II Calendar No. 474 112th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6082 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 26, 2012 Received; read the first time July 30, 2012 Read the second time and placed on the calendar AN ACT To officially replace, within the 60-day Congressional review period under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, President Obama’s Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012–2017) with a congressional plan that will conduct additional oil and natural gas lease sales to promote offshore energy development, job creation, and increased domestic energy production to ensure a more secure energy future in the United States, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Congressional Replacement of President Obama’s Energy-Restricting and Job-Limiting Offshore Drilling Plan.

2.

Definitions

In this Act: (1)

OCS Planning Area

Any reference to an OCS Planning Area means such Outer Continental Shelf Planning Area as specified by the Department of the Interior as of January 1, 2012. (2)

Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012-2017)

The term Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012–2017) means such program as transmitted to the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate on June 28, 2012.

3.

Requirement to implement Proposed Oil and Gas Leasing Program (2012–2017)

(a)

In general

Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall implement the Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012–2017) in accordance with the schedule for conducting oil and gas lease sales set forth in such proposed program, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), and otherwise applicable law. (b)

Modified and additional lease sales

Notwithstanding the schedule of lease sales in the Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012–2017), the Secretary shall conduct under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) oil and gas lease sales in OCS Planning Areas as specified in the following table, in the year specified in the table for each lease sale: Lease Sale No.OCS Planning AreaYear 229Western Gulf of Mexico2012 220Mid-Atlantic2013 225Eastern Gulf of Mexico2013 227Central Gulf of Mexico2013 249Southern California (existing infrastructure sale)2013 233Western Gulf of Mexico2013 244Cook Inlet2013 212Chukchi Sea2013 228 Southern California2014 230Mid-Atlantic2014 231Central Gulf of Mexico2014 238Western Gulf of Mexico2014 242Beaufort Sea2014 221Chukchi Sea2014 245Mid-Atlantic2015 232North Atlantic2015 234Eastern Gulf of Mexico2015 235Central Gulf of Mexico2015 246Western Gulf of Mexico2015 237Chukchi Sea2016 239North Aleutian Basin2016 248Western Gulf of Mexico2016 241Central Gulf of Mexico2016 226Eastern Gulf of Mexico2016 217Beaufort Sea2016 243Southern California2017 250Mid-Atlantic2017 247Central Gulf of Mexico2017 255South Atlantic-South Carolina2015 (c)

Lease sales described

For purposes of subsection (b)— (1)lease sale numbers 229, 227, 233, 244, 225, 231, 238, 235, 242, 246, 226, 241, 237, 248, and 247 are such sales proposed in, and shall be conducted in accordance with, the Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012–2017), except each such lease sale shall be conducted in the year specified for such sale in the table in subsection (b); (2)lease sale numbers 220, 212, 228, 230, 221, 245, 232, 234, 239, 217, and 243 are such sales proposed in, and shall be conducted in accordance with, the Draft Proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2010–2015 as published in Federal Register on January 21, 2009 (74 Fed. Reg. 12), except each such lease sale shall be conducted in the year specified for such sale in the table in subsection (b); and (3)lease sale numbers 249 and 250 shall be conducted— (A)for lease tracts in the Southern California OCS Planning Area and Mid-Atlantic OCS Planning Area, respectively, as determined by and at the discretion of the Secretary, subject to subparagraph (C); (B)in the year specified for each such lease sale in the table in subsection (b); and (C)in accordance with the other provisions of this Act.

4.

Southern California existing infrastructure lease sale

(a)

In general

In lease sale 249 under section 3, the Secretary shall offer for sale leases of tracts in the Santa Maria and Santa Barbara/Ventura Basins of the Southern California OCS Planning Area as soon as practicable, but not later than December 31, 2013. (b)

Use of existing structures or onshore-Based drilling

The Secretary of the Interior shall include in leases offered for sale under lease sale 249 such terms and conditions as are necessary to require that development and production may occur only from offshore infrastructure in existence on the date of the enactment of this Act or from onshore-based drilling.

5.

National defense

(a)

National defense areas

This Act shall in no way affect the existing authority of the Secretary of Defense, with the approval of the President, to designate national defense areas on the outer Continental Shelf pursuant to section 12(d) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1341(d)). (b)

Prohibition on conflicts with military operations

No person may engage in any exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas on the Outer Continental Shelf under a lease issued under this Act that would conflict with any military operation, as determined in accordance with the Memorandum of Agreement between the Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior on Mutual Concerns on the Outer Continental Shelf signed July 20, 1983, and any revision or replacement for that agreement that is agreed to by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Interior after that date but before the date of issuance of the lease under which such exploration, development, or production is conducted.

6.

Environmental impact statement requirement

(a)

In general

For the purposes of this Act and in order to conduct lease sales in accordance with the lease sale schedule established by this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall prepare a multisale environmental impact statement under section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) for all lease sales required under this Act that are not included in the Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012–2017). (b)

Actions To be considered

Notwithstanding section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332), in such statement— (1)the Secretary is not required to identify nonleasing alternative courses of action or to analyze the environmental effects of such alternative courses of action; and (2)the Secretary shall only— (A)identify a preferred action for leasing and not more than one alternative leasing proposal; and (B)analyze the environmental effects and potential mitigation measures for such preferred action and such alternative leasing proposal.

7.

Eastern Gulf of Mexico not included

Nothing in this Act affects restrictions on oil and gas leasing under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (title I of division C of Public Law 109–432; 43 U.S.C. 1331 note).

8.

Lease sales off the coasts of South Carolina and California

In determining the areas off the coast of South Carolina and the coast of California to be made available for leasing under this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall— (1)consult with the Governor and legislature of each such State; and (2)focus on areas considered to have the most geologically promising energy resources.

Passed the House of Representatives July 25, 2012. Karen L. Haas, Clerk July 30, 2012 Read the second time and placed on the calendar