[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 194 (Monday, December 10, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H9778-H9781]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1600
OFFSHORE WIND FOR TERRITORIES ACT
Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 6665) to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to
apply to territories of the United States, to establish offshore wind
lease sale requirements, to provide dedicated funding for coral reef
conservation, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 6665
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 Wind for
Territories Act''.
SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT WITH
RESPECT TO TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED STATES.
(a) In General.--Section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (a)--
(A) by inserting after ``control'' the following: ``or
lying within the exclusive economic zone of the United States
and the outer Continental Shelf adjacent to any territory or
possession of the United States''; and
(B) by adding at the end before the semicolon the
following: ``, except that such term shall not include any
area conveyed by Congress to a territorial government for
administration'';
(2) in paragraph (p), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon at the end;
(3) in paragraph (q), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(r) The term `State' includes each territory of the
United States.''.
(b) Exclusions.--Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(i) This section shall not apply to the scheduling of
lease sales in the outer Continental Shelf adjacent to the
territories and possessions of the United States.''.
[[Page H9779]]
SEC. 3. DISPOSITION OF REVENUES WITH RESPECT TO TERRITORIES
OF THE UNITED STATES.
Section 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43
U.S.C. 1338) is amended--
(1) by striking ``All rentals'' and inserting the
following:
``(a) In General.--Except as otherwise provided in law, all
rentals''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Disposition of Revenues to Territories of the United
States.--Of the rentals, royalties, and other sums paid to
the Secretary under this Act from a lease for an area of land
on the outer Continental Shelf adjacent to a territory and
lying within the exclusive economic zone of the United States
pertaining to such territory, and not otherwise obligated or
appropriated--
``(1) 50 percent shall be deposited in the Treasury and
credited to miscellaneous receipts;
``(2) 12.5 percent shall be deposited in the Coral Reef
Conservation Fund established under section 211 of the Coral
Reef Conservation Act of 2000; and
``(3) 37.5 percent shall be disbursed to territories of the
United States in an amount for each territory (based on a
formula established by the Secretary by regulation) that is
inversely proportional to the respective distance between the
point on the coastline of the territory that is closest to
the geographic center of the applicable leased tract and the
geographic center of the leased tract.''.
SEC. 4. WIND LEASE SALES FOR AREAS OF OUTER CONTINENTAL
SHELF.
(a) Conditional Wind Lease Sales in Territories of the
United States.--The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43
U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``SEC. 33. WIND LEASE SALES FOR AREAS OF OUTER CONTINENTAL
SHELF.
``(a) Authorization.--The Secretary may conduct wind lease
sales on the outer Continental Shelf.
``(b) Wind Lease Sale Procedure.--Any wind lease sale
conducted under this section shall be considered a lease
under section 8(p).
``(c) Wind Lease Sales Off Coasts of Territories of the
United States.--
``(1) Study on feasibility of conducting wind lease
sales.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct a study on
the feasibility, including the technological and long-term
economic feasibility, of conducting wind lease sales on an
area of the outer Continental Shelf within the territorial
jurisdiction of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana
Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United
States.
``(B) Consultation.--In conducting the study required in
paragraph (A), the Secretary shall consult--
``(i) the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the
Department of Energy; and
``(ii) the Governor of each of American Samoa, Guam, the
Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands
of the United States.
``(C) Publication.--The study required in paragraph (A)
shall be published in the Federal Register for public comment
for not fewer than 60 days.
``(D) Submission of results.--Not later than 18 months
after the date of the enactment of this section, the
Secretary shall submit the results of the study conducted
under subparagraph (A) to:
``(i) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the
Senate;
``(ii) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives; and
``(iii) each of the delegates or resident commissioner to
the House of Representatives from American Samoa, Guam, the
Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands
of the United States, respectively.
``(E) Public availability.--The study required under
subparagraph (A) and results submitted under subparagraph (C)
shall be made readily available on a public Government
internet website.
``(2) Call for information and nominations.--The Secretary
shall issue a call for information and nominations for
proposed wind lease sales for areas determined to be feasible
under the study conducted under paragraph (1).
``(3) Conditional wind lease sales.--
``(A) In general.--For each territory, the Secretary shall
conduct not less than 1 wind lease sale on an area of the
outer Continental Shelf within the territorial jurisdiction
of such territory that meets each of the following criteria:
``(i) The study required under paragraph (1)(A) concluded
that a wind lease sale on the area is feasible.
``(ii) The Secretary has determined that the call for
information has generated sufficient interest for the area.
``(iii) The Secretary has consulted with the Secretary of
Defense regarding such a sale.
``(iv) The Secretary has consulted with the Governor of the
territory regarding the suitability of the area for wind
energy development.
``(B) Exception.--If no area of the outer Continental Shelf
within the territorial jurisdiction of a territory meets each
of the criteria in clauses (i) through (iii) of subparagraph
(A), the requirement under subparagraph (A) shall not apply
to such territory.''.
SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF CORAL REEF CONSERVATION FUND.
(a) In General.--The Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000
(16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``SEC. 211. CORAL REEF CONSERVATION FUND.
