California’s Land Preservation and Protection Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5936 To require a new supplemental environmental impact statement for oil and gas development in the Bakersfield Field Office planning area, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 21, 2020 Mr. CARBAJAL (for himself and Ms. BROWNLEY of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To require a new supplemental environmental impact state- ment for oil and gas development in the Bakersfield Field Office planning area, 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 ‘‘California’s Land 4 Preservation and Protection Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DELAY OF OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT IN THE BA- 6 KERSFIELD FIELD OFFICE PLANNING AREA. 7 (a) NEW SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 8 STATEMENT REQUIRED.—Notwithstanding any other pro- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:10 Feb 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5936.IH H5936 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5936 IH vision of law, the Record of Decision for the Bakersfield 1 Field Office Hydraulic Fracturing published on December 2 12, 2019, shall have no force or effect until the Director 3 of the Bureau of Land Management completes and cir- 4 culates for public comment a new supplemental environ- 5 mental impact statement under section 102 of the Na- 6 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) 7 that considers the environmental effects of all oil and gas 8 development in the Bakersfield Field Office planning area, 9 as such area is described by the Director of the Bureau 10 of Land Management, including considering the effects 11 on— 12 (1) air quality; 13 (2) greenhouse gas emissions and the climate; 14 (3) groundwater quality and availability; 15 (4) surface water quality and availability; 16 (5) seismicity; 17 (6) wildlife and plant species, including threat- 18 ened species and endangered species; and 19 (7) low-income communities, communities of 20 color, and indigenous communities, including 21 federally- and State-recognized Indian Tribes. 22 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY RE- 23 VIEW.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:10 Feb 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5936.IH H5936 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5936 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 1 after the date on which the supplemental environ- 2 mental impact statement required by subsection (a) 3 is published, the Administrator of the Environmental 4 Protection Agency shall review and publish com- 5 ments regarding such statement, including by— 6 (A) identifying whether there would be any 7 significant environmental impacts of oil and gas 8 leasing in the Bakersfield Field Office planning 9 area that should be avoided to adequately pro- 10 tect the natural resources of such area; or 11 (B) making a determination whether the 12 new supplemental environmental impact state- 13 ment required by subsection (a) contains suffi- 14 cient information to assess the environmental 15 impacts of all oil and gas development in the 16 Bakersfield Field Office planning area. 17 (2) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION OF INSUFFI- 18 CIENT INFORMATION.—If the Administrator of the 19 Environmental Protection Agency identifies a signifi- 20 cant impact under paragraph (1)(A) or determines 21 there is insufficient information under paragraph 22 (1)(B), the Director of the Bureau of Land Manage- 23 ment shall consult with the Administrator before 24 taking any action to proceed with Federal oil and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:10 Feb 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5936.IH H5936 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5936 IH gas leasing in the Bakersfield Field Office planning 1 area. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:10 Feb 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5936.IH H5936 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS