[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 39 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 39

 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 7, 2003

 Mr. Young of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                     to the Committee on 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 2003''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Coastal plain.--The term ``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 as described in appendix I to part 37 of 
        title 50, Code of Federal Regulations.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``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) In General.--The Secretary shall take such actions as are 
necessary--
            (1) to establish and implement in accordance with this Act 
        a competitive oil and gas leasing program under the Mineral 
        Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) 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
            (2) 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 including, in furtherance 
        of this goal, by requiring the application of the best 
        commercially available technology for oil and gas exploration, 
        development, and production to all exploration, development, 
        and production operations under this Act in a manner that 
        ensures the receipt of fair market value by the public for the 
        mineral resources to be leased.
    (b) Repeal.--Section 1003 of the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 3143) is repealed.
    (c) Compliance With Requirements Under Certain Other Laws.--
            (1) Compatibility.--For purposes of the National Wildlife 
        Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, the oil and gas 
        leasing program and activities authorized by this section in 
        the Coastal Plain are deemed to be 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.
            (2) 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 
        deemed to satisfy the requirements under the National 
        Environmental Policy Act of 1969 that apply with respect to 
        actions authorized to be taken by the Secretary to develop and 
        promulgate the regulations for the establishment of a leasing 
        program authorized by this Act before the conduct of the first 
        lease sale.
            (3) Compliance with nepa for other actions.--Before 
        conducting the first lease sale under this Act, the Secretary 
        shall prepare an environmental impact statement under the 
        National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 with respect to the 
        actions authorized by this Act that are not referred to in 
        paragraph (2). Notwithstanding any other law, the Secretary is 
not required to identify nonleasing alternative courses of action or to 
analyze the environmental effects of such courses of action. The 
Secretary shall only identify a preferred action for such leasing and a 
single leasing alternative, and analyze the environmental effects and 
potential mitigation measures for those two alternatives. The 
identification of the preferred action and related analysis for the 
first lease sale under this Act shall be completed within 18 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. The Secretary shall only 
consider public comments that specifically address the Secretary's 
preferred action and that are filed within 20 days after publication of 
an environmental analysis. Notwithstanding any other law, compliance 
with this paragraph is deemed to satisfy all requirements for the 
analysis and consideration of the environmental effects of proposed 
leasing under this Act.
    (d) Relationship to State and Local Authority.--Nothing in this Act 
shall be considered to expand or limit State and local regulatory 
authority.
    (e) Special Areas.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary, after consultation with the 
        State of Alaska, the city of Kaktovik, and the North Slope 
        Borough, may designate up to a total of 45,000 acres of the 
        Coastal Plain as a Special Area if the Secretary determines 
        that the Special Area is of such unique character and interest 
        so as to require special management and regulatory protection. 
        The Secretary shall designate as such a Special Area the 
        Sadlerochit Spring area, comprising approximately 4,000 acres 
        as depicted on the map referred to in section 2(1).
            (2) Management.--Each such Special Area shall be managed so 
        as to protect and preserve the area's unique and diverse 
        character including its fish, wildlife, and subsistence 
        resource values.
            (3) Exclusion from leasing or surface occupancy.--The 
        Secretary may exclude any Special Area from leasing. If the 
        Secretary leases a Special Area, or any part thereof, for 
        purposes of oil and gas exploration, development, production, 
        and related activities, there shall be no surface occupancy of 
        the lands comprising the Special Area.
            (4) Directional drilling.--Notwithstanding the other 
        provisions of this subsection, the Secretary may lease all or a 
        portion of a Special Area under terms that permit the use of 
        horizontal drilling technology from sites on leases located 
        outside the area.
    (f) 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.
    (g) Regulations.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall prescribe such 
        regulations as may be necessary to carry out this Act, 
        including rules and regulations relating to protection of the 
        fish and wildlife, their habitat, subsistence resources, and 
        environment of the Coastal Plain, by no later than 15 months 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (2) Revision of regulations.--The Secretary shall 
        periodically review and, if appropriate, revise the rules and 
        regulations issued under subsection (a) to reflect any 
        significant biological, environmental, or engineering data that 
        come to the Secretary's attention.

SEC. 4. LEASE SALES.

    (a) In General.--Lands may be leased pursuant to this Act to any 
person qualified to obtain a lease for deposits of oil and gas under 
the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.).
    (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;
            (2) the holding of lease sales after such nomination 
        process; and
            (3) public notice of and comment on designation of areas to 
        be included in, or excluded from, a lease sale.
    (c) Lease Sale Bids.--Bidding for leases under this Act shall be by 
sealed competitive cash bonus bids.
    (d) Acreage Minimum in First Sale.--In the first lease sale under 
this Act, the Secretary shall offer for lease those tracts the 
Secretary considers to have the greatest potential for the discovery of 
hydrocarbons, taking into consideration nominations received pursuant 
to subsection (b)(1), but in no case less than 200,000 acres.
    (e) Timing of Lease Sales.--The Secretary shall--
            (1) conduct the first lease sale under this Act within 22 
        months after the date of the enactment of this Act; and
            (2) conduct additional sales so long as sufficient interest 
        in development exists to warrant, in the Secretary's judgment, 
        the conduct of such sales.