``(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury
the Coral Reef Conservation Fund, hereafter referred to as
the Fund.
``(b) Deposits.--For each fiscal year, there shall be
deposited in the Fund the portion of such revenues due and
payable to the United States under subsection (b)(2) of
section 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C.
1338).
``(c) Uses.--Amounts deposited in the Fund under this
section and appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce under
subsection (f) shall be used by the Secretary of Commerce to
carry out the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C.
6401 et seq.), with priority given to carrying out sections
204 and 206 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 6403 and 6405).
``(d) Availability.--Amounts deposited in the Fund shall
remain in the Fund until appropriated by Congress.
``(e) Reporting.--The President shall include with the
proposed budget for the United States Government submitted to
Congress for a fiscal year a comprehensive statement of
deposits into the Fund during the previous fiscal year and
estimated requirements during the following fiscal year for
appropriations from the Fund.
``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated from the Fund to the Secretary
of Commerce, an amount equal to the amount deposited in the
Fund in the previous fiscal year.
``(g) No Limitation.--Appropriations from the Fund pursuant
to this section may be made without fiscal year
limitation.''.
(b) Renaming of Existing Fund.--Section 205 of the Coral
Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6404) is amended--
(1) in the heading, by striking ``coral reef conservation
fund'' and inserting ``coral reef public-private
partnership'';
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking ``Fund'' and
inserting ``Public-Private Partnership''; and
(B) by striking ``, hereafter referred to as the Fund,'';
and
(3) in subsection (b), by striking ``Fund'' and inserting
``separate interest bearing account''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Bishop) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gallego) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.
General Leave
Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Utah?
There was no objection.
Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am going to read this part.
From the whooshing in the western Pacific to the windswept waters of
the Atlantic, a wonderful wealth of offshore wind exists. While this
wonderful resource weapon withstood the tests of time in Europe, we
have waffled in our worldview on wind power.
But worry not. With this worthy bill, we will warrant our Nation's
territories--from Guam to Puerto Rico--will no longer be wasting their
overwater reward and will be powered with the waterproof windmills.
Now I have to stop because I did that for the staffer who wrote it.
Obviously, I don't do this kind of stuff, and I lost the bet.
However, despite the alliteration that went there, this is still a
good bill which will move us forward in energy production, especially
in our territories of the United States.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I obviously urge my colleagues to support it
and move us forward, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this bill provides a number of benefits for the
territories of the United States: Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands,
Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands. It adds them to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act,
allowing them to begin developing offshore wind in their waters, a
potentially crucial source of new clean energy for their residents. It
sets up a system by which the territories receive a share of the
revenue generated by any new offshore wind development.
Currently, our territories rely primarily on imported diesel for
generating electricity, putting them at high risk of supply disruptions
and forcing
[[Page H9780]]
residents there to pay some of the highest electricity rates anywhere
in the country, particularly when oil prices spike.
As hurricanes and extreme weather events continue to challenge the
energy security of these territories, developing offshore wind will
make for more resilient communities, decrease dependency on fossil
fuels, and potentially bring electricity prices down significantly.
However, because the territories are currently not covered by the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, there is no legal mechanism for
putting wind turbines in the waters off their coastlines. This bill
fixes this longstanding unfairness, offers them a share of any revenues
generated by offshore wind, and also protects their coastlines by
leaving them off of the offshore oil and gas leasing process.
Additionally, some of the revenues generated by this bill are
allocated to the Coral Reef Conservation Program, preserving,
sustaining, and restoring the condition of coral reef ecosystems that,
in many cases, are crucial for the environment and tourism economy of
these same territories.
H.R. 6665 is a commonsense bill for the growth and success of U.S.
territories and the environment, while also providing new sources of
clean, carbon-free energy.
Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman could at least put
some kind of rhyme in there.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Puerto Rico
(Miss Gonzalez-Colon) to speak on this particular bill.
Miss GONZALEZ-COLON of Puerto Rico. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the
honorable Delegate from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) for taking this initiative
to present H.R. 6665, and Chairman Bishop and Ranking Member Grijalva
for having moved this legislation to continue to extend equal treatment
to the American community of citizens in the territories.
It has been a privilege to join in on bipartisan proposals for
applying, uniformly, the Federal laws for the benefit of the people of
our territories. Equal treatment for all American communities is a goal
that should be shared by all in this Congress, and we will continue to
seek it.
America's continued prosperity requires a modernized energy system
that makes the best use of all the domestic resources available,
including expanding use of wind in our domestic waters.
Puerto Rico has directly experienced the need to have better energy
infrastructure in place. Today, only 2 percent of our energy in Puerto
Rico comes just from renewable sources. Our plans for long-term
recovery of our electric grid include a much higher reliance on
renewable energy to reduce environmental impact and increase
efficiency.
Since, today, many of the territories rely on expensive diesel- or
fuel oil-generation systems, an integration of greater diversity of
generating sources will provide them greater flexibility in their
development plans.
