II 112th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 405 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 17, 2011 Mr. Nelson of Florida introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to provide a requirement for certain lessees, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Gulf Stream Protection Act of 2011.

2.

Requirement for certain dual lessees

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: (9)

Requirement for certain lessees

If a bidder for an oil or gas lease under this subsection is conducting oil and gas operations off the coast of Cuba, the Secretary shall not grant an oil or gas lease to the bidder unless the bidder submits to the Secretary— (A)a Cuban oil spill response plan, which shall include 1 or more worst-case-scenario oil discharge plans; and (B)evidence that the bidder has sufficient financial resources and other resources necessary for a cleanup effort, as determined by the Secretary, to respond to a worst case scenario oil discharge in Cuba that occurs in, or would impact, the waters of the United States. .

3.

Nondomestic Gulf oil spill response plan

(a)

In general

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this section as the Secretary) shall carry out an oil spill risk analysis and planning process for the development and implementation of oil spill response plans for nondomestic oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico. (b)

Requirements

In developing plans under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— (1)consult with the heads of other Federal agencies with relevant scientific and operational expertise to verify that holders of oil and gas leases can conduct any response and containment operations provided for in the plans; (2)ensure that all critical information and spill scenarios are included in the plans, including oil spill containment and control methods to ensure that holders of oil and gas leased can conduct the operations provided for in the plans; (3)ensure that the plans include shared international standards for natural resource extraction activities; (4)in consultation with the Secretary of State, to the maximum extent practicable, include recommendations for Congress on a joint contingency plan with the countries of Mexico, Cuba, and the Bahamas to ensure an adequate response to oil spills located in the eastern Gulf of Mexico; and (5)to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that the contingency plan described in paragraph (4) contains a description of the organization and logistics of a response team for each country described in that paragraph (including each applicable Federal and State agency). (c)

Modeling of Cuban waters

(1)

In general

As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall conduct modeling of the Cuban waters. (2)

Use of modeling

For purposes of developing the plans required under subsection (a), the Secretary shall take into account any modeling data collected under paragraph (1). (d)

Verification process

The Secretary may conduct a verification process to ensure that any companies operating in the United States that are conducting drilling operations off the coast of Cuba are subject to standards that are as stringent as the standards under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.).