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, spillages, 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. (As amended by P.L. 95-372, 92 Stat. 629, September 18, 1978) Laws Applicable To Outer Continental Shelf Sec. 4. (2) (A) To the extent that they are applicable and not inconsistent with this Act or (B) Within one year after the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the (3) The provisions of this section for adoption of State law as the law of the United States shall never be interpreted as a basis for claiming any interest in or jurisdiction on behalf of any State for any purpose over the seabed and subsoil of the outer Continental Shelf, or the property and natural resources thereof or the revenues therefrom. (b) With respect to disability or death of an employee resulting from any injury occurring as the result of operations conducted on the outer Continental Shelf for the purpose of exploring for, developing, removing, or transporting by pipeline the natural resources, or involving rights to the natural resources, of the subsoil and seabed of the outer Continental Shelf, compensation shall be payable under the provisions of the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act. For the purposes of the extension of the provisions of the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act under this section (1) the term "employee" does not include a master or member of a crew of any vessel, or an officer or employee of the United States or any agency thereof or of any State or foreign government, or of any political subdivision thereof; (2) the term "employer" means an employer any of whose employees are employed in such operations; and State laws. Publication of Worker's compensation. 43 USC 1333. 44 Stat. 1424. 33 USC 901. 29 USC 167. Coast Guard regulations, etc. 43 USC 1333. Artificial islands, etc. Federal Trade Commission, consultation. (3) the term "United States" when used in a geographical sense includes the outer Continental Shelf and artificial islands and fixed structures thereon. (c) For the purposes of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, any unfair labor practice, as defined in such Act, occurring upon any artificial island, installation, or other device referred to in subsection (a) of this section shall be deemed to have occurred within the judicial district of the State, the laws of which apply to such artificial island, installation, or other device pursuant to such subsection, except that until the President determines the areas within which such State laws are applicable, the judicial district shall be that of the State nearest the place of location of such artificial island, installation, or other device. (d) (1) The Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall have authority to promulgate and enforce such reasonable regulations with respect to lights and other warning devices, safety equipment, and other matters relating to the promotion of safety of life and property on the artificial islands, installations, and other devices referred to in subsection (a) or on the waters adjacent thereto, as he may deem necessary. (2) The Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating may mark for the protection of navigation any artificial island, installation, or other device referred to in subsection (a) whenever the owner has failed suitably to mark such island, installation, or other device in accordance with regulations issued under this Act, and the owner shall pay the cost of such marking. (e) The authority of the Secretary of the Army to prevent obstruction to navigation in the navigable waters of the United States is hereby extended to the artificial islands, installations, and other devices referred to in subsection (a). (f) The specific application by this section of certain provisions of law to the subsoil and seabed of the outer Continental Shelf and the artificial islands, installations, and other devices referred to in subsection (a) or to acts or offenses occurring or committed thereon shall not give rise to any inference that the application to such islands and structures, acts, or offenses of any other provision of law is not intended. (As amended by P.L. 93-627, 88 Stat. 2126, January 3, 1975; and P.L. 95-372, 92 Stat. 629, September 18, 1978) Sec. 5. Administration of Leasing of The Outer Continental Shelf (a) The Secretary shall administer the provisions of this Act relating to the leasing of the outer Continental Shelf, and shall prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out such provisions. The Secretary may at any time prescribe and amend such rules and regulations as he determines to be necessary and proper in order to provide for the prevention of waste and conservation of the natural resources of the outer Continental Shelf, and the protection of correlative rights therein, and, notwithstanding any other provisions herein, such rules and regulations shall, as of their effective date, apply to all operations conducted under a lease issued or maintained under the provisions of this Act. In the enforcement of safety, environmental, and conservation laws and regulations, the Secretary shall cooperate with the relevant departments and agencies of the Federal Government and of the affected States. In the formulation and promulgation of regulations, the Secretary shall request and give due consideration to the views of the Attorney General with respect to matters which may affect competition. In considering any regulations and in preparing any such views, the Attorney General shall