Offshore Wind for Territories Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 499 To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to apply to territories of the United States, to establish offshore wind lease sale requirements, to provide dedicated funding for coral reef conservation, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 14, 2019 Mr. CASSIDY 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 apply to territories of the United States, to establish offshore wind lease sale requirements, to provide dedicated fund- ing for coral reef conservation, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Offshore Wind for Ter- 4 ritories Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S499.IS S499 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 499 IS SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 1 LANDS ACT WITH RESPECT TO TERRITORIES 2 OF THE UNITED STATES. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2 of the Outer Conti- 4 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331) is amended— 5 (1) in paragraph (a)— 6 (A) by inserting after ‘‘control’’ the fol- 7 lowing: ‘‘or lying within the exclusive economic 8 zone of the United States and the outer Conti- 9 nental Shelf adjacent to any territory or posses- 10 sion of the United States’’; and 11 (B) by adding at the end before the semi- 12 colon the following: ‘‘, except that such term 13 shall not include any area conveyed by Congress 14 to a territorial government for administration’’; 15 (2) in paragraph (p), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 16 the semicolon at the end; 17 (3) in paragraph (q), by striking the period at 18 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 19 (4) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(r) The term ‘State’ includes each territory of the 21 United States.’’. 22 (b) EXCLUSIONS.—Section 18 of the Outer Conti- 23 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) is amended by 24 adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S499.IS S499 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 499 IS ‘‘(i) This section shall not apply to the scheduling of 1 lease sales in the outer Continental Shelf adjacent to the 2 territories and possessions of the United States.’’. 3 SEC. 3. DISPOSITION OF REVENUES WITH RESPECT TO 4 TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 5 Section 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 6 (43 U.S.C. 1338) is amended— 7 (1) by striking ‘‘All rentals’’ and inserting the 8 following: 9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 10 law, all rentals’’; and 11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 12 ‘‘(b) DISPOSITION OF REVENUES TO TERRITORIES 13 OF THE UNITED STATES.—Of the rentals, royalties, and 14 other sums paid to the Secretary under this Act from a 15 lease for an area of land on the outer Continental Shelf 16 adjacent to a territory and lying within the exclusive eco- 17 nomic zone of the United States pertaining to such terri- 18 tory, and not otherwise obligated or appropriated— 19 ‘‘(1) 50 percent shall be deposited in the Treas- 20 ury and credited to miscellaneous receipts; 21 ‘‘(2) 12.5 percent shall be deposited in the 22 Coral Reef Conservation Fund established under 23 section 211 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 24 2000; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S499.IS S499 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 499 IS ‘‘(3) 37.5 percent shall be disbursed to terri- 1 tories of the United States in an amount for each 2 territory (based on a formula established by the Sec- 3 retary by regulation) that is inversely proportional to 4 the respective distance between the point on the 5 coastline of the territory that is closest to the geo- 6 graphic center of the applicable leased tract and the 7 geographic center of the leased tract.’’. 8 SEC. 4. WIND LEASE SALES FOR AREAS OF OUTER CONTI- 9 NENTAL SHELF. 10 (a) CONDITIONAL WIND LEASE SALES IN TERRI- 11 TORIES OF THE UNITED STATES.—The Outer Continental 12 Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) is amended by 13 adding at the end the following: 14 ‘‘SEC. 33. WIND LEASE SALES FOR AREAS OF OUTER CONTI- 15 NENTAL SHELF. 16 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary may conduct 17 wind lease sales on the outer Continental Shelf. 18 ‘‘(b) WIND LEASE SALE PROCEDURE.—Any wind 19 lease sale conducted under this section shall be considered 20 a lease under section 8(p). 21 ‘‘(c) WIND LEASE SALES OFF COASTS OF TERRI- 22 TORIES OF THE UNITED STATES.— 23 ‘‘(1) STUDY ON FEASIBILITY OF CONDUCTING 24 WIND LEASE SALES.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S499.IS S499 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 499 IS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 1 conduct a study on the feasibility, including the 2 technological and long-term economic feasibility, 3 of conducting wind lease sales on an area of the 4 outer Continental Shelf within the territorial ju- 5 risdiction of American Samoa, Guam, the 6 Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and 7 the Virgin Islands of the United States. 8 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the 9 study required in paragraph (A), the Secretary 10 shall consult— 11 ‘‘(i) the National Renewable Energy 12 Laboratory of the Department of Energy; 13 and 14 ‘‘(ii) the Governor of each of Amer- 15 ican Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana 16 Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Is- 17 lands of the United States. 18 ‘‘(C) PUBLICATION.