OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT

AN ACT To provide for the jurisdiction of the United States over the submerged lands of the outer Continental Shelf, and to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to lease such lands for certain purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act”.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.-When used in this Act

(a) The term "outer Continental Shelf" means all submerged lands lying seaward and outside of the area of lands beneath navigable waters as defined in section 2 of the Submerged Lands Act (Public Law 31, Eighty-third Congress, first session), and of which the subsoil and seabed appertain to the United States and are subject to its jurisdiction and control;

(b) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Interior, except that with respect to functions under this Act transferred to, or vested in, the Secretary of Energy or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by or pursuant to the Department of Energy Örganization Act (42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.), the term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Energy, or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as the case may be;

(c) The term "lease" means any form of authorization which is issued under section 8 or maintained under section 6 of this Act and which authorizes exploration for, and development and production of, minerals;

(d) The term "person" includes, in addition to a natural person, an association, a State, a political subdivision of a State, or a private, public, or municipal corporation;

(e) The term "coastal zone" means the coastal waters (including the lands therein and thereunder) and the adjacent shorelands (including the waters therein and thereunder), strongly influenced by each other and in proximity to the shorelines of the several coastal States, and includes islands, transition and intertidal areas, salt marshes, wetlands, and beaches, which zone extends seaward to the outer limit of the United States territorial sea and extends inland from the shorelines to the extent necessary to control shorelands, the uses of which have a direct and significant impact on the coastal waters, and the inward boundaries of which may be identified by the several coastal States, pursuant to the authority of section 305(b)(1) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1454(b)(1));

(f) The term "affected State" means, with respect to any program, plan, lease sale, or other activity, proposed, conducted, or approved pursuant to the provisions of this Act, any State—

(1) the laws of which are declared, pursuant to section 4(a)(2) of this Act, to be the law of the United States for the portion of the outer Continental Shelf on which such activity is, or is proposed to be, conducted;

(2) which is, or is proposed to be, directly connected by transportation facilities to any artificial island or structure referred to in section 4(a)(1) of this Act;

(3) which is receiving, or in accordance with the proposed activity will receive, oil for processing, refining, or transshipment which was extracted from the outer Continental Shelf and transported directly to such State by means of vessels or by a combination of means including vessels;

(4) which is designated by the Secretary as a State in which there is a substantial probability of significant impact on or damage to the coastal, marine, or human environment, or a State in which there will be significant changes in the social, governmental, or economic infrastructure, resulting from the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas anywhere on the outer Continental Shelf; or

(5) in which the Secretary finds that because of such activity there is, or will be, a significant risk of serious damage, due to factors such as prevailing winds and currents, to the marine or coastal environment in the event of any oilspill, blowout, or release of oil or gas from vessels, pipelines, or other transshipment facilities;

(g) The term "marine environment" means the physical, atmospheric, and biological components, conditions, and factors which interactively determine the productivity, state, condition, and quality of the marine ecosystem, including the waters of the high seas, the contiguous zone, transitional and intertidal areas, salt marshes, and wetlands within the coastal zone and on the outer Continental Shelf:

(h) The term "coastal environment" means the physical atmospheric, and biological components, conditions, and factors which interactively determine the productivity, state, condition, and quality of the terrestrial ecosystem from the shoreline inward to the boundaries of the coastal zone;

(i) The term "human environment" means the physical, social, and economic components, conditions, and factors which interactively determine the state, condition, and quality of living conditions, employment, and health of those affected, directly or indirectly, by activities occurring on the outer Continental Shelf;

(j) The term "Governor" means the Governor of a State, or the person or entity designated by, or pursuant to, State law to exercise the powers granted to such Governor pursuant to this Act;

(k) The term "exploration" means the process of searching for minerals, including (1) geophysical surveys where magnetic, gravity, seismic, or other systems are used to detect or imply the presence of such minerals, and (2) any drilling, whether on or off known geological structures, including the drilling of a well in which a discovery of oil or natural gas in paying quantities is made and the drilling of any additional delineation well after such discovery which is needed to delineate any reservoir and to enable the lessee to determine whether to proceed with development and production;

(1) The term "development" means those activities which take place following discovery of minerals in paying quantities, including geophysical activity, drilling, platform construction, and oper

ation of all onshore support facilities, and which are for the purpose of ultimately producing the minerals discovered;

(m) The term "production" means those activities which take place after the successful completion of any means for the removal of minerals, including such removal, field operations, transfer of minerals to shore, operation monitoring, maintenance, and workover drilling;

(n) The term "antitrust law" means

(1) the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.);

(2) the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12 et seq.);

(3) the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.); (4) the Wilson Tariff Act (15 U.S.C. 8 et seq.); or

(5) the Act of June 19, 1936, chapter 592 (15 U.S.C. 13, 13a, 13b, and 21a);

(0) The term "fair market value" means the value of any mineral (1) computed at a unit price equivalent to the average unit price at which such mineral was sold pursuant to a lease during the period for which any royalty or net profit share is accrued or reserved to the United States pursuant to such lease, or (2) if there were no such sales, or if the Secretary finds that there were an insufficient number of such sales to equitably determine such value, computed at the average unit price at which such mineral was sold pursuant to other leases in the same region of the outer Continental Shelf during such period, or (3) if there were no sales of such mineral from such region during such period, or if the Secretary finds that there are an insufficient number of such sales to equitably determine such value, at an appropriate price determined by the Secretary;

(p) The term "major Federal action" means any action or proposal by the Secretary which is subject to the provisions of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)); and

(q) The term "minerals" includes oil, gas, sulphur, geopressuredgeothermal and associated resources, and all other minerals which are authorized by an Act of Congress to be produced from "public lands" as defined in section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL POLICY FOR THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.-It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States that

(1) the subsoil and seabed of the outer Continental Shelf appertain to the United States and are subject to its jurisdiction, control, and power of disposition as provided in this Act;

(2) this Act shall be construed in such a manner that the character of the waters above the outer Continental Shelf as high seas and the right to navigation and fishing therein shall not be affected;

(3) the outer Continental Shelf is a vital national resource reserve held by the Federal Government for the public, which should be made available for expeditious and orderly development, subject to environmental safeguards, in a manner which is consistent with the maintainence of competition and other national needs;

(4) since exploration, development, and production of the minerals of the outer Continental Shelf will have significant impacts on coastal and non-coastal areas of the coastal States,

and on other affected States, and, in recognition of the national interest in the effective management of the marine, coastal, and human environments

(A) such States and their affected local governments may require assistance in protecting their coastal zones and other affected areas from any temporary or permanent adverse effects of such impacts; and

(B) such States, and through such States, affected local governments, are entitled to an opportunity to participate, to the extent consistent with the national interest, in the policy and planning decisions made by the Federal Government relating to exploration for, and development and production of, minerals of the outer Continental Shelf;

(5) the rights and responsibilities of all States and, where appropriate, local governments, to preserve and protect their marine, human, and coastal environments through such means as regulation of land, air, and water uses, of safety, and of related development and activity should be considered and recognized; and

(6) operations in the outer Continental Shelf should be conducted in a safe manner by well-trained personnel using technology, precautions, and techniques sufficient to prevent or minimize the likelihood of blowouts, loss of well control, fires, spillage, physical obstruction to other users of the waters or subsoil and seabed, or other occurrences which may cause damage to the environment or to property, or endanger life or health.

SEC. 4. LAWS APPLICABLE TO OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.-(a)(1) The Constitution and laws and civil and political jurisdiction of the United States are hereby extended to the subsoil and seabed of the outer Continental Shelf and to all artificial islands, and all installations and other devices permanently or temporarily attached to the seabed which may be erected thereon for the purpose of exploring for, developing, or producing resources therefrom, or any such installation or other device (other than a ship or vessel) for the purpose of transporting such resources, to the same extent as if the outer Continental shelf were an area of exclusive Federal jurisdiction located within a State: Provided, however, That mineral leases on the outer Continental Shelf shall be maintained or issued only under the provisions of this Act.

(2)(A) To the extent that they are applicable and not inconsistent with this Act or with other Federal laws and regulations of the Secretary now in effect or hereafter adopted, the civil and criminal laws of each adjacent State, now in effect or hereafter adopted, amended, or repealed are hereby declared to be the law of the United States for that portion of the subsoil and seabed of the outer Continental Shelf, and artificial islands and fixed structures erected thereon, which would be within the area of the State if its boundaries were extended seaward to the outer margin of the outer Continental Shelf, and the President shall determine and publish in the Federal Register such projected lines extending seaward and defining each such area. All of such applicable laws shall be administered and enforced by the appropriate officers and courts of the United States. State taxation laws shall not apply to the outer Continental Shelf.