1.This Act may be cited as
the American Energy Independence and
Security Act of 2011
.
2.In this Act:
(1)The term Coastal Plain means that area
identified as the 1002 Coastal Plain Area
on the map.
(2)The term Federal Agreement means the
Federal Agreement and Grant Right-of-Way for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline issued
on January 23, 1974, in accordance with section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act
(30 U.S.C. 185) and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act (43 U.S.C. 1651
et seq.).
(3)The term Final Statement means the final
legislative environmental impact statement on the Coastal Plain, dated April
1987, and prepared pursuant to section 1002 of the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3142) and section 102(2)(C) of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).
(4)The
term map means the map entitled Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge
, dated September 2005, and prepared by the United States
Geological Survey.
(5)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior (or the
designee of the Secretary), acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land
Management in consultation with the Director of the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service and in coordination with a State coordinator appointed by the
Governor of the State of Alaska.
3.Leasing program
for land within the Coastal Plain
(a)
(1)Congress
authorizes the exploration, leasing, development, production, and economically
feasible and prudent transportation of oil and gas in and from the Coastal
Plain.
(2)The
Secretary shall take such actions as are necessary—
(A)to establish and
implement, in accordance with this Act, a competitive oil and gas leasing
program that will result in an environmentally sound program for the
exploration, development, and production of the oil and gas resources of the
Coastal Plain while taking into consideration the interests and concerns of
residents of the Coastal Plain, which is the homeland of the Kaktovikmiut
Inupiat; and
(B)to administer
this Act through regulations, lease terms, conditions, restrictions,
prohibitions, stipulations, and other provisions that—
(i)ensure the oil
and gas exploration, development, and production activities on the Coastal
Plain will result in no significant adverse effect on fish and wildlife, their
habitat, subsistence resources, and the environment; and
(ii)require the
application of the best commercially available technology for oil and gas
exploration, development, and production to all exploration, development, and
production operations under this Act in a manner that ensures the receipt of
fair market value by the public for the mineral resources to be leased.
(b)
(1)Section
1003 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3143) is
repealed.
(2)The table of contents contained in section 1 of that
Act (16 U.S.C. 3101 note) is amended by striking the item relating to section
1003.
(c)Compliance with
requirements under certain other laws
(1)For
purposes of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966
(16 U.S.C.
668dd et seq.)—
(A)the oil and gas
pre-leasing and leasing program, and activities authorized by this section in
the Coastal Plain, shall be considered to be compatible with the purposes for
which the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was established; and
(B)no further
findings or decisions shall be required to implement that program and those
activities.
(2)Adequacy of the
Department of the Interior's legislative environmental impact
statementThe Final Statement shall be considered to satisfy the
requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.) that apply with respect to pre-leasing activities, including
exploration programs and actions authorized to be taken by the Secretary to
develop and promulgate the regulations for the establishment of a leasing
program authorized by this Act before the conduct of the first lease
sale.
(3)Compliance with
NEPA for other actions
(A)Before conducting the first lease sale under this Act,
the Secretary shall prepare an environmental impact statement in accordance
with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)
with respect to the actions authorized by this Act that are not referred to in
paragraph (2).
(B)Identification
and analysisNotwithstanding any other provision of law, in
carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary shall not be required—
(i)to
identify nonleasing alternative courses of action; or
(ii)to
analyze the environmental effects of those courses of action.
(C)Identification
of preferred actionNot later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall—
(i)identify only a
preferred action and a single leasing alternative for the first lease sale
authorized under this Act; and
(ii)analyze the
environmental effects and potential mitigation measures for those 2
alternatives.
(D)In carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary shall
consider only public comments that are filed not later than 20 days after the
date of publication of a draft environmental impact statement.
(E)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, compliance
with this paragraph shall be considered to satisfy all requirements for the
analysis and consideration of the environmental effects of proposed leasing
under this Act.