consult with the Federal Trade Commission. The regulations prescribed by the Secretary under this subsection shall include, but not be limited to, provisions— (1) for the suspension or temporary prohibition of any operation or activity, including production, pursuant to any lease or permit (A) at the request of a lessee, in the national interest, to facilitate proper development of a lease or to allow for the construction or negotiation for use of transportation facilities, or (B) if there is a threat of serious, irreparable, or immediate harm or damage to life (including fish and other aquatic life), to property, to any mineral deposits (in areas leased or not leased), or to the marine, coastal, or human environment, and for the extension of any permit or lease affected by suspension or prohibition under clause (A) or (B) by a period equivalent to the period of such suspension or prohibition, except that no permit or lease shall be so extended when such suspension or prohibition is the result of gross negligence or willful violation of such lease or permit, or of regulations issued with respect to such lease or permit; (2) with respect to cancellation of any lease or permit (A) that such cancellation may occur at any time, if the Secretary determines, after a hearing, that— (i) continued activity pursuant to such lease or permit would probably cause serious harm or damage to life (including fish and other aquatic life), to property, to any mineral (in areas leased or not leased), to the national security or defense, or to the marine, coastal, or human environment; (ii) the threat of harm or damage will not disappear or decrease to an acceptable extent within a reasonable period of time; and (iii) the advantages of cancellation outweigh the advantages of continuing such lease or permit in force; (B) that such cancellation shall not occur unless and until operations under such lease or permit shall have been under suspension, or temporary prohibition, by the Secretary, with due extension of any lease or permit term continuously for a period of five years, or for a lesser period upon request of the lessee; (C) that such cancellation shall entitle the lessee to receive such compensation as he shows to the Secretary as being equal to the lesser of (i) the fair value of the canceled rights as of the date of cancellation, taking account of both anticipated revenues from the lease and anticipated costs, including costs of compliance with all applicable regulations and operating orders, liability for cleanup costs or damages, or both, in the case of an oilspill, and all other costs reasonably anticipated on the lease, or (ii) the excess, if any, over the lessee's revenues, from the lease (plus interest thereon from the date of receipt to date of reimbursement) of all consideration paid for the lease and all direct expenditures made by the lessee after the date of issuance of such lease and in connection with exploration or development, or both, pursuant to the lease (plus interest on such consideration and such expenditures from date of payment to date of reimbursement), except that (I) with respect to leases issued before the date of enactment of this subparagraph, such compensation shall be equal to the amount specified in clause (i) of this subparagraph; and (II) in the case of joint leases which are canceled due to the failure of one or more partners to exercise due diligence, the innocent parties shall have the right to seek damages for such loss from the responsible party or parties and the right to acquire the interests of the negligent party or parties and be issued the lease in question; (3) for the assignment or relinquishment of a lease; (4) for unitization, pooling, and drilling agreements; (5) for the subsurface storage of oil and gas other than by the Federal Government; (6) for drilling or easements necessary for exploration, development, and production; (7) for the prompt and efficient exploration and development of a lease area; and (8) for compliance with the national ambient air quality standards pursuant to the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), to the extent that activities authorized under this Act significantly affect the air quality of any State. (b) The issuance and continuance in effect of any lease, or of any assignment or other transfer of any lease, under the provisions of this Act shall be conditioned upon compliance with regulations issued under this Act. (c) Whenever the owner of a nonproducing lease fails to comply with any of the provisions of this Act, or of the lease, or of the regulations issued under this Act, such lease may be canceled by the Secretary, subject to the right of judicial review as provided in this Act, if such default continues for the period of thirty days after mailing of notice by registered letter to the lease owner at his record post office address. (d) Whenever the owner of any producing lease fails to comply with any of the provisions of this Act, of the lease, or of the regulations issued under this Act, such lease may be forfeited and canceled by an appropriate proceeding in any United States district court having jurisdiction under the provisions of this Act. (e) Rights-of-way through the submerged lands of the outer Continental Shelf, whether or not such lands are included in a lease maintained or issued pursuant to this Act, may be granted by the Secretary for pipeline purposes for the transportation of oil, natural gas, sulphur, or other minerals, or under such regulations and upon such conditions as may be prescribed by the