Coastal and Marine Economies Protection Act

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1941 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources AN ACT To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior including in any leasing program certain planning areas, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:38 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1941.RFS H1941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 1941 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coastal and Marine 2 Economies Protection Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. PUBLICATION OF INSPECTION RESULTS. 4 Section 22(c) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 5 Act (43 U.S.C. 1348(c)) is amended— 6 (1) by striking ‘‘The’’ and inserting the fol- 7 lowing: 8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The’’; and 9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(b) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make the 11 following available to the public: 12 ‘‘(1) Any reports produced under this sub- 13 section. 14 ‘‘(2) The following information about each pay- 15 ment made into the Ocean Energy Safety Fund 16 under subsection (g): 17 ‘‘(A) The facility that was inspected. 18 ‘‘(B) The name of the operator of such fa- 19 cility. 20 ‘‘(C) The amount of the payment.’’. 21 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON LEASING IN CERTAIN PLANNING 22 AREAS. 23 Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 24 is amended by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:38 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1941.RFS H1941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 1941 RFS subsections (h) and (i) respectively, and by inserting after 1 subsection (f) the following: 2 ‘‘(g) The Secretary shall not include in any leasing 3 program under this section any area within the Atlantic 4 Region planning areas or the Pacific Region planning 5 areas, as such planning areas are described in the docu- 6 ment entitled ‘Draft Proposed Program Outer Continental 7 Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program 2019–2024’, dated 8 January 2018.’’. 9 SEC. 4. INSPECTION FEE COLLECTION. 10 Section 22 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 11 (43 U.S.C. 1348) is amended by adding at the end the 12 following: 13 ‘‘(g) INSPECTION FEES.— 14 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the 15 Interior shall collect from the operators of facilities 16 subject to inspection under subsection (c) non-re- 17 fundable fees for such inspections— 18 ‘‘(A) at an aggregate level equal to the 19 amount necessary to offset the annual expenses 20 of inspections of outer Continental Shelf facili- 21 ties (including mobile offshore drilling units) by 22 the Secretary of the Interior; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:38 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1941.RFS H1941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 1941 RFS ‘‘(B) using a schedule that reflects the dif- 1 ferences in complexity among the classes of fa- 2 cilities to be inspected. 3 ‘‘(2) OCEAN ENERGY SAFETY FUND.—There is 4 established in the Treasury a fund, to be known as 5 the ‘Ocean Energy Safety Fund’ (referred to in this 6 subsection as the ‘Fund’), into which shall be depos- 7 ited all amounts collected as fees under paragraph 8 (1) and which shall be available as provided under 9 paragraph (3). 10 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF FEES.—Notwithstanding 11 section 3302 of title 31, United States Code, all 12 amounts deposited in the Fund— 13 ‘‘(A) shall be credited as offsetting collec- 14 tions; 15 ‘‘(B) shall be available for expenditure for 16 purposes of carrying out inspections of outer 17 Continental Shelf facilities (including mobile 18 offshore drilling units) and the administration 19 of the inspection program under this section; 20 ‘‘(C) shall be available only to the extent 21 provided for in advance in an appropriations 22 Act; and 23 ‘‘(D) shall remain available until expended. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:38 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1941.RFS H1941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 1941 RFS ‘‘(4) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—For each 1 fiscal year beginning after fiscal year 2020, the Sec- 2 retary shall adjust each dollar amount specified in 3 this subsection for inflation based on the change in 4 the Consumer Price Index from fiscal year 2020. 5 ‘‘(5) ANNUAL FEES.—Annual fees shall be col- 6 lected under this subsection for facilities that are 7 above the waterline, excluding drilling rigs, and are 8 in place at the start of the fiscal year. Fees for fiscal 9 year 2020 shall be— 10 ‘‘(A) $11,500 for facilities with no wells, 11 but with processing equipment or gathering 12 lines; 13 ‘‘(B) $18,500 for facilities with 1 to 10 14 wells, with any combination of active or inactive 15 wells; and 16 ‘‘(C) $34,500 for facilities with more than 17 10 wells, with any combination of active or in- 18 active wells. 19 ‘‘(6) FEES FOR DRILLING RIGS.—Fees shall be 20 collected under this subsection for drilling rigs on a 21 per inspection basis. Fees for fiscal year 2020 shall 22 be— 23 ‘‘(A) $33,500 per inspection for rigs oper- 24 ating in water depths of 500 feet or more; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:38 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1941.RFS H1941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 1941 RFS ‘‘(B) $18,500 per inspection for rigs oper- 1 ating in water depths of less than 500 feet. 2 ‘‘(7) FEES FOR NON-RIG UNITS.