Stop Arctic Ocean Drilling Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1523 To prohibit drilling in the Arctic Ocean. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 16, 2019 Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. PETERS, and Mr. CARDIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To prohibit drilling in the Arctic Ocean. 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 ‘‘Stop Arctic Ocean 4 Drilling Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; STATEMENT OF POLICY. 6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that, as of the date 7 of enactment of this Act— 8 (1) global climate change is occurring due 9 largely to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:42 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1523.IS S1523 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1523 IS gases and will continue to pose ongoing risks and 1 challenges to the people and the Government of the 2 United States; 3 (2) the evidence of impacts and dangers of cli- 4 mate change are supported by numerous reports and 5 panels, such as— 6 (A) the 2018 National Climate Assess- 7 ment; 8 (B) the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on 9 Climate Change special report, which details 10 significant economic and ecological damage 11 from a 1.5 degree Celsius increase in tempera- 12 ture; and 13 (C) the 2018 United States Geological 14 Survey Scientific Investigations Report, which 15 highlights that developments on Federal land 16 account for a significant quantity of greenhouse 17 gas emissions; 18 (3)(A) the average temperature in the United 19 States during the decade preceding the date of en- 20 actment of this Act was 0.8 degree Celsius (1.5 de- 21 grees Fahrenheit) warmer than the 1901–1960 aver- 22 age; and 23 (B) that decade was the warmest on record 24 both in the United States and globally; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:42 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1523.IS S1523 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1523 IS (4) the Arctic is warming at twice the rate of 1 the rest of the planet; 2 (5) a global temperature increase of 2 degrees 3 Celsius will lead to increased droughts, rising seas, 4 mass extinctions, heat waves, desertification, 5 wildfires, and acidifying oceans; 6 (6) delaying action on climate change will result 7 in severe economic losses, and global mitigation costs 8 increase by approximately 40 percent for each dec- 9 ade of delay; 10 (7) at least 80 percent of the carbon from 11 known fossil fuel reserves must not be released into 12 the atmosphere to have an 80 percent chance of 13 avoiding the worst effects of climate change stem- 14 ming from a 2 degree Celsius change in global tem- 15 perature; 16 (8) developing oil and gas reserves in the Arctic 17 Ocean is incompatible with staying within that glob- 18 al carbon budget and avoiding the worst effects of 19 climate change; and 20 (9) the Arctic Ocean is home to invaluable and 21 fragile ecosystems, which are critical to— 22 (A) marine mammals, including whales, 23 walrus, ice seals, and polar bears; 24 (B) fisheries; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:42 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1523.IS S1523 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1523 IS (C) migratory birds; 1 (D) indigenous populations; and 2 (E) subsistence hunters. 3 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 4 United States that the Arctic Ocean should be managed 5 for the best interests of the people of the United States, 6 including by keeping fossil fuels in the ground to avoid 7 the dangerous impacts of climate change. 8 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF OIL AND GAS LEASING IN ARCTIC 9 AREAS OF THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF. 10 Section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 11 (43 U.S.C. 1337) is amended by adding at the end the 12 following: 13 ‘‘(q) PROHIBITION OF OIL AND GAS LEASING IN 14 ARCTIC AREAS OF THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.— 15 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF ARCTIC.—In this sub- 16 section, the term ‘Arctic’ has the meaning given the 17 term in section 112 of the Arctic Research and Pol- 18 icy Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4111). 19 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding any other 20 provision of this Act or any other law, the Secretary 21 of the Interior shall not issue or extend a lease or 22 any other authorization for the exploration, develop- 23 ment, or production of oil, natural gas, or any other 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:42 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1523.IS S1523 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1523 IS mineral on Arctic areas of the outer Continental 1 Shelf.’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:42 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1523.IS S1523 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS