[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1092 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

  1st Session
                                S. 1092

To establish a program under which the Secretary of the Interior offers 
    for lease certain land for oil shale development, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 20, 2005

  Mr. Salazar introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a program under which the Secretary of the Interior offers 
    for lease certain land for oil shale development, 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 ``Oil Shale Development Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. OIL SHALE LEASING.

    (a) Declaration of Policy.--Congress declares that it is the policy 
of the United States that--
            (1) United States oil shale and oil sands are strategically 
        important domestic resources that should be developed through 
        methods that help reduce the growing dependence of the United 
        States on politically and economically unstable sources of 
        foreign oil imports;
            (2) the development of oil shale and oil sands, for 
        research and commercial development, should be conducted in an 
        environmentally sound and economically feasible manner; and
            (3) development described in paragraph (2) should occur at 
        a deliberate pace, with an emphasis on sustainability, to 
        benefit the United States while taking into account affected 
        States and communities.
    (b) Leasing for Research and Development.--
            (1) In general.--In accordance with section 21 of the 
        Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 241) and any other applicable 
        law, except as provided in this section, not later than 1 year 
        after the date of enactment of this Act, from land otherwise 
        available for leasing, the Secretary of the Interior (referred 
        to in this section as the ``Secretary'') shall, for a period 
        determined by the Secretary, make available for leasing such 
        land as the Secretary considers to be necessary to conduct 
        research and development activities with respect to innovative 
        technologies for the recovery of shale oil from oil shale 
        resources on public land.
            (2) Application.--The Secretary may offer to lease the land 
        to persons that submit an application for the lease, if the 
        Secretary determines that there is no competitive interest in 
        the land.
            (3) Administration.--In carrying out this subsection, the 
        Secretary shall--
                    (A) provide for environmentally sound research and 
                development of oil shale;
                    (B) provide for an appropriate return to the 
                public, as determined by the Secretary;
                    (C) before carrying out any activity that will 
                disturb the surface of land, provide for an adequate 
                bond, surety, or other financial arrangement to ensure 
                reclamation;
                    (D) provide for a primary lease term of 10 years, 
                after which the lease term may be extended if the 
                Secretary determines that diligent research and 
                development activities are occurring on the land 
                leased;
                    (E) require the owner or operator of a project 
                under this subsection, within such period as the 
                Secretary may determine--
                            (i) to submit a plan of operations;
                            (ii) to develop an environmental protection 
                        plan; and
                            (iii) to undertake diligent research and 
                        development activities;
                    (F) ensure that leases under this section are not 
                larger than necessary to conduct research and 
                development activities under an application under 
                paragraph (2);
                    (G) provide for consultation with affected State 
                and local governments; and
                    (H) provide for such requirements as the Secretary 
                determines to be in the public interest.
            (4) Moneys received.--Any moneys received from a leasing 
        activity under this subsection shall be paid in accordance with 
        section 35 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191).
    (c) Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement.--Not later than 18 
months after the date of enactment of this Act, in accordance with 
section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), the Secretary shall complete a programmatic 
environmental impact statement that analyzes potential leasing for 
commercial development of oil shale resources on public land.
    (d) Analysis of Potential Leasing Program.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
        report (including recommendations) analyzing a potential 
        leasing program for the commercial development of oil shale on 
        public land.
            (2) Inclusions.--The report under paragraph (1) shall 
        include--
                    (A) an analysis of technologies and research and 
                development programs for the production of oil and 
                other materials from oil shale and tar sands in 
                existence on the date on which the report is prepared;
                    (B) an analysis of--
                            (i) whether leases under the program should 
                        be issued on a competitive basis;
                            (ii) the term of the leases;
                            (iii) the maximum size of the leases;
                            (iv) the use and distribution of bonus bid 
                        lease payments;
                            (v) the royalty rate to be applied, 
                        including whether a sliding scale royalty rate 
                        should be used;
                            (vi) whether an opportunity should be 
                        provided to convert research and development 
                        leases into leases for commercial development, 
                        including the terms and conditions that should 
                        apply to the conversion;
                            (vii) the maximum number of leases and 
                        maximum acreage to be leased under the leasing 
                        program to an individual; and
                            (viii) any infrastructure required to 
                        support oil shale development in industry and 
                        communities; and
                    (C) an analysis, developed in conjunction with the 
                appropriate State water resource agencies, of the 
                demand for, and availability of, water with respect to 
                the development of oil shale.
            (3) Public participation.--In preparing the report under 
        this subsection, the Secretary shall provide notice to, and 
        solicit comment from--
                    (A) the public;
                    (B) representatives of local governments;
                    (C) representatives of industry; and
                    (D) other interested parties.
            (4) Participation by certain states.--In preparing the 
        report under this subsection, the Secretary shall--
                    (A) provide notice to, and solicit comment from, 
                the Governors of the States of Colorado, Utah, and 
                Wyoming; and
                    (B) incorporate into the report submitted to 
                Congress under paragraph (1) any response of the 
                Secretary to those comments.
    (e) National Oil Shale Assessment.--
            (1) Assessment.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out a 
                national assessment of oil shale resources for the 
                purposes of evaluating and mapping oil shale deposits, 
                in the geographic areas described in subparagraph (B).
                    (B) Geographic areas.--The geographic areas 
                referred to in subparagraph (A), listed in the order in 
                which the Secretary shall assign priority, are--
                            (i) the Green River Region of the States of 
                        Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming;
                            (ii) the Devonian oil shales of the eastern 
                        United States; and
                            (iii) any remaining area in the central and 
                        western United States (including the State of 
                        Alaska) that contains oil shale, as determined 
                        by the Secretary.
            (2) Use of state surveys and universities.--In carrying out 
        the assessment under paragraph (1), the Secretary may request 
        assistance from any State-administered geological survey or 
        university.
    (f) State Water Rights.--Nothing in this section preempts or 
affects any State water law or interstate compact relating to water.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.
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