[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 869 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 869

  To prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from issuing oil and gas 
       leases on certain portions of the Outer Continental Shelf.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 25, 1999

 Mr. LoBiondo introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from issuing oil and gas 
       leases on certain portions of the Outer Continental Shelf.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PROHIBITION.

    (a)(1) The Secretary of the Interior shall not issue a lease, 
permit, or license for the exploration for or extraction of oil or gas 
on or from submerged lands described in subsection (b).
    (2)(A) No person shall explore for or extract oil or gas on or from 
any area of the submerged lands described in subsection (b) after the 
date of the cancellation, expiration, relinquishment, surrender, or 
termination of a lease with respect to such area.
    (B) Except as provided in subparagraph (A), this subsection shall 
not prohibit exploration for or extraction of oil or gas on or from any 
area of submerged lands under the terms of a lease, permit, or license 
in effect on the date of enactment of this Act with respect to such 
area.
    (b)(1) The lands with respect to which subsection (a) applies shall 
include--
            (A) all submerged lands seaward from the landward boundary 
        of the Outer Continental Shelf that lie within 100 miles of any 
        point of the coast line of the State of Florida, including 
        areas with respect to which a moratorium on oil and gas leasing 
        activities existed before the date of enactment of this Act, 
        and all submerged lands south of 26 degrees north latitude and 
        east of 86 degrees west longitude;
            (B) all submerged lands seaward from the landward boundary 
        of the Outer Continental Shelf that lie within 100 miles of any 
        point of the coast line of the State of Georgia;
            (C) all submerged lands seaward from the landward boundary 
        of the Outer Continental Shelf that lie within 100 miles of any 
        point of the coast line of the State of South Carolina;
            (D) all submerged lands seaward from the landward boundary 
        of the Outer Continental Shelf that lie within 175 miles of any 
        point of the coast line of the State of North Carolina;
            (E) all submerged lands seaward from the landward boundary 
        of the Outer Continental Shelf that lie within 100 miles of any 
        point of the coast line of the State of Virginia;
            (F) all submerged lands seaward from the landward boundary 
        of the Outer Continental Shelf that lie within 50 miles of any 
        point of the coast line of the State of Maryland, including 
        areas with respect to which a moratorium on oil and gas leasing 
        activities existed before the date of enactment of this Act;
            (G) all submerged lands seaward from the landward boundary 
        of the Outer Continental Shelf that lie within 100 miles of any 
        point of the coast line of the State of Delaware, including 
        areas with respect to which a moratorium on oil and gas leasing 
        activities existed before the date of enactment of this Act;
            (H) all submerged lands seaward from the landward boundary 
        of the Outer Continental Shelf that lie within 125 miles of any 
        point of the coast line of the State of New Jersey, including 
        areas with respect to which a moratorium on oil and gas leasing 
        activities existed before the date of enactment of this Act;
            (I) all submerged lands seaward from the landward boundary 
        of the Outer Continental Shelf that lie within 125 miles of any 
        point of the coast line of the State of New York, including 
        areas with respect to which a moratorium on oil and gas leasing 
        activities existed before the date of enactment of this Act;
            (J) all submerged lands seaward from the landward boundary 
        of the Outer Continental Shelf that lie within 125 miles of any 
        point of the coast line of the State of Connecticut, including 
        areas with respect to which a moratorium on oil and gas leasing 
        activities existed before the date of enactment of this Act;
            (K) all submerged lands seaward from the landward boundary 
        of the Outer Continental Shelf that lie within 125 miles of any 
        point of the coast line of the State of Rhode Island, including 
        areas with respect to which a moratorium on oil and gas 