(d)Relationship to
State and local authorityNothing in this Act expands or limits
any State or local regulatory authority.
(e)
(1)
(A)The Secretary, after consultation with the State of
Alaska, the North Slope Borough, Alaska, and the City of Kaktovik, Alaska, may
designate not more than 45,000 acres of the Coastal Plain as a special area if
the Secretary determines that the special area would be of such unique
character and interest as to require special management and regulatory
protection.
(B)The Secretary shall designate as a special area in
accordance with subparagraph (A) the Sadlerochit Spring area, comprising
approximately 4,000 acres as depicted on the map.
(2)The
Secretary shall manage each special area designated under this subsection in a
manner that—
(A)respects and
protects the Native people of the area; and
(B)preserves the
unique and diverse character of the area, including fish, wildlife, subsistence
resources, and cultural values of the area.
(3)Exclusion from
leasing or surface occupancy
(A)The Secretary may exclude any special area designated
under this subsection from leasing.
(B)If the Secretary leases all or a portion of a special
area for the purposes of oil and gas exploration, development, production, and
related activities, there shall be no surface occupancy of the land comprising
the special area.
(4)Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection,
the Secretary may lease all or a portion of a special area under terms that
permit the use of horizontal drilling technology from sites on leases located
outside the special area.
(f)Limitation on
closed areasThe Secretary may not close land within the Coastal
Plain to oil and gas leasing or to exploration, development, or production
except in accordance with this Act.
(g)
(1)Not later than 15 months after the date of enactment of
this Act, in consultation with appropriate agencies of the State of Alaska, the
North Slope Borough, Alaska, and the City of Kaktovik, Alaska, the Secretary
shall issue such regulations as are necessary to carry out this Act, including
rules and regulations relating to protection of the fish and wildlife, fish and
wildlife habitat, and subsistence resources of the Coastal Plain.
(2)The Secretary may periodically review and, as
appropriate, revise the rules and regulations issued under paragraph (1) to
reflect any significant scientific or engineering data that come to the
attention of the Secretary.
4.
(a)Land may be leased pursuant to this Act to any person
qualified to obtain a lease for deposits of oil and gas under the Mineral
Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.).
(b)The
Secretary shall, by regulation, establish procedures for—
(1)receipt and
consideration of sealed nominations for any area in the Coastal Plain for
inclusion in, or exclusion (as provided in subsection (c)) from, a lease
sale;
(2)the holding of
lease sales after that nomination process; and
(3)public notice of
and comment on designation of areas to be included in, or excluded from, a
lease sale.
(c)Bidding for leases under this Act shall be by sealed
competitive cash bonus bids.
(d)Acreage minimum
in first saleFor the first lease sale under this Act, the
Secretary shall offer for lease those tracts the Secretary considers to have
the greatest potential for the discovery of hydrocarbons, taking into
consideration nominations received pursuant to subsection (b)(1), but in no
case less than 200,000 acres.
(e)The Secretary shall—
(1)not later than 22
months after the date of enactment of this Act, conduct the first lease sale
under this Act;
(2)not later than
September 30, 2014, conduct a second lease sale under this Act; and
(3)conduct
additional sales at appropriate intervals if sufficient interest in exploration
or development exists to warrant the conduct of the additional sales.
5.Grant of leases
by the Secretary
(a)Upon payment by a lessee of such bonus as may be accepted
by the Secretary, the Secretary may grant to the highest responsible qualified
bidder in a lease sale conducted pursuant to section 4 a lease for any land on
the Coastal Plain.
(b)
(1)No lease issued under this Act may be sold, exchanged,
assigned, sublet, or otherwise transferred except with the approval of the
Secretary.
(2)Before granting any approval described in paragraph (1),
the Secretary shall consult with and give due consideration to the opinion of
the Attorney General.