SEC. 5. GRANT OF LEASES BY THE SECRETARY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary may grant to the highest responsible 
qualified bidder in a lease sale conducted pursuant to section 4 any 
lands to be leased on the Coastal Plain upon payment by the lessee of 
such bonus as may be accepted by the Secretary.
    (b) 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.

SEC. 6. LEASE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

    (a) In General.--An oil or gas lease issued pursuant to this Act 
shall--
            (1) provide for the payment of a royalty of not less than 
        12\1/2\ percent in amount or value of the production removed or 
        sold from the lease, as determined by the Secretary under the 
        regulations applicable to other Federal oil and gas leases;
            (2) 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;
            (3) require that the lessee of 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 
        that are adversely affected in connection with exploration, 
        development, production, or transportation activities conducted 
        under the lease and within the Coastal Plain by the lessee or 
        by any of the subcontractors or agents of the lessee;
            (4) provide that the lessee may not delegate or convey, by 
        contract or otherwise, the reclamation responsibility and 
        liability to another person without the express written 
        approval of the Secretary;
            (5) provide that the standard of reclamation for lands 
        required to be reclaimed under this Act shall 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;
            (6) contain terms and conditions relating to protection of 
        fish and wildlife, their habitat, and the environment as 
        required pursuant to section 3(a)(2);
            (7) provide that the lessee, its agents, and its 
        contractors use 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;
            (8) prohibit the export of oil produced under the lease; 
        and
            (9) 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.
    (b) Project Labor Agreements.--The Secretary, as a term and 
condition of each lease under this Act and in recognizing the 
Government's proprietary interest in labor stability and in the ability 
of construction labor and management to meet the particular needs and 
conditions of projects to be developed under the leases issued pursuant 
to this Act and the special concerns of the parties to such leases, 
shall require that the lessee and its agents and contractors negotiate 
to obtain a project labor agreement for the employment of laborers and 
mechanics on production, maintenance, and construction under the lease.

SEC. 7. COASTAL PLAIN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.

