S 205
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 205
To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to require that
oil produced from Federal leases in certain Arctic waters be transported
by pipeline to onshore facilities and to provide for the sharing of
certain outer Continental Shelf revenues from areas in the Alaska Adjacent
Zone.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 26, 2011
Mr. BEGICH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
A BILL
To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to require that
oil produced from Federal leases in certain Arctic waters be transported
by pipeline to onshore facilities and to provide for the sharing of
certain outer Continental Shelf revenues from areas in the Alaska Adjacent
Zone.
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 `Alaska Adjacent Zone Safe Oil Transport
and Revenue Sharing Act'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
(1) the United States is an Arctic nation with--
(A) an approximately 700-mile border with the Arctic Ocean;
(B) more than 100,000,000 acres of land above the Arctic Circle;
and
(C) an even broader area defined as Arctic by temperature, which
includes the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands;
(2) the Arctic region of the United States--
(A) is home to an indigenous population that has subsisted for millennia
on the abundance of marine mammals, fish, and wildlife in the Arctic
region, many of which are unique to the region;
(B) is known to the indigenous population as Inuvikput or the `place
where we live'; and
(C) has produced more than 16,000,000,000 barrels of oil and, according
to the United States Geological Survey, may hold an additional 30,000,000,000
barrels of oil and 220,000,000,000,000 cubic feet of natural gas,
making the region of fundamental importance to the national interest
of the United States;
(3) temperatures in the United States Arctic region have warmed by
3 to 4 degrees Celsius over the past half-century, a rate of increase
that is twice the global average;
(4) the Arctic ice pack is rapidly diminishing and thinning, and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates the Arctic
Ocean may be ice-free during summer months in as few as 30 years;
(5) those changes to the Arctic region are having a significant impact
on the indigenous people of the Arctic, the communities and ecosystems
of the people, as well as the marine mammals, fish, and wildlife on
which the people depend; and
(6) those changes are opening new portions of the United States Arctic
continental shelf to possible development for offshore oil and gas,
commercial fishing, marine shipping, and tourism.
SEC. 3. PRODUCTION OF OIL FROM CERTAIN ARCTIC OFFSHORE LEASES.
Section 5 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1334)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(k) Oil Transportation in Arctic Waters- The Secretary shall--
`(1) require that oil produced from Federal leases in Arctic waters
in the Chukchi Sea planning area, Beaufort Sea planning area, or Hope
Basin planning area be transported by pipeline to onshore facilities;
and
`(2) provide for, and issue appropriate permits for, the transportation
of oil from Federal leases in Arctic waters in preproduction phases
(including exploration) by means other than pipeline.'.
SEC. 4. REVENUE SHARING FROM AREAS IN ALASKA ADJACENT ZONE.
Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(i) Revenue Sharing From Areas in Alaska Adjacent Zone-
`(1) DEFINITIONS- In this subsection:
`(A) COASTAL POLITICAL SUBDIVISION- The term `coastal political
subdivision' means a county-equivalent subdivision of the State
all or part of which--
`(i) lies within the coastal zone (as defined in section 304 of
the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453)); and
`(ii) the closest point of which is not more than 300 statute
miles from the geographical center of any leased tract.
`(B) DISTANCE- The terms `distance' means minimum great circle distance.
`(C) INDIAN TRIBE- The term `Indian tribe' means an Alaska Native
entity recognized and eligible to receive services from the Bureau
of Indian Affairs, the headquarters of which is located within 300
miles of the geographical center of a leased tract.
`(D) LEASED TRACT- The term `leased tract' means a tract leased
under this Act for the purpose of drilling for, developing, and
producing oil or natural gas resources.
`(E) STATE- The term `State' means the State of Alaska.
`(2) BONUS BIDS- Subject to paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), effective
beginning on the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment
of this subsection, the State shall, without further appropriation
or action, receive 37.5 percent of any bonus bid paid for leasing
rights for any area in the Alaska Adjacent Zone.
`(3) POSTLEASING REVENUES- Subject to paragraphs (4), (5), and (6),
in addition to bonus bids under paragraph (1), the State shall receive,
from leasing of the area, 37.5 percent of--
`(A) any lease rental payments;
`(B) any lease royalty payments;
`(C) any royalty proceeds from a sale of royalties taken in kind
by the Secretary; and
`(D) any other revenues from a bidding system under section 8.
