[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6717 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6717

 To terminate or provide for suspension of the application of Federal 
laws that restrict exploration, development, or production of oil, gas, 
     or oil shale, to facilitate the construction of new crude oil 
                  refineries, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 2008

Mrs. Bachmann (for herself, Mr. Akin, Mr. Broun of Georgia, Mr. Burton 
  of Indiana, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr. Kingston, Mr. 
Lamborn, Mr. Latta, Mr. McHenry, Mr. Gary G. Miller of California, Mrs. 
 Musgrave, Mr. Pitts, Mrs. Schmidt, Mr. Shimkus, and Mr. Westmoreland) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
  Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and 
Commerce and Agriculture, 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 terminate or provide for suspension of the application of Federal 
laws that restrict exploration, development, or production of oil, gas, 
     or oil shale, to facilitate the construction of new crude oil 
                  refineries, 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 ``Emergency Energy Cut the Red Tape 
Now Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Gas prices have skyrocketed to record high levels and 
        are negatively impacting America's economy, consumers, and 
        businesses.
            (2) In July 2006, the average price of gas in the United 
        States was $2.98 per gallon and the price of a barrel of oil 
        was $68.86.
            (3) As of July 1, 2008, the average price of gasoline in 
        the United States was $4.07 per gallon and the price of a 
        barrel of oil was $142.00.
            (4) The United States currently imports from foreign 
        nations over 60 percent of all crude oil, gasoline, and diesel 
        fuel consumed by Americans annually.
            (5) The Minerals Management Service has estimated that 
        88.85 billion barrels of oil are available in the Outer 
        Continental Shelf (OCS) areas of the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic 
        Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Alaska, yet over 80 percent of the 
        OCS is under Federal leasing moratorium.
            (6) The United States Geological Survey estimates that 
        there are 16 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the Arctic 
        National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
            (7) The Bureau of Land Management estimates that the United 
        States holds the world's largest known unconventional oil 
        source, known as oil shale, and that more than 70 percent of 
        American oil shale lies on Federal land, primarily in Colorado, 
        Utah, and Wyoming.
            (8) These Federal lands contain an estimated 1.23 trillion 
        barrels of oil, which is more than 50 times the Nation's proven 
        conventional oil reserves.
            (9) There are currently no unconventional fuels leasing 
        programs operating in the United States that would allow oil 
        and gas companies to explore and drill for oil.
            (10) The Federal Government could open land in Colorado, 
        Utah, and Wyoming for oil exploration and the United States 
        could offset all of its imports from Saudi Arabia according to 
        Bureau of Land Management statistics.
            (11) There has not been a new oil refinery built in the 
        United States since 1981 and between 1980 and 2006 over half of 
        existing United States refineries closed.
            (12) The current bureaucratic permitting process to drill 
        for oil and gas contributes to extensive delays in exploring 
        United States natural resources.
            (13) It has been estimated that it takes seven years and an 
        average of $5,000,000,000 for one offshore platform to be built 
        and permitted before natural gas or oil is produced.

SEC. 3. TERMINATION OR WAIVER OF RESTRICTIONS ON LEASING FOR 
              EXPLORATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND PRODUCTION OF OIL, GAS, AND 
              OIL SHALE DURING PERIOD OF HIGH OIL PRICES.

    (a) Termination of Statutory Prohibitions.--Any Federal law that 
prohibits the leasing of Federal Outer Continental Shelf, Bureau of 
Land Management, or National Forest lands or Federal submerged lands 
for exploration, development, or production of oil, gas, or oil shale, 
that withdraws such lands from such leasing, or that prohibits the 
expenditure of Federal funds for such leasing, shall have no force or 
effect.
    (b) Waiver of Permit Requirements.--The Secretary of the Interior--
            (1) may waive the application of any provision of Federal 
        law that requires a permit to engage in drilling for oil or gas 
        under a lease of Federal lands or Federal submerged lands for 
        exploration, development, or production of oil or gas, during 
        any period in which the most recent the spot market price for 
        West Texas Intermediate crude oil at the domestic spot market 
        at Cushing, Oklahoma, as published by the Energy Information 
        Administration, is less than $100 per barrel; and
            (2) shall waive the application of such provisions during 
        any period in which the most recent such spot market price is 
        greater than $100 per barrel.

SEC. 4. REFINERY PROCESS AND PROCEDURES.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``designated refinery'' means a facility 
        designed and operated to receive, load, unload, store, 
        transport, process, and refine crude oil by any chemical or 
        physical process, including distillation, fluid catalytic 
        cracking, hydrocracking, coking, alkylation, etherification, 
        polymerization, catalytic reforming, isomerization, 
        hydrotreating, blending, and any combination thereof, in order 
        to produce gasoline or other fuel;
            (2) the term ``Federal refinery authorization''--
                    (A) means any authorization required under Federal 
                law, whether administered by a Federal or State 
                administrative agency or official, with respect to 
                siting, construction, expansion, or operation of a 
                refinery; and
                    (B) includes any permits, special use 
                authorizations, certifications, opinions, or other 
                approvals required under Federal law with respect to 
                siting, construction, expansion, or operation of a 
                refinery;
            (3) the term ``refinery'' means--
                    (A) a facility designed and operated to receive, 
                load, unload, store, transport, process, and refine 
                crude oil by any chemical or physical process, 
                including distillation, fluid catalytic cracking, 
                hydrocracking, coking, alkylation, etherification, 
                polymerization, catalytic reforming, isomerization, 
                hydrotreating, blending, and any combination thereof, 
                in order to produce gasoline or other fuel; or
                    (B) a facility designed and operated to receive, 
                load, unload, store, transport, process, and refine 
                coal by any chemical or physical process, including 
                liquefaction, in order to produce gasoline, diesel, or 
                other liquid fuel as its primary output;
            (4) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Energy; 
        and
            (5) the term ``State'' means a State, the District of 
        Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other 
        territory or possession of the United States.
    (b) Designation as Lead Agency.--
            (1) In general.--The Department of Energy shall act as the 
        lead agency for the purposes of coordinating all applicable 
        Federal refinery authorizations and related environmental 
        reviews with respect to a designated refinery.
            (2) Other agencies.--Each Federal and State agency or 
        official required to provide a Federal refinery authorization 
        shall cooperate with the Secretary and comply with the 
        deadlines established by the Secretary.
    (c) Schedule.--
            (1) Secretary's authority to set schedule.--The Secretary 
        shall establish a schedule for all Federal refinery 
        authorizations with respect to a designated refinery. In 
        establishing the schedule, the Secretary shall--
                    (A) ensure expeditious completion of all such 
                proceedings; and
                    (B) accommodate the applicable schedules 
                established by Federal law for such proceedings.
            (2) Failure to meet schedule.-- If a Federal or State 
        administrative agency or official does not complete a 
        proceeding for an approval that is required for a Federal 
        refinery authorization in accordance with the schedule 
        established by the Secretary under this subsection, not later 
        than 30 days after such failure, the Secretary shall award the 
        approval of the application.
    (d) Consolidated Record.--The Secretary shall, with the cooperation 
of Federal and State administrative agencies and officials, maintain a 
complete consolidated record of all decisions made or actions taken by 
the Secretary or by a Federal administrative agency or officer (or 
State administrative agency or officer acting under delegated Federal 
authority) with respect to any Federal refinery authorization.
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