[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7032 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7032

 To improve interagency coordination and cooperation in the processing 
  of Federal permits for production of domestic oil and gas resources.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 24, 2008

 Mr. Barton of Texas (for himself, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Hall 
of Texas, Mr. Terry, Mr. Sessions, Mr. McCaul of Texas, Mr. Culberson, 
and Mr. Upton) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To improve interagency coordination and cooperation in the processing 
  of Federal permits for production of domestic oil and gas resources.

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

SECTION 1. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are to--
            (1) respond to the Nation's increased need for domestic 
        energy resources;
            (2) facilitate interagency coordination and cooperation in 
        the processing of permits required to support oil and gas use 
        authorization on Federal lands, both onshore and on the Outer 
        Continental Shelf, in order to achieve greater consistency, 
        certainty, and timeliness in permit processing requirements;
            (3) promote process streamlining and increased interagency 
        efficiency, including elimination of interagency duplication of 
        effort;
            (4) improve information sharing among agencies and 
        understanding of respective agency roles and responsibilities;
            (5) promote coordination with State agencies with expertise 
        and responsibilities related to Federal oil and gas permitting 
        decisions;
            (6) promote responsible stewardship of Federal oil and gas 
        resources;
            (7) maintain high standards of safety and environmental 
        protection; and
            (8) enhance the benefits to Federal permitting already 
        occurring as a result of a coordinated and timely interagency 
        process for oil and gas permit review for certain Federal oil 
        and gas leases.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL COORDINATOR.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established, as an independent agency 
in the Executive Branch, the Office of the Federal Oil and Gas Permit 
Coordinator.
    (b) Federal Permit Coordinator.--The Office shall be headed by a 
Federal Permit Coordinator, who shall be appointed by the President 
within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (c) Duties.--The Federal Permit Coordinator shall be responsible 
for the following:
            (1) Coordinating the timely completion of all permitting 
        activities by Federal agencies, and State agencies to the 
        maximum extent practicable, with respect to any oil and gas 
        project under a Federal lease issued pursuant to the mineral 
        leasing laws, either onshore or on the Outer Continental Shelf. 
        For purposes of this Act only, such oil and gas projects shall 
        include oil shale projects under Federal oil shale leases.
            (2) Ensuring the compliance of Federal agencies, and State 
        agencies to the extent they participate, with this Act.

SEC. 3. REGIONAL OFFICES AND REGIONAL PERMIT COORDINATORS.

    (a) Regional Offices.--Within 90 days after the date of appointment 
of the Federal Permit Coordinator, the Secretary of the Interior 
(Secretary), in consultation with the Federal Permit Coordinator, shall 
establish regional offices to coordinate review of Federal permits for 
oil and gas projects on Federal lands onshore and on the Outer 
Continental Shelf.
    (b) Number and Location of Regional Offices.--The number of 
regional offices shall be established by the Secretary in consultation 
with the Federal Permit Coordinator. The Secretary shall ensure that 
there is an adequate number of offices in each region proximate to 
available Federal oil and gas lease tracts onshore and on the Outer 
Continental Shelf to meet the demands for expeditious permitting in 
that region. The Secretary shall designate as regional offices under 
this section all offices established under section 365 of the Energy 
Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15924).
    (c) Memorandum of Understanding.--Within 90 days after the 
appointment of the Federal Permit Coordinator, the Federal Permit 
Coordinator, the Secretary, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary 
of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Administrator of 
the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Defense, and the 
head of any other Federal agency with responsibilities related to 
permitting of Federal oil and gas leases, shall enter into a memorandum 
of understanding (MOU) establishing respective duties and 
responsibilities for staffing the regional offices and accomplishing 
the objectives of this section.
    (d) Designation of Qualified Staff.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
        signing of the MOU under subsection (c), all Federal signatory 
        agencies shall assign to each regional office the appropriate 
        employees with expertise in the oil and gas permitting issues 
        relating to that office, including, but not limited, with 
        respect to--
                    (A) consultation and preparation of biological 
                opinions under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act 
                of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536);
                    (B) permits under section 404 of Federal Water 
                Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344);
                    (C) regulatory matters under the Clean Air Act (42 
                U.S.C. 7401 et seq.);
                    (D) planning under the National Forest Management 
                Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et seq.);
                    (E) the preparation of analyses under the National 
                Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
                seq.) (NEPA);
                    (F) applications for permits to drill under the 
                Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.); and
                    (G) exploration plans and development and 
                production plans under the Outer Continental Shelf 
                Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.).
            (2) Preference and incentives.--To the maximum extent 
        practicable, for purposes of this subsection, Federal agencies 
        shall give preference to employees volunteering for 
        reassignment to the regional offices, and shall offer 
        incentives to attract and retain regional office employees, 
        including, but not limited to, retaining contract employees, 
        rotational assignments, salary incentives of up to 120 percent 
        of an employee's existing salary immediately prior to 
        reassignment, or any combination of strategies.
    (e) Duties.--Each employee assigned under subsection (d) shall--
            (1) within 90 days after the date of assignment, report to 
        the regional office to which the employee is assigned;
            (2) be responsible for all issues relating to the 
        jurisdiction of the home office or agency of the employee; and
            (3) participate as part of the team working on proposed oil 
        and gas projects, planning, and environmental analyses.
    (f) Creation of and Delegation of Authority to Regional Permit 
Coordinators.--The Federal Permit Coordinator shall appoint a Regional 
Permit Coordinator to be located within each regional office 
established under this section, with full authority to act on behalf of 
the Federal Permit Coordinator.
    (g) Additional Personnel.--The Federal Permit Coordinator or 
Regional Permit Coordinators may at any time direct that any Federal 
agency party to the MOU under subsection (c) assign additional staff 
required to implement the duties of the regional offices.

