[House Report 115-413]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


115th Congress    }                                   {        Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session      }                                   {       115-413

======================================================================



 
                PLANNING FOR AMERICAN ENERGY ACT OF 2017

                                _______
                                

 November 16, 2017.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted 
                             the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 2907]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 2907) to amend the Mineral Leasing Act to 
require the Secretary of the Interior to develop and publish an 
all-of-the-above quadrennial Federal onshore energy production 
strategy to meet domestic energy needs, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 2907 is to amend the Mineral Leasing 
Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to develop and 
publish an all-of-the-above quadrennial federal onshore energy 
production strategy to meet domestic energy needs.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    Under current law, the Administration is required to submit 
to Congress a plan for the offshore oil and gas leasing program 
every five years.\1\ This requirement ensures that 
comprehensive planning for the responsible development of our 
offshore energy resources occurs at regular intervals.
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    \1\43 U.S.C. 1331-1356b.
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    However, such a planning requirement for onshore energy 
resources does not exist. The United States contains a robust 
domestic supply of energy resources, each of which has an 
important role to play in achieving energy independence. 
Responsible development of the nation's diverse energy 
resources, along with investment in innovative technologies, 
are critical to ensuring long term energy security. Without a 
coherent strategy for developing those resources on public 
lands, federal policymaking often results in inefficient and 
erratic energy production.

Impediments to energy development on Federal land

    For too long, permitting uncertainty, irregular leasing 
programs, and overly burdensome regulatory requirements have 
stifled energy production on public land. Producers encounter 
costly delays as resource-rich parcels of land undergo 
duplicative environmental reviews and permits are left to 
languish at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for as many as 
257 days at a time.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\Bureau of Land Management. Oil and Gas Statistics. https://
www.blm.gov/programs/energy-and-minerals/oil-and-gas/oil-andgas-
statistics (Accessed November 3, 2017).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    As a result, producers are opting to develop State and 
private lands, rather than contending with the bureaucratic 
uncertainty associated with operating on federal land. In fact, 
the federal share of crude oil production fell from 36% in 2009 
to 22% in 2015 and the federal share of natural gas production 
fell from 28% in 2006 to 15% in 2015.\3\ In the renewable 
sector, BLM has identified 20.6 million acres of public land 
with wind potential,\4\ yet only 1.4% of installed wind energy 
capacity was found on public lands in 2012.\5\
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    \3\Michael Ratner. 21st Century U.S. Energy Sources: A Primer (May 
19, 2017). http://www.crs.gov/reports/pdf/R44854.
    \4\U.S. Department of Energy. WINDExchange. https://
apps2.eere.energy.gov/wind/windexchange/wind-projects-public-lands.asp.
    \5\American Wind Energy Association. Public Lands and Wind Energy. 
http://www.awea.org/Issues/Content.aspx?ItemNFumber=858.
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The Planning for American Energy Act

    H.R. 2907 seeks to address inefficiencies in the current 
approach to onshore energy development on federal land by 
implementing an all-of-the-above Quadrennial Federal Onshore 
Energy Production Strategy based on projected energy demand 
over a 30-year period. This legislation would require 
coordinated interagency planning efforts to analyze long-term 
energy needs and set forth specific actions to ensure national 
objectives are met.
    H.R. 2907 ensures interagency coordination in the 
development of the Strategy and specifically requires the 
Secretary of the Interior to consult with the Administrator of 
the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Secretary 
of Agriculture and the Secretary of Energy. The EIA, housed 
within the Department of Energy, is responsible for collecting, 
analyzing, and disseminating independent energy data.\6\ While 
the EIA regularly issues short and long-term energy forecasts, 
H.R. 2907 would require the EIA to take a longer view of U.S. 
energy needs and estimate projected energy demands over a 30-
year period. The EIA would also be required to consult on 
specific actions that should be taken over a four-year period 
to meet projected energy needs. Consultations would also take 
place with the Secretary of Agriculture concerning energy 
development on lands administered under the Department and with 
the Secretary of Energy regarding the status of energy 
transmission, storage and distribution infrastructure.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\U.S. Energy Information Administration. Mission and Overview. 
https://www.eia.gov/about/mission_overview.php (Accessed November 3, 
2017).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The interagency process established under H.R. 2907 will 
establish actionable priorities for onshore energy resource 
development designed to meet projected energy needs. 
Accordingly, the Strategy will inform the policymaking process 
and promote the efficient allocation of resources across 
relevant Departments.

