[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5661 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5661

To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to require the making of 
 royalty and other payments for oil that is removed under an offshore 
  oil and gas lease under that Act and discharged into waters of the 
         United States or ocean waters, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 1, 2010

Mr. Polis of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to require the making of 
 royalty and other payments for oil that is removed under an offshore 
  oil and gas lease under that Act and discharged into waters of the 
         United States or ocean waters, 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 Pollution Taxpayer and 
Environment Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. ROYALTIES AND OTHER PAYMENTS UNDER OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASES 
              .

    (a) Application of Royalty to Oil Discharged Under Offshore Oil and 
Gas Leases.--Section 8(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 
U.S.C. 1337(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
    ``(9)(A) Notwithstanding the terms of any bidding otherwise 
authorized by paragraph (1) and the authority of the Secretary to 
reduce or eliminate royalty or net profit share under paragraph (3), 
any royalty under a lease under this section shall apply to all oil 
that is removed under the lease and discharged into waters of the 
United States or ocean waters.
    ``(B) In this paragraph the term `discharged' means any emission 
(other than natural seepage), intentional or unintentional, and 
includes, but is not limited to, spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, 
emitting, emptying, or dumping.''.
    (b) Minimum Royalty Under Offshore Oil and Gas Leases.--Section 
8(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1336(a)) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``12\1/2\ per centum'' each place 
                it appears and inserting ``20 percent'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (H) by striking ``12 and \1/2\ 
                per centum'' and inserting ``20 percent'';
                    (C) in paragraph (3)(C)(i), by inserting ``and 
                paragraph (9)'' after ``other than this subparagraph''; 
                and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
    ``(9) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the royalty 
under any lease under this Act shall be not less than 20 percent in 
amount or value of production saved, removed, or sold.''.
    (c) Ensuring Fair Return to the American Taxpayer.--Section 8(a) of 
the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1336(a)) is further 
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(10) The Secretary shall--
            ``(A) ensure that royalty and other payments required for 
        each lease under this section provide a fair return to the 
        United States; and
            ``(B) publish in the Federal Register for each such lease 
        an explanation of how such royalty and other payments were 
        derived.''.
    (d) Consideration of Average Royalty Rates in Other Countries.--
Section 8(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 
1336(a)) is further amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
    ``(11) In establishing the royalty and other payments required for 
a lease under this section, the Secretary shall consider average rates 
for those payments that are required by other countries.''.
    (e) Electronic Flow Monitoring Systems.--
            (1) Requirement.--Section 8(a) of the Outer Continental 
        Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1336(a)) is further amended by 
        adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(12) The Secretary shall--
            ``(A) require the use of an electronic flow monitoring 
        system on each well drilled under a lease under this section 
        that provides an accurate accounting of oil and gas removed 
        under the lease; and
            ``(B) collect data produced by such system.''.
            (2) Rulemaking.--The Secretary of the Interior shall issue 
        a rule within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act 
        to implement the amendment made by this subsection, including 
        the establishment of standards and specifications for 
        electronic flow monitoring systems required under the 
        amendment.
    (f) Repeal of Outer Continental Shelf Deep Water and Deep Gas 
Royalty Relief.--
            (1) In general.--Sections 344 and 345 of the Energy Policy 
        Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15904, 15905) are repealed.
            (2) Administration.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
        not be required to provide for royalty relief in the lease sale 
        terms beginning with the first lease sale held on or after the 
        date of enactment of this Act for which a final notice of sale 
        has not been published.
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