Federal

COAST Anti-Drilling Act

Source: Congress.gov · 385 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill changes federal law to permanently ban oil and gas drilling in four ocean areas off the U.S. coast. The Secretary of the Interior (the federal official who manages public lands) can no longer issue drilling permits or leases in these specific regions.

Who It Affects

The Secretary of the Interior is directly affected since they cannot approve drilling permits. Oil and gas companies seeking to drill in the Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Atlantic, and Straits of Florida planning areas are impacted. Coastal communities and ocean users in these regions may also be affected.

Key Provisions

• The Secretary of the Interior cannot issue any lease or authorization for oil, natural gas, or mineral exploration, development, or production in the Mid-Atlantic planning area (Sec. 2) • The Secretary of the Interior cannot issue any lease or authorization for oil, natural gas, or mineral exploration, development, or production in the South Atlantic planning area (Sec. 2) • The Secretary of the Interior cannot issue any lease or authorization for oil, natural gas, or mineral exploration, development, or production in the North Atlantic planning area (Sec. 2) • The Secretary of the Interior cannot issue any lease or authorization for oil, natural gas, or mineral exploration, development, or production in the Straits of Florida planning area (Sec. 2)

What Changes

The bill amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which is federal law that governs ocean drilling. After this bill becomes law, the four named ocean planning areas will be permanently closed to all oil, natural gas, and mineral leasing.

Important Definitions

None defined in the bill text.

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 617 To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to permanently prohibit the conduct of offshore drilling on the outer Continental Shelf in the Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Atlantic, and Straits of Florida planning areas. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 1, 2023 Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. KING, Mr. REED, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. WHITE- HOUSE, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. WAR- REN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. COONS, Mr. PADILLA, and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) 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 perma- nently prohibit the conduct of offshore drilling on the outer Continental Shelf in the Mid-Atlantic, South Atlan- tic, North Atlantic, and Straits of Florida planning areas. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:12 Mar 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S617.IS S617 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 617 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clean Ocean And Safe 2 Tourism Anti-Drilling Act’’ or the ‘‘COAST Anti-Drilling 3 Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF OIL AND GAS LEASING IN CER- 5 TAIN AREAS OF THE OUTER CONTINENTAL 6 SHELF. 7 Section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 8 (43 U.S.C. 1337) is amended by adding at the end the 9 following: 10 ‘‘(q) PROHIBITION OF OIL AND GAS LEASING IN 11 CERTAIN AREAS OF THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.— 12 Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or any 13 other law, the Secretary of the Interior shall not issue a 14 lease or any other authorization for the exploration, devel- 15 opment, or production of oil, natural gas, or any other 16 mineral in— 17 ‘‘(1) the Mid-Atlantic planning area; 18 ‘‘(2) the South Atlantic planning area; 19 ‘‘(3) the North Atlantic planning area; or 20 ‘‘(4) the Straits of Florida planning area.’’. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:12 Mar 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S617.IS S617 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.