`(4) ALLOCATION AMONG COASTAL POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS OF THE STATE-
`(A) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall pay 20 percent of any allocable
share of the State, as determined under paragraphs (2) and (3),
directly to coastal political subdivisions.
`(i) IN GENERAL- For each leased tract used to calculate the allocation
of the State, the Secretary shall pay the coastal political subdivisions
within 300 miles of the geographical center of the leased tract
based on the relative distance of the coastal political subdivisions
from the leased tract in accordance with this subparagraph.
`(ii) DISTANCES- For each coastal political subdivision, the Secretary
shall determine the distance between the point on the coastal
political subdivision coastline closest to the geographical center
of the leased tract and the geographical center of the tract.
`(iii) PAYMENTS- The Secretary shall divide and allocate the qualified
outer Continental Shelf revenues derived from the leased tract
among coastal political subdivisions in amounts that are inversely
proportional to the applicable distances determined under clause
(ii).
`(5) ALLOCATION AMONG REGIONAL CORPORATIONS-
`(A) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall pay 33 percent of any allocable
share of the State, as determined under this subsection, directly
to certain Regional Corporations established under section 7(a)
of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1606(a)).
`(i) IN GENERAL- For each leased tract used to calculate the allocation
of the State, the Secretary shall pay the Regional Corporations,
after determining those Native villages within the region of the
Regional Corporation which are within 300 miles of the geographical
center of the leased tract based on the relative distance of such
villages from the leased tract, in accordance with this paragraph.
`(ii) DISTANCES- For each such village, the Secretary shall determine
the distance between the point in the village closest to the geographical
center of the leased tract and the geographical center of the
tract.
`(iii) PAYMENTS- The Secretary shall divide and allocate the qualified
outer Continental Shelf revenues derived from the leased tract
among the qualifying Regional Corporations in amounts that are
inversely proportional to the distances of all of the Native villages
within each qualifying region.
`(iv) REVENUES- All revenues received by each Regional Corporation
shall be--
`(I) treated by the Regional Corporation as revenue subject
to the distribution requirements of section 7(i)(1)(A) of the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1606(i)(1)(A));
and
`(II) divided annually by the Regional Corporation among all
12 Regional Corporations in accordance with section 7(i) of
that Act.
`(v) FURTHER DISTRIBUTION- A Regional Corporation receiving revenues
under clause (iv)(II) shall further distribute 50 percent of the
revenues received in accordance with section 7(j) of the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1606(j)).
`(6) ALLOCATION AMONG INDIAN TRIBES-
`(A) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall pay 7 percent of any allocable
share of the State, as determined under this subsection, directly
to Indian tribes.
`(i) IN GENERAL- For each leased tract used to calculate the allocation
of the State, the Secretary shall pay Indian tribes based on the
relative distance of the headquarters of the Indian tribes from
the leased tract, in accordance with this subparagraph.
`(ii) DISTANCES- For each Indian tribe, the Secretary shall determine
the distance between the location of the headquarters of the Indian
tribe and the geographical center of the tract.
`(iii) PAYMENTS- The Secretary shall divide and allocate the qualified
outer Continental Shelf revenues derived from the leased tract
among the Indian tribes in amounts that are inversely proportional
to the distances described in clause (ii).
`(7) CONSERVATION ROYALTY- After making distributions under paragraphs
(2) and (3) and section 31, the Secretary shall, without further appropriation
or action, distribute a conservation royalty equal to 6.25 percent
of Federal royalty revenues derived from an area leased under this
subsection from all areas leased under this subsection for any year,
into the land and water conservation fund established under section
2 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-5)
to provide financial assistance to States under section 6 of that
Act (16 U.S.C. 460l-8).
`(8) DEFICIT REDUCTION- After making distributions in accordance with
paragraphs (2) and (3) and in accordance with section 31, the Secretary
shall, without further appropriation or action, distribute an amount
equal to 6.25 percent of Federal royalty revenues derived from an
area leased under this subsection from all areas leased under this
subsection for any year, into direct Federal deficit reduction.'.
END