6.Lease terms and
conditions
(a)An oil or gas lease issued pursuant to this Act
shall—
(1)provide for the
payment of a royalty of not less than 12½ percent of the amount or value of the
production removed or sold from the lease, as determined by the Secretary in
accordance with regulations applicable to other Federal oil and gas
leases;
(2)provide that the
Secretary may close, on a seasonal basis, such portions of the Coastal Plain to
exploratory drilling activities as are necessary to protect caribou calving
areas and other species of fish and wildlife;
(3)require that each
lessee of land within the Coastal Plain shall be fully responsible and liable
for the reclamation of land within the Coastal Plain and any other Federal land
that is adversely affected in connection with exploration, development,
production, or transportation activities within the Coastal Plain conducted by
the lessee or by any of the subcontractors or agents of the lessee;
(4)provide that the
lessee may not delegate or convey, by contract or otherwise, that reclamation
responsibility and liability to another person without the express written
approval of the Secretary;
(5)provide that the
standard of reclamation for land required to be reclaimed under this Act shall
be, to the maximum extent practicable—
(A)a condition
capable of supporting the uses that the land was capable of supporting prior to
any exploration, development, or production activities; or
(B)upon application
by the lessee, to a higher or better standard, as approved by the
Secretary;
(6)contain terms and
conditions relating to protection of fish and wildlife, fish and wildlife
habitat, subsistence resources, and the environment as required under section
3(a)(2);
(7)provide that each
lessee, and each agent and contractor of a lessee, use their best efforts to
provide a fair share of employment and contracting for Alaska Natives and
Alaska Native Corporations from throughout the State of Alaska, as determined
by the level of obligation previously agreed to in the Federal Agreement;
and
(8)contain such
other provisions as the Secretary determines to be necessary to ensure
compliance with this Act and regulations issued under this Act.
(b)The Secretary, as a term and condition of each lease
under this Act, and in recognizing the proprietary interest of the Federal
Government in labor stability and in the ability of construction labor and
management to meet the particular needs and conditions of projects to be
developed under the leases issued pursuant to this Act (including the special
concerns of the parties to those leases), shall require that each lessee, and
each agent and contractor of a lessee, under this Act negotiate to obtain a
project labor agreement for the employment of laborers and mechanics on
production, maintenance, and construction under the lease.
7.Coastal plain
environmental protection
(a)No significant
adverse effect standard To govern authorized coastal plain
activitiesIn accordance with section 3, the Secretary shall
administer this Act through regulations, lease terms, conditions, restrictions,
prohibitions, stipulations, or other provisions that—
(1)ensure, to the
maximum extent practicable, that oil and gas exploration, development, and
production activities on the Coastal Plain will result in no significant
adverse effect on fish and wildlife, fish and wildlife habitat, and the
environment;
(2)require the
application of the best commercially available technology for oil and gas
exploration, development, and production on all new exploration, development,
and production operations; and
(3)ensure that the
maximum surface acreage covered in connection with the leasing program by
production and support facilities, including airstrips and any areas covered by
gravel berms or piers for support of pipelines, does not exceed 2,000 acres on
the Coastal Plain.
(b)Site-Specific
assessment and mitigationThe Secretary shall require, with
respect to any proposed drilling and related activities on the Coastal Plain,
that—
(1)a site-specific
environmental analysis be made of the probable effects, if any, that the
drilling or related activities will have on fish and wildlife, fish and
wildlife habitat, subsistence resources, subsistence uses, and the
environment;
(2)a plan be
implemented to avoid, minimize, and mitigate (in that order and to the maximum
extent practicable) any significant adverse effect identified under paragraph
(1); and
(3)the development
of the plan occur after consultation with—
(A)each agency
having jurisdiction over matters mitigated by the plan;
(B)the State of
Alaska;
(C)North Slope
Borough, Alaska; and
(D)the City of
Kaktovik, Alaska.
(c)Regulations To
protect Coastal Plain fish and wildlife resources, subsistence users, and the
environmentBefore implementing the leasing program authorized by
this Act, the Secretary shall prepare and issue regulations, lease terms,
conditions, restrictions, prohibitions, stipulations, or other measures
designed to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the activities
carried out on the Coastal Plain under this Act are conducted in a manner
consistent with the purposes and environmental requirements of this Act.
