[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4611 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4611

   To enable increased gasoline supplies and otherwise ensure lower 
                 gasoline prices in the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 17, 2004

  Mr. Vitter introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on 
Resources, Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Ways and 
 Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To enable increased gasoline supplies and otherwise ensure lower 
                 gasoline prices in the United States.

    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 ``Gasoline Price Reduction and 
Refinery Tax Fairness Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States to take all actions necessary 
in the areas of conservation, efficiency, alternative sources, 
technology development, and domestic production to reduce the United 
States dependence on foreign energy sources by January 1, 2014, to 45 
percent of the Nation's total energy needs.

SEC. 3. OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION DEFINED.

    Section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
1362) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(24) Oil and gas exploration and production.--The term 
        `oil and gas exploration, production, processing, or treatment 
        operations or transmission facilities' means all field 
        activities or operations associated with exploration, 
        production, processing, or treatment operations, or 
        transmission facilities, including activities necessary to 
        prepare a site for drilling and for the movement and placement 
        of drilling equipment, whether or not such field activities or 
        operations may be considered to be construction activities.''.

SEC. 4. OFFICE OF FEDERAL ENERGY PROJECT COORDINATION.

    (a) Establishment.--The President shall establish the Office of 
Federal Energy Project Coordination (referred to in this section as the 
``Office'') within the Executive Office of the President in the same 
manner and with the same mission as the White House Energy Projects 
Task Force established by Executive Order No. 13212 (42 U.S.C. 13201 
note).
    (b) Staffing.--The Office shall be staffed by functional experts 
from relevant Federal agencies on a nonreimbursable basis to carry out 
the mission of the Office.
    (c) Report.--The Office shall transmit an annual report to Congress 
that describes the activities put in place to coordinate and expedite 
Federal decisions on energy projects. The report shall list 
accomplishments in improving the Federal decisionmaking process and 
shall include any additional recommendations or systemic changes needed 
to establish a more effective and efficient Federal permitting process.

SEC. 5. FEDERAL ONSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING AND PERMITTING PRACTICES.

    (a) Review of Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Practices.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior, in 
        consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to 
        National Forest System lands under the jurisdiction of the 
        Department of Agriculture, shall perform an internal review of 
        current Federal onshore oil and gas leasing and permitting 
practices.
            (2) Inclusions.--The review shall include the process for--
                    (A) accepting or rejecting offers to lease;
                    (B) administrative appeals of decisions or orders 
                of officers or employees of the Bureau of Land 
                Management with respect to a Federal oil or gas lease;
                    (C) considering surface use plans of operation, 
                including the timeframes in which the plans are 
                considered, and any recommendations for improving and 
                expediting the process; and
                    (D) identifying stipulations to address site-
                specific concerns and conditions, including those 
                stipulations relating to the environment and resource 
                use conflicts.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall transmit a report to Congress that describes--
            (1) actions taken under section 3 of Executive Order No. 
        13212 (42 U.S.C. 13201 note); and
            (2) actions taken or any plans to improve the Federal 
        onshore oil and gas leasing program.

SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT OF FEDERAL OIL AND GAS LEASING PROGRAMS.

