[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2214 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2214

 To establish and implement a competitive oil and gas leasing program 
 that will result in an environmentally sound and job creating program 
  for the exploration, development, and production of the oil and gas 
        resources of the Coastal Plain, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 8, 2000

   Mr. Murkowski (for himself, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Bond, Mr. 
Bunning, Mr. Breaux, Mr. Burns, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Coverdell, Mr. Craig, 
Mr. Crapo, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Gramm, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Hatch, 
Mr. Helms, Mr. Hutchinson, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. 
 Kyl, Mr. Lott, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Nickles, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Shelby, 
 Mr. Stevens, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Thurmond, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. Warner, Mr. 
 Abraham, and Mr. Hagel) introduced the following bill; which was read 
  twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish and implement a competitive oil and gas leasing program 
 that will result in an environmentally sound and job creating program 
  for the exploration, development, and production of the oil and gas 
        resources of the Coastal Plain, 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 ``Arctic Coastal Plain Domestic Energy 
Security Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    When used in this Act the term--
            (1) ``Coastal Plain'' means that area identified as such in 
        the map entitled ``Arctic National Wildlife Refuge'', dated 
        August 1980, as referenced in section 1002(b) of the Alaska 
        National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 
        3142(b)(1)) comprising approximately 1,549,000 acres; and
            (2) ``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) Authorization.--The Congress hereby authorizes and directs the 
Secretary, acting through the Bureau of Land Management in consultation 
with the Fish and Wildlife Service and other appropriate Federal 
offices and agencies, to take such actions as are necessary 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 and 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, and shall 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 whenever practicable, on 
existing operations, and in a manner to ensure the receipt of fair 
market value by the public for the mineral resources to be leased.
    (b) Repeal.--The prohibitions and limitations contained in section 
1003 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (16 
U.S.C. 3143) are hereby repealed.
    (c) Compatibility.--Congress hereby determines that the oil and gas 
leasing program and activities authorized by this section in the 
Coastal Plain are compatible with the purposes for which the Arctic 
National Wildlife Refuge was established, and that no further findings 
or decisions are required to implement this determination.
    (d) Sole Authority.--This Act shall be the sole authority for 
leasing on the Coastal Plain: Provided, That nothing in this Act shall 
be deemed to expand or limit State and local regulatory authority.
    (e) Federal Land.--The Coastal Plain shall be considered ``Federal 
land'' for the purposes of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management 
Act of 1982.
    (f) Special Areas.--The Secretary, after consultation with the 
State of Alaska, City of Kaktovik, and the North Slope Borough, is 
authorized to designate up to a total of 45,000 acres of the Coastal 
Plain as Special Areas and close such areas to leasing if the Secretary 
determines that these Special Areas are of such unique character and 
interest so as to require special management and regulatory protection. 
The Secretary may, however, permit leasing of all or portions of any 
Special Areas within the Coastal Plain by setting lease terms that 
limit or condition surface use and occupancy by lessees of such lands 
but permit the use of horizontal drilling technology from sites on 
leases located outside the designated Special Areas.
    (g) 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.
    (h) Conveyance.--In order to maximize Federal revenues by removing 
clouds on title of 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)), is authorized and directed to convey (1) to 
the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation the surface estate of the lands 
described in paragraph 2 of Public Land Order 6959, to the extent 
necessary to fulfill the Corporation's entitlement under section 12 of 
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1611), and (2) to 
the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation the subsurface estate beneath 
such surface estate pursuant to the August 9, 1983, agreement between 
the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and the United States of America.

SEC. 4. RULES AND REGULATIONS.

    (a) Promulgation.--The Secretary shall prescribe such rules and 
regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes and 
provisions of this Act, including rules and regulations relating to 
protection of the fish and wildlife, their habitat, subsistence 
resources, and the environment of the Coastal Plain. Such rules and 
regulations shall be promulgated no later than fourteen months after 
the date of enactment of this Act and shall, as of their effective 
date, apply to all operations conducted under a lease issued or 
maintained under the provisions of this Act and all operations on the 
Coastal Plain related to the leasing, exploration, development and 
production of oil and gas.
    (b) Revision of Regulations.--The Secretary shall periodically 
review and, if appropriate, revise the rules and regulations issued 
under subsection (a) of this section to reflect any significant 
biological, environmental, or engineering data which come to the 
Secretary's attention.

SEC. 5. 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 hereby found by the Congress to be 
adequate to satisfy the legal and procedural requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 with respect to actions 
authorized to be taken by the Secretary to develop and promulgate the 
regulations for the establishment of the leasing program authorized by 
this Act, to conduct the first lease sale and any subsequent lease sale 
authorized by this Act, and to grant rights-of-way and easements to 
carry out the purposes of this Act.

SEC. 6. LEASE SALES.

    (a) Lease Sales.--Lands may be leased pursuant to the provisions of 
this Act to any person qualified to obtain a lease for deposits of oil 
and gas under the Mineral Leasing Act, as amended (30 U.S.C. 181).
    (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; and
            (2) public notice of and comment on designation of areas to 
        be included in, or excluded from, a lease sale.
    (c) Lease Sales on Coastal Plain.--The Secretary shall, by 
regulation, provide for lease sales of lands on the Coastal Plain. When 
lease sales are to be held, they shall occur after the nomination 
process provided for in subsection (b) of this section. For the first 
lease sale, the Secretary shall offer for lease those acres receiving 
the greatest number of nominations, but no less than two hundred 
thousand acres and no more than three hundred thousand acres shall be 
offered. If the total acreage nominated is less than two hundred 
thousand acres, the Secretary shall include in such sale any other 
acreage which he believes has the highest resource potential, but in no 
event shall more than three hundred thousand acres of the Coastal Plain 
be offered in such sale. With respect to subsequent lease sales, the 
Secretary shall offer for lease no less than two hundred thousand acres 
of the Coastal Plain. The initial lease sale shall be held within 
twenty months of the date of enactment of this Act. The second lease 
sale shall be held no later than twenty-four months after the initial 
sale, with additional sales conducted no later then twelve months 
thereafter so long as sufficient interest in development exists to 
warrant, in the Secretary's judgment, the conduct of such sales.

SEC. 7. GRANT OF LEASES BY THE SECRETARY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized to grant to the 
highest responsible qualified bidder by sealed competitive cash bonus 
bid any lands to be leased on the Coastal Plain upon payment by the 
lessee of such bonus as may be accepted by the Secretary and of such 
royalty as may be fixed in the lease, which shall be not less than 
12\1/2\ per centum in amount or value of the production removed or sold 
from the lease.
    (b) Antitrust Review.--Following each notice of a proposed lease 
sale and before the acceptance of bids and the issuance of leases based 
on such bids, the Secretary shall allow the Attorney General, in 
consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, thirty days to perform 
an antitrust review of the results of such lease sale on the likely 
effects the issuance of such leases would have on competition and the 
Attorney General shall advise the Secretary with respect to such 
review, including any recommendation for the nonacceptance of any bid 
or the imposition of terms or conditions on any lease, as may be 
appropriate to prevent any situation inconsistent with the antitrust 
laws.
    (c) 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.
    (d) Immunity.--Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to convey to any 
person, association, corporation, or other business organization 
immunity from civil or criminal liability, or to create defenses to 
actions, under any antitrust law.
    (e) Definitions.--As used in this section, the term--
            (1) ``antitrust review'' shall be deemed an``antitrust 
        investigation'' for the purposes of the Antitrust Civil Process 
        Act (15 U.S.C. 1311); and
            (2) ``antitrust laws'' means those Acts set forth in 
        section 1 of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12) as amended.

