Lower Energy Costs Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 947 To lower energy costs by increasing American energy production, exports, infrastructure, and critical minerals processing, by promoting trans- parency, accountability, permitting, and production of American re- sources, and by improving water quality certification and energy projects, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 22, 2023 Mr. KENNEDY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To lower energy costs by increasing American energy produc- tion, exports, infrastructure, and critical minerals proc- essing, by promoting transparency, accountability, per- mitting, and production of American resources, and by improving water quality certification and energy projects, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Lower Energy Costs Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:53 Apr 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S947.IS S947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 947 IS (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. DIVISION A—INCREASING AMERICAN ENERGY PRODUCTION, EX- PORTS, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND CRITICAL MINERALS PROC- ESSING Sec. 10001. Securing America’s critical minerals supply. Sec. 10002. Protecting American energy production. Sec. 10003. Researching efficient Federal improvements for necessary energy refining. Sec. 10004. Promoting cross-border energy infrastructure. Sec. 10005. Sense of Congress expressing disapproval of the revocation of the Presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. Sec. 10006. Sense of Congress opposing restrictions on the export of crude oil or other petroleum products. Sec. 10007. Unlocking our domestic LNG potential. Sec. 10008. Promoting interagency coordination for review of natural gas pipe- lines. Sec. 10009. Interim hazardous waste permits for critical energy resource facili- ties. Sec. 10010. Flexible air permits for critical energy resource facilities. Sec. 10011. National security or energy security waivers to produce critical en- ergy resources. Sec. 10012. Ending future delays in chemical substance review for critical en- ergy resources. Sec. 10013. Natural gas tax repeal. Sec. 10014. Repeal of greenhouse gas reduction fund. Sec. 10015. Keeping America’s refineries operating. Sec. 10016. Homeowner energy freedom. DIVISION B—TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, PERMITTING, AND PRODUCTION OF AMERICAN RESOURCES Sec. 20001. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—ONSHORE AND OFFSHORE LEASING AND OVERSIGHT Sec. 20101. Onshore oil and gas leasing. Sec. 20102. Lease reinstatement. Sec. 20103. Protested lease sales. Sec. 20104. Suspension of operations. Sec. 20105. Administrative protest process reform. Sec. 20106. Leasing and permitting transparency. Sec. 20107. Offshore oil and gas leasing. Sec. 20108. Five-year plan for offshore oil and gas leasing. Sec. 20109. Geothermal leasing. Sec. 20110. Leasing for certain qualified coal applications. Sec. 20111. Future coal leasing. Sec. 20112. Staff planning report. Sec. 20113. Prohibition on Chinese communist party ownership interest. Sec. 20114. Effect on other law. VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:53 Apr 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S947.IS S947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 947 IS TITLE II—PERMITTING STREAMLINING Sec. 20201. Definitions. Sec. 20202. BUILDER Act. Sec. 20203. Codification of National Environmental Policy Act regulations. Sec. 20204. Non-major Federal actions. Sec. 20205. No net loss determination for existing rights-of-way. Sec. 20206. Determination of National Environmental Policy Act adequacy. Sec. 20207. Determination regarding rights-of-way. Sec. 20208. Terms of rights-of-way. Sec. 20209. Funding to process permits and develop information technology. Sec. 20210. Offshore geological and geophysical survey licensing. Sec. 20211. Deferral of applications for permits to drill. Sec. 20212. Processing and terms of applications for permits to drill. Sec. 20213. Amendments to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Sec. 20214. Access to Federal energy resources from non-Federal surface es- tate. Sec. 20215. Scope of environmental reviews for oil and gas leases. Sec. 20216. Expediting approval of gathering lines. Sec. 20217. Lease sale litigation. Sec. 20218. Limitation on claims. Sec. 20219. Government Accountability Office report on permits to drill. Sec. 20220. E–NEPA. TITLE III—PERMITTING FOR MINING NEEDS Sec. 20301. Definitions. Sec. 20302. Minerals supply chain and reliability. Sec. 20303. Federal Register process improvement. Sec. 20304. Designation of mining as a covered sector for Federal permitting improvement purposes. Sec. 20305. Treatment of actions under Presidential Determination 2022–11 for Federal permitting improvement purposes. Sec. 20306. Notice for mineral exploration activities with limited surface dis- turbance. Sec. 20307. Use of mining claims for ancillary activities. Sec. 20308. Ensuring consideration of uranium as a critical mineral. Sec. 20309. Barring foreign bad actors from operating on Federal lands. TITLE IV—FEDERAL LAND USE PLANNING Sec. 20401. Federal land use planning and withdrawals. Sec. 20402. Prohibitions on delay of mineral development of certain Federal land. Sec. 20403. Definitions. TITLE V—ENSURING COMPETITIVENESS ON FEDERAL LANDS Sec. 20501. Incentivizing domestic production. TITLE VI—ENERGY REVENUE SHARING Sec. 20601. Gulf of Mexico outer Continental Shelf revenue. Sec. 20602. Parity in offshore wind revenue sharing. Sec. 20603. Elimination of administrative fee under the Mineral Leasing Act. VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:53 Apr 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S947.IS S947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 947 IS DIVISION C—WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION AND ENERGY PROJECT IMPROVEMENT Sec. 30001. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 30002. Certification. DIVISION A—INCREASING AMER- 1 ICAN ENERGY PRODUCTION, 2 EXPORTS, INFRASTRUCTURE, 3 AND CRITICAL MINERALS 4 PROCESSING 5 Sec. 10001. Securing America’s critical minerals supply. Sec. 10002. Protecting American energy production. Sec. 10003. Researching efficient Federal improvements for necessary energy refining. Sec. 10004. Promoting cross-border energy infrastructure. Sec. 10005. Sense of Congress expressing disapproval of the revocation of the Presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. Sec. 10006. Sense of Congress opposing restrictions on the export of crude oil or other petroleum products. Sec. 10007. Unlocking our domestic LNG potential. Sec. 10008. Promoting interagency coordination for review of natural gas pipe- lines. Sec. 10009. Interim hazardous waste permits for critical energy resource facili- ties. Sec. 10010. Flexible air permits for critical energy resource facilities. Sec. 10011. National security or energy security waivers to produce critical en- ergy resources. Sec. 10012. Ending future delays in chemical substance review for critical en- ergy resources. Sec. 10013. Natural gas tax repeal. Sec. 10014. Repeal of greenhouse gas reduction fund. Sec. 10015. Keeping America’s refineries operating. Sec. 10016. Homeowner energy freedom. SEC. 10001. SECURING AMERICA’S CRITICAL MINERALS 6 SUPPLY. 7 (a) AMENDMENT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 8 ORGANIZATION ACT.—The Department of Energy Orga- 9 nization Act (42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) is amended— 10 (1) in section 2, by adding at the end the fol- 11 lowing: 12 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:53 Apr 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S947.IS S947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 947 IS ‘‘(d) As used in sections 102(20) and 203(a)(12), the 1 term ‘critical energy resource’ means any energy re- 2 source— 3 ‘‘(1) that is essential to the energy sector and 4 energy systems of the United States; and 5 ‘‘(2) the supply chain of which is vulnerable to 6 disruption.’’; 7 (2) in section 102, by adding at the end the fol- 8 lowing: 9 ‘‘(20) To ensure there is an adequate and reli- 10 able supply of critical energy resources that are es- 11 sential to the energy security of the United States.’’; 12 and 13 (3) in section 203(a), by adding at the end the 14 following: 15 ‘‘(12) Functions that relate to securing the sup- 16 ply of critical energy resources, including identifying 17 and mitigating the effects of a disruption of such 18 supply on— 19 ‘‘(A) the development and use of energy 20 technologies; and 21 ‘‘(B) the operation of energy systems.’’. 22 (b) SECURING CRITICAL ENERGY RESOURCE SUPPLY 23 CHAINS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:53 Apr 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S947.IS S947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 947 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the require- 1 ments of the Department of Energy Organization 2 Act (42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.), the Secretary of En- 3 ergy, in consultation with the appropriate Federal 4 agencies, representatives of the energy sector, 5 States, and other stakeholders, shall— 6 (A) conduct ongoing assessments of— 7 (i) energy resource criticality based on 8 the importance of critical energy resources 9 to the development of energy technologies 10 and the supply of energy; 11 (ii) the critical energy resource supply 12 chain of the United States; 13 (iii) the vulnerability of such supply 14 chain; and 15 (iv) how the energy security of the 16 United States is affected by the reliance of 17 the United States on importation of critical 18 energy resources; 19 (B) facilitate development of strategies to 20 strengthen critical energy resource supply 21 chains in the United States, including by— 22 (i) diversifying the sources of the sup- 23 ply of critical energy resources; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:53 Apr 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S947.IS S947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 947 IS (ii) increasing domestic production, 1 separation, and processing of critical en- 2 ergy resources; 3 (C) develop substitutes and alternatives to 4 critical energy resources; and 5 (D) improve technology that reuses and re- 6 cycles critical energy resources. 