    (a) Timely Action on Leases and Permits.--To ensure timely action 
on oil and gas leases and applications for permits to drill on land 
otherwise available for leasing, the Secretary of the Interior (in this 
section referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall--
            (1) ensure expeditious compliance with section 102(2)(C) of 
        the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
        4332(2)(C));
            (2) improve consultation and coordination with the States 
        and the public; and
            (3) improve the collection, storage, and retrieval of 
        information relating to the leasing activities.
    (b) Best Management Practices.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop and 
        implement best management practices to--
                    (A) improve the administration of the onshore oil 
                and gas leasing program under the Mineral Leasing Act 
                (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.); and
                    (B) ensure timely action on oil and gas leases and 
                applications for permits to drill on lands otherwise 
                available for leasing.
            (2) Considerations.--In developing the best management 
        practices under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider any 
        recommendations from the review under section 5.
            (3) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the 
        development of best management practices under paragraph (1), 
        the Secretary shall publish, for public comment, proposed 
        regulations that set forth specific timeframes for processing 
        leases and applications in accordance with the practices, 
        including deadlines for--
                    (A) approving or disapproving resource management 
                plans and related documents, lease applications, and 
                surface use plans; and
                    (B) related administrative appeals.
    (c) Improved Enforcement.--The Secretary shall improve inspection 
and enforcement of oil and gas activities, including enforcement of 
terms and conditions in permits to drill.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to amounts 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 17 of the Mineral 
Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226), there are authorized to be appropriated to 
the Secretary for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2008--
            (1) $40,000,000 to carry out subsections (a) and (b); and
            (2) $20,000,000 to carry out subsection (c).

SEC. 7. CONSULTATION REGARDING OIL AND GAS LEASING ON PUBLIC LAND.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 
of Agriculture shall enter into a memorandum of understanding regarding 
oil and gas leasing on--
            (1) public lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of 
        the Interior; and
            (2) National Forest System lands under the jurisdiction of 
        the Secretary of Agriculture.
    (b) Contents.--The memorandum of understanding shall include 
provisions that--
            (1) establish administrative procedures and lines of 
        authority that ensure timely processing of oil and gas lease 
        applications, surface use plans of operation, and applications 
        for permits to drill, including steps for processing surface 
        use plans and applications for permits to drill consistent with 
        the timelines established by the amendment made by section 10;
            (2) eliminate duplication of effort by providing for 
        coordination of planning and environmental compliance efforts; 
        and
            (3) ensure that lease stipulations are--
                    (A) applied consistently;
                    (B) coordinated between agencies; and
                    (C) only as restrictive as necessary to protect the 
                resource for which the stipulations are applied.
    (c) Data Retrieval System.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and the 
        Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a joint data retrieval 
        system that is capable of--
                    (A) tracking applications and formal requests made 
                in accordance with procedures of the Federal onshore 
                oil and gas leasing program; and
                    (B) providing information regarding the status of 
                the applications and requests within the Department of 
                the Interior and the Department of Agriculture.
            (2) Resource mapping.--Not later than 2 years after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior 
        and the Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a joint 
        Geographic Information System mapping system for use in--
                    (A) tracking surface resource values to aid in 
                resource management; and
                    (B) processing surface use plans of operation and 
                applications for permits to drill.

SEC. 8. ESTIMATES OF OIL AND GAS RESOURCES UNDERLYING ONSHORE FEDERAL 
              LAND.

    (a) Assessment.--Section 604 of the Energy Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 
6217) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``reserve''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``and'' after the 
                        semicolon; and
                    (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(2) the extent and nature of any restrictions or 
        impediments to the development of the resources, including--
                    ``(A) impediments to the timely granting of leases;
                    ``(B) post-lease restrictions, impediments, or 
                delays on development for conditions of approval, 
                applications for permits to drill, or processing of 
                environmental permits; and
                    ``(C) permits or restrictions associated with 
                transporting the resources for entry into commerce; and
            ``(3) the quantity of resources not produced or introduced 
        into commerce because of the restrictions.'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``reserve'' and inserting 
                ``resource''; and
                    (B) by striking ``publically'' and inserting 
                ``publicly''; and
            (3) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following:
    ``(d) Assessments.--Using the inventory, the Secretary of Energy 
shall make periodic assessments of economically recoverable resources 
accounting for a range of parameters such as current costs, commodity 
prices, technology, and regulations.''.
    (b) Methodology.--The Secretary of the Interior shall use the same 
assessment methodology across all geological provinces, areas, and 
regions in preparing and issuing national geological assessments to 
ensure accurate comparisons of geological resources.

SEC. 9. COMPLIANCE WITH EXECUTIVE ORDER 13211; ACTIONS CONCERNING 
              REGULATIONS THAT SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT ENERGY SUPPLY, 
              DISTRIBUTION, OR USE.

    (a) Requirement.--The head of each Federal agency shall require 
that before the Federal agency takes any action that could have a 
significant adverse effect on the supply of domestic energy resources 
from Federal public land, the Federal agency taking the action shall 
comply with Executive Order No. 13211 (42 U.S.C. 13201 note).
    (b) Guidance.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall publish guidance for 
purposes of this section describing what constitutes a significant 
adverse effect on the supply of domestic energy resources under 
Executive Order No. 13211 (42 U.S.C. 13201 note).
    (c) Memorandum of Understanding.--The Secretary of the Interior and 
the Secretary of Agriculture shall include in the memorandum of 
understanding under section 7 provisions for implementing subsection 
(a) of this section.

SEC. 10. DEADLINE FOR CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATIONS FOR PERMITS.

    Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(p) Deadlines for Consideration of Applications for Permits.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 10 days after the date on 
        which the Secretary receives an application for any permit to 
        drill, the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) notify the applicant that the application is 
                complete; or
                    ``(B) notify the applicant that information is 
                missing and specify any information that is required to 
                be submitted for the application to be complete.
            ``(2) Issuance or deferral.--Not later than 30 days after 
        the applicant for a permit has submitted a complete 
        application, the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) issue the permit; or
                    ``(B)(i) defer decision on the permit; and
                    ``(ii) provide to the applicant a notice that 
                specifies any steps that the applicant could take for 
                the permit to be issued.
            ``(3) Requirements for deferred applications.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If the Secretary provides notice 
                under paragraph (2)(B)(ii), the applicant shall have a 
                period of 2 years from the date of receipt of the 
                notice in which to complete all requirements specified 
                by the Secretary, including providing information 
                needed for compliance with the National Environmental 
                Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
                    ``(B) Issuance of decision on permit.--If the 
                applicant completes the requirements within the period 
                specified in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 
                issue a decision on the permit not later than 10 days 
                after the date of completion of the requirements 
                described in subparagraph (A).
                    ``(C) Denial of permit.--If the applicant does not 
                complete the requirements within the period specified 
                in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall deny the 
                permit.
    ``(q) Report.--On a quarterly basis, each field office of the 
Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service shall transmit to the 
Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, 
respectively, a report that--
            ``(1) specifies the number of applications for permits to 
        drill received by the field office in the period covered by the 
        report; and
            ``(2) describes how each of the applications was disposed 
        of by the field office.''.

SEC. 11. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS.

    In issuing any rule or order relating to gasoline production and 
distribution, a Federal agency shall include a detailed analysis of the 
effects the rule or order would have on gasoline supply. Each Federal 
agency shall seek to ensure that no such rule or order is issued that 
will increase United States dependence on foreign sources of oil.

SEC. 12. ACCELERATED DEPRECIATION FOR REFINERY MACHINERY.

    (a) In General.--Subparagraph (B) of section 168(e)(3) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to classification of property) 
is amended by striking ``and'' at the end of clause (v), by striking 
the period at the end of clause (vi) and inserting ``, and'', and by 
adding at the end the following new clause:
                            ``(vii) any refinery machinery.''.
    (b) Alternative System.--The table contained in section 
168(g)(3)(B) of such Code is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to subparagraph (B)(iii) the following new item:

``(B)(vii)..................................................      10''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to property placed in service after December 31, 2004.

SEC. 13. REFINERY PERMITTING PROCESS.

    Each Federal agency with authority to approve or disapprove actions 
affecting the siting or operation of United States refineries shall, 
within 180 days after receiving an application for such approval, 
either provide the approval or notify the applicant of the reasons for 
rejection along with an explanation of what steps would be necessary to 
obtain approval.
                                 <all>