SEC. 8. LEASE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

    An oil or gas lease issued pursuant to this Act shall--
            (1) be for a tract consisting of a compact area not to 
        exceed five thousand seven hundred sixty acres, or nine 
        surveyed or protracted sections which shall be as compact in 
        form as possible;
            (2) be for an initial period of ten years and shall be 
        extended for so long thereafter as oil or gas is produced in 
        paying quantities from the lease or unit area to which the 
        lease is committed or for so long as drilling or reworking 
        operations, as approved by the Secretary, are conducted on the 
        lease or unit area;
            (3) require the payment of royalty as provided for in 
        section 7 of this Act;
            (4) require that exploration activities pursuant to any 
        lease issued or maintained under this Act shall be conducted in 
        accordance with an exploration plan or a revision of such plan 
        approved by the Secretary;
            (5) require that all development and production pursuant to 
        a lease issued or maintained pursuant to this Act shall be 
        conducted in accordance with development and production plans 
        approved by the Secretary;
            (6) require posting of bond as required by section 9 of 
        this Act;
            (7) 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;
            (8) contain such provisions relating to rental and other 
        fees as the Secretary may prescribe at the time of offering the 
        area for lease;
            (9) provide that the Secretary may direct or assent to the 
        suspension of operations and production under any lease granted 
        under the terms of this Act in the interest of conservation of 
        the resource or where there is no available system to transport 
        the resource. If such a suspension is directed or assented to 
        by the Secretary, any payment of rental prescribed by such 
        lease shall be suspended during such period of suspension of 
        operations and production, and the term of the lease shall be 
        extended by adding any such suspension period thereto;
            (10) provide that whenever the owner of a nonproducing 
        lease fails to comply with any of the provisions of this Act, 
        or of any applicable provision of Federal or State 
        environmental law, or of the lease, or of any regulation issued 
        under this Act, such lease may be canceled by the Secretary if 
        such default continues for more than thirty days after mailing 
        of notice by registered letter to the lease owner at the lease 
        owner's post office address of record;
            (11) provide that whenever the owner of any producing lease 
        fails to comply with any of the provisions of this Act, or of 
        any applicable provision of Federal or State environmental law, 
        or of the lease, or of any regulation issued under this Act, 
        such lease may be forfeited and canceled by any appropriate 
        proceeding brought by the Secretary in any United States 
        district court having jurisdiction under the provisions of this 
        Act;
            (12) provide that cancellation of a lease under this Act 
        shall in no way release the owner of the lease from the 
        obligation to provide for reclamation of the lease site;
            (13) allow the lessee, at the discretion of the Secretary, 
        to make written relinquishment of all rights under any lease 
        issued pursuant to this Act. The Secretary shall accept such 
        relinquishment by the lessee of any lease issued under this Act 
        where there has not been surface disturbance of the lands 
        covered by the lease;
            (14) provide that for the purpose of conserving the natural 
        resources of any oil or gas pool, field, or like area, or any 
        part thereof, and in order to avoid the unnecessary duplication 
        of facilities, to protect the environment of the Coastal Plain, 
        and to protect correlative rights, the Secretary shall require 
        that, to the greatest extent practicable, lessees unite with 
        each other in collectively adopting and operating under a 
        cooperative or unit plan of development for operation of such 
pool, field, or like area, or any part thereof, and the Secretary is 
also authorized and directed to enter into such agreements as are 
necessary or appropriate for the protection of the United States 
against drainage;
            (15) require that the holder of a lease or leases on 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 adversely affected in connection with 
        exploration, development, production or transportation 
        activities on a lease within the Coastal Plain by the holder of 
        a lease or as a result of activities conducted on the lease by 
        any of the leaseholder's subcontractors or agents;
            (16) provide that the holder of a lease may not delegate or 
        convey, by contract or otherwise, the reclamation 
        responsibility and liability to another party without the 
        express written approval of the Secretary;
            (17) provide that the standard of reclamation for lands 
        required to be reclaimed under this Act 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;
            (18) contain the terms and conditions relating to 
        protection of fish and wildlife, their habitat, and the 
        environment, as required by section 3(a) of this Act;
            (19) provide that the holder of a lease, its agents, and 
        contractors used 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; and
            (20) 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.

SEC. 9. BONDING REQUIREMENTS TO ENSURE FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF 
              LESSEE AND AVOID FEDERAL LIABILITY.

    (a) Requirement.--The Secretary shall, by rule or regulation, 
establish such standards as may be necessary to ensure that an adequate 
bond, surety, or other financial arrangement will be established prior 
to the commencement of surface disturbing activities on any lease, to 
ensure the complete and timely reclamation of the lease tract, and the 
restoration of any lands or surface waters adversely affected by lease 
operations after the abandonment or cessation of oil and gas operations 
on the lease. Such bond, surety, or financial arrangement is in 
addition to, and not in lieu, of any bond, surety, or financial 
arrangement required by any other regulatory authority or required by 
any other provision of law.
    (b) Amount.--The bond, surety, or financial arrangement shall be in 
an amount--
            (1) to be determined by the Secretary to provide for 
        reclamation of the lease site in accordance with an approved or 
        revised exploration or development and production plan; plus
            (2) set by the Secretary consistent with the type of 
        operations proposed, to provide the means for rapid and 
        effective cleanup, and to minimize damages resulting from an 
        oil spill, the escape of gas, refuse, domestic wastewater, 
        hazardous or toxic substances, or fire caused by oil and gas 
        activities.
    (c) Adjustment.--In the event that an approved exploration or 
development and production plan is revised, the Secretary may adjust 
the amount of the bond, surety, or other financial arrangement to 
conform to such modified plan.
    (d) Duration.--The responsibility and liability of the lessee and 
its surety under the bond, surety, or other financial arrangement shall 
continue until such time as the Secretary determines that there has 
been compliance with the terms and conditions of the lease and all 
applicable law.
    (e) Termination.--Within sixty days after determining that there 
has been compliance with the terms and conditions of the lease and all 
applicable laws, the Secretary, after consultation with affected 
Federal and State agencies, shall notify the lessee that the period of 
liability under the bond, surety, and other financial arrangement has 
been terminated.

SEC. 10. OIL AND GAS INFORMATION.

