42 U.S.C. § 15927 — Oil shale, tar sands, and other strategic

Page 8746 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 15927 their progress on meeting the milestones identified pursuant to this memorandum, consistent with the plans developed pursuant to sections 2 and 4 of this memorandum. The CPO shall report on the implemen- tation of this memorandum in the report to the Presi- dent submitted pursuant to section 2(e) of Executive Order 13604. (b) In carrying out their responsibilities under this memorandum, Member Agencies shall consult relevant independent agencies, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (c) This memorandum shall be implemented con- sistent with applicable law and subject to the avail- ability of appropriations. (d) This memorandum shall be implemented con- sistent with Executive Order 13175 of November 6, 2000 (Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments) and my memorandum of November 5, 2009 (Tribal Consultation). (e) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) the authority granted by law to an executive de- partment or agency, or the head thereof; or (ii) the functions of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (f) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or proce- dural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. (g) The Director of OMB is hereby authorized and di- rected to publish this memorandum in the Federal Reg- ister. BARACK OBAMA. § 15927. Oil shale, tar sands, and other strategic unconventional fuels (a) Short title This section may be cited as the ‘‘Oil Shale, Tar Sands, and Other Strategic Unconventional Fuels Act of 2005’’. (b) Declaration of policy Congress declares that it is the policy of the United States that— (1) United States oil shale, tar sands, and other unconventional fuels are strategically important domestic resources that should be developed to reduce the growing dependence of the United States on politically and economi- cally unstable sources of foreign oil imports; (2) the development of oil shale, tar sands, and other strategic unconventional fuels, for research and commercial development, should be conducted in an environmentally sound manner, using practices that minimize im- pacts; and (3) development of those strategic unconven- tional fuels should occur, with an emphasis on sustainability, to benefit the United States while taking into account affected States and communities. (c) Leasing program for research and develop- ment of oil shale and tar sands In accordance with section 241 of title 30 and any other applicable law, except as provided in this section, not later than 180 days after Au- gust 8, 2005, from land otherwise available for leasing, the Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall make available for leasing such land as the Sec- retary considers to be necessary to conduct re- search and development activities with respect to technologies for the recovery of liquid fuels from oil shale and tar sands resources on public lands. Prospective public lands within each of the States of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming shall be made available for such research and de- velopment leasing. (d) Programmatic environmental impact state- ment and commercial leasing program for oil shale and tar sands (1) Programmatic environmental impact state- ment Not later than 18 months after August 8, 2005, in accordance with section 4332(2)(C) of this title, the Secretary shall complete a pro- grammatic environmental impact statement for a commercial leasing program for oil shale and tar sands resources on public lands, with an emphasis on the most geologically prospec- tive lands within each of the States of Colo- rado, Utah, and Wyoming. (2) Final regulation Not later than 6 months after the comple- tion of the programmatic environmental im- pact statement under this subsection, the Sec- retary shall publish a final regulation estab- lishing such program. (e) Commencement of commercial leasing of oil shale and tar sands Not later than 180 days after publication of the final regulation required by subsection (d), the Secretary shall consult with the Governors of States with significant oil shale and tar sands resources on public lands, representatives of local governments in such States, interested In- dian tribes, and other interested persons, to de- termine the level of support and interest in the States in the development of tar sands and oil shale resources. If the Secretary finds sufficient support and interest exists in a State, the Sec- retary may conduct a lease sale in that State under the commercial leasing program regula- tions. Evidence of interest in a lease sale under this subsection shall include, but not be limited to, appropriate areas nominated for leasing by potential lessees and other interested parties. (f) Diligent development requirements The Secretary shall, by regulation, designate work requirements and milestones to ensure the diligent development of the lease. (g) Initial report by the Secretary of the Interior Within 90 days after August 8, 2005, the Sec- retary of the Interior shall report to the Com- mittee on Resources of the House of Representa- tives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate on— (1) the interim actions necessary to— (A) develop the program, complete the pro- grammatic environmental impact state- ment, and promulgate the final regulation as required by subsection (d); and (B) conduct the first lease sales under the program as required by subsection (e); and (2) a schedule to complete such actions with- in the time limits mandated by this section. (h) Task Force (1) Establishment The Secretary of Energy, in cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec- Page 8747 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 15927 retary of Defense, shall establish a task force to develop a program to coordinate and accel- erate the commercial development of strategic unconventional fuels, including but not lim- ited to oil shale and tar sands resources within the United States, in an integrated manner. (2) Composition The Task Force shall be composed of— (A) the Secretary of Energy (or the des- ignee of the Secretary); (B) the Secretary of the Interior (or the designee of the Secretary of the Interior); (C) the Secretary of Defense (or the des- ignee of the Secretary of Defense); (D) the Governors of affected States; and (E) representatives of local governments in affected areas. (3) Recommendations The Task Force shall make such rec- ommendations regarding promoting the devel- opment of the strategic unconventional fuels resources within the United States as it may deem appropriate. (4) Partnerships The Task Force shall make recommenda- tions with respect to initiating a partnership with the Province of Alberta, Canada, for pur- poses of sharing information relating to the development and production of oil from tar sands, and similar partnerships with other na- tions that contain significant oil shale re- sources. (5) Reports (A) Initial report Not later than 180 days after August 8, 2005, the Task Force shall submit to the President and Congress a report that de- scribes the analysis and recommendations of the Task Force. (B) Subsequent reports The Secretary shall provide an annual re- port describing the progress in developing the strategic unconventional fuels resources within the United States for each of the 5 years following submission of the report pro- vided for in subparagraph (A). (i) Office of Petroleum Reserves (1) In general The Office of Petroleum Reserves of the De- partment of Energy shall— (A) coordinate the creation and implemen- tation of a commercial strategic fuel devel- opment program for the United States; (B) evaluate the strategic importance of unconventional sources of strategic fuels to the security of the United States; (C) promote and coordinate Federal Gov- ernment actions that facilitate the develop- ment of strategic fuels in order to effec- tively address the energy supply needs of the United States; (D) identify, assess, and recommend appro- priate actions of the Federal Government re- quired to assist in the development and manufacturing of strategic fuels; and (E) coordinate and facilitate appropriate relationships between private industry and the Federal Government to promote suffi- cient and timely private investment to com- mercialize strategic fuels for domestic and military use. (2) Consultation and coordination The Office of Petroleum Reserves shall work closely with the Task Force and coordinate its staff support. (j) Omitted (k) Interagency coordination and expeditious re- view of permitting process (1) Department of the Interior as lead agency Upon written request of a prospective appli- cant for Federal authorization to develop a proposed oil shale or tar sands project, the De- partment of the Interior shall act as the lead Federal agency for the purposes of coordi- nating all applicable Federal authorizations and environmental reviews. To the maximum extent practicable under applicable Federal law, the Secretary shall coordinate this Fed- eral authorization and review process with any Indian tribes and State and local agencies re- sponsible for conducting any separate permit- ting and environmental reviews. (2) Implementing regulations Not later than 6 months after August 8, 2005, the Secretary shall issue any regulations nec- essary to implement this subsection. (l) Cost-shared demonstration technologies (1) Identification The Secretary of Energy shall identify tech- nologies for the development of oil shale and tar sands that— (A) are ready for demonstration at a com- mercially-representative scale; and (B) have a high probability of leading to commercial production. (2) Assistance For each technology identified under para- graph (1), the Secretary of Energy may pro- vide— (A) technical assistance; (B) assistance in meeting environmental and regulatory requirements; and (C) cost-sharing assistance. (m) National oil shale and tar sands assessment (1) Assessment (A) In general The Secretary shall carry out a national assessment of oil shale and tar sands re- sources for the purposes of evaluating and mapping oil shale and tar sands deposits, in the geographic areas described in subpara- graph (B). In conducting such an assessment, the Secretary shall make use of the exten- sive geological assessment work for oil shale and tar sands already conducted by the United States Geological Survey. (B) Geographic areas The geographic