(d)Compliance with
Federal and State environmental laws and other requirementsThe
proposed regulations, lease terms, conditions, restrictions, prohibitions, and
stipulations for the leasing program under this Act shall require—
(1)compliance with
all applicable provisions of Federal and State environmental law (including
regulations);
(2)implementation of
and compliance with—
(A)standards that
are at least as effective as the safety and environmental mitigation measures,
as described in items 1 through 29 on pages 167 through 169 of the Final
Statement, on the Coastal Plain;
(B)seasonal
limitations on exploration, development, and related activities, as necessary,
to avoid significant adverse effects during periods of concentrated fish and
wildlife breeding, denning, nesting, spawning, and migration;
(C)design safety and
construction standards for all pipelines and any access and service roads that
minimize, to the maximum extent practicable, adverse effects on—
(i)the
passage of migratory species (such as caribou); and
(ii)the flow of
surface water by requiring the use of culverts, bridges, or other structural
devices;
(D)prohibitions on
general public access to, and use of, all pipeline access and service
roads;
(E)stringent
reclamation and rehabilitation requirements in accordance with this Act for the
removal from the Coastal Plain of all oil and gas development and production
facilities, structures, and equipment on completion of oil and gas production
operations, except in a case in which the Secretary determines that those
facilities, structures, or equipment—
(i)would assist in
the management of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and
(ii)are donated to
the United States for that purpose;
(F)appropriate
prohibitions or restrictions on—
(i)access by all
modes of transportation;
(ii)sand and gravel
extraction; and
(iii)use of
explosives;
(G)reasonable
stipulations for protection of cultural and archaeological resources;
(H)measures to
protect groundwater and surface water, including—
(i)avoidance, to the
maximum extent practicable, of springs, streams, and river systems;
(ii)the protection
of natural surface drainage patterns and wetland and riparian habitats;
and
(iii)the regulation
of methods or techniques for developing or transporting adequate supplies of
water for exploratory drilling; and
(I)research,
monitoring, and reporting requirements;
(3)that exploration
activities (except surface geological studies) be limited to the period between
approximately November 1 and May 1 of each year and be supported, if necessary,
by ice roads, winter trails with adequate snow cover, ice pads, ice airstrips,
and air transport methods (except that those exploration activities may be
permitted at other times if the Secretary determines that the exploration will
have no significant adverse effect on fish and wildlife, fish and wildlife
habitat, subsistence resources, and the environment of the Coastal
Plain);
(4)consolidation of
facility siting;
(5)avoidance or
reduction of air traffic-related disturbance to fish and wildlife;
(6)treatment and
disposal of hazardous and toxic wastes, solid wastes, reserve pit fluids,
drilling muds and cuttings, and domestic wastewater, including, in accordance
with applicable Federal and State environmental laws (including
regulations)—
(A)preparation of an
annual waste management report;
(B)development and
implementation of a hazardous materials tracking system; and
(C)prohibition on
the use of chlorinated solvents;
(7)fuel storage and
oil spill contingency planning;
(8)conduct of
periodic field crew environmental briefings;
(9)avoidance of
significant adverse effects on subsistence hunting, fishing, and
trapping;
(10)compliance with
applicable air and water quality standards;
(11)appropriate
seasonal and safety zone designations around well sites, within which
subsistence hunting and trapping shall be limited; and
(12)development and
implementation of such other protective environmental requirements,
restrictions, terms, or conditions as the Secretary, after consultation with
the State of Alaska, North Slope Borough, Alaska, and the City of Kaktovik,
Alaska, determines to be necessary.