    (a) In General.--(1) Any lessee or permittee conducting any 
exploration for, or development or production of, oil or gas pursuant 
to this Act shall provide the Secretary access to all data and 
information from any lease granted pursuant to this Act (including 
processed and analyzed) obtained from such activity and shall provide 
copies of such data and information as the Secretary may request. Such 
data and information shall be provided in accordance with regulations 
which the Secretary shall prescribe.
    (2) If processed and analyzed information provided pursuant to 
paragraph (1) is provided in good faith by the lessee or permittee, 
such lessee or permittee shall not be responsible for any consequence 
of the use or of reliance upon such processed and analyzed information.
    (3) Whenever any data or information is provided to the Secretary, 
pursuant to paragraph (1)--
            (A) by a lessee or permittee, in the form and manner of 
        processing which is utilized by such lessee or permittee in the 
        normal conduct of business, the Secretary shall pay the 
        reasonable cost of reproducing such data and information; or
            (B) by a lessee or permittee, in such other form and manner 
        of processing as the Secretary may request, the Secretary shall 
        pay the reasonable cost of processing and reproducing such data 
        and information.
    (b) Regulations.--The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to: (1) 
assure that the confidentiality of privileged or proprietary 
information received by the Secretary under this section will be 
maintained; and (2) set forth the time periods and conditions which 
shall be applicable to the release of such information.

SEC. 11. EXPEDITED JUDICIAL REVIEW.

    (a) Any complaint seeking judicial review of any provision in this 
Act, or any other action of the Secretary under this Act may be filed 
in any appropriate district court of the United States, and such 
complaint must be filed within ninety days from the date of the action 
being challenged, or after such date if such complaint is based solely 
on grounds arising after such ninetieth day, in which case the 
complaint must be filed within ninety days after the complainant knew 
or reasonably should have known of the grounds for the complaint: 
Provided, That any complaint seeking judicial review of an action of 
the Secretary in promulgating any regulation under this Act may be 
filed only in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of 
Columbia.
    (b) 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. 12. RIGHTS-OF-WAY ACROSS THE COASTAL PLAIN.

    Notwithstanding Title XI of the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 3161 et seq.), the Secretary is 
authorized and directed to grant, in accordance with the provisions of 
Section 28(c) through (t) and (v) through (y) of the Mineral Leasing 
Act of 1920 (30 U.S.C. 185), rights-of-way and easements across the 
Coastal Plain for the transportation of oil and gas under such terms 
and conditions as may be necessary so as not to result in a significant 
adverse effect on the fish and wildlife, subsistence resources, their 
habitat, and the environment of the Coastal Plain. Such terms and 
conditions shall include requirements that facilities be sited or 
modified so as to avoid unnecessary duplication of roads and pipelines. 
The regulations issued as required by section 4 of this Act shall 
include provisions granting rights-of-way and easements across the 
Coastal Plain.

SEC. 13. ENFORCEMENT OF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS TO ENSURE 
              COMPLIANCE WITH TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF LEASE.

    (a) Responsibility of the Secretary.--The Secretary shall 
diligently enforce all regulations, lease terms, conditions, 
restrictions, prohibitions, and stipulations promulgated pursuant to 
this Act.
    (b) Responsibility of Holders of Lease.--It shall be the 
responsibility of any holder of a lease under this Act to--
            (1) maintain all operations within such lease area in 
        compliance with regulations intended to protect persons and 
        property on, and fish and wildlife, their habitat, subsistence 
        resources, and the environment of, the Coastal Plain; and
            (2) allow prompt access at the site of any operations 
        subject to regulation under this Act to any appropriate Federal 
        or State inspector, and to provide such documents and records 
        which are pertinent to occupational or public health, safety, 
        or environmental protection, as may be requested.
    (c) On-Site Inspection.--The Secretary shall promulgate regulations 
to provide for--
            (1) scheduled onsite inspection by the Secretary, at least 
        twice a year, of each facility on the Coastal Plain which is 
        subject to any environmental or safety regulation promulgated 
        pursuant to this Act or conditions contained in any lease 
        issued pursuant to this Act to assure compliance with such 
        environmental or safety regulations or conditions; and
            (2) periodic onsite inspection by the Secretary at least 
        once a year without advance notice to the operator of such 
        facility to assure compliance with all environmental or safety 
        regulations.

SEC. 14. NEW REVENUES.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all revenues received 
by the Federal Government from competitive bids, sales, bonuses, 
royalties, rents, fees, or interest derived from the leasing of oil and 
gas within the Coastal Plain shall be deposited into the Treasury of 
the United States, solely as provided in this section. The Secretary of 
the Treasury shall pay to the State of Alaska the same percentage of 
such revenues as is set forth under the heading ``EXPLORATION OF 
NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA'' in Public Law 96-514 (94 Stat. 
2957, 2964) semiannually to the State of Alaska, on March 30 and 
September 30 of each year and shall deposit the balance of all such 
revenues as miscellaneous receipts in the Treasury.
                                 <all>