VA Energy Act

Virginia Access to Energy Act or VA Energy Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct offshore oil and gas Lease Sale 220 on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) not later than one year after enactment of this Act.

Prohibits the Secretary from making any lease tract available if the President determines that it would create an unreasonable conflict with military operations.

Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit 50% of qualified revenues from such lease sales into the general fund of the Treasury to reduce the outstanding federal debt and 50% in a special account for specified payments to the state of Virginia.

[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1372 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1372

 To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct oil and natural 
    gas exploration, leasing, and drilling activities on the outer 
    Continental Shelf offshore the State of Virginia, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 5, 2011

  Mr. Goodlatte (for himself, Mr. Rigell, Mr. Wittman, Mr. Wolf, Mr. 
    Forbes, Mr. Hurt, and Mr. Griffith of Virginia) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct oil and natural 
    gas exploration, leasing, and drilling activities on the outer 
    Continental Shelf offshore the State of Virginia, and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 ``Virginia Access to Energy Act'' or 
the ``VA Energy Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Coastal zone.--The term ``coastal zone'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 2 of the Outer Continental 
        Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331).
            (2) Lease Sale 220.--The term ``Lease Sale 220'' means the 
        sale of Federal oil and gas exploration leases in the outer 
        Continental Shelf planning area located off the coast of the 
        State.
            (3) Qualified revenues.--The term ``qualified revenues'' 
        means all rentals, royalties, bonus bids, and other sums due 
        and payable to the United States--
                    (A) under leases entered into under this Act; or
                    (B) under other oil and gas leases of areas of the 
                outer Continental Shelf off the coast of Virginia.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (5) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Virginia.

SEC. 3. OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF OIL AND GAS LEASING OFF THE COAST OF 
              THE STATE OF VIRGINIA.

    (a) In General.--As soon as practicable, but not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall carry out 
the Lease Sale 220 under section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 
Act (43 U.S.C. 1337).
    (b) Prohibition on Conflicts With Military Operations.--The 
Secretary shall not make any tract available for lease under this Act 
if the President, in consultation with the Committees on Armed Services 
of the Senate and the House of Representatives, determines that the 
lease of that tract would create an unreasonable conflict with military 
operations.

SEC. 4. DISPOSITION OF REVENUES.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding section 9 of the Outer Continental 
Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1338) and subject to the provisions of this 
section, for each applicable fiscal year, the Secretary of the Treasury 
shall deposit--
            (1) 50 percent of any qualified revenues in the general 
        fund of the Treasury, which shall be applied solely to reduce 
        the outstanding Federal debt; and
            (2) 50 percent of any qualified revenues in a special 
        account in the Treasury to be used for the purposes described 
        subsection (b).
    (b) Disposition of Revenues to State.--Of the qualified revenues 
described in subsection (a)(2)--
            (1) 75 percent shall be disbursed to the State;
            (2) 12.5 percent--
                    (A) shall be used, without further appropriation, 
                to provide financial assistance to the State in 
                accordance with section 6 of the Land and Water 
                Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-8); and
                    (B) shall be considered income to the Land and 
                Water Conservation Fund for purposes of section 2 of 
                that Act (16 U.S.C. 460l-5); and
            (3) 12.5 percent shall be deposited in a separate account 
        in the Treasury that shall be used, without further 
        appropriation, by the Secretary of the Interior, in 
        consultation with the Governor of the State, to mitigate for 
        any environmental damage that occurs as a result of extraction 
        activities authorized under oil and gas leases issued under 
        this Act, regardless of whether the damage is--
                    (A) reasonably foreseeable; or
                    (B) caused by negligence or a natural disaster.
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