[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2986 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2986

 To prohibit the issuance of an interim or final rule, and to prohibit 
the inclusion in certain oil and gas leases, exploration or development 
plans, or well permits requirements or recommendations, that establish 
  a vessel speed or operational restriction in the Central or Western 
  Planning Area of the Gulf of Mexico of the outer Continental Shelf 
   until the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce 
 complete a study demonstrating that proposed mitigation efforts would 
have no negative impact on supply chains, United States offshore energy 
 production and generation, military activities, including readiness, 
    and United States commercial and recreational fishing maritime 
                   commerce, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

           September 28 (legislative day, September 22), 2023

Mr. Cassidy (for himself, Ms. Lummis, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mrs. Britt, Mr. 
  Wicker, Mr. Tuberville, and Mr. Barrasso) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To prohibit the issuance of an interim or final rule, and to prohibit 
the inclusion in certain oil and gas leases, exploration or development 
plans, or well permits requirements or recommendations, that establish 
  a vessel speed or operational restriction in the Central or Western 
  Planning Area of the Gulf of Mexico of the outer Continental Shelf 
   until the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce 
 complete a study demonstrating that proposed mitigation efforts would 
have no negative impact on supply chains, United States offshore energy 
 production and generation, military activities, including readiness, 
    and United States commercial and recreational fishing maritime 
                   commerce, 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 ``Warding off Hostile Administrative 
Leasing Efforts Act'' or the ``WHALE Act''.

SEC. 2. VESSEL SPEED OR OPERATIONAL RESTRICTIONS IN THE GULF OF MEXICO.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Commerce shall not issue an 
interim or final rule, and the Secretary of the Interior shall not 
include in an offshore oil and gas lease sale, exploration or 
development plan, or well permit in the Central or Western Planning 
Area of the Gulf of Mexico of the outer Continental Shelf a requirement 
or recommendation, that establishes a vessel speed or vessel 
operational restriction for any length of time in such a Planning Area 
until the Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of the Interior--
            (1) complete a study--
                    (A) assessing the impact of any mitigation 
                protocols developed under subsection (b) on--
                            (i) the core habitat for Rice's whales in 
                        the Eastern Planning Area of the Gulf of 
                        Mexico; and
                            (ii) seasonal occupation and usage patterns 
                        outside such core habitat; and
                    (B) demonstrating that mitigation protocols 
                developed under subsection (b) would have no negative 
                impact on supply chains, United States offshore energy 
                production and generation, military activities, 
                including readiness, and United States commercial and 
                recreational fishing or maritime commerce; and
            (2) not later than 60 days after completing the study 
        described in paragraph (1), submit a report containing the 
        findings of such study to--
                    (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
                Resources of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Natural Resources and the 
                Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
                Representatives.
    (b) Mitigation Protocols Required.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Commerce, in concurrence 
        with the Secretary of the Interior and in consultation with the 
        Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is 
        operating, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 
        Transportation, and affected stakeholders, shall develop 
        mitigation protocols that make use of any monitoring system 
        designed under section 11303 of the Don Young Coast Guard 
        Authorization Act of 2022 (16 U.S.C. 1391) to direct sector-
        specific mitigation measures that reduce the risk of serious 
        injury and mortality to Rice's whales in the Eastern Planning 
        Area of the Gulf of Mexico.
            (2) Prohibitions.--The mitigation protocols developed under 
        paragraph (1) may not include--
                    (A) any prohibitions on transit at night; or
                    (B) implementation of a vessel speed or vessel 
                operational restriction.
    (c) National Security.--The Secretary of Commerce shall, in 
coordination with the Secretary of Defense, provide in any interim or 
final rule described in subsection (a) an exception for national 
security activities.
    (d) Definition of Core Habitat.--For purposes of this section, the 
term ``core habitat'', with respect to Rice's whales, has the meaning 
given the term ``Bryde's whale area'' in the ``Biological Opinion on 
the Federally Regulated Oil and Gas Program Activities in the Gulf of 
Mexico'' published by the Department of Commerce on March 13, 2020.
                                 <all>