[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3694 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3694

To establish judicial procedures for causes and claims relating to any 
   action or decision by a Federal official regarding the leasing of 
    Federal lands (including submerged lands) for the exploration, 
 development, production, processing, or transmission of oil, natural 
  gas, or any other source or form of energy, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 1, 2009

Mr. Broun of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish judicial procedures for causes and claims relating to any 
   action or decision by a Federal official regarding the leasing of 
    Federal lands (including submerged lands) for the exploration, 
 development, production, processing, or transmission of oil, natural 
  gas, or any other source or form of energy, 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 ``Removing Excess Litigation Involving 
Energy on Federal Lands Act'' or the ``RELIEF Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the United States spends over $1 billion per day to 
        import crude oil from foreign countries;
            (2) such expenditure represents the largest wealth transfer 
        in history;
            (3) the United States has at least 86 billion barrels of 
        oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the outer 
        Continental Shelf;
            (4) environmental groups have legally challenged every 
        lease in the Alaskan Outer Continental Shelf in the Chukchi and 
        Beaufort Seas;
            (5) environmental groups have legally challenged the entire 
        2007-2012 5-year national outer Continental Shelf leasing 
        program;
            (6) such legal challenges significantly delay or ultimately 
        prevent energy resources from reaching the American public;
            (7) these legal challenges come at a high cost to the 
        American public and the American economy; and
            (8) Congress finds that expedited judicial review is 
        necessary to prevent this gross abuse of the United States 
        judicial system.

SEC. 3. EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OVER CAUSES AND CLAIMS RELATING TO 
              COVERED ENERGY PROJECTS.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the United States 
District Court for the District of Columbia shall have exclusive 
jurisdiction to hear all causes and claims under this Act or any other 
Act that arise from any covered energy project.

SEC. 4. TIME FOR FILING COMPLAINT.

    All causes and claims referred to in section 3 must be filed not 
later than the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of the 
action or decision by a Federal official that constitutes the covered 
energy project concerned. Any cause or claim not filed within that time 
period shall be barred.

SEC. 5. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DEADLINE.

    (a) In General.--All proceedings that are subject to section 3--
            (1) shall be resolved as expeditiously as possible, and in 
        any event not more than 180 days after such cause or claim is 
        filed; and
            (2) shall take precedence over all other pending matters 
        before the district court.
    (b) Failure To Comply With Deadline.--If an interlocutory or final 
judgment, decree, or order has not been issued by the district court by 
the deadline described under this section, the cause or claim shall be 
dismissed with prejudice and all rights relating to such cause or claim 
shall be terminated.

SEC. 6. ABILITY TO SEEK APPELLATE REVIEW.

    An interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order of the 
district court may be reviewed by no other court except the Supreme 
Court.

SEC. 7. DEADLINE FOR APPEAL TO THE SUPREME COURT.

    If a writ of certiorari has been granted by the Supreme Court 
pursuant to section 6, then--
            (1) the interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order 
        of the district court shall be resolved as expeditiously as 
        possible and in any event not more than 180 days after such 
        interlocutory or final judgment, decree, order of the district 
        court is issued; and
            (2) all such proceedings shall take precedence over all 
        other matters then before the Supreme Court.

SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON SCOPE OF REVIEW AND RELIEF.

    (a) Administrative Findings and Conclusions.--In any judicial 
review of any Federal action under this Act, any administrative 
findings and conclusions relating to the challenged Federal action 
shall be presumed to be correct unless shown otherwise by clear and 
convincing evidence contained in the administrative record.
    (b) Limitation on Prospective Relief.--In any judicial review of 
any action, or failure to act, under this Act, the Court shall not 
grant or approve any prospective relief unless the Court finds that 
such relief is narrowly drawn, extends no further than necessary to 
correct the violation of a Federal law requirement, and is the least 
intrusive means necessary to correct the violation concerned.

SEC. 9. LEGAL FEES.

    Any person filing a petition seeking judicial review of any action, 
or failure to act, under this Act who is not a prevailing party shall 
pay to the prevailing parties (including intervening parties), other 
than the United States, fees and other expenses incurred by that party 
in connection with the judicial review, unless the Court finds that the 
position of the person was substantially justified or that special 
circumstances make an award unjust.

SEC. 10. EXCLUSION.

    This Act shall not apply with respect to disputes between the 
parties to a lease issued pursuant to an authorizing leasing statute 
regarding the obligations of such lease or the alleged breach thereof.

SEC. 11. COVERED ENERGY PROJECT DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``covered energy project'' means any action 
or decision by a Federal official regarding--
            (1) the leasing of Federal lands (including submerged 
        lands) for the exploration, development, production, 
        processing, or transmission of oil, natural gas, or any other 
        source or form of energy, including actions and decisions 
        regarding the selection or offering of Federal lands for such 
        leasing; or
            (2) any action under such a lease.
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