At the same time, however, this upgrade on our generation's sources
should be conducted in each jurisdiction based on its technical,
economic, and environmental viability and rely more on private
investment participation instead of taxpayer funding.
This legislation will direct the Department of the Interior to study
what is the viability of Continental Shelf wind resources off the shore
of the territories. If the result is positive, then the Department of
the Interior will initiate the process of auctioning the leasing rights
for such projects on the same basis as for the waters outside the
States. If such development proceeds, 2.5 percent of the revenues
collected will be reserved for coral reef protection and 37.5 percent
for the respective territory for environmental remediation uses.
This way is the better way to develop energy resources and provide,
also, funding for the territories to take their own measures for
securing better environmental conditions. I expect the House will
support this effort to bring uniform treatment to all jurisdictions
under the American flag in an important area of policy, which is
energy, and open up investment and development opportunities to all of
us.
Once again, I want to thank my colleague from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) and
the chairman of the committee for having this bill, and, of course, for
their support and legacy on behalf of equal treatment for Puerto Rico
and the territories.
Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman
from Louisiana (Mr. Graves).
Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to
come speak in support of this legislation.
I think this is important legislation to ensure that our territories
can share in the revenues from offshore energy production. I believe
the States and I believe the territories should share in that revenue
production.
Mr. Speaker, I think there is an important discussion for us to be
having here. Yes, as the gentleman from Arizona noted, this will be
contributing to our Nation's energy production, which is a good thing.
It is generating a revenue stream based on market forces, which is a
good thing, and it does, Mr. Speaker, return a portion of the revenues
back to the territories or the adjacent host's entity of this energy
production, and it invests dollars in conservation.
Now, to contrast, Mr. Speaker, the majority of the energy in the
United States is derived from oil and gas. That is how the majority of
this Nation's economy is powered.
There are a handful of States that provide that energy. For example,
as this bill pertains only to offshore in Federal waters, in the
offshore you have the State of Alaska represented by our dean. You have
the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana--my home State--Texas,
and, Mr. Speaker, the State of California. Those are all States that
produce offshore energy.
You have a lot of States that are producing onshore energy with the
shale revolution in Texas, in the Dakotas, in Pennsylvania, in Ohio, in
Louisiana and other areas. We are producing onshore production as well.
Once again, this is fueling our Nation's economy, and all 50 States are
benefiting from this.
But, Mr. Speaker, going back to the offshore, we provided about $200
billion from energy production in the offshore to the United States
Treasury. With this bill, on the first dollar of energy produced in the
Federal offshore from wind energy in the territories, a portion of it
is going to be shared with the territory and going to be shared for
conservation activities. Yet the disparity, or the opposite, happens
for onshore.
For onshore energy, what they do is they take the initial dollars and
they put it toward conservation, land conservation in other States--not
where this energy is produced, but in other States.
The gentleman from Arizona even noted that there are impacts from
offshore energy production. I agree with him; there are impacts. Most
of them have been historic impacts.
But for us to take this revenue stream and put it toward other States
and not where this energy is produced, when you are talking about $200
billion, Mr. Speaker, that is wrong. That is why we have introduced
H.R. 6771.
Mr. Speaker, that bill passed the House Natural Resources Committee
unanimously by a voice vote, and I want to thank the gentleman from
Arizona and many other Members for working with us on this legislation.
It was a bipartisan bill.
Mr. Speaker, I want to engage the chairman in a colloquy.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6771 shares revenues from offshore energy
production with States. It increases the revenue sharing, and those
dollars have to be used for coastal restoration, hurricane protection
for community resiliency projects.
I want to ask the chairman if he supports that policy and if he will
continue to work with us to advance that legislation just like this
legislation is being advanced today.
Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Will the gentleman yield?
Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. I yield to the gentleman.
Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Yes.
Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. I couldn't have said it better myself, Mr.
Speaker.
[[Page H9781]]
Mr. Speaker, with that, I will again say I support this legislation.
I think the policy concept of revenue sharing from energy production is
a solid one, but we have got to make sure that we don't have
conflicting policies when we talk about fossil fuels versus alternative
energy streams.
Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate those who have spoken on this particular
piece of legislation.
Mr. Graves, I didn't want to be too flippant, although I was, does
raise a major point of concern that, on Federal lands and on Federal
waters, how we deal with the resources that are there is significant,
and they play a role in the entire Nation.
But we also have to recognize the role that those States and
territories play where we find those particular resources, whether it
be offshore on Federal waters or onshore on Federal lands. For us to
review that policy is a wise thing we should do.
I also am appreciative of the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico
for explaining the significance this has for all those areas that have
not yet been considered as we deal with a new kind of alternative
energy, in this case, wind power. That is significant, and it plays a
significant role in the future development of those territories that
are using and in which the energy and the cost of energy is more
significant than you find on the mainland, and yet we need to find a
way to build their economies by having an affordable and renewable and
reliable energy source coming in the future.
Because of that, I find this to be a significant piece of
legislation. I urge adoption, Mr. Speaker, and I yield back the balance
of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Francis Rooney of Florida). The question
is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop) that
the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6665, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________