    (a) No Significant Adverse Effect Standard To Govern Authorized 
Coastal Plain Activities.--The Secretary shall, consistent with the 
requirements of section 3, administer the provisions of this Act 
through regulations, lease terms, conditions, restrictions, 
prohibitions, stipulations, and other provisions that--
            (1) 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, 
        and the environment; and
            (2) 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.
    (b) Site-Specific Assessment and Mitigation.--The Secretary shall 
also require, with respect to any proposed drilling and related 
activities, that--
            (1) a site-specific analysis be made of the probable 
        effects, if any, that the drilling or related activities will 
        have on fish and wildlife, their habitat, and the environment;
            (2) a plan be implemented to avoid, minimize, and mitigate 
        (in that order and to the extent practicable) any significant 
        adverse effect identified under paragraph (1); and
            (3) the development of the plan shall occur after 
        consultation with the agency or agencies having jurisdiction 
        over matters mitigated by the plan.
    (c) Regulations To Protect Coastal Plain Fish and Wildlife 
Resources, Subsistence Users, and the Environment.--Before implementing 
the leasing program authorized by this Act, the Secretary shall prepare 
and promulgate regulations, lease terms, conditions, restrictions, 
prohibitions, stipulations, and other measures designed to ensure that 
the activities undertaken on the Coastal Plain under this Act are 
conducted in a manner consistent with the purposes and environmental 
requirements of this Act.
    (d) Compliance With Federal and State Environmental Laws and Other 
Requirements.--The proposed regulations, lease terms, conditions, 
restrictions, prohibitions, and stipulations for the leasing program 
under this Act shall require compliance with all applicable provisions 
of Federal and State environmental law and shall also require the 
following:
            (1) Standards at least as effective as the safety and 
        environmental mitigation measures set forth in items 1 through 
        29 at pages 167 through 169 of the ``Final Legislative 
        Environmental Impact Statement'' (April 1987) on the Coastal 
        Plain.
            (2) Seasonal limitations on exploration, development, and 
        related activities, where necessary, to avoid significant 
        adverse effects during periods of concentrated fish and 
        wildlife breeding, denning, nesting, spawning, and migration.
            (3) That exploration activities, except for surface 
        geological studies, be limited to the period between 
        approximately November 1 and May 1 each year and that 
        exploration activities shall be supported by ice roads, winter 
        trails with adequate snow cover, ice pads, ice airstrips, and 
        air transport methods, except that such exploration activities 
        may occur at other times, if--
                    (A) the Secretary determines, after affording an 
                opportunity for public comment and review, that special 
                circumstances exist necessitating that exploration 
                activities be conducted at other times of the year; and
                    (B) the Secretary finds that such exploration will 
                have no significant adverse effect on the fish and 
wildlife, their habitat, and the environment of the Coastal Plain.
            (4) Design safety and construction standards for all 
        pipelines and any access and service roads, that--
                    (A) minimize, to the maximum extent possible, 
                adverse effects upon the passage of migratory species 
                such as caribou; and
                    (B) minimize adverse effects upon the flow of 
                surface water by requiring the use of culverts, 
                bridges, and other structural devices.
            (5) Prohibitions on public access and use on all pipeline 
        access and service roads.
            (6) Stringent reclamation and rehabilitation requirements, 
        consistent with the standards set forth in this Act, requiring 
        the removal from the Coastal Plain of all oil and gas 
        development and production facilities, structures, and 
        equipment upon completion of oil and gas production operations, 
        except that the Secretary may exempt from the requirements of 
        this paragraph those facilities, structures, or equipment that 
        the Secretary determines would assist in the management of the 
        Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and that are donated to the 
        United States for that purpose.
            (7) Appropriate prohibitions or restrictions on access by 
        all modes of transportation.
            (8) Appropriate prohibitions or restrictions on sand and 
        gravel extraction.
            (9) Consolidation of facility siting.
            (10) Appropriate prohibitions or restrictions on use of 
        explosives.
            (11) Avoidance, to the extent practicable, of springs, 
        streams, and river system; the protection of natural surface 
        drainage patterns, wetlands, and riparian habitats; and the 
        regulation of methods or techniques for developing or 
        transporting adequate supplies of water for exploratory 
        drilling.
            (12) Avoidance or reduction of air traffic-related 
        disturbance to fish and wildlife.
            (13) Treatment and disposal of hazardous and toxic wastes, 
        solid wastes, reserve pit fluids, drilling muds and cuttings, 
        and domestic wastewater, including an annual waste management 
        report, a hazardous materials tracking system, and a 
        prohibition on chlorinated solvents, in accordance with 
        applicable Federal and State environmental law.
            (14) Fuel storage and oil spill contingency planning.
            (15) Research, monitoring, and reporting requirements.
            (16) Field crew environmental briefings.
            (17) Avoidance of significant adverse effects upon 
        subsistence hunting, fishing, and trapping by subsistence 
        users.
            (18) Compliance with applicable air and water quality 
        standards.
            (19) Appropriate seasonal and safety zone designations 
        around well sites, within which subsistence hunting and 
        trapping shall be limited.
            (20) Reasonable stipulations for protection of cultural and 
        archeological resources.
            (21) All other protective environmental stipulations, 
        restrictions, terms, and conditions deemed necessary by the 
        Secretary.
    (e) Considerations.--In preparing and promulgating regulations, 
lease terms, conditions, restrictions, prohibitions, and stipulations 
under this section, the Secretary shall consider the following:
            (1) The stipulations and conditions that govern the 
        National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska leasing program, as set forth 
        in the 1999 Northeast National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Final 
        Integrated Activity Plan/Environmental Impact Statement.
            (2) The environmental protection standards that governed 
        the initial Coastal Plain seismic exploration program under 
        parts 37.31 to 37.33 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations.
            (3) The land use stipulations for exploratory drilling on 
        the KIC-ASRC private lands that are set forth in Appendix 2 of 
        the August 9, 1983, agreement between Arctic Slope Regional 
        Corporation and the United States.
    (f) Facility Consolidation Planning.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall, after providing for 
        public notice and comment, prepare and update periodically a 
        plan to govern, guide, and direct the siting and construction 
        of facilities for the exploration, development, production, and 
        transportation of Coastal Plain oil and gas resources.
            (2) Objectives.--The plan shall have the following 
        objectives:
                    (A) Avoiding unnecessary duplication of facilities 
                and activities.
                    (B) Encouraging consolidation of common facilities 
                and activities.
                    (C) Locating or confining facilities and activities 
                to areas that will minimize impact on fish and 
                wildlife, their habitat, and the environment.
                    (D) Utilizing existing facilities wherever 
                practicable.
                    (E) Enhancing compatibility between wildlife values 
                and development activities.

SEC. 8. EXPEDITED JUDICIAL REVIEW.