Secretary, or where appropriate the Secretary of Transportation, including (as provided in section 21(b) of this Act) assuring maximum environmental protection by utilization of the best available and safest technologies, including the safest practices for pipeline burial and upon the express condition that oil or gas pipelines shall transport or purchase without discrimination, oil or natural gas produced from submerged lands or outer Continental Shelf lands in the vicinity of the pipelines in such proportionate amounts as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, may, after a full hearing with due notice thereof to the interested parties, determine to be reasonable, taking into account, among Judicial review. Pipeline rights-of-way. Secretary of Energy, consultation. Notice and hearing. Forfeiture of grant. Notice and hearing. Regulations. Attorney General, consultation. Federal Trade Commission, consultation. Presidential rule or order. Regulations. Department of Energy, notification. other things, conservation and the prevention of waste. Failure to comply with the provisions of this section or the regulations and conditions prescribed under this section shall be ground for forfeiture of the grant in an appropriate judicial proceeding instituted by the United States in any United States district court having jurisdiction under the provisions of this Act. (f) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), every permit, license, easement, right-of-way, or other grant of authority for the transportation by pipeline on or across the outer Continental Shelf of oil or gas shall require that the pipeline be operated in accordance with the following competitive principles: (A) The pipeline must provide open and nondiscriminatory access to both owner and nonowner shippers. (B) Upon the specific request of one or more owner or nonowner shippers able to provide a guaranteed level of throughput, and on the condition that the shipper or shippers requesting such expansion shall be responsible for bearing their proportionate share of the costs and risks related thereto, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may, upon finding, after a full hearing with due notice thereof to the interested parties, that such expansion is within technological limits and economic feasibility, order a subsequent expansion of throughput capacity of any pipeline for which the permit, license, easement, right-of-way, or other grant of authority is approved or issued after the date of enactment of this subparagraph. This subparagraph shall not apply to any such grant of authority approved or issued for the Gulf of Mexico or the Santa Barbara Channel. (2) The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may, by order or regulation, exempt from any or all of the requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection any pipeline or class of pipelines which feeds into a facility where oil and gas are first collected or a facility where oil and gas are first separated, dehydrated, or otherwise processed. (3) The Secretary of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall consult with and give due consideration to the views of the Attorney General on specific conditions to be included in any permit, license, easement, right-of-way, or grant of authority in order to ensure that pipelines are operated in accordance with the competitive principles set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection. In preparing any such views, the Attorney General shall consult with the Federal Trade Commission. (4) Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to limit, abridge, or modify any authority of the United States under any other provision of law with respect to pipelines on or across the outer Continental Shelf. (g) (1) The lessee shall produce any oil or gas, or both, obtained pursuant to an approved development and production plan, at rates consistent with any rule or order issued by the President in accordance with any provision of law. (2) If no rule or order referred to in paragraph (1) has been issued, the lessee shall produce such oil or gas, or both, at rates consistent with any regulation promulgated by the Secretary of Energy which is to assure the maximum rate of production which may be sustained without loss of ultimate recovery of oil or gas, or both, under sound engineering and economic principles, and which is safe for the duration of the activity covered by the approved plan. The Secretary may permit the lessee to vary such rates if he finds that such variance is necessary. (h) The head of any Federal department or agency who takes any action which has a direct and significant effect on the outer Continental Shelf or its development shall promptly notify the Secretary of such action and the Secretary shall thereafter notify the Governor of any affected State and the Secretary may thereafter recommend such changes in such action as are considered appropriate. (i) After the date of enactment of this section, no holder of any oil and gas lease issued or maintained pursuant to this Act shall be permitted to flare natural gas from any well unless the Secretary finds that there is no practicable way to complete production of such gas, or that such flaring is necessary to alleviate a temporary emergency situation or to conduct testing or work-over operations. (As amended by P.L. 95-372, 92 Stat. 629, September 18, 1978) Sec. 6. Maintenance of Leases on Outer Continental Shelf (a) The provisions of this section shall apply to any mineral lease covering submerged lands of the outer Continental Shelf issued by any State (including any extension, renewal, or replacement thereof heretofore granted pursuant to such lease or under the laws of such State) if (1) such lease, or a true copy thereof, is filed with the Secretary by the lessee or his duly authorized agent within ninety days from the effective date of this Act, or within such further period or periods as provided in section 7 hereof or as may be fixed from time to time by the Secretary; (2) such lease was issued prior to December 21, 1948, and would have been on June 5, 1950, in force and effect in accordance with its terms and provisions and the law of the State issuing it had the State had authority to issue such lease; (3) there is filed with the Secretary, within the period or periods specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection, (A) a certificate issued by the State official or agency having jurisdiction over such lease stating that it would have been in force and effect as required by the provisions of paragraph (2) of this subsection, or (B) in the absence of such certificate, evidence in the form of affidavits, receipts, cancelled checks, or other documents that may be required by the Secretary, sufficient to prove that such lease would have been so in force and effect; (4) except as otherwise provided in section 7 hereof, all rents, royalties, and other sums payable under such lease between June 5, 1950, and the effective date of this Act, which have not been paid in accordance with the provisions thereof, or to the Secretary or to the Secretary of the Navy, are paid to the Secretary within the period or periods specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and all rents, royalties, and other sums payable under such lease after the effective date of this Act, are paid to the Secretary, who shall deposit such payments in the Treasury in accordance with section 9 of this Act; (5) the holder of such lease certifies that such lease shall continue to be subject to the overriding royalty obligations existing on the effective date of this Act; (6) such lease was not obtained by fraud or misrepresentation; (7) such lease, if issued on or after June 23, 1947, was issued upon the basis of competitive bidding; (8) such lease provides for a royalty to the lessor on oil and gas of not less than 122 per centum and on sulphur of not less than 5 per centum in amount or value of the production saved, removed, or sold from the lease, or, in any case in which the lease provides for a lesser royalty, the holder thereof consents in writing, filed with the Secretary, to the increase of the royalty to the minimum herein specified; (9) the holder thereof pays to the Secretary within the period or periods specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection an amount equivalent to any severance, gross production, or occupation taxes imposed by the State issuing the lease on the production from the lease, less the State's royalty interest in such production, between June 5, 1950, and the effective date of this Act and not heretofore paid to the State, and thereafter pays to the Secretary as an additional royalty on the production from the lease, less the United States' royalty interest in such production, a sum of money equal to the amount of the severance, gross production, or occupation taxes which would have been payable on such production to the State issuing the lease under its laws as they existed on the effective date of this Act; (10) such lease will terminate within a period of not more than five years from the effective date of this Act in the absence of production or operations for drilling, or, in any case in which the lease provides for a longer period, the holder thereof consents in writing, filed with the Secretary, to the reduction of such period so that it will not exceed the maximum period herein specified; and (11) the holder of such lease furnishes such surety bond, if any, as the Secretary may require and complies with such other reasonable requirements as the Secretary may deem necessary to protect the interests of the United States. (b) Any person holding a mineral lease, which as determined by the Secretary meets the requirements of subsection (a) of this section, may continue to maintain such lease, and may conduct operations thereunder, in accordance with (1) its provisions as to the area, the minerals covered, rentals and, subject to the provisions of paragraphs (8), (9) and (10) of subsection (a) of this section, as to royalties and as to the term thereof and of any extensions, renewals, or replacements authorized therein or heretofore authorized by the laws of the State issuing such lease, or, if oil or gas was not being produced in paying quantities from such lease on or before December 11, 1950, or if production in paying quantities has ceased since June 5, 1950, or if the primary term of such lease has expired since December 11, 1950, then for a term from the effective date hereof equal to the term remaining unexpired on December 11, 1950, under the provisions of such lease or any extensions, renewals, or replacements authorized therein, or heretofore authorized by the laws of such State, and (2) such regulations as the Secretary may under section 5 of this Act prescribe within ninety days after making his determination that such lease meets the requirements of subsection (a) of this section: Provided, however, That any rights to sulphur under any lease Filing of lease, etc. Sums payable. Royalty. Termination of lease. Surety bond. Maintenance of lease. Sulphur. |