Major provisions of the bill

     Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to require the 
Secretary of the Interior to develop and publish a Quadrennial 
Federal Onshore Energy Production Strategy once every 4 years.
     The Secretary is required to develop this strategy 
in consultation with: (1) the Administrator of the Energy 
Information Administration (EIA), who will provide projected 
energy demands for the next 30 years, the methodology used to 
arrive at their projection, and recommended actions over the 
next four year period to meet that projection; (2) the 
Secretary of Agriculture with regards to the land administered 
by such Secretary; and (3) the Secretary of Energy with regard 
to transmission, storage, and distribution infrastructure.
     The Secretary is required to solicit input from 
States, federally-recognized Indian Tribes, and local 
governments where energy projects are proposed to be located, 
as well as the general public.
     The Strategy should include: 1) directives 
regarding federal land energy development and departmental 
resources needed to promote energy security; 2) projected 
domestic demand for energy resources over a 30 year period by 
energy resource type; and 3) domestic strategic production 
objectives for onshore oil and gas, coal, strategic and 
critical energy minerals, renewables, unconventional sources 
and helium, including on Tribal lands, as well as any other 
energy resources that the Secretary chooses to include.
     In developing the Strategy, the Secretary should 
consider how federal lands will contribute to ensuring energy 
security; the ability of existing energy transmission, storage, 
and distribution infrastructure to efficiently utilize energy 
production from federal lands; and the proportion of energy 
production derived from federal land compared to non-federal 
land.
     Federally-recognized Tribes may include their own 
production objectives as a part of the Strategy.
     The Secretary is required to report to Congress 
annually detailing the progress that has been made in meeting 
the projection objectives laid out in the Strategy, problems 
that may hinder achieving these objectives, and suggestions to 
Congress to help address these problems.
     The Secretary must submit the Strategy to Congress 
and the President 60 days before publication along with 
comments from States, Tribes and local governments and 
explanations as to why some recommendations were not accepted.
    The Committee on Natural Resources has acted on versions of 
this legislation before. A similar version of this bill was 
favorably reported by the Committee during the 113th Congress 
(H.R. 1394) and 112th Congress (H.R. 4381) and was included in 
legislation that passed the House in 113th Congress (H.R. 2).

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 2907 was introduced on June 15, 2017, by Congressman 
Scott R. Tipton (R-CO). The bill was referred to the Committee 
on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. On September 6, 
2017, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On November 
7, 2017, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the 
bill. The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. No 
amendments were offered, and the bill was ordered favorably 
reported to the House of Representatives by a roll call vote of 
17 ayes to 13 noes on November 8, 2017, as follows:


            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 and Congressional Budget Act

    1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. 
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the 
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, November 13, 2017.
Hon. Rob Bishop,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2907, the Planning 
for American Energy Act of 2017.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jeff LaFave.
            Sincerely,
                                                Keith Hall,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 2907--Planning for American Energy Act of 2017

    H.R. 2907 would require the Secretary of the Interior, 
every four years, to prepare an onshore energy production 
strategy for developing resources owned by the federal 
government. As part of that strategy, the Secretary would be 
directed to establish production objectives for oil, natural 
gas, coal, oil shale, and certain other minerals, as well as 
energy from wind, solar, biomass, hydropower, and geothermal 
resources. Based on an analysis of information provided by the 
Department of the Interior about the cost of similar reports, 
CBO estimates that developing the initial four-year strategy 
and commencing work on the subsequent strategy would cost $7 
million over the 2018-2022 period, assuming appropriation of 
the necessary amounts.
    Enacting H.R. 2907 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2907 would not increase 
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
    H.R. 2907 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 H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.
    2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to amend the Mineral Leasing Act to 
require the Secretary of the Interior to develop and publish an 
all-of-the-above quadrennial federal onshore energy production 
strategy to meet domestic energy needs.

