[House Report 115-413]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 115-413
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PLANNING FOR AMERICAN ENERGY ACT OF 2017
_______
November 16, 2017.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 2907]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 2907) to amend the Mineral Leasing Act to
require the Secretary of the Interior to develop and publish an
all-of-the-above quadrennial Federal onshore energy production
strategy to meet domestic energy needs, and for other purposes,
having considered the same, report favorably thereon without
amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 2907 is to amend the Mineral Leasing
Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to develop and
publish an all-of-the-above quadrennial federal onshore energy
production strategy to meet domestic energy needs.
Background and Need for Legislation
Under current law, the Administration is required to submit
to Congress a plan for the offshore oil and gas leasing program
every five years.\1\ This requirement ensures that
comprehensive planning for the responsible development of our
offshore energy resources occurs at regular intervals.
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\1\43 U.S.C. 1331-1356b.
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However, such a planning requirement for onshore energy
resources does not exist. The United States contains a robust
domestic supply of energy resources, each of which has an
important role to play in achieving energy independence.
Responsible development of the nation's diverse energy
resources, along with investment in innovative technologies,
are critical to ensuring long term energy security. Without a
coherent strategy for developing those resources on public
lands, federal policymaking often results in inefficient and
erratic energy production.
Impediments to energy development on Federal land
For too long, permitting uncertainty, irregular leasing
programs, and overly burdensome regulatory requirements have
stifled energy production on public land. Producers encounter
costly delays as resource-rich parcels of land undergo
duplicative environmental reviews and permits are left to
languish at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for as many as
257 days at a time.\2\
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\2\Bureau of Land Management. Oil and Gas Statistics. https://
www.blm.gov/programs/energy-and-minerals/oil-and-gas/oil-andgas-
statistics (Accessed November 3, 2017).
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As a result, producers are opting to develop State and
private lands, rather than contending with the bureaucratic
uncertainty associated with operating on federal land. In fact,
the federal share of crude oil production fell from 36% in 2009
to 22% in 2015 and the federal share of natural gas production
fell from 28% in 2006 to 15% in 2015.\3\ In the renewable
sector, BLM has identified 20.6 million acres of public land
with wind potential,\4\ yet only 1.4% of installed wind energy
capacity was found on public lands in 2012.\5\
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\3\Michael Ratner. 21st Century U.S. Energy Sources: A Primer (May
19, 2017). http://www.crs.gov/reports/pdf/R44854.
\4\U.S. Department of Energy. WINDExchange. https://
apps2.eere.energy.gov/wind/windexchange/wind-projects-public-lands.asp.
\5\American Wind Energy Association. Public Lands and Wind Energy.
http://www.awea.org/Issues/Content.aspx?ItemNFumber=858.
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The Planning for American Energy Act
H.R. 2907 seeks to address inefficiencies in the current
approach to onshore energy development on federal land by
implementing an all-of-the-above Quadrennial Federal Onshore
Energy Production Strategy based on projected energy demand
over a 30-year period. This legislation would require
coordinated interagency planning efforts to analyze long-term
energy needs and set forth specific actions to ensure national
objectives are met.
H.R. 2907 ensures interagency coordination in the
development of the Strategy and specifically requires the
Secretary of the Interior to consult with the Administrator of
the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Secretary
of Agriculture and the Secretary of Energy. The EIA, housed
within the Department of Energy, is responsible for collecting,
analyzing, and disseminating independent energy data.\6\ While
the EIA regularly issues short and long-term energy forecasts,
H.R. 2907 would require the EIA to take a longer view of U.S.
energy needs and estimate projected energy demands over a 30-
year period. The EIA would also be required to consult on
specific actions that should be taken over a four-year period
to meet projected energy needs. Consultations would also take
place with the Secretary of Agriculture concerning energy
development on lands administered under the Department and with
the Secretary of Energy regarding the status of energy
transmission, storage and distribution infrastructure.
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\6\U.S. Energy Information Administration. Mission and Overview.
https://www.eia.gov/about/mission_overview.php (Accessed November 3,
2017).
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The interagency process established under H.R. 2907 will
establish actionable priorities for onshore energy resource
development designed to meet projected energy needs.
Accordingly, the Strategy will inform the policymaking process
and promote the efficient allocation of resources across
relevant Departments.
Major provisions of the bill
Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to require the
Secretary of the Interior to develop and publish a Quadrennial
Federal Onshore Energy Production Strategy once every 4 years.
The Secretary is required to develop this strategy
in consultation with: (1) the Administrator of the Energy
Information Administration (EIA), who will provide projected
energy demands for the next 30 years, the methodology used to
arrive at their projection, and recommended actions over the
next four year period to meet that projection; (2) the
Secretary of Agriculture with regards to the land administered
by such Secretary; and (3) the Secretary of Energy with regard
to transmission, storage, and distribution infrastructure.
The Secretary is required to solicit input from
States, federally-recognized Indian Tribes, and local
governments where energy projects are proposed to be located,
as well as the general public.