SEC. 4. REVIEWS AND ACTIONS OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.

    (a) Schedules for Timely Permit Decisionmaking.--Within 10 days 
after the date on which the Secretary receives any oil and gas permit 
application or amended application, the Secretary shall either notify 
the applicant that the application is complete or notify the applicant 
that information is missing and specify the information that is 
required to be submitted for the application to be complete. Within 30 
days after notifying a permit applicant that an application is 
complete, the Secretary, in consultation with the permit applicant as 
necessary, shall determine and inform the Regional Permit Coordinator 
responsible for that project area whether the proposed permit is a 
class I, class II, or class III permit. The Regional Permit Coordinator 
shall as soon as possible but in no event later than 30 days following 
the Secretary's determination establish a binding schedule to ensure 
the most expeditious possible review and processing of the requested 
permit, in accordance with this section.
    (b) Permit Classes and Schedules.--
            (1) Class i permits.--An oil and gas permit shall be 
        designated as a class I permit under this section if the 
        permitted activity is of a nature that would typically require 
        preparation of an environmental impact statement under NEPA to 
        inform the permitting decision. For such permits, the Regional 
        Permit Coordinator shall establish a schedule for timely 
        completion of all permit reviews and processing, not to exceed 
        30 months. The Regional Permit Coordinator shall make the 
        schedule publicly available within 10 days after the schedule 
        is established.
            (2) Class ii permits.--An oil and gas permit shall be 
        designated as a class II permit under this section if the 
        permitted activity is of a nature that would typically be found 
        not to significantly affect the quality of the human 
        environment under NEPA. For such permits, the Regional Permit 
        Coordinator shall establish the most expeditious schedule 
        possible for completion of all permit reviews and processing, 
        not to exceed 90 days. The Regional Permit Coordinator may 
        grant a one-time extension of that schedule, not to exceed 60 
        days, upon a good cause showing that additional time is 
        necessary to complete permit decisions. Not later than 15 days 
        after establishing or extending any schedule for a class II 
        permit, the Regional Permit Coordinator shall provide the 
        permit applicant with the schedule.
            (3) Class iii permits.--Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and 
        (2), an oil and gas permit shall be designated as a class III 
        permit under this section if the permitted activity either 
        qualifies for a statutory or regulatory categorical exclusion 
        under NEPA or if the requirements under NEPA and other 
        applicable law for the permit have been completed within 30 
        days after the date of a complete application. For such 
        permits, the permit shall be issued within 30 days after the 
        date of a complete application.
            (4) Reclassification of class ii permit.--If prior to the 
        expiration of the established schedule for a class II permit 
        newly discovered information indicates that the class II permit 
        will significantly affect the quality of the human environment, 
        the Secretary may, in consultation with the permit applicant, 
        reclassify the permit as a class I permit under paragraph (1), 
        and the Regional Coordinator shall establish an amended 
        schedule that complies with the provisions of that paragraph.
    (c) Reporting.--The Regional Permit Coordinators shall include data 
on all schedule timing and compliance in their reports to the Federal 
Permit Coordinator required under subsection (i), who shall include 
such data in the report to the President and Congress required under 
subsection (i).
    (d) Dispute Resolution.--The Regional Permit Coordinator shall 
resolve all administrative issues that affect oil and gas permit 
reviews. The Regional Permit Coordinator shall report jointly to the 
Federal Permit Coordinator and to the head of the relevant action 
agency, or his or her designee, for resolution of any issue regarding 
an oil and gas permit that may result in missing the schedule deadlines 
established pursuant to subsection (b). The Regional Permit 