(e)In
preparing and issuing regulations, lease terms, conditions, restrictions,
prohibitions, or stipulations under this section, the Secretary shall take into
consideration—
(1)the stipulations
and conditions that govern the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska leasing
program, as set forth in the 1999 Northeast National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
Final Integrated Activity Plan/Environmental Impact Statement;
(2)the environmental
protection standards that governed the initial Coastal Plain seismic
exploration program under parts 37.31 through 37.33 of title 50, Code of
Federal Regulations (or successor regulations); and
(3)the land use
stipulations for exploratory drilling on the KIC–ASRC private land described in
Appendix 2 of the agreement between Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and the
United States dated August 9, 1983.
(f)Facility
consolidation planning
(1)After providing for public notice and comment, the
Secretary shall prepare and periodically update a plan to govern, guide, and
direct the siting and construction of facilities for the exploration,
development, production, and transportation of oil and gas resources from the
Coastal Plain.
(2)The
objectives of the plan shall be—
(A)the avoidance of
unnecessary duplication of facilities and activities;
(B)the encouragement
of consolidation of common facilities and activities;
(C)the location or
confinement of facilities and activities to areas that will minimize impact on
fish and wildlife, fish and wildlife habitat, subsistence resources, and the
environment;
(D)the use of
existing facilities, to the maximum extent practicable; and
(E)the enhancement
of compatibility between wildlife values and development activities.
(g)The Secretary shall—
(1)manage public
land in the Coastal Plain in accordance with subsections (a) and (b) of section
811 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3121);
and
(2)ensure that local
residents shall have reasonable access to public land in the Coastal Plain for
traditional uses.
8.Expedited
judicial review
(a)
(1)A
complaint seeking judicial review of a provision of this Act or an action of
the Secretary under this Act shall be filed—
(A)except as
provided in subparagraph (B), during the 90-day period beginning on the date on
which the action being challenged was carried out; or
(B)in the case of a
complaint based solely on grounds arising after the 90-day period described in
subparagraph (A), by not later than 90 days after the date on which the
complainant knew or reasonably should have known about the grounds for the
complaint.
(2)A
complaint seeking judicial review of a provision of this Act or an action of
the Secretary under this Act shall be filed in the United States Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia.
(3)
(A)Judicial review of a decision of the Secretary under this
Act (including an environmental analysis of such a lease sale) shall be—
(i)limited to a
review of whether the decision is in accordance with this Act; and
(ii)based on the
administrative record of the decision.
(B)Any
identification by the Secretary of a preferred course of action relating to a
lease sale, and any analysis by the Secretary of environmental effects, under
this Act shall be presumed to be correct unless proven otherwise by clear and
convincing evidence.
(b)Limitation on
other reviewAny action of the Secretary that is subject to
judicial review under this section shall not be subject to judicial review in
any civil or criminal proceeding for enforcement.
9.Federal and
State distribution of revenues
(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, of the amount
of adjusted bonus, rental, and royalty revenues from oil and gas leasing and
operations authorized under this Act—
(1)50 percent shall
be paid to the State of Alaska; and
(2)the balance shall
be allocated in accordance with section 13.
(b)Payments to the State of Alaska under this section shall
be made semiannually.
10.Rights-of-way
and easements across Coastal PlainFor purposes of section 1102(4)(A) of the
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3162(4)(A)), any
rights-of-way or easements across the Coastal Plain for the exploration,
development, production, or transportation of oil and gas shall be considered
to be established incident to the management of the Coastal Plain under this
section.
11.Notwithstanding section 1302(h)(2) of the
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3192(h)(2)), to
remove any cloud on title to land, and to clarify land ownership patterns in
the Coastal Plain, the Secretary shall—
(1)to the extent
necessary to fulfill the entitlement of the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation under
sections 12 and 14 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1611,
1613), as determined by the Secretary, convey to that Corporation the surface
estate of the land described in paragraph (1) of Public Land Order 6959, in
accordance with the terms and conditions of the agreement between the
Secretary, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land
Management, and the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation, dated January 22, 1993;
and
(2)convey to the
Arctic Slope Regional Corporation the remaining subsurface estate to which that
Corporation is entitled under the agreement between that corporation and the
United States, dated August 9, 1983.
