HR 1229
5-11-11, House Passed Bill 263-163
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1229
To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to facilitate the
safe and timely production of American energy resources from the Gulf of Mexico.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 29, 2011
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington (for himself, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. FLEMING, Mr. LANDRY,
Mr. FLORES, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mr. WITTMAN,
Mr. BROUN of Georgia, Mr. TIPTON, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. DENHAM, Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee,
Mr. NUNES, Mr. BOUSTANY, Mr. GRIMM, Mr. SCALISE, Mr. ROSS of Florida, Mr.
GRAVES of Missouri, Mrs. MYRICK, Mrs. LUMMIS, Mr. GINGREY of Georgia, Mr.
POMPEO, Mr. OLSON, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. LONG, Mr. SIMPSON, Ms.
JENKINS, Mr. KELLY, Mr. RIGELL, Mr. HELLER, Mrs. HARTZLER, and Mr. POSEY)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural
Resources, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 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
A BILL
To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to facilitate the
safe and timely production of American energy resources from the Gulf of Mexico.
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 `Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act'.
TITLE I--AMENDMENT TO THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT
SEC. 101. AMENDMENT TO OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT.
(a) Amendment- Section 11(d) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43
U.S.C. 1340(d)) is amended to read as follows:
`(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall by regulation require that any lessee
operating under an approved exploration plan--
`(A) must obtain a permit before drilling any well in accordance with
such plan; and
`(B) must obtain a new permit before drilling any well of a design that
is significantly different than the design for which an existing permit
was issued.
`(2) SAFETY REVIEW REQUIRED- The Secretary shall not issue a permit under
paragraph (1) without ensuring that the proposed drilling operations meet
all--
`(A) critical safety system requirements, including blowout prevention;
and
`(B) oil spill response and containment requirements.
`(A) The Secretary shall decide whether to issue a permit under paragraph
(1) within 30 days after receiving an application for the permit. The
Secretary may extend such period for up to two periods of 15 days each,
if the Secretary has given written notice of the delay to the applicant.
The notice shall be in the form of a letter from the Secretary or a designee
of the Secretary, and shall include the names and titles of the persons
processing the application, the specific reasons for the delay, and a
specific date a final decision on the application is expected.
`(B) If the application is denied, the Secretary shall provide the applicant--
`(i) in writing, clear and comprehensive reasons why the application
was not accepted and detailed information concerning any deficiencies,
and
`(ii) an opportunity to remedy any deficiencies.
`(C) If the Secretary has not made a decision on the application by the
end of the 60-day period beginning on the date the application is received
by the Secretary, the application is deemed approved.'.
(b) Deadline for Certain Permit Applications Under Existing Leases-
(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding the amendment made by subsection (a), a
lease under which a covered application is submitted to the Secretary of
the Interior shall be considered to be in directed suspension during the
period beginning May 27, 2010, and ending on the date the Secretary issues
a final decision on the application, if the Secretary does not issue a final
decision on the application--
(A) before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date of enactment
of this Act, in the case of a covered application submitted before such
date of enactment; or
(B) before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date the application
is received by the Secretary, in the case of a covered application submitted
on or after such date of enactment.
(2) COVERED APPLICATION- In this subsection the term `covered application'
means an application for a permit to drill under an oil and gas lease under
the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act in effect on the date of enactment
of this Act, that--
(A) represents a resubmission of an approved permit to drill (including
an application for a permit to sidetrack) that was approved by the Secretary
before May 27, 2010; and
(B) is received by the Secretary after October 12, 2010, and before the
end of the 30-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act.
TITLE II--JUDICIAL REVIEW OF AGENCY ACTIONS RELATING TO OUTER CONTINENTAL
SHELF ACTIVITIES IN THE GULF OF MEXICO
SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS FOR TITLE.
(1) the term `covered civil action' means a civil action containing a claim
under section 702 of title 5, United States Code, regarding agency action
(as defined for the purposes of that section) affecting a covered energy
project in the Gulf of Mexico; and
(2) the term `covered energy project' means the leasing of Federal lands
of the Outer Continental Shelf (including submerged lands) for the exploration,
development, production, processing, or transmission of oil, natural gas,
wind, or any other source of energy in the Gulf of Mexico, and any action
under such a lease, except that the term does not include any disputes between
the parties to a lease regarding the obligations under such lease, including
regarding any alleged breach of the lease.
SEC. 202. EXCLUSIVE VENUE FOR CERTAIN CIVIL ACTIONS RELATING TO COVERED
ENERGY PROJECTS IN THE GULF OF MEXICO.
Venue for any covered civil action shall not lie in any district court not
within the 5th circuit unless there is no proper venue in any court within
that circuit.
SEC. 203. TIME LIMITATION ON FILING.
A covered civil action is barred unless filed no later than the end of the
60-day period beginning on the date of the final Federal agency action to
which it relates.
SEC. 204. EXPEDITION IN HEARING AND DETERMINING THE ACTION.
The court shall endeavor to hear and determine any covered civil action as
expeditiously as possible.
SEC. 205. STANDARD OF REVIEW.
In any judicial review of a covered civil action, administrative findings
and conclusions relating to the challenged Federal action or decision shall
be presumed to be correct, and the presumption may be rebutted only by the
preponderance of the evidence contained in the administrative record.
SEC. 206. LIMITATION ON PROSPECTIVE RELIEF.
In a covered civil action, the court shall not grant or approve any prospective
relief unless the court finds that such relief is narrowly drawn, extends
no further than necessary to correct the violation of a legal requirement,
and is the least intrusive means necessary to correct that violation.
SEC. 207. LIMITATION ON ATTORNEYS' FEES.
Sections 504 of title 5, United States Code, and 2412 of title 28, United
States Code (together commonly called the Equal Access to Justice Act) do
not apply to a covered civil action, nor shall any party in such a covered
civil action receive payment from the Federal Government for their attorneys'
fees, expenses, and other court costs.
END
