[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2389 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2389

 To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain offshore 
        lease sales under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 19, 2023

 Mr. Cassidy (for himself and Mr. Cruz) introduced the following bill; 
   which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain offshore 
        lease sales under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

    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 ``Offshore Energy Security Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE SALES.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Offshore lease sale.--The term ``offshore lease sale'' 
        means an oil and gas lease sale--
                    (A) that is held by the Secretary in accordance 
                with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 
                1331 et seq.), notwithstanding the requirements of 
                section 18 of that Act (43 U.S.C. 1344);
                    (B) offers the same lease form, lease terms, 
                economic conditions, and stipulations as contained in 
                the final notice of sale entitled ``Gulf of Mexico 
                Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale 257'' 
                (86 Fed. Reg. 54728 (October 4, 2021)); and
                    (C) that, if any acceptable bids have been received 
                for any tract offered in the lease sale, results in the 
                issuance of leases within 90 days of the sale to the 
                highest bids on the tracts offered, subject to the 
                procedures for determining bid adequacy of the Bureau 
                of Ocean Energy Management, effective March 8, 2016, 
                with respect to--
                            (i) Central Gulf of Mexico Sale 241; and
                            (ii) Eastern Gulf of Mexico Sale 226.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
    (b) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive any other requirements under 
section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) 
that would delay final approval of an offshore lease sale under 
subsection (c).
    (c) Requirement.--Notwithstanding the expiration of the 2017-2022 
leasing program under section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 
Act (43 U.S.C. 1344), the Secretary shall--
            (1) conduct not fewer than 4 offshore lease sales, as 
        described under subsection (c), during the 2-year period 
        beginning on the date of enactment of this Act; and
            (2) to the maximum extent practicable, carry out a lease 
        sale under this subsection in accordance with the Record of 
        Decision approved by the Secretary on January 17, 2017, and 
        described in the notice of availability of the Bureau of Ocean 
        Energy Management entitled ``Record of Decision for the 2017-
        2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program Final 
        Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement; MMAA104000'' (82 
        Fed. Reg. 6643 (January 19, 2017)).
    (d) Timing.--In conducting the offshore lease sales under 
subsection (c), the Secretary shall conduct a lease sale under this 
section not later than--
            (1) March 31, 2024;
            (2) August 31, 2024;
            (3) March 31, 2025; and
            (4) August 31, 2025.
    (e) Area Offered for Lease.--
            (1) Acreage.--The Secretary shall offer not fewer than 
        74,000,000 acres for each offshore lease sale conducted under 
        subsection (c).
            (2) Location.--An offshore lease sale conducted under 
        subsection (c) shall be in the Gulf of Mexico Region Program 
        Area as identified in Figure S-1 of the 2017-2022 Outer 
        Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program 
        published on November 18, 2016 by the Bureau of Ocean Energy 
        Management (as announced in the notice of availability of the 
        Bureau of Ocean Energy Management entitled ``Notice of 
        Availability of the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and 
        Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (81 Fed. Reg. 84612 
        (November 23, 2016)))''.
    (f) Effect of Litigation.--
            (1) In general.--A civil action relating to an 
        environmental review under the National Environmental Policy 
        Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect to an 
        offshore lease sale conducted under this section shall not--
                    (A) affect the validity of a lease issued under the 
                offshore lease sale that is the subject of the civil 
                action; or
                    (B) except as provided in paragraph (3)(B), cause a 
                delay in the timelines for the consideration of an 
                application for permit to drill with respect to a lease 
                issued under the offshore lease sale that is the 
                subject of the civil action.
            (2) Remand; processing of applications for permit to 
        drill.--If, in a civil action described in paragraph (1), the 
        environmental review for an offshore lease sale is found by the 
        applicable court to violate the National Environmental Policy 
        Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)--
                    (A) notwithstanding subchapter II of chapter 5, and 
                chapter 7, of title 5, United States Code (commonly 
                known as the ``Administrative Procedures Act''), the 
                applicable court shall not set aside the offshore lease 
                sale and vacate the leases issued pursuant to the sale 
                but instead remand the matter to the Secretary to 
                resolve the violation; and
                    (B) the Secretary shall continue to process all 
                applicable applications for permit to drill in 
                accordance with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 
                (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.).
            (3) Notice.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the 
                date on which a civil action described in paragraph (1) 
                is filed, the Secretary shall notify the holder of any 
                lease issued under the lease sale that is the subject 
                of the civil action of the filing of the civil action.
                    (B) Timeline.--Not later than 90 days after the 
                date of receipt of a notice under subparagraph (A), the 
                holder of the lease may file with the Secretary, and 
                the Secretary may approve, a request to pause the 
                timeline with respect to the term of the lease during 
                any period in which the civil action is pending.
    (g) Effect on Other Law.--Nothing in this section affects the 
Presidential memorandum entitled ``Memorandum on Withdrawal of Certain 
Areas of the United States Outer Continental Shelf From Leasing 
Disposition'' and dated September 8, 2020.
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