[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4613 Introduced in House (IH)]
103d CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4613
To protect the ecologically fragile coastal resources of south Florida
by prohibiting offshore oil and gas activities and by cancelling
Federal leases in the area of the Outer Continental Shelf adjacent to
the south Florida coast.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 21, 1994
Mr. Johnston of Florida (for himself and Mr. Goss) introduced the
following bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on Natural
Resources and Merchant Marine and Fisheries
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To protect the ecologically fragile coastal resources of south Florida
by prohibiting offshore oil and gas activities and by cancelling
Federal leases in the area of the Outer Continental Shelf adjacent to
the south Florida coast.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. PROHIBITION.
The Secretary shall not conduct any preleasing activities, hold any
lease sale, or approve or permit any exploration, production, or
drilling activities under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43
U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) in the area described in section 2.
SEC. 2. AREA COVERED.
The area referred to in section 1 is all areas of the Outer
Continental Shelf in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Area that are
south of 26 degrees north latitude and east of 86 degrees west
longitude.
SEC. 3. CANCELLATION OF LEASES.
(a) Congressional Determinations.--The Congress determines that--
(1) the area described in section 2 comprises marine
subtidal and nearshore habitats that are unique within the
United States continental margin, and that provide refuge to
numerous coastal and marine birds, rare and endangered species,
extensive live bottom communities, coral reefs, mangroves, and
productive sea grasses;
(2) in 1983 and 1984, Congress and the Department of the
Interior provided for a 3-year moratorium on drilling in that
area to permit the acquisition of additional environmental
information;
(3) notwithstanding the actions described in paragraph (2),
which put the bidding companies on notice that there were
environmental concerns, a total of 73 tracts were leased in the
area in 1984 and 1985;
(4) in 1988, and in every year since then, the Congress has
renewed the annual moratorium on new leasing and drilling in
the area concerned;
(5) in June 1990, President Bush announced that he was
placing a 10-year moratorium on leasing, development, and
production in south Florida and directing the Secretary of the
Interior to begin a process that may lead to the buyback and
cancellation of existing leases in that area;
(6) exploration, production, or drilling activity on any of
the 73 tracts described in paragraph (3) would cause serious
harm or damage to the marine, coastal, and human environment in
the area and such harm or damage is not subject to an
acceptable level of mitigation; and
(7) oil and gas exploration, production, and drilling
activity is incompatible with the ecologically fragile
resources found in the south Florida Outer Continental Shelf,
and the advantages of canceling outweigh the advantages of
continuing such leases and would promote the public interest in
the protection of the south Florida coastal area.
(b) Cancellation.--Based on the determinations made under
subsection (a), all leases under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
in the area described in section 2 are hereby canceled.
SEC. 4. COMPENSATION.
(a) Determination.--The Attorney General shall determine whether
the holder of a lease canceled by section 3(b) is entitled under law to
compensation from the United States as a result of such cancellation.
(b) Negotiation.--If the Attorney General determines under
subsection (a) that a lease holder is entitled to compensation, the
Secretary shall enter into negotiations with such lease holder to
establish a written agreement providing for fair and equitable
settlement of all claims of such lease holder against the United States
for compensation for cancellations under section 3(b).
(c) Amount and Form of Compensation.--Compensation agreed to under
subsection (b)--
(1) may be determined through application of the rules set
forth in section 5(a)(2)(C) of the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1334(a)(2)(C));
(2) may be made in the form of currency, forgiveness of the
lessee's obligation to pay rents, royalties, or bonus payments
which would otherwise be paid to the Federal Government on
another lease issued pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act, or a combination of currency with such forgiveness;
and
(3) shall not exceed the amount that would be provided for
under the rules described in paragraph (1).
(d) No State Requirement.--The State of Florida shall not be
required to provide any compensation for the cancellation of a lease
under section 3(b).
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act--
(1) terms defined in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
have the meaning given such terms in that Act;
(2) references to the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Area
shall be to the area so designated in the Department of the
Interior Outer Continental Shelf Natural Gas and Oil Resource
Management Comprehensive Program 1992-1997 Proposed Final,
dated April 1992; and
(3) the term ``preleasing activities'' means activities
conducted before a lease sale is held, and includes the
scheduling of a lease sale, requests for industry interest,
calls for information and nominations, area identifications,
publication of draft or final environmental impact statements,
notices of sale, and any form of rotary drilling; but such term
does not include environmental, geologic, geophysical,
economic, engineering, or other scientific analyses, studies,
and evaluations.
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