SEC. 6003. OUTER BANKS PROTECTION.
(a) SHORT TITLE.,This section may be cited as the "Outer
Banks Protection Act".
(b) FINDINGS.,The Congress finds that,
(1) the Outer Banks of North Carolina is an area of exceptional
environmental fragility and beauty;
(2) the annual economic benefits of commercial and recreational
fishing activities to North Carolina, which could be adversely
affected by oil or gas development offshore the State's coast,
exceeds $1,000,000,000;
(3) the major industry in coa stal North Carolina is tourism,
which is subject to potentially significant disruption by offshore
oil or gas development;
(4) the physical oceanographic characteristics of the area offshore
North Carolina between Cape Hatteras and the mouth of the Chesapeake
Bay are not well understood, being affected by Gulf Stream western
boundary perturbations and accompanying warm filaments, warm and
cold core rings which separate from the Gulf Stream, wind stress,
outflow from the Chesapeake Bay, Gulf Stream meanders, and intrusions
of Virginia coastal waters around and over the Diamond shoals;
(5) diverse and abundant fisheries resources occur in the western
boundary area of the Gulf Stream offshore North Carolina, but
little is understood of the complex ecological relationships between
the life histories of those species and their physical, chemical,
and biological environment;
(6) the environmental impact statements prepared for Outer Continental
Shelf lease sales numbered 56 (1981) and 78 (1983) contain insufficient
and outdated environmental information from which to make decisions
on approval of additional oil and gas leasing, exploration, and
development activities;
(7) the draft environmental report, dated November 1, 1989, and
the preliminary final environmental report dated June 1, 1990,
prepared pursuant to a July 14, 1989 memorandum of understanding
between the State of North Carolina, the Department of the Interior,
and the Mobil Oil Company, have not allayed concerns about the
adequacy of the environmental information available to determine
whether to proceed with additional offshore leasing, exploration,
or development offshore North Carolina; and
(8) the National Research Council report entitled "The Adequacy
of Environmental Information for Outer Continental Shelf Oil and
Gas Decisions: Florida and California", issued in 1989, concluded
that,
(A) information with respect to those States, which have received
greater scrutiny than has North Carolina, is inadequate; and
(B) there are serious generic defects in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE)'s methods of environmental analysis,
reinforcing concerns about the adequacy of the scientific and
technical information which are the basis for a decision to lease
additional tracts or approve an exploration plan offshore North
Carolina, especially with respect to oceanographic, ecological,
and socioeconomic information.
(c) PROHIBITION OF OIL AND GAS LEASING EXPLORATION, AND DEVELOPMENT.,
(1) PROHIBITION.,The Secretary of the Interior shall not,
(A) conduct a lease sale;
(B) issue any new leases;
(C) approve any exploration plan;
(D) approve any development and production plan;
(E) approve any application for permit to drill; or
(F) permit any drilling,
for oil or gas under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act on
any lands of the Outer Continental Shelf offshore North Carolina.
(2) BOUNDARIES.,For purposes of paragraph (1), the term "offshore
North Carolina" means the area within the lateral seaward
boundaries between areas offshore North Carolina and areas offshore,
(A) Virginia as provided in the joint resolution entitled
"Joint resolution granting the consent of Congress to an
agreement between the States of North Carolina and Virginia establishing
their lateral seaward boundary" approved October 27, 1972
(86 Stat. 1298); and
(B) South Carolina as provided in the Act entitled "An Act
granting the consent of Congress to the agreement between the
States of North Carolina and South Carolina establishing their
lateral seaward boundary" approved October 9, 1981 (95 Stat.
988).
(3) DURATION OF PROHIBITION.,
(A) IN GENERAL.,The prohibition under paragraph (1) shall
remain in effect until the later of,
(i) October 1, 1991; or
(ii) 45 days of continuous session of the Congress after submission
of a written report to the Congress by the Secretary of the Interior,
made after consideration of the findings and recommendations of
the Environmental Sciences Review Panel under subsection (e),
(I) certifying that the information available, including
information acquired pursuant to subsection (d), is sufficient
to enable the Secretary to carry out his responsibilities under
the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act with respect to authorizing
the activities described in paragraph (1); and
(II) including a detailed explanation of any differences between
such certification and the findings and recommendations of the
Environmental Sciences Review Panel under subsection (e), and
a detailed justification of each such difference.