Coordinators shall include data regarding the incidence and resolution 
of disputes under this subsection in their reports to the Federal 
Permit Coordinator required under subsection (i), who shall include 
such reported data and develop recommendations in the report to the 
President and Congress required under subsection (i).
    (e) Remedies.--An applicant for a class I permit may bring a cause 
of action to seek expedited mandamus review, pursuant to the procedures 
in section 7, if a Regional Permit Coordinator or the Secretary fails 
to--
            (1) establish a schedule in accordance with subsection (b);
            (2) enforce and ensure completion of reviews within 
        schedule deadlines; or
            (3) take all actions as are necessary and proper to avoid 
        jeopardizing the timely completion of the entire schedule.
If an agency fails to complete its review of and issue a decision upon 
a permit within the schedule established by the Court pursuant to 
section 7(f), that permit shall be deemed granted to the applicant.
    (f) Prohibition of Certain Terms and Conditions.--No Federal agency 
may include in any permit, right-of-way, or other authorization issued 
for an oil and gas project subject to the provisions of this Act, any 
term or condition that may be authorized, but is not required, by the 
provisions of any applicable law, if the Federal Permit Coordinator 
determines that such term or condition would prevent or impair in any 
significant respect completion of a permit review within the time 
schedule established pursuant to subsection (b) or would otherwise 
impair in any significant respect expeditious oil and gas development. 
The Federal Permit Coordinator shall not have any authority to impose 
any terms, conditions, or requirements beyond those imposed by any 
Federal law, agency, regulation, or lease term.
    (g) Consolidated Record.--The Federal Permit Coordinator, acting 
through the appropriate Regional Permit Coordinator, with the 
cooperation of Federal and State administrative officials and agencies, 
shall maintain a complete, consolidated record of all decisions made or 
actions taken by the Federal Permit Coordinator or Regional Permit 
Coordinator or by any Federal agency with respect to any oil and gas 
permit.
    (h) Relationship to NEPA and Energy Policy Act of 2005.--
            (1) Section 390(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 
        U.S.C. 15942(a)) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``rebuttable presumption that the 
                use of a''; and
                    (B) by striking ``would apply''.
            (2) Section 17(p) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 
        226(p)) is repealed.
    (i) Additional Powers and Responsibilities.--
            (1) Regional permit coordinator reports.--The Regional 
        Permit Coordinators shall each submit a report to the Federal 
        Permit Coordinator by December 31 of each year that documents 
        each office's performance in meeting the objectives under this 
        Act, including recommendations to further streamline the 
        permitting process.
            (2) Redirection of priorities or resources.--In order to 
        expedite overall permitting activity, the Federal Permit 
        Coordinator may redirect the priority of regional office 
        activities or the allocation of resources among such offices, 
        and shall engage the agencies that are parties to the MOU to 
        the extent such adjustments implicate their respective staffs 
        or resources.
            (3) Report to congress.--Beginning three years after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Permit Coordinator 
        shall prepare and submit a report to the President and Congress 
        by April 15 of each year that outlines the results achieved 
        under this Act and makes recommendations to the President and 
        Congress for further improvements in processing oil and gas 
        permits on Federal lands.

SEC. 5. STATE COORDINATION.

    The Governor of any State wherein an oil and gas operation may 
require a Federal permit, or the coastline of which is in immediate 
geographic proximity to oil and gas operations on the Outer Continental 
Shelf, may be a signatory to the MOU for purposes of fulfilling any 
State responsibilities with respect to Federal oil and gas permitting 
decisions. The Regional Permit Coordinators shall facilitate and 
coordinate concurrent State reviews of requested permits for oil and 
gas projects on the Outer Continental Shelf.

SEC. 6. SAVINGS PROVISION.

    Except as expressly stated, nothing in this Act affects--
            (1) the applicability of any Federal or State law; or
            (2) any delegation of authority made by the head of a 
        Federal agency the employees of which are participating in the 
        implementation of this section.

SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW.

    (a) Administrative Review.--Any oil and gas permitting decision for 
Federal lands onshore or on the Outer Continental Shelf that was issued 
in accordance with the procedures established by this Act shall not be 
subject to further administrative review within the respective Federal 
agency responsible for that decision, and shall be the final decision 
of that agency for purposes of judicial review.
    (b) Exclusive Jurisdiction Over Permit Decisions.--Only the United 
States District Court for the District of Columbia shall have original 
jurisdiction over any civil action for the review of such a permit 
decision, including any civil action brought pursuant to section 4(e) 
and subsection (f) of this section.
    (c) Limitations on Claims.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, any action arising under Federal law seeking judicial review of a 
permit, license, or approval issued by a Federal agency for an oil and 
gas permit subject to this Act shall be barred unless it is filed 
within 90 days of the date of the decision. Nothing in this Act shall 
creates a right to judicial review or places any limit on filing a 
claim that a person has violated the terms of a permit, license, or 
approval.
    (d) Filing of Record.--When any civil action is brought pursuant to 
this Act, the Federal Permit Coordinator shall immediately prepare for 
the court the consolidated record compiled pursuant to section 4(f).
    (e) Expedited Review.--Any action for judicial review challenging a 
decision approved pursuant to this section shall be set for 
consideration by not later than 90 days after the date the action is 
filed.
    (f) Expedited Mandamus Review.--Notwithstanding subsection (e), 
within 30 days after the filing of an action under section 4(e) 
challenging or seeking to enforce an established permit review schedule 
for a class I permit, the court shall issue a decision either 
compelling permit issuance or sanctioning the delay and establishing a 
new schedule that enables the most expeditious possible completion of 
proceedings. In rendering its decision, the court shall review whether 
the agencies subject to the schedule have been acting in good faith, 
whether the permit applicant has been cooperating fully with the 
agencies that are responsible for issuing the requested permits, and 
any other relevant matters. The court may issue orders to enforce any 
schedule it establishes under this subsection.
    (g) No Private Right of Action.--Except as expressly provided in 
section 4(e) and subsection (f) of this section, this Act shall not be 
construed to create any additional right, benefit, or trust 
responsibility, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or 
equity, by a person against the United States, its agencies, its 
officers, or any person.
    (h) Finality of Leasing Decisions.--Notwithstanding the provisions 
of any law or regulation to the contrary, a decision by the Bureau of 
Land Management or the Minerals Management Service to issue a Final 
Notice of Sale and proceed with an oil and gas lease sale pursuant to 
any mineral leasing law shall not be subject to further administrative 
review within the Department of the Interior, and shall be the final 
decision of the agency for purposes of judicial review.

SEC. 8. AMENDMENTS TO PUBLICATION PROCESS.

    Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 
1344) is amended--
            (1) by amending subsection (c)(2) to read as follows:
            ``(2) The Secretary shall publish a proposed leasing 
        program in the Federal Register, and shall submit a copy of 
        such proposed program to the Governor of each affected State, 
        for review and comment. The Governor may solicit comments from 
        those executives of local governments in his State which he, in 
        his discretion, determines will be affected by the proposed 
        program.'';
            (2) by striking subsection (c)(3); and
            (3) in subsection (d)(2) by inserting ``final'' after 
        ``proposed''.

SEC. 9. TRANSFER OF FUNDS.

    The Secretary may use any Federal oil and gas lease revenues that 
otherwise would be deposited to the Treasury of the United States as 
``miscellaneous receipts'' pursuant to section 35 of the Mineral 
Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191) or section 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf 
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1338), for all costs of staffing and operating the 
regional offices authorized pursuant to this Act. The Secretary may use 
such funds to reimburse each Federal agency for the costs of its 
personnel assigned to the regional offices.
                                 <all>