OCEAN Act

Outer Continental Shelf Energy Access Now Act or the OCEAN Act

This bill amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to limit the President's authority to prohibit oil and gas leasing on the outer Continental Shelf.

The President may prohibit oil and gas leasing on areas of the outer Continental Shelf located in a national marine sanctuary designated in accordance with the National Marine Sanctuaries Act or by statute or rule.

Any suspension of operations under a lease arising from a state of war or declaration of national emergency shall be for 90 days and may be renewed.

The bill rescinds existing moratoriums on oil and gas leasing on areas of the outer Continental Shelf other than marine sanctuaries and national monuments.

The President may not declare or reserve any ocean waters or lands beneath ocean waters as a national monument.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2157 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2157

 To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to limit the authority 
 of the President to withdraw areas from oil and gas leasing, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 26, 2017

 Mr. Brat (for himself, Mr. Meadows, Mr. McKinley, Mr. Jody B. Hice of 
Georgia, Mr. McClintock, Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr. Olson, 
  Mr. Palmer, Mr. Graves of Louisiana, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Duncan of South 
  Carolina, Mr. Westerman, Mr. Loudermilk, Mr. Rouzer, Mr. Biggs, Mr. 
   Labrador, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Scalise, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Guthrie, Mr. 
   Wittman, and Mr. Babin) introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to limit the authority 
 of the President to withdraw areas from oil and gas leasing, 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 ``Outer Continental Shelf Energy 
Access Now Act'' or the ``OCEAN Act''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION OF AUTHORITY OF THE PRESIDENT TO WITHDRAW AREAS OF 
              THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF FROM OIL AND GAS LEASING.

    (a) Withdrawals.--
            (1) Limitation.--Section 12 of the Outer Continental Shelf 
        Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1341) is amended--
                    (A) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
    ``(a) Limitation on Withdrawals.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
        section, no unleased lands of the outer Continental Shelf may 
        be withdrawn from disposition except by statute.
            ``(2) National marine sanctuaries.--The President may 
        withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the 
        outer Continental Shelf located in a national marine sanctuary 
        designated in accordance with the National Marine Sanctuaries 
        Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) or by statute, by issuance of a 
        rule in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United State 
        Code.''; and
                    (B) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 
                following: ``Any suspension of operations under this 
                subsection shall be for a period of not more than 90 
                days, and may be renewed one or more times for an 
                additional period of not more than 90 days.''.
            (2) Existing withdrawals.--Any withdrawal before the date 
        of the enactment of this Act under section 12(a) of the Outer 
        Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1341), other than a 
        withdrawal of an area in a national marine sanctuary 
        established in accordance with the National Marine Sanctuaries 
        Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) or in a national monument declared 
        under the Act of June 8, 1906 (ch. 3060; 34 Stat. 225), or 
        chapter 3203 of title 54, United States Code, shall have no 
        force or effect.
    (b) Termination of Authority To Establish Marine National 
Monuments.--
            (1) Termination of authority.--Section 320301 of title 54, 
        United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``(e) Limitation on Marine Areas.--Notwithstanding subsections (a) 
and (b), the President may not declare or reserve any ocean waters (as 
such term is defined in section 3 of the Marine Protection, Research, 
and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1402)) or lands beneath ocean 
waters as a national monument.''.
            (2) Existing monuments not affected.--Nothing in this 
        subsection affects any national monument declared before the 
        date of the enactment of this Act.
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