sections and subtitles.
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