—Fees shall be 3 collected under this subsection for well operations 4 conducted via non-rig units as outlined in subparts 5 D, E, F, and Q of part 250 of title 30, Code of Fed- 6 eral Regulations, on a per inspection basis. Fees for 7 fiscal year 2020 shall be— 8 ‘‘(A) $13,260 per inspection for non-rig 9 units operating in water depths of 2,500 feet or 10 more; 11 ‘‘(B) $11,530 per inspection for non-rig 12 units operating in water depths between 500 13 and 2,499 feet; and 14 ‘‘(C) $4,470 per inspection for non-rig 15 units operating in water depths of less than 500 16 feet. 17 ‘‘(8) BILLING.—The Secretary shall bill des- 18 ignated operators under paragraph (5) annually, 19 with payment required within 30 days of billing. The 20 Secretary shall bill designated operators under para- 21 graph (6) within 30 days of the end of the month 22 in which the inspection occurred, with payment re- 23 quired within 30 days after billing.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:38 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1941.RFS H1941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 1941 RFS SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 1 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 2 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 3 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 4 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 5 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 6 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro- 7 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 8 vote on passage. 9 SEC. 6. RISK TO NATIONAL SECURITY. 10 The Secretary of the Interior, after consulting with 11 the Secretary of Defense, shall report to Congress on 12 whether this Act poses a risk to national security due to 13 potential increase in dependence on foreign oil. 14 SEC. 7. STUDYING THE IMPACTS OF OFFSHORE DRILLING 15 ON COASTAL COMMUNITIES AND COASTAL 16 ECONOMIES. 17 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 18 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 19 submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the 20 House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 21 and Natural Resources of the Senate a report on the im- 22 pacts of offshore drilling on coastal communities and 23 coastal economies. 24 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required by subsection 25 (a) shall— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:38 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1941.RFS H1941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 1941 RFS (1) address how oil and gas companies interact 1 with local stakeholders in advance of a siting deci- 2 sion, including their meetings with fishermen; 3 (2) investigate the impacts of offshore drilling 4 on tourism, including tradeoffs during normal oper- 5 ations and economic impacts after a spill; 6 (3) describe how the Bureau of Ocean Energy 7 Management works with other agencies, including 8 the National Marine Fisheries Service, to include 9 stakeholder input in advance of a siting decision; 10 (4) address how quickly response teams can 11 mitigate environmental damage after a spill and how 12 long regional ecosystems take to recover following a 13 spill; 14 (5) describe any limitations on the quantity of 15 comparative data available on impacts to regions of 16 the Outer Continental Shelf that have not been sited 17 for drilling; 18 (6) describe the impacts on commercial and rec- 19 reational fisheries from offshore drilling; and 20 (7) address the economic impacts of oil spills on 21 the food supply of a region, including those food 22 sources that are distinctive to a region’s culture. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:38 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1941.RFS H1941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 1941 RFS SEC. 8. MORATORIUM ON SEISMIC ACTIVITIES RELATED TO 1 OIL, GAS, AND METHANE HYDRATE EXPLO- 2 RATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE NORTH 3 ATLANTIC, MID-ATLANTIC, SOUTH ATLANTIC, 4 AND STRAITS OF FLORIDA PLANNING AREAS. 5 Section 11 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 6 (43 U.S.C. 1340) is amended by adding at the end the 7 following: 8 ‘‘(i) MORATORIUM ON SEISMIC ACTIVITIES RELATED 9 TO OIL, GAS, AND METHANE HYDRATE EXPLORATION 10 AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC, MID-AT- 11 LANTIC, SOUTH ATLANTIC, AND STRAITS OF FLORIDA 12 PLANNING AREAS.—Notwithstanding any other provision 13 of law, no agency of the United States or person may con- 14 duct or authorize any other person to conduct geological 15 or geophysical activities in support of oil, gas, or methane 16 hydrate exploration and development in any area located 17 in the North Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, and 18 Straits of Florida Planning Areas of the outer Continental 19 Shelf.’’. 20 SEC. 9. ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY. 21 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 22 of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall conduct a 23 study to determine the potential economic impact of off- 24 shore drilling on tourism, commercial fishing, recreational 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:38 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1941.RFS H1941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 HR 1941 RFS fishing, boating, transportation, and other waterfront-re- 1 lated and coastal-related business. 2 Passed the House of Representatives September 11, 2019. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:38 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1941.RFS H1941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS