H.R. 1964 — Introduced in House

I 113th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1964 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 14, 2013 Mr. Hastings of Washington (for himself and Mr. Young of Alaska) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To amend the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an expeditious program of competitive leasing of oil and gas in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, including at least one lease sale in the Reserve each year in the period 2013 through 2023, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This bill shall be called the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska Access Act. 2. Sense of Congress and reaffirming national policy for the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska remains explicitly designated, both in name and legal status, for purposes of providing oil and natural gas resources to the United States; and (2) accordingly, the national policy is to actively advance oil and gas development within the Reserve by facilitating the expeditious exploration, production, and transportation of oil and natural gas from and through the Reserve. 3. National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska: lease sales Section 107(a) of the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6506a(a)) is amended to read as follows: (a) In General The Secretary shall conduct an expeditious program of competitive leasing of oil and gas in the reserve in accordance with this Act. Such program shall include at least one lease sale annually in those areas of the reserve most likely to produce commercial quantities of oil and natural gas each year in the period 2013 through 2023. . 4. National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska: planning and permitting pipeline and road construction (a) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with other appropriate Federal agencies, shall facilitate and ensure permits, in a timely and environmentally responsible manner, for all surface development activities, including for the construction of pipelines and roads, necessary to— (1) develop and bring into production any areas within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska that are subject to oil and gas leases; and (2) transport oil and gas from and through the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska in the most direct manner possible to existing transportation or processing infrastructure on the North Slope of Alaska. (b) Timeline The Secretary shall ensure that any Federal permitting agency shall issue permits in accordance with the following timeline: (1) Permits for such construction for transportation of oil and natural gas produced under existing Federal oil and gas leases with respect to which the Secretary has issued a permit to drill shall be approved within 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act. (2) Permits for such construction for transportation of oil and natural gas produced under Federal oil and gas leases shall be approved within 6 months after the submission to the Secretary of a request for a permit to drill. (c) Plan To ensure timely future development of the Reserve, within 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to Congress a plan for approved rights-of-way for a plan for pipeline, road, and any other surface infrastructure that may be necessary infrastructure that will ensure that all leasable tracts in the Reserve are within 25 miles of an approved road and pipeline right-of-way that can serve future development of the Reserve. 5. Issuance of a new integrated activity plan and environmental impact statement (a) Issuance of new integrated activity plan The Secretary of the Interior shall, within 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, issue— (1) a new proposed integrated activity plan from among the non-adopted alternatives in the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska Integrated Activity Plan Record of Decision issued by the Secretary of the Interior and dated February 21, 2013; and (2) an environmental impact statement under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) for issuance of oil and gas leases in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to promote efficient and maximum development of oil and natural gas resources of such reserve. (b) Nullification of existing record of decision, IAP, and EIS Except as provided in subsection (a), the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Integrated Activity Plan Record of Decision issued by the Secretary of the Interior and dated February 21, 2013, including the integrated activity plan and environmental impact statement referred to in that record of decision, shall have no force or effect. 6. Departmental accountability for development The Secretary of the Interior shall issue regulations not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act that establish clear requirements to ensure that the Department of the Interior is supporting development of oil and gas leases in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. 7. Deadlines under new proposed integrated activity plan At a minimum, the new proposed integrated activity plan issued under section 5(a)(1) shall— (1) require the Department of the Interior to respond within 5 business days to a person who submits an application for a permit for development of oil and natural gas leases in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska acknowledging receipt of such application; and (2) establish a timeline for the processing of each such application, that— (A) specifies deadlines for decisions and actions on permit applications; and (B) provide that the period for issuing each permit after submission of such an application shall not exceed 60 days without the concurrence of the applicant. 8. Updated resource assessment (a) In general The Secretary of the Interior shall complete a comprehensive assessment of all technically recoverable fossil fuel resources within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, including all conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas. (b) Cooperation and consultation The resource assessment required by subsection (a) shall be carried out by the United States Geological Survey in cooperation and consultation with the State of Alaska and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. (c) Timing The resource assessment required by subsection (a) shall be completed within 24 months of the date of the enactment of this Act. (d) Funding The United States Geological Survey may, in carrying out the duties under this section, cooperatively use resources and funds provided by the State of Alaska.