[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5616 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5616
To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain offshore
lease sales.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 21, 2023
Mr. Graves of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. Scalise, Mr. Crenshaw, Mr.
Ellzey, and Mr. Ezell) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
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A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain offshore
lease sales.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Bringing Reliable Investment into
Domestic Gulf Energy Production Act of 2023'' or the ``BRIDGE
Production Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE SALES.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Offshore lease sale.--The term ``offshore lease sale''
means an oil and gas lease sale--
(A) that is held by the Secretary in accordance
with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C.
1331 et seq.), notwithstanding the requirements of
section 18 of that Act (43 U.S.C. 1344);
(B) offers the same lease form, lease terms,
economic conditions, and stipulations as contained in
the final notice of sale entitled ``Gulf of Mexico
Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale 257''
(86 Fed. Reg. 54728 (October 4, 2021)); and
(C) that, if any acceptable bids have been received
for any tract offered in the lease sale, results in the
issuance of leases within 90 days of the sale to the
highest bids on the tracts offered, subject to the
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management ``Summary of
Procedures for Determining Bid Adequacy at Offshore Oil
and Gas Lease Sales Effective March 2016, with Central
Gulf of Mexico Sale 241 and Eastern Gulf of Mexico Sale
226''.
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(b) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive any other requirements under
section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344)
that would delay final approval of an offshore lease sale under
subsection (c).
(c) Requirement.--Notwithstanding section 18 of the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344), the Secretary shall--
(1) conduct not fewer than 4 offshore lease sales during
the 2-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this
Act; and
(2) ensure that the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil
and Gas Leasing Program Final Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement and Record of Decision shall apply to lease sales
conducted under this subsection and shall be sufficient for
purposes of complying with the National Environmental Policy
Act for offshore lease sales conducted under this subsection to
the extent it does not conflict with this Act.
(d) Timing.--In conducting the offshore lease sales required under
subsection (c), the Secretary shall conduct an offshore lease sale not
later than--
(1) March 31, 2024;
(2) August 31, 2024;
(3) March 31, 2025; and
(4) August 31, 2025.
(e) Area Offered for Lease.--
(1) Acreage.--The Secretary shall offer not fewer than
80,000,000 acres for each offshore lease sale conducted under
subsection (c).
(2) Location.--An offshore lease sale conducted under
subsection (c) shall be in the Gulf of Mexico Region Program
Area as identified in Figure S-1 of the 2017-2022 Outer
Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program
published on November 18, 2016, by the Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management (as announced in the notice of availability of the
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management entitled ``Notice of
Availability of the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and
Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program'' (81 Fed. Reg. 84612
(November 23, 2016)).
(f) Effect of Litigation.--
(1) In general.--A civil action challenging an offshore
lease sale conducted under this section shall not--
(A) affect the validity of any lease issued under
such an offshore lease sale; and
(B) except as provided in paragraph (3)(B), cause a
delay in the timelines for the consideration of any
exploration plan, development plan, development
operations coordination document, applications for
permit to drill, or other application for a Federal
agency authorization or approval for activities on a
lease issued under such an offshore lease sale.
(2) Remand; processing of approvals and applications.--If,
in a civil action described in paragraph (1), a court finds
that the offshore lease sale was not carried out in compliance
with Federal law--
(A) the court shall not--
(i) set aside, vacate, or enjoin the
offshore lease sale;
(ii) set aside, vacate, or enjoin the
leases issued pursuant to the offshore lease
sale; or
(iii) enjoin the Secretary from issuing
leases to the highest bidders in the challenged
offshore lease sale;
(B) the court shall remand the matter to the
Secretary and require the Secretary to correct the
noncompliance; and
(C) the Secretary shall continue to process all
exploration plans, development plans, development
operations coordination documents, applications for a
permit to drill, and other applications for a Federal
agency authorization or other approval for activities
requested under any lease issued under the challenged
offshore lease sale in accordance with the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.).
(3) Notice.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 10 days after the
date on which a civil action described in paragraph (1)
is served on the United States, the Secretary shall
notify the holder of any lease issued, or apparent high
bidder if the lease has not yet been issued, under the
offshore lease sale that is the subject of the civil
action of the filing of the civil action.
(B) Timeline.--Not later than 90 days after the
date of receipt of a notice under subparagraph (A), the
holder of the lease may file with the Secretary, and
the Secretary may approve, a request to pause the
timeline with respect to the term of the lease during
any period in which the civil action is pending.
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