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HR 6515 IH

To amend the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an expeditious environmentally responsible program of competitive leasing of oil and gas in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, and for other purposes.

July 16, 2008

Mr. RAHALL (for himself, Mr. WELCH of Vermont, Ms. SUTTON, Ms. CASTOR, Mr. CARSON, Mrs. BOYDA of Kansas, Mr. WALZ of Minnesota, Ms. GIFFORDS, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. HODES, Mr. HALL of New York, Mr. SPACE, Mr. SIRES, Mr. WILSON of Ohio, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, and Mr. FOSTER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

To amend the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an expeditious environmentally responsible program of competitive leasing of oil and gas in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, 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 `Drill Responsibly in Leased Lands Act of 2008'.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA: LEASE SALES.

Section 107(a) of the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 is amended to read as follows:

`(a) In General- The Secretary shall conduct an expeditious environmentally responsible program of competitive leasing of oil and gas in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska in accordance with this Act. Such program shall include no fewer than one lease sale in the Reserve each year during the period 2009 through 2013.'.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA: PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION.

The Secretary of Transportation shall facilitate, in an environmentally responsible manner and in coordination with the Secretary of the Interior, the construction of pipelines necessary to transport oil and gas from or through the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska to existing transportation or processing infrastructure on the North Slope of Alaska.

SEC. 4. ALASKA NATURAL GAS PIPELINE PROJECT FACILITATION.

(a) Findings- The Congress finds the following:

(1) Over 35 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves have been discovered on Federal and State lands currently open to oil and gas leasing on the North Slope of Alaska.

(2) These gas supplies could make a significant contribution to meeting the energy needs of the United States, but the lack of a natural gas transportation system has prevented these gas reserves from reaching markets in the lower 48 States.

(b) Facilitation by President- The President shall, pursuant to the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Act (division C of Public Law 108-324; 15 U.S.C. 720 et seq.) and other applicable law, coordinate with producers of oil and natural gas on the North Slope of Alaska, Federal agencies, the State of Alaska, Canadian authorities, and other interested persons in order to facilitate construction of a natural gas pipeline from Alaska to United States markets as expeditiously as possible.

SEC. 5. PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS AND OTHER PIPELINE REQUIREMENTS.

(a) Project Labor Agreements- The President, as a term and condition of any permit required under Federal law for the pipelines referred to in section 3 and section 4, and in recognizing the Government's interest in labor stability and in the ability of construction labor and management to meet the particular needs and conditions of such pipelines to be developed under such permits and the special concerns of the holders of such permits, shall require that the operators of such pipelines and their agents and contractors negotiate to obtain a project labor agreement for the employment of laborers and mechanics on production, maintenance, and construction for such pipelines.

(b) Pipeline Maintenance- The Secretary of Transportation shall require every pipeline operator authorized to transport oil and gas produced under Federal oil and gas leases in Alaska through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, any pipeline constructed pursuant to section 3 or 4 of this Act, or any other federally approved pipeline transporting oil and gas from the North Slope of Alaska, to certify to the Secretary of Transportation annually that such pipeline is being fully maintained and operated in an efficient manner. The Secretary of Transportation shall assess appropriate civil penalties for violations of this requirement in the same manner as civil penalties are assessed for violations under section 60122(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code.

SEC. 6. BAN ON EXPORT OF ALASKAN OIL.

(a) Repeal of Provision Authorizing Exports- Section 28(s) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 185(s)) is repealed.

(b) Reimposition of Prohibition on Crude Oil Exports- Upon the effective date of this Act, subsection (d) of section 7 of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2406(d)), shall be effective, and any other provision of that Act (including sections 11 and 12) shall be effective to the extent necessary to carry out such section 7(d), notwithstanding section 20 of that Act or any other provision of law that would otherwise allow exports of oil to which such section 7(d) applies.

SEC. 7. ISSUANCE OF NEW LEASES.

(a) In General- After the date of the issuance of regulations under subsection (b), the Secretary of the Interior shall not issue to a person any new lease that authorizes the exploration for or production of oil or natural gas, under section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (33 U.S.C. 226), the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands Act (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.), the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), or any other law authorizing the issuance of oil and gas leases on Federal lands or submerged lands, unless--

(1) the person certifies for each existing lease under such Acts for the production of oil or gas with respect to which the person is a lessee, that the person is diligently developing the Federal lands that are subject to the lease in order to produce oil or natural gas or is producing oil or natural gas from such land; or

(2) the person has relinquished all ownership interest in all Federal oil and gas leases under which oil and gas is not being diligently developed.

(b) Diligent Development- The Secretary shall issue regulations within 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act that establish what constitutes `diligently developing' for purposes of this Act.

(c) Failure To Comply With Requirements- Any person who fails to comply with the requirements of this section or any regulation or order issued to implement this section shall be liable for a civil penalty under section 109 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1719).

(d) Lessee Defined- In this section the term `lessee'--

(1) includes any person or other entity that controls, is controlled by, or is in or under common control with, a lessee; and

(2) does not include any person who does not hold more than a minority ownership interest in a lease under an Act referred to in subsection (a) authorizing the exploration for or production of oil or natural gas.

SEC. 8. FAIR RETURN ON PRODUCTION OF FEDERAL OIL AND GAS RESOURCES.

(a) Royalty Payments- The Secretary of the Interior shall take all steps necessary to ensure that lessees under leases for exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas on Federal lands, including leases under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.), the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (30 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), and all other mineral leasing laws, are making prompt, transparent, and accurate royalty payments under such leases.

(b) Recommendations for Legislative Action- In order to facilitate implementation of subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall, within 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and in consultation with the affected States, prepare and transmit to Congress recommendations for legislative action to improve the accurate collection of Federal oil and gas royalties.

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