tary may conduct geological and geophysical explorations in the outer Continental Shelf, which do not interfere with or endanger actual operations under any lease maintained or granted pursuant to this Act, and which are not unduly harmful to aquatic life in such area.

(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not apply to any person conducting explorations pursuant to an approved exploration plan on any area under lease to such person pursuant to the provisions of this Act.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, beginning ninety days after the date of enactment of this subsection, no exploration pursuant to any oil and gas lease issued or maintained under this Act may be undertaken by the holder of such lease, except in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(c) (1) Except as otherwise provided in the Act, prior to commencing exploration pursuant to any oil and gas lease issued or maintained under this Act, the holder thereof shall submit an exploration plan to the Secretary for approval. Such plan may apply to more than one lease held by a lessee in any one region of the outer Continental Shelf, or by a group of lessees acting under a unitization, pooling, or drilling agreement, and shall be approved by the Secretary if he finds that such plan is consistent with the provisions of this Act, regulations prescribed under this Act, including regulations prescribed by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (8) of section 5(a) of this Act, and the provisions of such lease. The Secretary shall require such modifications of such plan as are necessary to achieve such consistency. The Secretary shall approve such plan, as submitted or modified, within thirty days of its submission, except that the Secretary shall disapprove such plan if he determines that (A) any proposed activity under such plan would result in any condition described in section 5(a) (2) (A)(i) of this Act, and (B) such proposed activity cannot be modified to avoid such condition. If the Secretary disapproves a plan under the preceding sentence, he may, subject to section 5 (a) (2) (B) of this Act, cancel such lease and the lessee shall be entitled to compensation in accordance with the regulations prescribed under section 5(a) (2) (C) (i) or (ii) of this Act.

(2) The Secretary shall not grant any license or permit for any activity described in detail in an exploration plan and affecting any land use or water use in the coastal zone of a State with a coastal zone management program approved pursuant to section 306 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455), unless the State concurs or is conclusively presumed to concur with the consistency certification accompanying such plan pursuant to section 307(c)(3) (B) (i) or (ii) of such Act, or the Secretary of Commerce makes the finding authorized by section 307 (c) (3) (B) (iii) of such Act. (3) An exploration plan submitted under this subsection shall include, in the degree of detail which the Secretary may by regulation require

(A) a schedule of anticipated exploration activities to be undertaken;

(B) a description of equipment to be used for such activities; (C) the general location of each well to be drilled; and (D) such other information deemed pertinent by the Secretary.

(4) The Secretary may, by regulation, require that such plan be accompanied by a general statement of development and production intentions which shall be for planning purposes only and which shall not be binding on any party.

(d) The Secretary may, by regulation, require any lessee operating under an approved exploration plan to obtain a permit prior to drilling any well in accordance with such plan.

(e) (1) If a significant revision of an exploration plan approved under this subsection is submitted to the Secretary, the process to be used for the approval of such revision shall be the same as set forth in subsection (c) of this section.

(2) All exploration activities pursuant to any lease shall be conducted in accordance with an approved exploration plan or an approved revision of such plan.

(f) (1) Exploration activities pursuant to any lease for which a drilling permit has been issued or for which an exploration plan has been approved, prior to ninety days after the date of enactment of this subsection, shall be considered in compliance with this section, except that the Secretary may, in accordance with section 5(a) (1) (B) of this Act, order a suspension or temporary prohibition of any exploration activities and require a revised exploration plan.

(2) The Secretary may require the holder of a lease described in paragraph (1) of this subsection to supply a general statement in accordance with subsection (c) (4) of this section, or to submit other information.

(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to amend the terms of any permit or plan to which this subsection applies.

(g) Any permit for geological explorations authorized by this section shall be issued only if the Secretary determines, in accordance with regulations issued by the Secretary that

(1) the applicant for such permit is qualified;

(2) the exploration will not interfere with or endanger operations under any lease issued or maintained pursuant to this Act; and

(3) such exploration will not be unduly harmful to aquatic life in the area, result in pollution, create hazardous or unsafe conditions, unreasonably interfere with other uses of the area, or disturb any site, structure, or object of historical or archeological significance.

(h) The Secretary shall not issue a lease or permit for, or otherwise allow, exploration, development, or production activities within fifteen miles of the boundaries of the Point Reyes Wilderness as depicted on a map entitled "Wilderness Plan, Point Reyes National Seashore", numbered 612-90,000-B and dated September 1976, unless the State of California issues a lease or permit for, or otherwise allows, exploration, development, or production activities on lands beneath navigable waters (as such term is defined in section 2 of the Submerged Lands Act) of such State which are adjacent to such Wilderness.

SEC. 12. RESERVATIONS.-(a) The President of the United States may, from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the outer Continental Shelf.

(b) In time of war, or when the President shall so prescribe, the United States shall have the right of first refusal to purchase at the market price all or any portion of any mineral produced from the outer Continental Shelf.

(c) All leases issued under this Act, and leases, the maintenance and operation of which are authorized under this Act, shall contain or be construed to contain a provision whereby authority is vested in the Secretary, upon a recommendation of the Secretary of Defense, during a state of war or national emergency declared by the Congress or the President of the United States after the effective date of this Act, to suspend operations under any lease; and all such leases shall contain or be construed to contain provisions for the payment of just compensation to the lessee whose operations are thus suspended.