12.Local
government impact aid and community service assistance
(a)
(1)As a condition on the receipt of funds under section
13(1), the State of Alaska shall establish in the treasury of the State, and
administer in accordance with this section, a fund to be known as the
Coastal Plain Local Government Impact Aid Assistance Fund
(referred to in this section as the Fund).
(2)Subject
to paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Treasury shall deposit into the Fund,
$15,000,000 each year from the amount available under section 13(1).
(3)The
Governor of the State of Alaska (referred to in this section as the
Governor) shall invest amounts in the Fund in interest-bearing
securities of the United States or the State of Alaska.
(b)The
Governor, in cooperation with the Mayor of the North Slope Borough, shall use
amounts in the Fund to provide assistance to North Slope Borough, Alaska, the
City of Kaktovik, Alaska, and any other borough, municipal subdivision,
village, or other community in the State of Alaska that is directly impacted by
exploration for, or the production of, oil or gas on the Coastal Plain under
this Act, or any Alaska Native Regional Corporation acting on behalf of the
villages and communities within its region whose lands lie along the right of
way of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, as determined by the Governor.
(c)
(1)To receive assistance under subsection (b), a community
or Regional Corporation described in that subsection shall submit to the
Governor, or to the Mayor of the North Slope Borough, an application in such
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Governor may
require.
(2)Action by North
Slope BoroughThe Mayor of the North Slope Borough shall submit
to the Governor each application received under paragraph (1) as soon as
practicable after the date on which the application is received.
(3)The Governor shall assist communities in submitting
applications under this subsection, to the maximum extent practicable.
(d)A community or Regional Corporation that receives funds
under subsection (b) may use the funds—
(1)to plan for
mitigation, implement a mitigation plan, or maintain a mitigation project to
address the potential effects of oil and gas exploration and development on
environmental, social, cultural, recreational, and subsistence resources of the
community;
(2)to develop, carry
out, and maintain—
(A)a project to
provide new or expanded public facilities; or
(B)services to
address the needs and problems associated with the effects described in
paragraph (1), including firefighting, police, water and waste treatment, first
responder, and other medical services; and
(3)to compensate
residents of the Coastal Plain for significant damage to environmental, social,
cultural, recreational, or subsistence resources.
13.Allocation of
Federal revenuesNotwithstanding any other provision of law,
all adjusted bonus, rental, and royalty receipts from Federal oil and gas
leasing and operations authorized under this Act made available under section
9(a)(2), plus an appropriated amount equal to the amount of Federal income tax
attributable to sales of oil and gas produced from those operations, shall be
deposited in an account in the Treasury which shall be available, without
further appropriation or fiscal year limitation, each fiscal year as
follows:
(1)$15,000,000 shall
be deposited by the Secretary of the Treasury into the fund created under
section 12(a)(1).
(2)The remainder shall be available as
follows:
(A)25 percent shall
be available to the Department of Energy to carry out alternative energy
programs established under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801 et
seq.), the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17001 et
seq.), or an amendment made by either of those Acts, as determined by the
Secretary of Energy.
(B)10 percent shall
be available to the Department of Health and Human Services to provide
low-income home energy assistance under title XXVI of the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.).
(C)10 percent shall
be available to the Department of Energy to carry out the Weatherization
Assistance Program for Low-Income Persons established under part A of title IV
of the Energy Conservation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6861 et seq.).
(D)10 percent shall
be available to the Department of the Interior for award to wildlife habitat
and fish and game programs authorized by the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife
Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.) and the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish
Restoration Act) (commonly known as the Wallop-Breaux Act
) (16
U.S.C. 777 et seq.).
(E)The balance shall
be deposited into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.
14.If any provision of this Act, or the
application of such provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and the application of such
provisions to any person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.