Sec. 223. Regional offices and Regional Permit Coordinators

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Within 90 days after the date of appointment of the Federal Permit Coordinator, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Federal Permit Coordinator, shall establish regional offices to coordinate review of Federal permits for oil and gas projects on Federal lands onshore and on the Outer Continental Shelf. The number of regional offices shall be established by the Secretary in consultation with the Federal Permit Coordinator. The Secretary shall ensure that there is an adequate number of offices in each region proximate to available Federal oil and gas lease tracts onshore and on the Outer Continental Shelf to meet the demands for expeditious permitting in that region.

The Secretary shall designate as regional offices under this section all offices established under section 365 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ( 42 U.S.C. 15924 ). Within 90 days after the appointment of the Federal Permit Coordinator, the Federal Permit Coordinator, the Secretary, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Defense, and the head of any other Federal agency with responsibilities related to permitting of Federal oil and gas leases, shall enter into a memorandum of understanding establishing respective duties and responsibilities for staffing the regional offices and accomplishing the objectives of this section.

Not later than 30 days after the date of signing of the MOU, all Federal signatory agencies shall assign to each regional office the appropriate employees with expertise in the oil and gas permitting issues relating to that office, including, but not limited to, with respect to— consultation and preparation of biological opinions under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1536 ); permits under section 404 of Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1344 ); regulatory matters under the Clean Air Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq. ); planning under the National Forest Management Act of 1976 ( 16 U.S.C. 472a et seq. ); the preparation of analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); applications for permits to drill under the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 181 et seq. ); and exploration plans and development and production plans under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq. ).

To the maximum extent practicable, for purposes of this subsection, Federal agencies shall give preference to employees volunteering for reassignment to the regional offices, and shall offer incentives to attract and retain regional office employees, including, but not limited to, retaining contract employees, rotational assignments, salary incentives of up to 120 percent of an employee’s existing salary immediately prior to reassignment, or any combination of strategies. Each employee assigned under subsection

(d)shall— within 90 days after the date of assignment, report to the regional office to which the employee is assigned; be responsible for all issues relating to the jurisdiction of the home office or agency of the employee; and participate as part of the team working on proposed oil and gas projects, planning, and environmental analyses. The Federal Permit Coordinator shall appoint a Regional Permit Coordinator to be located within each regional office established under this section, with full authority to act on behalf of the Federal Permit Coordinator. The Federal Permit Coordinator or Regional Permit Coordinators may at any time direct that any Federal agency party to the MOU under subsection

(c)assign additional staff required to implement the duties of the regional offices.

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