The Strategy should include: 1) directives
regarding federal land energy development and departmental
resources needed to promote energy security; 2) projected
domestic demand for energy resources over a 30 year period by
energy resource type; and 3) domestic strategic production
objectives for onshore oil and gas, coal, strategic and
critical energy minerals, renewables, unconventional sources
and helium, including on Tribal lands, as well as any other
energy resources that the Secretary chooses to include.
In developing the Strategy, the Secretary should
consider how federal lands will contribute to ensuring energy
security; the ability of existing energy transmission, storage,
and distribution infrastructure to efficiently utilize energy
production from federal lands; and the proportion of energy
production derived from federal land compared to non-federal
land.
Federally-recognized Tribes may include their own
production objectives as a part of the Strategy.
The Secretary is required to report to Congress
annually detailing the progress that has been made in meeting
the projection objectives laid out in the Strategy, problems
that may hinder achieving these objectives, and suggestions to
Congress to help address these problems.
The Secretary must submit the Strategy to Congress
and the President 60 days before publication along with
comments from States, Tribes and local governments and
explanations as to why some recommendations were not accepted.
The Committee on Natural Resources has acted on versions of
this legislation before. A similar version of this bill was
favorably reported by the Committee during the 113th Congress
(H.R. 1394) and 112th Congress (H.R. 4381) and was included in
legislation that passed the House in 113th Congress (H.R. 2).
Committee Action
H.R. 2907 was introduced on June 15, 2017, by Congressman
Scott R. Tipton (R-CO). The bill was referred to the Committee
on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. On September 6,
2017, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On November
7, 2017, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the
bill. The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. No
amendments were offered, and the bill was ordered favorably
reported to the House of Representatives by a roll call vote of
17 ayes to 13 noes on November 8, 2017, as follows:
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
Compliance With House Rule XIII and Congressional Budget Act
1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act.
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, November 13, 2017.
Hon. Rob Bishop,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2907, the Planning
for American Energy Act of 2017.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jeff LaFave.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall,
Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 2907--Planning for American Energy Act of 2017
H.R. 2907 would require the Secretary of the Interior,
every four years, to prepare an onshore energy production
strategy for developing resources owned by the federal
government. As part of that strategy, the Secretary would be
directed to establish production objectives for oil, natural
gas, coal, oil shale, and certain other minerals, as well as
energy from wind, solar, biomass, hydropower, and geothermal
resources. Based on an analysis of information provided by the
Department of the Interior about the cost of similar reports,
CBO estimates that developing the initial four-year strategy
and commencing work on the subsequent strategy would cost $7
million over the 2018-2022 period, assuming appropriation of
the necessary amounts.
Enacting H.R. 2907 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2907 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 2907 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The
estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to amend the Mineral Leasing Act to
require the Secretary of the Interior to develop and publish an
all-of-the-above quadrennial federal onshore energy production
strategy to meet domestic energy needs.
Earmark Statement
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Compliance With H. Res. 5
Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any
directed rule makings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, and existing law in which no
change is proposed is shown in roman):
MINERAL LEASING ACT
* * * * * * *
SEC. 44. QUADRENNIAL FEDERAL ONSHORE ENERGY PRODUCTION STRATEGY.
(a) Requirement To Publish Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy
Production Strategy.--The Secretary shall develop and publish
once every 4 years a Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy
Production Strategy.
(b) Consultations Required.--In developing the Strategy, the
Secretary shall consult with--
(1) the Administrator of the Energy Information
Administration with regard to--
(A) the projected energy demands of the
United States for the next 30-year period;
(B) the methodology used to arrive at such
projection; and
(C) actions to be taken during the next 4-
year period with the goal of meeting such
demands;
(2) the Secretary of Agriculture with regard to lands
administered by such Secretary; and
(3) the Secretary of Energy with regard to energy
transmission, storage, and distribution infrastructure.
(c) State, Federally Recognized Indian Tribes, Local
Government, and Public Input.--In developing the Strategy, the
Secretary shall solicit the input of--
(1) the State, federally recognized Indian Tribe, or
local government where each energy project included in
the Strategy is proposed to be located; and
(2) the public.
(d) Contents of Strategy.--
(1) In general.--The Strategy shall direct onshore
Federal land energy development and department resource
allocation in order to promote the energy security and
national security of the United States in accordance
with the principles of multiple use and sustained
yield.
(2) Projected domestic demand for energy resources.--
The Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator
of the Energy Information Administration, shall include
in the Strategy an estimate, based upon commercial and
scientific data, of the projected domestic demand for
energy resources over the 30-year period beginning on
the date of the publication of such Strategy. The
estimate shall be disaggregated by the energy resource
types listed in subparagraphs (A) through (H) of
paragraph (3) and expressed in British thermal units or
me-ga-watts, as appropriate.
(3) Domestic strategic production objective.--The
Secretary shall include in the Strategy a domestic
strategic production objective based on the estimate in
paragraph (2) for the development of the following
energy resource types on Federal onshore lands:
(A) Oil and natural gas.
(B) Coal.
(C) Strategic and critical energy minerals.
(D) Electricity, in megawatts, from each of
wind, solar, biomass, hydropower, and
geothermal energy.
