1.This Act may be cited as the
Offshore Production and Safety Act of
2011
.
2.Oil spill
response and containment
(a)The Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section
9 the following:
10.
(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of this
Act, in the case of each exploration plan submitted after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall require the incorporation into the exploration
plan of a third-party reviewed response plan that describes the means and
timeline for containment and termination of an ongoing discharge of oil (other
than a de minimis discharge, as determined by the Secretary) at the depth at
which the exploration, development, or production authorized under the
exploration plan is to take place.
(b)Technological feasibilityBefore determining whether to approve a new
exploration plan under subsection (a), the Secretary shall certify the
technological feasibility of methods proposed to be used under a response plan
described in that paragraph, as demonstrated by the potential lessee through
simulation, demonstration, or other
means.
.
(b)Public/private task force on oil spill
response and mitigation
(1)The Secretary of Energy, acting through the
Office of Science of the Department of Energy, shall use available funds in the
Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other Petroleum Research
Fund established under section 999H of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C.
16378), and such other funds as are necessary, to conduct a study, in
collaboration with the Office of Fossil Energy of the Department, on means of
improving prevention methodologies and technological responses to oil spills
and mitigating the effects of oil spills on natural habitat.
(2)As part of the study required under this
subsection, the Secretary shall convene a task force composed of
representatives of the private sector, institutions of higher education, and
the National Academy of Sciences—
(A)to assess the prevention methodologies and
technological response to the blowout and explosion of the mobile offshore
drilling unit Deepwater Horizon that occurred on April 20, 2010, and resulting
hydrocarbon releases into the environment;
(B)to assess the adequacy of existing
technologies for prevention and responses to deep water oil spills; and
(C)to recommend means of improving prevention
methodologies and technological responses to future oil spills (including
drilling relief wells) and mitigating the effects of the oil spills on natural
habitat.
(3)Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress, the President,
the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Defense
a report that describes the results of the study conducted under this
subsection, including a recommended standard for technological best practices
for prevention of and responses to oil spills, practice drills for emergency
responses, and any other recommendations.
(c)Study on Federal response to oil
spills
(1)The Comptroller General of the United
States shall conduct a study of existing capabilities and legal authorities of
the Federal Government to prevent and respond to oil spills.
(2)Deepwater Horizon incidentAs part of the study required under this
subsection, the Comptroller General of the United States shall assess the
extent to which the capabilities and authorities described in paragraph (1)
have been fully used in the response to the blowout and explosion of the mobile
offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon that occurred on April 20, 2010, and
resulting hydrocarbon releases into the environment.
(3)Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall
submit to Congress a report that describes the results of the study conducted
under this subsection, including any recommendations.
3.Conduct of
certain proposed oil and gas lease sales
(a)In this section:
(1)Environment
impact statement for the 2007–2012 5-year OCS PlanThe term
Environmental Impact Statement for the 2007-2012 5-Year OCS Plan
means the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Outer Continental Shelf
Oil and Gas Leasing Program: 2007-2012 prepared by the Secretary and dated
April 2007.
(2)Multi-sale
environmental impact statementThe term Multi-Sale
Environmental Impact Statement means the Environmental Impact Statement
for Proposed OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales 193, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209,
210, 212, 215, and 218, 213, 216, and 222 prepared by the Secretary and dated
September 2008.
(3)The
term Secretary
means the Secretary of the Interior.
(b)Requirement to
conduct certain proposed oil and gas lease sales
(1)In accordance with section 8 of the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337), the Secretary shall conduct—
(A)as soon as
practicable, but not later than 120 days, after the date of enactment of this
Act, offshore oil and gas lease sale 216;
(B)as soon as
practicable, but not later than 240 days, after the date of enactment of this
Act, offshore oil and gas lease sale 218;
(C)as soon as
practicable, but not later than 1 year, after the date of enactment of this
Act, offshore oil and gas lease sale 220;
(D)as soon as
practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, but not later than June 1,
2012, offshore oil and gas lease sale 222;
(E)not later than
September 1, 2012, offshore oil and gas lease sale 209; and
(F)not later than
December 31, 2012, offshore oil and gas lease sale 212.
(2)Prohibition on
conflicts with military operationsThe Secretary shall not make
any tract available for leasing under paragraph (1)(C) if the President, acting
through the Secretary of Defense, determines that drilling activity on the
tract would create an unreasonable conflict with military operations.
(3)For the purposes of lease sale 193 and each of the lease
sales authorized under subparagraphs (A), (B), (D), (E), and (F) of paragraph
(1), the Environmental Impact Statement for the 2007–2012 5-Year OCS Plan and
the Multi-Sale Environmental Impact Statement shall be considered to satisfy
the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.).
4.Approval or
denial of drilling permits
(a)Section 11 of the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1340) is amended by striking subsection (d) and inserting
the following:
(d)
(1)The Secretary shall, by regulation, require that any
lessee operating under an approved exploration plan obtain a permit—
(A)before the lessee
drills a well in accordance with the plan; and
(B)before the lessee
significantly modifies the well design originally approved by the
Secretary.
(2)The Secretary shall not issue a permit under paragraph
(1) until the date on which the Secretary determines that the proposed drilling
operations meet all—
(A)critical safety
system requirements (including requirements relating to blowout prevention);
and
(B)oil spill response
and containment requirements.