leasing activities existed before the date of enactment of this Act;
            (L) all submerged lands seaward from the landward boundary 
        of the Outer Continental Shelf that lie within 50 miles of any 
        point of the coast line of the State of Massachusetts, 
        including areas with respect to which a moratorium on oil and 
        gas leasing activities existed before the date of enactment of 
        this Act, and lands within the 400 meter isobath surrounding 
        Georges Bank, identified by the Department of the Interior as 
        consisting of the following blocks: in protraction diagram NJ 
        19-1, blocks numbered 12-16, 54-55 and 57-58; in protraction 
        diagram NK 19-5, blocks numbered 744, 788, 831-832, and 1005-
        1008; in protraction diagram NK 19-6, blocks numbered 489-491, 
        532-537, 574-576, 578-581, 618-627, 661-662, 664-671, 705-716, 
        749-761, 793-805, and 969-971; in protraction diagram NK 19-8, 
        blocks numbered 37-40, 80-84, 124-127, and 168-169; in 
        protraction diagram NK 19-9, blocks numbered 13-18, 58-63, 102-
        105, 107-108, 146-149, 151-152, 191-193, 195-197, 235-237, 240-
        242, 280-282, 284-286, 324-331, 368-376, 412-420, 456-465, 500-
        510, 543-554, 587-594, 596-599, 631-637, 640-644, 675-688, 718-
        733, 762-778, 805-821, 846-865, 887-891, 894-908, 930-950, and 
        972-994; in protraction diagram NK 19-10, blocks numbered 474-
        478, 516-524, 560-568, 604-612, 647-660, 692-704, 737-748, 787-
        792, 830-836, 873-880, 967-968, and 1011-1012; in protraction 
        diagram NK 19-11, blocks numbered 621-632, 665-676, 700, 709-
        720, 744, 753-764, 785, 797-808, 825-827, 841-852, 856-860, 
        869, 890-905, 907-909, 929-931, 941-945, 947-949, 973-975, and 
        985-989; and in protraction diagram NK 19-12, blocks numbered 
        452-456, 495-499, 536-537, 539-541, 575-577, 579-582, 617-621, 
        623-624, 661-662, 664-665, and 705-706;
            (M) all submerged lands seaward from the landward boundary 
        of the Outer Continental Shelf that lie within 100 miles of any 
        point of the coast line of the State of New Hampshire;
            (N) all submerged lands seaward from the landward boundary 
        of the Outer Continental Shelf that lie within 100 miles of any 
        point of the coast line of the State of Maine;
            (O) all submerged lands seaward from the landward boundary 
        of the Outer Continental Shelf that lie within 145 miles of any 
        point of the coast line of the State of California, including 
        areas with respect to which a moratorium on oil and gas leasing 
        activities existed before the date of enactment of this Act;
            (P) all submerged lands seaward from the landward boundary 
        of the Outer Continental Shelf that lie within 100 miles of any 
        point of the coast line of the State of Oregon; and
            (Q) all submerged lands seaward from the landward boundary 
        of the Outer Continental Shelf that lie within 100 miles of any 
        point of the coast line of the State of Washington.
    (2) The lands with respect to which subsection (a) applies shall 
not include any portion of the Central or Western Gulf of Mexico 
planning areas of the Department of the Interior.
    (c)(1)(A) Notwithstanding section 5(a)(2) (A) and (B) of the Outer 
Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1334(a)(2) (A) and (B)), the 
Secretary of the Interior shall cancel any lease or permit in effect on 
the date of enactment of this Act in areas described in subparagraph 
(B), and such cancellation shall entitle the lessee to receive 
compensation under section 5(a)(2)(C) of the Outer Continental Shelf 
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1334(a)(2)(C)).
    (B) The areas with respect to which subparagraph (A) applies are 
lands south of 26 degrees north latitude and east of 86 degrees west 
longitude.
    (2) The Secretary of the Interior shall report to the Congress 
within 9 months after the date of the enactment of this Act on 
alternative options for compensating leaseholders on blocks numbered 
204, 246, 247, 290, 291, 334, 335, 378, 379, 422, 423, 466, 467, 510, 
511, 553, 554, 555, 597, 598, 599, 640, 641, and 642 on protraction 
diagram NI 18-2 of the Universal Transverse Mercator Grid System, 
assuming the compensation procedures outlined in section 5 of the Outer 
Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1334). These options shall 
include, to the extent practicable, credits in lieu of appropriations, 
such as credits on Federal royalties on producing Outer Continental 
Shelf leases.
                                 <all>