(B) CONTINUOUS SESSION OF CONGRESS.,In computing any 45-day
period of continuous session of Congress under subparagraph (A)(ii),
(i) continuity of session is broken only by an adjournment
of the Congress sine die; and
(ii) the days on which either House of Congress is not in session
because of an adjournment of more than 3 days to a day certain
are excluded.
(d) ADDITIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION.,The Secretary of the
Interior shall undertake ecological and socioeconomic studies,
additional physical oceanographic studies, including actual field
work and the correlation of existing data, and other additional
environmental studies, to obtain sufficient information about
all significant conditions, processes, and environments which
influence, or may be influenced by, oil and gas leasing, exploration,
and development activities offshore North Carolina to enable the
Secretary to carry out his responsibilities under the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act with respect to authorizing the activities described
in subsection (c)(1). During the time that the Environmental Sciences
Review Panel established under subsection (e) is in existence,
the Secretary of the Interior shall consult with such Panel in
carrying out this subsection.
(e) ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES REVIEW PANEL.,
(1) ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP.,There shall be established
an Environmental Sciences Review Panel, to consist of,
(A) 1 marine scientist selected by the Secretary of the Interior;
(B) 1 marine scientist selected by the Governor of North Carolina;
and
(C) 1 person each from the disciplines of physical oceanography,
ecology, and social science, to be selected jointly by the Secretary
of the Interior and the Governor of North Carolina from a list
of individuals nominated by the National Academy of Sciences.
(2) FUNCTIONS.,Not later than 6 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, The Environmental Sciences Review Panel
shall,
(A) prepare and submit to the Secretary of the Interior findings
and recommendations,
(i) assessing the adequacy of available physical oceanographic,
ecological, and socioeconomic information in enabling the Secretary
to carry out his responsibilities under the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act with respect to authorizing the activities described
in subsection (c)(1); and
(ii) if such available information is not adequate for such purposes,
indicating what additional information is required to enable the
Secretary to carry out such responsibilities; and
(B) consult with the Secretary of the Interior as provided
in subsection (d).
(3) EXPENSES.,Each member of the Environmental Sciences Review
Panel shall be reimbursed for actual travel expenses and shall
receive per diem in lieu of subsistence for each day such member
is engaged in the business of the Environmental Sciences Review
Panel.
(4) TERMINATION.,The Environmental Sciences Review Panel shall
be terminated after the submission of all findings and recommendations
required under paragraph (2)(A).
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.,There are authorized to
be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior to carry out
this section not to exceed $500,000 for fiscal year 1991, to remain
available until expended.
SEC. 6004. COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMON HYDROCARBON-BEARING
AREAS.
(a) AMENDMENT TO OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT.,Section 5
of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, as amended (43 U.S.C.
1334), is amended by adding a new subsection (j) as follows:
"(j) COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMON HYDROCARBON-BEARING
AREAS.,
"(1) FINDINGS.,
"(A) The Congress of the United States finds that the
unrestrained competitive production of hydrocarbons from a common
hydrocarbon-bearing geological area underlying the Federal and
State boundary may result in a number of harmful national effects,
including,
"(i) the drilling of unnecessary wells, the installation
of unnecessary facilities and other imprudent operating practices
that result in economic waste, environmental damage, and damage
to life and property;
"(ii) the physic al waste of hydrocarbons and an unnecessary
reduction in the amounts of hydrocarbons that can be produced
from certain hydrocarbon-bearing areas; and
"(iii) the loss of correlative rights which can result in
the reduced value of national hydrocarbon resources and disorders
in the leasing of Federal and State resources.
"(2) PREVENTION OF HARMFUL EFFECTS.,The Secretary shall
prevent, through the cooperative development of an area, the harmful
effects of unrestrained competitive production of hydrocarbons
from a common hydrocarbon-bearing area underlying the Federal
and State boundary.".
(b) EXCEPTION FOR WEST DELTA FIELD.,Section 5(j) of the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act, as added by this section, shall not
be applicable with respect to Blocks 17 and 18 of the West Delta
Field offshore Louisiana.
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.,There are hereby authorized
to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to provide compensation,
including interest, to the State of Louisiana and its lessees,
for net drainage of oil and gas resources as determined in the
Third Party Factfinder Louisiana Boundary Study dated March 21,
1989. For purposes of this section, such lessees shall include
those persons with an ownership interest in State of Louisiana
leases SL10087, SL10088 or SL10187, or ownership interests in
the production or proceeds therefrom, as established by assignment,
contract or otherwise. Interest shall be computed for the period
March 21, 1989 until the date of payment.
Copyright © 1996 U.S. National Response Team
Last Modified: October 18, 1996