[House Report 113-55]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


113th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     113-55

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  AMENDING THE ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 2005 TO MODIFY THE PILOT PROJECT 
        OFFICES OF THE FEDERAL PERMIT STREAMLINING PILOT PROJECT

                                _______
                                

  May 14, 2013.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 767]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 767) to amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to 
modify the Pilot Project offices of the Federal Permit 
Streamlining Pilot Project, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill 
as amended do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. PILOT PROJECT OFFICES OF FEDERAL PERMIT STREAMLINING PILOT 
                    PROJECT.

  Section 365 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15924) is 
amended by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following:
  ``(d) Pilot Project Offices.--The following Bureau of Land Management 
Offices shall serve as the Pilot Project offices:
          ``(1) Rawlins Field Office, Wyoming.
          ``(2) High Plains District Office, Wyoming.
          ``(3) Montana/Dakotas State Office, Montana.
          ``(4) Farmington Field Office, New Mexico.
          ``(5) Carlsbad Field Office, New Mexico.
          ``(6) Grand Junction/Glenwood Springs Field Office, Colorado.
          ``(7) Vernal Field Office, Utah.''.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 767, as amended, is to amend the Energy 
Policy Act of 2005 to modify the Pilot Project offices of the 
Federal Permit Streamlining Pilot Project.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    Section 365 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 established 
the Federal Permit Streamlining Pilot Project to improve 
coordination of oil and gas permitting on Federal lands. The 
2005 legislation included offices in Wyoming, Montana, New 
Mexico, Colorado and Utah as pilot project offices.
    As a result of this project, the Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM) has been able to reduce a backlog of Applications for 
Permits to Drill (APD) filed by companies in these offices and 
the permitting and inspection processes have been streamlined. 
The numbers of inspections and APDs processed in these offices 
have increased and BLM's responsiveness to stakeholders has 
improved.
    This legislation would include the Montana/Dakotas State 
Office in Montana as one of the BLM Pilot Project offices of 
the Federal Permit Streamlining Pilot Project established in 
the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 767 was introduced on February 15, 2013, by 
Congressman Kevin Cramer (R-ND). The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. On March 21, 
2013, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On April 24, 
2013, the Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider the 
bill. The Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources was 
discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman Cynthia Lummis (R-
WY) offered an amendment designated .012 to the bill; the 
amendment was adopted by unanimous consent. No further 
amendments were offered and the bill, as amended, was adopted 
and ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives 
by unanimous consent.

            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                    Compliance With House Rule XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) 
of that Rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

H.R. 767--A bill to amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to modify the 
        Pilot Project offices of the Federal Permit Streamlining Pilot 
        Project

    H.R. 767 would authorize the Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM) to expand a pilot program that aims to accelerate and 
enhance the federal oil and gas permitting process at certain 
BLM offices. Under current law, 50 percent of onshore oil and 
gas rental payments received by BLM (excluding those from 
Alaska) is available to fund the pilot program at seven BLM 
offices through 2015. The bill would allow the Secretary to use 
those funds at additional offices in North Dakota, South 
Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming.
    Because CBO expects that any funds spent at the offices 
added to the pilot project under the bill would be spent at 
other offices under current law, we estimate that implementing 
the legislation would have no significant net impact on the 
federal budget. Enacting H.R. 767 could affect direct spending 
if expanding the pilot program resulted in BLM spending funds 
faster than it would under current law; therefore, pay-as-you-
go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that any such 
impacts would be small over the 2014-2023 period. Enacting the 
bill would not affect revenues.
    H.R. 767 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    On April 3, 2013, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
244, a bill to amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to modify 
the pilot project offices of the Federal Permit Streamlining 
Pilot Project, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources on March 14, 2013. The two bills 
are similar, and the CBO cost estimates are the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The 
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.
    2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required 
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget 
authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase 
or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. CBO estimates that 
implementing the legislation would have no significant net 
impact on the federal budget.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill, as amended, is to amend the Energy 
Policy Act of 2005 to modify the Pilot Project offices of the 
Federal Permit Streamlining Pilot Project.

                           Earmark Statement

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                       Compliance With H. Res. 5

    Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that 
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any 
specific rule-making proceedings.
    Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not 
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government 
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was 
not included in any report from the Government Accountability 
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program 
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law 
98-169) as relating to other programs.

                Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 2005

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TITLE III--OIL AND GAS

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Subtitle F--Access to Federal Lands

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SEC. 365. PILOT PROJECT TO IMPROVE FEDERAL PERMIT COORDINATION.

