[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5817 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5817

To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit oil-, gas-, 
 and methane hydrate-related seismic activities in the North Atlantic, 
Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Straits of Florida planning areas of 
          the outer Continental Shelf, and for other purposes.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 14, 2016

Mr. Beyer (for himself, Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Price of North 
  Carolina, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. Scott of Virginia) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Natural Resources

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                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit oil-, gas-, 
 and methane hydrate-related seismic activities in the North Atlantic, 
Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Straits of Florida planning areas of 
          the outer Continental Shelf, 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 ``Atlantic Seismic Airgun Protection 
Act''.

SEC. 2. MORATORIUM ON OIL-, GAS-, AND METHANE HYDRATE-RELATED SEISMIC 
              ACTIVITIES IN NORTH ATLANTIC, MID-ATLANTIC, SOUTH 
              ATLANTIC, AND STRAITS OF FLORIDA PLANNING AREAS OF OUTER 
              CONTINENTAL SHELF.

    Section 11 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 
1340) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Moratorium on Oil-, Gas-, and Methane Hydrate-Related Seismic 
Activities in North Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Straits 
of Florida Planning Areas.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
no person or agency of the United States may conduct geological or 
geophysical activities (as those terms are described in the final 
programmatic environmental impact statement of the Bureau of Ocean 
Energy Management entitled `Atlantic OCS Proposed Geological and 
Geophysical Activities, Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic Planning Areas' 
and completed February 2014) in support of oil, gas, or methane hydrate 
exploration and development in any area located in the North Atlantic, 
Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, or Straits of Florida planning areas of 
the outer Continental Shelf.''.
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