[Senate Report 113-22]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 53
113th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 113-22
======================================================================
MODIFICATION OF PILOT PROJECT OFFICES
_______
April 22, 2013.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Wyden, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 244]
The committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 244) 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, reports
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the
bill do pass.
Purpose
The legislation would amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005
to allow the pilot permit processing office currently located
in Miles City, Montana, to process applications for oil and gas
use authorizations relating to federal lands in the states of
North and South Dakota.
Background and Need
Congress enacted section 365 of the Energy Policy Act of
2005 (Public Law 109-58) to create a pilot project to improve
the coordination and processing of oil and gas use
authorizations on federal land. Section 365 established pilot
offices in seven BLM Field offices. The processing of use
authorizations on federal land within the jurisdiction of these
offices is covered by the program. One such pilot office was
established in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) field office
located in Miles City, Montana. Under the program, employees
from the relevant federal agencies and the state are assigned
to a particular pilot project office to work together in
processing the authorization requests.
Production of unconventional oil in the Bakken formation,
which stretches from western North Dakota to eastern Montana,
has increased dramatically in the past few years. This is
largely due to advances in the technologies of horizontal
drilling and hydraulic fracturing and the relatively high price
of oil. Along with this dramatic increase in drilling, the
workload for processing oil and gas authorizations on federal
lands has increased. However, the jurisdiction of the Miles
City, Montana, BLM field office did not extend to the federal
lands in the Dakotas. S. 244 is needed to afford applications
for oil and gas authorizations in the Dakotas the benefit of
the pilot project coordination and processing.
Legislative History
S. 244 was introduced by Senators Hoeven and Heitkamp on
February 7, 2013. A companion measure, H.R. 767 was introduced
by Representative Cramer on February 15, 2013. Identical
legislation during the 112th Congress, was sponsored by
Senators Hoeven and Conrad. The Senate discharged S. 3563 from
the Committee and passed it without amendment by unanimous
consent on December 30, 2012.
Committee Recommendation
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on March 14, 2013, by voice vote of a
quorum present recommends that the Senate pass S. 244.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1 of the bill amends section 365 of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 to strike the reference to the Miles City,
Montana, office and to replace it with ``Montana/Dakotas State
Office, Montana''. The section also makes clarifying changes
that are self-explanatory.
Cost and Budgetary Considerations
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
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
S. 244 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, and
Montana.
Because CBO expects that any funds spent in the North
Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana offices 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 S. 244 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.
S. 244 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Regulatory Impact Evaluation
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out S. 244.
The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of
imposing Government-established standards or significant
economic responsibilities on private individuals and
businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of S. 244, as ordered reported.
Congressionally Directed Spending
S. 244, as reported, does not contain any congressionally
directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited
tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules
of the Senate.
Executive Communications
Executive Communications were not requested by the
Committee in the 113th Congress.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as ordered reported, are shown as follows (existing
law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
material is printed in italic, existing law in which no change
is proposed is shown in roman):
ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 2005
Public Law 109-58, as amended
AN ACT To ensure jobs for our future with secure, affordable, and
reliable energy.
* * * * * * *
PILOT PROJECT TO IMPROVE FEDERAL PERMIT COORDINATION
Sec. 365. (a) * * *
* * * * * * *
[(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) Buffalo Field 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