                           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. This bill does not contain any 
directed rule makings.
    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, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

                          MINERAL LEASING ACT




           *       *       *       *       *       *       *
SEC. 44. QUADRENNIAL FEDERAL ONSHORE ENERGY PRODUCTION STRATEGY.

  (a) Requirement To Publish Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy 
Production Strategy.--The Secretary shall develop and publish 
once every 4 years a Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy 
Production Strategy.
  (b) Consultations Required.--In developing the Strategy, the 
Secretary shall consult with--
          (1) the Administrator of the Energy Information 
        Administration with regard to--
                  (A) the projected energy demands of the 
                United States for the next 30-year period;
                  (B) the methodology used to arrive at such 
                projection; and
                  (C) actions to be taken during the next 4-
                year period with the goal of meeting such 
                demands;
          (2) the Secretary of Agriculture with regard to lands 
        administered by such Secretary; and
          (3) the Secretary of Energy with regard to energy 
        transmission, storage, and distribution infrastructure.
  (c) State, Federally Recognized Indian Tribes, Local 
Government, and Public Input.--In developing the Strategy, the 
Secretary shall solicit the input of--
          (1) the State, federally recognized Indian Tribe, or 
        local government where each energy project included in 
        the Strategy is proposed to be located; and
          (2) the public.
  (d) Contents of Strategy.--
          (1) In general.--The Strategy shall direct onshore 
        Federal land energy development and department resource 
        allocation in order to promote the energy security and 
        national security of the United States in accordance 
        with the principles of multiple use and sustained 
        yield.
          (2) Projected domestic demand for energy resources.--
        The Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator 
        of the Energy Information Administration, shall include 
        in the Strategy an estimate, based upon commercial and 
        scientific data, of the projected domestic demand for 
        energy resources over the 30-year period beginning on 
        the date of the publication of such Strategy. The 
        estimate shall be disaggregated by the energy resource 
        types listed in subparagraphs (A) through (H) of 
        paragraph (3) and expressed in British thermal units or 
        me-ga-watts, as appropriate.
          (3) Domestic strategic production objective.--The 
        Secretary shall include in the Strategy a domestic 
        strategic production objective based on the estimate in 
        paragraph (2) for the development of the following 
        energy resource types on Federal onshore lands:
                  (A) Oil and natural gas.
                  (B) Coal.
                  (C) Strategic and critical energy minerals.
                  (D) Electricity, in megawatts, from each of 
                wind, solar, biomass, hydropower, and 
                geothermal energy.
                  (E) Energy from unconventional energy 
                production, such as oil shale.
                  (F) Helium.
                  (G) Oil, natural gas, coal, and other 
                renewable sources from the Tribal lands of any 
                federally recognized Indian Tribe that elects 
                to participate in facilitating energy 
                production on its lands.
                  (H) Other energy production technology 
                sources or advancements in energy, as 
                determined by the Secretary.
          (4) Considerations.--In the Strategy, the Secretary 
        shall consider--
                  (A) how Federal lands will contribute to 
                ensuring national energy security, with a goal 
                for increasing energy independence and 
                production during the next 4-year period;
                  (B) the ability of existing energy 
                transmission, storage, and distribution 
                infrastructure to efficiently utilize energy 
                production from Federal lands; and
                  (C) the proportion of total energy production 
                derived from Federal land compared to non-
                Federal land for each of the energy resources 
                listed in subparagraphs (A) through (H) of 
                paragraph (3).
  (e) Tribal Objectives.--It is the sense of Congress that 
federally recognized Indian Tribes may elect to set their own 
production objectives as part of the Strategy. The Secretary 
shall work in cooperation with any federally recognized Indian 
Tribe that elects to participate in achieving its own strategic 
energy objectives.
  (f) Report Required.--The Secretary shall submit a report 
annually to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate that--
          (1) examines the progress made toward meeting the 
        domestic strategic production objective set forth in 
        the Strategy;
          (2) identifies projections for production and 
        capacity installations and any problems with leasing, 
        permitting, siting, or production that may prevent 
        meeting the domestic strategic production objective set 
        forth in the Strategy; and
          (3) provides suggestions to address any shortfalls in 
        meeting the domestic strategic production objective set 
        forth in the Strategy.
  (g) Congressional Review.--At least 60 days before publishing 
a proposed Strategy under this section, the Secretary shall 
submit such Strategy to the President and to Congress, together 
with any comments received from States, federally recognized 
Indian Tribes, and local governments. Such submission shall 
state why any specific recommendation of a State, federally 
recognized Indian Tribe, or local government was not accepted.
  (h) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) Multiple use.--The term ``multiple use'' has the 
        same meaning given such term in section 103 of the 
        Federal Land and Policy Management Act of 1976 (43 
        U.S.C. 1702).
          (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the 
        Secretary of the Interior, unless the context requires 
        otherwise.
          (3) Strategy.--The term ``Strategy'' means the 
        Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy Production Strategy 
        required to be developed and published under subsection 
        (a).
          (4) Strategic and critical energy minerals.--The term 
        ``strategic and critical energy minerals'' means 
        minerals that are necessary for the production of 
        energy and the building and maintaining of the energy 
        infrastructure of the United States, including minerals 
        necessary--
                  (A) for pipelines, refining capacity, 
                electrical power generation and transmission, 
                and renewable energy production;
                  (B) to support domestic manufacturing, 
                including materials used in energy generation, 
                production, and transportation; and
                  (C) to ensure the national security of the 
                United States.
          (5) Sustained yield.--The term ``sustained yield'' 
        has the same meaning given such term in section 103 of 
        the Federal Land and Policy Management Act of 1976 (43 
        U.S.C. 1702).