(d) The United States reserves and retains the right to designate by and through the Secretary of Defense, with the approval of the President, as areas restricted from exploration and operation that part of the outer Continental Shelf needed for national defense; and so long as such designation remains in effect no exploration or operations may be conducted on any part of the surface of such area except with the concurrence of the Secretary of Defense; and if operations or production under any lease theretofore issued on lands within any such restricted area shall be suspended, any payment of rentals, minimum royalty, and royalty prescribed by such lease likewise shall be suspended during such period of suspension of operation and production, and the term of such lease shall be extended by adding thereto any such suspension period, and the United States shall be liable to the lessee for such compensation as is required to be paid under the Constitution of the United States.

(e) All uranium, thorium, and all other materials determined pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of section 5 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, as amended, to be peculiarly essential to the production of fissionable material, contained, in whatever concentration, in deposits in the subsoil or seabed of the outer Continental Shelf are hereby reserved for the use of the United States.

(f) The United States reserves and retains the ownership of and the right to extract all helium, under such rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by the Secretary, contained in gas produced from any portion of the outer Continental Shelf which may be subject to any lease maintained or granted pursuant to this Act, but the helium shall be extracted from such gas so as to cause no substantial delay in the delivery of gas produced to the purchaser of such gas.

SEC. 13. NAVAL PETROLEUM RESERVE EXECUTIVE ORDER REPEALED.Executive Order Numbered 10426, dated January 16, 1953, entitled "Setting Aside Submerged Lands of the Continental Shelf as a Naval Petroleum Reserve", is hereby revoked.

SEC. 14. PRIOR CLAIMS NOT AFFECTED.-Nothing herein contained. shall affect such rights, if any, as may have been acquired under any law of the United States by any person in lands subject to this Act and such rights, if any, shall be governed by the law in effect at the time they may have been acquired: Provided, however, That nothing herein contained is intended or shall be construed as a finding, interpretation, or construction by the Congress that the law under which

such rights may be claimed in fact applies to the lands subject to this Act or authorizes or compels the granting of such rights in such lands, and that the determination of the applicability or effect of such law shall be unaffected by anything herein contained.

SEC. 15. ANNUAL REPORT BY SECRETARY TO CONGRESS.-Within six months after the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives the following reports:

(1) A report on the leasing and production program in the outer Continental Shelf during such fiscal year, which shall include

(A) a detailed accounting of all moneys received and expended;

(B) a detailed accounting of all exploration, exploratory
drilling, leasing, development, and production activities;
(C) a summary of management, supervision, and enforce-
ment activities;

(D) a list of all shut-in and flaring wells; and

(E) recommendations to the Congress (i) for improvements in management, safety, and amount of production from leasing and operations in the outer Continental Shelf, and

(ii) for resolution of jurisdictional conflicts or ambiguities. (2) A report prepared after consultation with the Attorney General, with recommendations for promoting competition in the leasing of outer Continental Shelf lands, which shall include any recommendations or findings by the Attorney General and any plans for implementing recommended administrative changes and drafts of any proposed legislation, and which shall contain

(A) an evaluation of the competitive bidding systems permitted under the provisions of section 8 of this Act, and, if applicable, the reasons why a particular bidding system has not been utilized;

(B) an evaluation of alternative bidding systems not permitted under section 8 of this Act, and why such system or systems should or should not be utilized;

(C) an evaluation of the effectiveness of restrictions on joint bidding in promoting competition and, if applicable, any suggested administrative or legislative action on joint bidding;

(D) an evaluation of present measures and a description of any additional measures to encourage entry of new competitors; and

(E) an evaluation of present measures and a description of additional measures dealing with supplies of oil and gas to independent refiners and distributors.

SEC. 16. APPROPRIATIONS.-There is hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 17. SEPARABILITY.—If any provision of this Act, or any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or individual word, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the va

lidity of the remainder of the Act and of the application of any such provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or individual word to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby. SEC. 18. OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LEASING PROGRAM. (a) The Secretary, pursuant to procedures set forth in subsections (c) and (d) of this section, shall prepare and periodically revise, and maintain an oil and gas leasing program to implement the policies of this Act. The leasing program shall consist of a schedule of proposed lease sales indicating, as precisely as possible, the size, timing, and location of leasing activity which he determines will best meet national energy needs for the five-year period following its approval or reapproval. Such leasing program shall be prepared and maintained in a manner consistent with the following principles:

(1) Management of the outer Continental Shelf shall be conducted in a manner which considers economic, social, and environmental values of the renewable and nonrenewable resources contained in the outer Continental Shelf, and the potential impact of oil and gas exploration on other resource values of the outer Continental Shelf and the marine, coastal, and human environments.

(2) Timing and location of exploration, development, and production of oil and gas among the oil and gas-bearing physiographic regions of the outer Continental Shelf shall be based on a consideration of

(A) existing information concerning the geographical, geological, and ecological characteristics of such regions; (B) an equitable sharing of developmental benefits and environmental risks among the various regions;

(C) the location of such regions with respect to, and the relative needs of, regional and national energy markets;

(D) the location of such regions with respect to other uses of the sea and seabed, including fisheries, navigation, existing or proposed sealanes, potential sites of deepwater ports, and other anticipated uses of the resources and space of the outer Continental Shelf;

(E) the interest of potential oil and gas producers in the development of oil and gas resources as indicated by exploration or nomination;

(F) laws, goals, and policies of affected States which have been specifically identified by the Governors of such States as relevant matters for the Secretary's consideration;

(G) the relative environmental sensitivity and marine productivity of different areas of the outer Continental Shelf; and

(H) relevant environmental and predictive information for different areas of the outer Continental Shelf.

(3) The Secretary shall select the timing and location of leasing, to the maximum extent practicable, so as to obtain a proper balance between the potential for environmental damage, the potential for the discovery of oil and gas, and the potential for adverse impact on the coastal zone,