[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2389 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2389
To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain offshore
lease sales under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
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IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 19, 2023
Mr. Cassidy (for himself and Mr. Cruz) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
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A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain offshore
lease sales under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
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 ``Offshore Energy Security 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
procedures for determining bid adequacy of the Bureau
of Ocean Energy Management, effective March 8, 2016,
with respect to--
(i) Central Gulf of Mexico Sale 241; and
(ii) 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 the expiration of the 2017-2022
leasing program under 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, as
described under subsection (c), during the 2-year period
beginning on the date of enactment of this Act; and
(2) to the maximum extent practicable, carry out a lease
sale under this subsection in accordance with the Record of
Decision approved by the Secretary on January 17, 2017, and
described in the notice of availability of the Bureau of Ocean
Energy Management entitled ``Record of Decision for the 2017-
2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program Final
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement; MMAA104000'' (82
Fed. Reg. 6643 (January 19, 2017)).
(d) Timing.--In conducting the offshore lease sales under
subsection (c), the Secretary shall conduct a lease sale under this
section 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
74,000,000 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 relating to an
environmental review under the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect to an
offshore lease sale conducted under this section shall not--
(A) affect the validity of a lease issued under the
offshore lease sale that is the subject of the civil
action; or
(B) except as provided in paragraph (3)(B), cause a
delay in the timelines for the consideration of an
application for permit to drill with respect to a lease
issued under the offshore lease sale that is the
subject of the civil action.
(2) Remand; processing of applications for permit to
drill.--If, in a civil action described in paragraph (1), the
environmental review for an offshore lease sale is found by the
applicable court to violate the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)--
(A) notwithstanding subchapter II of chapter 5, and
chapter 7, of title 5, United States Code (commonly
known as the ``Administrative Procedures Act''), the
applicable court shall not set aside the offshore lease
sale and vacate the leases issued pursuant to the sale
but instead remand the matter to the Secretary to
resolve the violation; and
(B) the Secretary shall continue to process all
applicable applications for permit to drill in
accordance with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
(43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.).
(3) Notice.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the
date on which a civil action described in paragraph (1)
is filed, the Secretary shall notify the holder of any
lease issued under the 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.
(g) Effect on Other Law.--Nothing in this section affects the
Presidential memorandum entitled ``Memorandum on Withdrawal of Certain
Areas of the United States Outer Continental Shelf From Leasing
Disposition'' and dated September 8, 2020.
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