SEC. [44.]  45. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Mineral Leasing Act''.

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

    H.R. 2907 would overturn the longstanding principle of 
managing public lands for multiple use and sustained yield, as 
enshrined by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and 
replace it with a directive to maximize energy production under 
the guise of strategic planning. While federal lands do play a 
part in meeting national energy needs, their development over 
the past several decades has been guided by the market and the 
need to balance competing land uses. We should not demand that 
federal lands provide a certain percentage of America's energy 
any more than we should demand that at least 100 million 
Americans visit National Parks.
    The most troubling part of the bill is the requirement that 
the Secretary of the Interior direct Departmental resources in 
order to achieve a goal of increasing energy production during 
the period of each quadrennial strategy, regardless of market 
conditions and other factors. ``Sustained yield'' would become 
``maximum yield'', regardless of market conditions, changes in 
technology, or changes in policy. Proponents of the bill point 
to the inclusion of wind, solar, and other renewable energy 
technologies in the strategy to claim that the legislation is 
balanced. However, that ignores the fact that the strategy 
would also lead to efforts to continually increase production 
of coal, oil, natural gas, and oil shale, exacerbating a 
climate crisis that we have already been ignoring for far too 
long. Also, renewable energy for renewable energy's sake should 
not be the goal--increasing renewable energy in the right 
places should be the goal, and that requires thoughtful 
planning and public input, not simply a directive to grow at 
all costs over every 4-year period.
    Furthermore, there are a couple of provisions in the bill 
that make no sense. ``Strategic and critical energy minerals'' 
are defined broadly enough such that the minerals mined need 
not be strategic, critical, or related to energy. And the 
inclusion of helium as an ``energy resource'' is a stretch, to 
say the least.
    The sponsors of this legislation have not clearly expressed 
why this legislation is needed, nor what positive impacts it 
would have. The potential negative impacts of the bill, 
however, are obvious. For these reasons, we oppose H.R. 2907.

                                   Raul M. Grijalva,
                                           Ranking Member, Committee on 
                                               Natural Resources.
                                   Grace F. Napolitano.
                                   Niki Tsongas.
                                   Colleen Hanabusa.
                                   Madeleine Z. Bordallo.
                                   Darren Soto.
                                   A. Donald McEachin.
                                   Alan S. Lowenthal.
                                   Nanette Diaz Barragan.

                                  [all]