[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 793 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 793

    To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to authorize the 
 Secretary of the Interior to grant easements and rights-of-way on the 
  Outer Continental Shelf for activities otherwise authorized by that 
                                  Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 13, 2003

  Mrs. Cubin introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to authorize the 
 Secretary of the Interior to grant easements and rights-of-way on the 
  Outer Continental Shelf for activities otherwise authorized by that 
                                  Act.

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

SECTION 1. ALTERNATE ENERGY-RELATED USES ON THE OUTER CONTINENTAL 
              SHELF.

    (a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are as follows:
            (1) To protect the economic and land use interests of the 
        Federal Government in the management of the Outer Continental 
        Shelf for energy-related and certain other purposes.
            (2) To provide an administrative framework for the 
        oversight and management of energy-related activities on the 
        Outer Continental Shelf, consistent with other applicable laws.
            (3) To expedite projects to increase the production, 
        transmission, or conservation of energy on the Outer 
        Continental Shelf.
            (4) To provide for interagency coordination in the siting 
        and permitting of energy-related activities on the Outer 
        Continental Shelf.
            (5) To ensure that energy-related activities on the Outer 
        Continental Shelf are conducted in a manner that provides for 
        safety, protection of the environment, prevention of waste, 
        conservation of natural resources, the protection of 
        correlative rights, and protection of national security 
        interests.
            (6) To authorize alternate uses of existing structures and 
        facilities previously permitted under the Outer Continental 
        Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 note).
            (7) To ensure that the Federal Government receives a fair 
        return for any easement or right-of-way granted under section 
        8(p) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
    (b) Amendment to Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.--Section 8 of 
the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(p) Easements or Rights-of-Way for Energy and Related Purposes.--
            ``(1) The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 
        the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating and other 
        relevant departments and agencies of the Federal government, 
        may grant an easement or right-of-way on the outer Continental 
        Shelf for activities not otherwise authorized in this Act, the 
        Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.), or the 
        Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9101 et 
        seq.), or other applicable law when such activities--
                    ``(A) support exploration, development, production, 
                transportation, or storage of oil, natural gas, or 
                other minerals;
                    ``(B) produce or support production, 
                transportation, or transmission of energy from sources 
                other than oil and gas; or
                    ``(C) use facilities currently or previously used 
                for activities authorized under this Act.
            ``(2)(A) The Secretary shall establish reasonable forms of 
        annual or one-time payments for any easement or right-of-way 
        granted under this subsection. Such payments shall not be 
        assessed on the basis of throughput or production. The 
        Secretary may establish fees, rentals, bonus, or other payments 
        by rule or by agreement with the party to whom the easement or 
        right-of-way is granted.
            ``(B) Before exercising the authority granted under this 
        subsection, the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of 
        Defense and other appropriate agencies concerning issues 
        related to national security and navigational obstruction.
            ``(C) The Secretary is authorized to issue an easement or 
        right-of-way for energy and related purposes as described in 
        paragraph (1) on a competitive or noncompetitive basis. In 
        determining whether such easement or right-of-way shall be 
        granted competitively or noncompetitively, the Secretary shall 
        consider such factors as prevention of waste and conservation 
        of natural resources, the economic viability of an energy 
        project, protection of the environment, the national interest, 
        national security, human safety, protection of correlative 
        rights, and the potential return for the easement or right-of-
        way.
            ``(3) The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 
        the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating and other 
        relevant departments and agencies of the Federal Government and 
        affected States, shall prescribe any necessary regulations to 
        assure safety, protection of the environment, prevention of 
        waste, and conservation of the natural resources of the outer 
        Continental Shelf, protection of national security interests, 
        and the protection of correlative rights therein.
            ``(4) The Secretary shall require the holder of an easement 
        or right-of-way granted under this subsection to furnish a 
        surety bond or other form of security, as prescribed by the 
        Secretary, and to comply with such other requirements as the 
        Secretary may deem necessary to protect the interests of the 
        United States.
            ``(5) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 
        displace, supersede, limit, or modify the jurisdiction, 
        responsibility, or authority of any Federal or State agency 
        under any other Federal law.
            ``(6) This subsection shall not apply to any area on the 
        outer Continental Shelf designated as a National Marine 
        Sanctuary.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--The text of the heading for section 8 of 
the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act is amended to read as follows: 
``Leases, Easements, and Rights-of-Way on the Outer Continental 
Shelf.''.
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