  (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of the Interior (referred 
to in this section as the ``Secretary'') shall establish a 
Federal Permit Streamlining Pilot Project (referred to in this 
section as the ``Pilot Project'').
  (b) Memorandum of Understanding.--
          (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
        enter into a memorandum of understanding for purposes 
        of this section with--
                  (A) the Secretary of Agriculture;
                  (B) the Administrator of the Environmental 
                Protection Agency; and
                  (C) the Chief of Engineers.
          (2) State participation.--The Secretary may request 
        that the Governors of Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah, 
        and New Mexico be signatories to the memorandum of 
        understanding.
  (c) Designation of Qualified Staff.--
          (1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the 
        date of the signing of the memorandum of understanding 
        under subsection (b), all Federal signatory parties 
        shall, if appropriate, assign to each of the field 
        offices identified in subsection (d) an employee who 
        has expertise in the regulatory issues relating to the 
        office in which the employee is employed, including, as 
        applicable, particular expertise in--
                  (A) the consultations and the preparation of 
                biological opinions under section 7 of the 
                Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
                1536);
                  (B) permits under section 404 of Federal 
                Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344);
                  (C) regulatory matters under the Clean Air 
                Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.);
                  (D) planning under the National Forest 
                Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et 
                seq.); and
                  (E) the preparation of analyses under the 
                National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
                U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
          (2) Duties.--Each employee assigned under paragraph 
        (1) shall--
                  (A) not later than 90 days after the date of 
                assignment, report to the Bureau of Land 
                Management Field Managers in the office to 
                which the employee is assigned;
                  (B) be responsible for all issues relating to 
                the jurisdiction of the home office or agency 
                of the employee; and
                  (C) participate as part of the team of 
                personnel working on proposed energy projects, 
                planning, and environmental analyses.
  [(d) Field Offices.--The following Bureau of Land Management 
Field Offices shall serve as the Pilot Project offices:
          [(1) Rawlins, Wyoming.
          [(2) Buffalo, Wyoming.
          [(3) Miles City, Montana.
          [(4) Farmington, New Mexico.
          [(5) Carlsbad, New Mexico.
          [(6) Grand Junction/Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
          [(7) Vernal, Utah.]
  (d) Pilot Project Offices.--The following Bureau of Land 
Management Offices shall serve as the Pilot Project offices:
          (1) Rawlins Field Office, Wyoming.
          (2) High Plains District Office, Wyoming.
          (3) Montana/Dakotas State Office, Montana.
          (4) Farmington Field Office, New Mexico.
          (5) Carlsbad Field Office, New Mexico.
          (6) Grand Junction/Glenwood Springs Field Office, 
        Colorado.
          (7) Vernal Field Office, Utah.
  (e) Reports.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
report that--
          (1) outlines the results of the Pilot Project to 
        date; and
          (2) makes a recommendation to the President regarding 
        whether the Pilot Project should be implemented 
        throughout the United States.
  (f) Additional Personnel.--The Secretary shall assign to each 
field office identified in subsection (d) any additional 
personnel that are necessary to ensure the effective 
implementation of--
          (1) the Pilot Project; and
          (2) other programs administered by the field offices, 
        including inspection and enforcement relating to energy 
        development on Federal land, in accordance with the 
        multiple use mandate of the Federal Land Policy and 
        Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).
  (g) Permit Processing Improvement Fund.--Section 35 of the 
Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
  ``(c)(1) Notwithstanding the first sentence of subsection 
(a), any rentals received from leases in any State (other than 
the State of Alaska) on or after the date of enactment of this 
subsection shall be deposited in the Treasury, to be allocated 
in accordance with paragraph (2).
  ``(2) Of the amounts deposited in the Treasury under 
paragraph (1)--
          ``(A) 50 percent shall be paid by the Secretary of 
        the Treasury to the State within the boundaries of 
        which the leased land is located or the deposits were 
        derived; and
          ``(B) 50 percent shall be deposited in a special fund 
        in the Treasury, to be known as the `BLM Permit 
        Processing Improvement Fund' (referred to in this 
        subsection as the `Fund').
  ``(3) For each of fiscal years 2006 through 2015, the Fund 
shall be available to the Secretary of the Interior for 
expenditure, without further appropriation and without fiscal 
year limitation, for the coordination and processing of oil and 
gas use authorizations on onshore Federal land under the 
jurisdiction of the Pilot Project offices identified in section 
365(d) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.''.
  (h) Transfer of Funds.--For the purposes of coordination and 
processing of oil and gas use authorizations on Federal land 
under the administration of the Pilot Project offices 
identified in subsection (d), the Secretary may authorize the 
expenditure or transfer of such funds as are necessary to--
          (1) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service;
          (2) the Bureau of Indian Affairs;
          (3) the Forest Service;
          (4) the Environmental Protection Agency;
          (5) the Corps of Engineers; and
          (6) the States of Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah, 
        and New Mexico.
  (i) Fees.--During the period in which the Pilot Project is 
authorized, the Secretary shall not implement a rulemaking that 
would enable an increase in fees to recover additional costs 
related to processing drilling-related permit applications and 
use authorizations.
  (j) Savings Provision.--Nothing in this section affects--
          (1) the operation of any Federal or State law; or
          (2) any delegation of authority made by the head of a 
        Federal agency whose employees are participating in the 
        Pilot Project.

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