(3)Approval or
denial of permit
(A)Subject to
subparagraph (B), not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary
receives an application for a permit under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall
approve or deny the application.
(B)
(i)The Secretary may
extend the deadline under subparagraph (A) by an additional 15 days on not more
than 2 occasions, if the Secretary provides to the applicant prior written
notice of the delay in accordance with clause (ii).
(ii)The written
notice required under clause (i) shall—
(I)be in the form of a letter from the
Secretary or a designee of the Secretary; and
(II)include the names and titles of the persons
processing the application, the specific reasons for the delay, and the date on
which a final decision on the application is expected.
(C)If
the Secretary denies an application under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall
provide the applicant—
(i)written notice
that includes—
(I)a clear and
comprehensive description of the reasons for denying the application;
and
(II)detailed
information concerning any deficiencies in the application; and
(ii)an
opportunity—
(I)to address the
reasons identified under clause (i)(I); and
(II)to remedy the
deficiencies identified under clause (i)(II).
(D)Failure to
approve or deny applicationIf the Secretary has not approved or
denied the application by the date that is 60 days after the date on which the
application was received by the Secretary, the application shall be considered
to be
approved.
.
(b)Deadline for
certain permit applications under existing leases
(1)Definition of
covered applicationIn this
subsection, the term covered application
means an application
for a permit to drill under an oil and gas lease under the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) in effect on the date of enactment of
this Act, that—
(A)represents a resubmission of an approved
permit to drill (including an application for a permit to sidetrack) that was
approved by the Secretary before May 27, 2010; and
(B)is received by the
Secretary after October 12, 2010, and before the end of the 30-day period
beginning on the date of enactment of this Act.
(2)Notwithstanding the amendment made by subsection (a), a
lease under which a covered application is submitted to the Secretary of the
Interior shall be considered to be in directed suspension during the period
beginning May 27, 2010, and ending on the date on which the Secretary issues a
final decision on the application, if the Secretary does not issue a final
decision on the application—
(A)before the end of
the 30-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, in the case
of a covered application submitted before the date of enactment of this Act;
or
(B)before the end of the 30-day period
beginning on the date on which the application is received by the Secretary, in
the case of a covered application submitted on or after the date of enactment
of this Act.
5.Extension of
certain outer Continental Shelf leases
(a)Definition of
Covered LeaseIn this section, the term covered
lease
means each oil and gas lease for the Gulf of Mexico outer
Continental Shelf region issued under section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) that—
(1)(A)was not producing as of
April 30, 2010; or
(B)was suspended from operations, permit
processing, or consideration, in accordance with the moratorium set forth in
the Minerals Management Service Notice to Lessees and Operators No. 2010–N04,
dated May 30, 2010, or the decision memorandum of the Secretary of the Interior
entitled Decision memorandum regarding the suspension of certain
offshore permitting and drilling activities on the Outer Continental
Shelf
and dated July 12, 2010; and
(2)by the terms of the lease, would expire on
or before December 31, 2011.
(b)Extension of
covered leasesThe Secretary of the Interior shall extend the
term of a covered lease by 1 year.
(c)Effect on
suspensions of operations or productionThe extension of covered
leases under this section is in addition to any suspension of operations or
suspension of production granted by the Minerals Management Service or Bureau
of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement after May 1,
2010.
6.Judicial review
of agency actions relating to outer continental shelf activities in the gulf of
mexico
(a)In this section:
(1)The term
covered civil action
means a civil action containing a claim
under section 702 of title 5, United States Code, regarding agency
action
(as the term is used in that section) affecting a covered energy
project.
(2)
(A)The term
covered energy project
mean the leasing of Federal land of the
outer Continental Shelf (including submerged land) for the exploration,
development, production, processing, or transmission of oil, natural gas, wind,
or any other source of energy in the Gulf of Mexico, including any action under
such a lease.
(B)The term covered energy
project
does not include any disputes between the parties to a lease
regarding the obligations under a lease described in subparagraph (A),
including regarding any alleged breach of the lease.
(b)Exclusive venue
for certain civil actions relating to covered energy projects in the Gulf of
MexicoVenue for any covered
civil action shall be in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth
Circuit, unless there is no proper venue in any court within the United States
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
(c)Time limitation
on filingA covered civil
action shall be barred unless the covered civil action is filed not later than
the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of the final Federal agency
action to which the covered civil action relates.
(d)Expedition in
hearing and determining the actionThe court shall endeavor to hear and
determine any covered civil action as expeditiously as possible.
(e)In any judicial review
of a covered civil action—
(1)administrative findings and conclusions
relating to the challenged Federal action or decision shall be presumed to be
correct; and
(2)the presumption under paragraph (1) may be
rebutted only by the preponderance of the evidence contained in the
administrative record.
(f)Limitation on
prospective reliefIn a
covered civil action, the court shall not grant or approve any prospective
relief unless the court finds that the relief—
(1)is narrowly drawn;
(2)extends no further than necessary to
correct the violation of a legal requirement; and
(3)is the least intrusive means necessary to
correct that violation.
(g)Limitation on
attorneys’ fees
(1)Sections 504 of title
5, United States Code, and 2412 of title 28, United States Code, shall not
apply to a covered civil action.
(2)No party to a covered civil action shall
receive payment from the Federal Government for attorneys’ fees, expenses, or
other court costs.
May 12, 2011
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