[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 73 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 73

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

                            January 4, 1995

   Mr. Goss (for himself and Mr. Johnston of Florida) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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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