7 (2) CRITICAL ENERGY RESOURCE DEFINED.— 8 In this section, the term ‘‘critical energy resource’’ 9 has the meaning given such term in section 2 of the 10 Department of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 11 7101). 12 SEC. 10002. PROTECTING AMERICAN ENERGY PRODUCTION. 13 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 14 gress that States should maintain primacy for the regula- 15 tion of hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas produc- 16 tion on State and private lands. 17 (b) PROHIBITION ON DECLARATION OF A MORATO- 18 RIUM ON HYDRAULIC FRACTURING.—Notwithstanding 19 any other provision of law, the President may not declare 20 a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing unless 21 such moratorium is authorized by an Act of Congress. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:53 Apr 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S947.IS S947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 947 IS SEC. 10003. RESEARCHING EFFICIENT FEDERAL IMPROVE- 1 MENTS FOR NECESSARY ENERGY REFINING. 2 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 3 of this section, the Secretary of Energy shall direct the 4 National Petroleum Council to— 5 (1) submit to the Secretary of Energy and Con- 6 gress a report containing— 7 (A) an examination of the role of petro- 8 chemical refineries located in the United States 9 and the contributions of such petrochemical re- 10 fineries to the energy security of the United 11 States, including the reliability of supply in the 12 United States of liquid fuels and feedstocks, 13 and the affordability of liquid fuels for con- 14 sumers in the United States; 15 (B) analyses and projections with respect 16 to— 17 (i) the capacity of petrochemical refin- 18 eries located in the United States; 19 (ii) opportunities for expanding such 20 capacity; and 21 (iii) the risks to petrochemical refin- 22 eries located in the United States; 23 (C) an assessment of any Federal or State 24 executive actions, regulations, or policies that 25 have caused or contributed to a decline in the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:53 Apr 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S947.IS S947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 947 IS capacity of petrochemical refineries located in 1 the United States; and 2 (D) any recommendations for Federal 3 agencies and Congress to encourage an increase 4 in the capacity of petrochemical refineries lo- 5 cated in the United States; and 6 (2) make publicly available the report submitted 7 under paragraph (1). 8 SEC. 10004. PROMOTING CROSS-BORDER ENERGY INFRA- 9 STRUCTURE. 10 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF CERTAIN ENERGY INFRA- 11 STRUCTURE PROJECTS AT AN INTERNATIONAL BOUND- 12 ARY OF THE UNITED STATES.— 13 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—Except as provided in 14 paragraph (3) and subsection (d), no person may 15 construct, connect, operate, or maintain a border- 16 crossing facility for the import or export of oil or 17 natural gas, or the transmission of electricity, across 18 an international border of the United States without 19 obtaining a certificate of crossing for the border- 20 crossing facility under this subsection. 21 (2) CERTIFICATE OF CROSSING.— 22 (A) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 120 23 days after final action is taken, by the relevant 24 official or agency identified under subparagraph 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:53 Apr 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S947.IS S947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 947 IS (B), under the National Environmental Policy 1 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with re- 2 spect to a border-crossing facility for which a 3 person requests a certificate of crossing under 4 this subsection, the relevant official or agency, 5 in consultation with appropriate Federal agen- 6 cies, shall issue a certificate of crossing for the 7 border-crossing facility unless the relevant offi- 8 cial or agency finds that the construction, con- 9 nection, operation, or maintenance of the bor- 10 der-crossing facility is not in the public interest 11 of the United States. 12 (B) RELEVANT OFFICIAL OR AGENCY.— 13 The relevant official or agency referred to in 14 subparagraph (A) is— 15 (i) the Federal Energy Regulatory 16 Commission with respect to border-cross- 17 ing facilities consisting of oil or natural 18 gas pipelines; and 19 (ii) the Secretary of Energ [Text truncated for display. 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