areas referred to in sub- paragraph (A), listed in the order in which the Secretary shall assign priority, are— (i) the Green River Region of the States of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming; Page 8748 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 15928 (ii) the Devonian oil shales and other hy- drocarbon-bearing rocks having the no- menclature of ‘‘shale’’ located east of the Mississippi River; and (iii) any remaining area in the central and western United States (including the State of Alaska) that contains oil shale and tar sands, as determined by the Sec- retary. (2) Use of State surveys and universities In carrying out the assessment under para- graph (1), the Secretary may request assist- ance from any State-administered geological survey or university. (n) Land exchanges (1) In general To facilitate the recovery of oil shale and tar sands, especially in areas where Federal, State, and private lands are intermingled, the Secretary shall consider the use of land ex- changes where appropriate and feasible to con- solidate land ownership and mineral interests into manageable areas. (2) Identification and priority of public lands The Secretary shall identify public lands containing deposits of oil shale or tar sands within the Green River, Piceance Creek, Uintah, and Washakie geologic basins, and shall give priority to implementing land ex- changes within those basins. The Secretary shall consider the geology of the respective basin in determining the optimum size of the lands to be consolidated. (3) Compliance with section 1716 of title 43 A land exchange undertaken in furtherance of this subsection shall be implemented in ac- cordance with section 1716 of title 43. (o) Royalty rates for leases The Secretary shall establish royalties, fees, rentals, bonus, or other payments for leases under this section that shall— (1) encourage development of the oil shale and tar sands resource; and (2) ensure a fair return to the United States. (p) Heavy oil technical and economic assessment The Secretary of Energy shall update the 1987 technical and economic assessment of domestic heavy oil resources that was prepared by the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission. Such an update should include all of North America and cover all unconventional oil, in- cluding heavy oil, tar sands (oil sands), and oil shale. (q) Omitted (r) State water rights Nothing in this section preempts or affects any State water law or interstate compact re- lating to water. (s) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section. (Pub. L. 109–58, title III, § 369, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 728; Pub. L. 113–188, title VI, § 601(b), Nov. 26, 2014, 128 Stat. 2019.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section is comprised of section 369 of Pub. L. 109–58. Subsecs. (j) and (q) of section 369 of Pub. L. 109–58 en- acted section 2398a of Title 10, Armed Forces, and amended the table of sections for chapter 141 of Title 10 and sections 226 and 241 of Title 30, Mineral Lands and Mining. AMENDMENTS 2014—Subsec. (i)(3). Pub. L. 113–188 struck out par. (3). Text read as follows: ‘‘Not later than 180 days after Au- gust 8, 2005, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that describes the ac- tivities of the Office of Petroleum Reserves carried out under this subsection.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME Committee on Resources of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Natural Resources of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 6, One Hun- dred Tenth Congress, Jan. 5, 2007. § 15928. Consultation regarding energy rights-of- way on public land (a) Memorandum of understanding (1) In general Not later than 6 months after August 8, 2005, the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Defense with respect to lands under their respective juris- dictions, shall enter into a memorandum of understanding to coordinate all applicable Federal authorizations and environmental re- views relating to a proposed or existing utility facility. To the maximum extent practicable under applicable law, the Secretary of Energy shall, to ensure timely review and permit deci- sions, coordinate such authorizations and re- views with any Indian tribes, multi-State enti- ties, and State agencies that are responsible for conducting any separate permitting and environmental reviews of the affected utility facility. (2) Contents The memorandum of understanding shall in- clude provisions that— (A) establish— (i) a unified right-of-way application form; and (ii) an administrative procedure for proc- essing right-of-way applications, including lines of authority, steps in application processing, and timeframes for application processing; (B) provide for coordination of planning re- lating to the granting of the rights-of-way; (C) provide for an agreement among the af- fected Federal agencies to prepare a single environmental review document to be used as the basis for all Federal authorization de- cisions; and (D) provide for coordination of use of right-of-way stipulations to achieve consist- ency. (b) Natural gas pipelines (1) In general With respect to permitting activities for interstate natural gas pipelines, the May 2002