(E) Energy from unconventional energy
production, such as oil shale.
(F) Helium.
(G) Oil, natural gas, coal, and other
renewable sources from the Tribal lands of any
federally recognized Indian Tribe that elects
to participate in facilitating energy
production on its lands.
(H) Other energy production technology
sources or advancements in energy, as
determined by the Secretary.
(4) Considerations.--In the Strategy, the Secretary
shall consider--
(A) how Federal lands will contribute to
ensuring national energy security, with a goal
for increasing energy independence and
production during the next 4-year period;
(B) the ability of existing energy
transmission, storage, and distribution
infrastructure to efficiently utilize energy
production from Federal lands; and
(C) the proportion of total energy production
derived from Federal land compared to non-
Federal land for each of the energy resources
listed in subparagraphs (A) through (H) of
paragraph (3).
(e) Tribal Objectives.--It is the sense of Congress that
federally recognized Indian Tribes may elect to set their own
production objectives as part of the Strategy. The Secretary
shall work in cooperation with any federally recognized Indian
Tribe that elects to participate in achieving its own strategic
energy objectives.
(f) Report Required.--The Secretary shall submit a report
annually to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate that--
(1) examines the progress made toward meeting the
domestic strategic production objective set forth in
the Strategy;
(2) identifies projections for production and
capacity installations and any problems with leasing,
permitting, siting, or production that may prevent
meeting the domestic strategic production objective set
forth in the Strategy; and
(3) provides suggestions to address any shortfalls in
meeting the domestic strategic production objective set
forth in the Strategy.
(g) Congressional Review.--At least 60 days before publishing
a proposed Strategy under this section, the Secretary shall
submit such Strategy to the President and to Congress, together
with any comments received from States, federally recognized
Indian Tribes, and local governments. Such submission shall
state why any specific recommendation of a State, federally
recognized Indian Tribe, or local government was not accepted.
(h) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Multiple use.--The term ``multiple use'' has the
same meaning given such term in section 103 of the
Federal Land and Policy Management Act of 1976 (43
U.S.C. 1702).
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the
Secretary of the Interior, unless the context requires
otherwise.
(3) Strategy.--The term ``Strategy'' means the
Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy Production Strategy
required to be developed and published under subsection
(a).
(4) Strategic and critical energy minerals.--The term
``strategic and critical energy minerals'' means
minerals that are necessary for the production of
energy and the building and maintaining of the energy
infrastructure of the United States, including minerals
necessary--
(A) for pipelines, refining capacity,
electrical power generation and transmission,
and renewable energy production;
(B) to support domestic manufacturing,
including materials used in energy generation,
production, and transportation; and
(C) to ensure the national security of the
United States.
(5) Sustained yield.--The term ``sustained yield''
has the same meaning given such term in section 103 of
the Federal Land and Policy Management Act of 1976 (43
U.S.C. 1702).
SEC. [44.] 45. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Mineral Leasing Act''.
DISSENTING VIEWS
H.R. 2907 would overturn the longstanding principle of
managing public lands for multiple use and sustained yield, as
enshrined by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and
replace it with a directive to maximize energy production under
the guise of strategic planning. While federal lands do play a
part in meeting national energy needs, their development over
the past several decades has been guided by the market and the
need to balance competing land uses. We should not demand that
federal lands provide a certain percentage of America's energy
any more than we should demand that at least 100 million
Americans visit National Parks.
The most troubling part of the bill is the requirement that
the Secretary of the Interior direct Departmental resources in
order to achieve a goal of increasing energy production during
the period of each quadrennial strategy, regardless of market
conditions and other factors. ``Sustained yield'' would become
``maximum yield'', regardless of market conditions, changes in
technology, or changes in policy. Proponents of the bill point
to the inclusion of wind, solar, and other renewable energy
technologies in the strategy to claim that the legislation is
balanced. However, that ignores the fact that the strategy
would also lead to efforts to continually increase production
of coal, oil, natural gas, and oil shale, exacerbating a
climate crisis that we have already been ignoring for far too
long. Also, renewable energy for renewable energy's sake should
not be the goal--increasing renewable energy in the right
places should be the goal, and that requires thoughtful
planning and public input, not simply a directive to grow at
all costs over every 4-year period.
Furthermore, there are a couple of provisions in the bill
that make no sense. ``Strategic and critical energy minerals''
are defined broadly enough such that the minerals mined need
not be strategic, critical, or related to energy. And the
inclusion of helium as an ``energy resource'' is a stretch, to
say the least.
The sponsors of this legislation have not clearly expressed
why this legislation is needed, nor what positive impacts it
would have. The potential negative impacts of the bill,
however, are obvious. For these reasons, we oppose H.R. 2907.
Raul M. Grijalva,
Ranking Member, Committee on
Natural Resources.
Grace F. Napolitano.
Niki Tsongas.
Colleen Hanabusa.
Madeleine Z. Bordallo.
Darren Soto.
A. Donald McEachin.
Alan S. Lowenthal.
Nanette Diaz Barragan.
[all]