    (a) Filing of Complaint.--
            (1) Deadline.--Subject to paragraph (2), any complaint 
        seeking judicial review of any provision of this Act or any 
        action of the Secretary under this Act shall be filed in any 
        appropriate district court of the United States--
                    (A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), within 
                the 90-day period beginning on the date of the action 
                being challenged; or
                    (B) in the case of a complaint based solely on 
                grounds arising after such period, within 90 days after 
                the complainant knew or reasonably should have known of 
                the grounds for the complaint.
            (2) Venue.--Any complaint seeking judicial review of an 
        action of the Secretary under this Act may be filed only in the 
        United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
            (3) Limitation on scope of certain review.--Judicial review 
        of a Secretarial decision to conduct a lease sale under this 
        Act, including the environmental analysis thereof, shall be 
        limited to whether the Secretary has complied with the terms of 
        this Act and shall be based upon the administrative record of 
        that decision. The Secretary's identification of a preferred 
        course of action to enable leasing to proceed and the 
        Secretary's analysis of environmental effects under this Act 
        shall be presumed to be correct unless shown otherwise by clear 
        and convincing evidence to the contrary.
    (b) Limitation on Other Review.--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. 9. RIGHTS-OF-WAY ACROSS THE COASTAL PLAIN.

    (a) Exemption.--Title XI of the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 3161 et seq.) shall not apply to 
the issuance by the Secretary under section 28 of the Mineral Leasing 
Act (30 U.S.C. 185) of rights-of-way and easements across the Coastal 
Plain for the transportation of oil and gas.
    (b) Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary shall include in any 
right-of-way or easement referred to in subsection (a) such terms and 
conditions as may be necessary to ensure that transportation of oil and 
gas does not result in a significant adverse effect on the fish and 
wildlife, subsistence resources, their habitat, and the environment of 
the Coastal Plain, including requirements that facilities be sited or 
designed so as to avoid unnecessary duplication of roads and pipelines.
    (c) Regulations.--The Secretary shall include in regulations under 
section 3(g) provisions granting rights-of-way and easements described 
in subsection (a) of this section.

SEC. 10. CONVEYANCE.

    In order to maximize Federal revenues by removing clouds on title 
to 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)), shall convey--
            (1) to the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation the surface estate 
        of the lands described in paragraph 1 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) in accordance with the terms 
        and conditions of the Agreement between the Department of the 
        Interior, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the 
        Bureau of Land Management, and the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation 
        effective January 22, 1993; and
            (2) to the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation the remaining 
        subsurface estate to which it is entitled pursuant to the 
        August 9, 1983, agreement between the Arctic Slope Regional 
        Corporation and the United States of America.

SEC. 11. LOCAL GOVERNMENT IMPACT AID AND COMMUNITY SERVICE ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Financial Assistance Authorized.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may use amounts available 
        from the Coastal Plain Local Government Impact Aid Assistance 
        Fund established by subsection (d) to provide timely financial 
        assistance to entities that are eligible under paragraph (2) 
        and that are directly impacted by the exploration for or 
        production of oil and gas on the Coastal Plain under this Act.
            (2) Eligible entities.--The North Slope Borough, Kaktovik, 
        and other boroughs, municipal subdivisions, villages, and any 
        other community organized under Alaska State law shall be 
        eligible for financial assistance under this section.
    (b) Use of Assistance.--Financial assistance under this section may 
be used only for--
            (1) planning for mitigation of the potential effects of oil 
        and gas exploration and development on environmental, social, 
        cultural, recreational and subsistence values;
            (2) implementing mitigation plans and maintaining 
        mitigation projects; and
            (3) developing, carrying out, and maintaining projects and 
        programs that provide new or expanded public facilities and 
        services to address needs and problems associated with such 
        effects, including firefighting, police, water, waste 
        treatment, medivac, and medical services.
    (c) Application.--
            (1) In general.--Any community that is eligible for 
        assistance under this section may submit an application for 
        such assistance to the Secretary, in such form and under such 
        procedures as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation.
            (2) North slope borough communities.--A community located 
        in the North Slope Borough may apply for assistance under this 
        section either directly to the Secretary or through the North 
        Slope Borough.
            (3) Application assistance.--The Secretary shall work 
        closely with and assist the North Slope Borough and other 
        communities eligible for assistance under this section in 
        developing and submitting applications for assistance under 
        this section.
    (d) Establishment of Fund.--
            (1) In general.--There is established in the Treasury the 
        Coastal Plain Local Government Impact Aid Assistance Fund.
            (2) Use.--Amounts in the fund may be used only for 
        providing financial assistance under this section.
            (3) Deposits.--Subject to paragraph (4), there shall be 
        deposited into the fund amounts received by the United States 
        as revenues derived from rents, bonuses, and royalties under on 
        leases and lease sales authorized under this Act.
            (4) Limitation on deposits.--The total amount in the fund 
        may not exceed $10,000,000.
            (5) Investment of balances.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
        shall invest amounts in the fund in interest bearing government 
        securities.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--To provide financial 
assistance under this section there is authorized to be appropriated to 
the Secretary from the Coastal Plain Local Government Impact Aid 
Assistance Fund $5,000,000 for each fiscal year.
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