—The study required 19 in paragraph (A) shall be published in the Fed- 20 eral Register for public comment for not fewer 21 than 60 days. 22 ‘‘(D) SUBMISSION OF RESULTS.—Not later 23 than 18 months after the date of the enactment 24 of this section, the Secretary shall submit the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S499.IS S499 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 499 IS results of the study conducted under subpara- 1 graph (A) to: 2 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Energy and 3 Natural Resources of the Senate; 4 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Natural Re- 5 sources of the House of Representatives; 6 and 7 ‘‘(iii) each of the delegates or resident 8 commissioner to the House of Representa- 9 tives from American Samoa, Guam, the 10 Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, 11 and the Virgin Islands of the United 12 States, respectively. 13 ‘‘(E) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The study 14 required under subparagraph (A) and results 15 submitted under subparagraph (C) shall be 16 made readily available on a public Government 17 internet website. 18 ‘‘(2) CALL FOR INFORMATION AND NOMINA- 19 TIONS.—The Secretary shall issue a call for informa- 20 tion and nominations for proposed wind lease sales 21 for areas determined to be feasible under the study 22 conducted under paragraph (1). 23 ‘‘(3) CONDITIONAL WIND LEASE SALES.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S499.IS S499 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 499 IS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each territory, 1 the Secretary shall conduct not less than 1 wind 2 lease sale on an area of the outer Continental 3 Shelf within the territorial jurisdiction of such 4 territory that meets each of the following cri- 5 teria: 6 ‘‘(i) The study required under para- 7 graph (1)(A) concluded that a wind lease 8 sale on the area is feasible. 9 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary has determined 10 that the call for information has generated 11 sufficient interest for the area. 12 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary has consulted 13 with the Secretary of Defense regarding 14 such a sale. 15 ‘‘(iv) The Secretary has consulted 16 with the Governor of the territory regard- 17 ing the suitability of the area for wind en- 18 ergy development. 19 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If no area of the outer 20 Continental Shelf within the territorial jurisdic- 21 tion of a territory meets each of the criteria in 22 clauses (i) through (iii) of subparagraph (A), 23 the requirement under subparagraph (A) shall 24 not apply to such territory.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S499.IS S499 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 499 IS SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF CORAL REEF CONSERVATION 1 FUND. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Coral Reef Conservation Act 3 of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended by adding 4 at the end the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 211. CORAL REEF CONSERVATION FUND. 6 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 7 Treasury the Coral Reef Conservation Fund, hereafter re- 8 ferred to as the Fund. 9 ‘‘(b) DEPOSITS.—For each fiscal year, there shall be 10 deposited in the Fund the portion of such revenues due 11 and payable to the United States under subsection (b)(2) 12 of section 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 13 U.S.C. 1338). 14 ‘‘(c) USES.—Amounts deposited in the Fund under 15 this section and appropriated to the Secretary of Com- 16 merce under subsection (f) shall be used by the Secretary 17 of Commerce to carry out the Coral Reef Conservation Act 18 of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.), with priority given to 19 carrying out sections 204 and 206 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 20 6403 and 6405). 21 ‘‘(d) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts deposited in the Fund 22 shall remain in the Fund until appropriated by Congress. 23 ‘‘(e) REPORTING.—The President shall include with 24 the proposed budget for the United States Government 25 submitted to Congress for a fiscal year a comprehensive 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S499.IS S499 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 499 IS statement of deposits into the Fund during the previous 1 fiscal year and estimated requirements during the fol- 2 lowing fiscal year for appropriations from the Fund. 3 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 4 are authorized to be appropriated from the Fund to the 5 Secretary of Commerce, an amount equal to the amount 6 deposited in the Fund in the previous fiscal year. 7 ‘‘(g) NO LIMITATION.—Appropriations from the 8 Fund pursuant to this section may be made without fiscal 9 year limitation.’’. 10 (b) RENAMING OF EXISTING FUND.—Section 205 of 11 the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6404) 12 is amended— 13 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘CORAL REEF 14 CONSERVATION FUND’’ and inserting ‘‘CORAL 15 REEF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP’’; 16 (2) in subsection (a)— 17 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 18 ‘‘FUND’’ and inserting ‘‘PUBLIC-PRIVATE 19 PARTNERSHIP’’; and 20 (B) by striking ‘‘, hereafter referred to as 21 the Fund,’’; and 22 (3) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Fund’’ and 23 inserting ‘‘separate interest bearing account’’. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S499.IS S499 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS