Sec. 515. Exploration plans
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Section 11(a)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1340(a)(1) ) is amended by striking unduly harmful to and inserting likely to harm . Section 11(c)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1340(c)(1) ), is amended— by inserting
(A)before the first sentence; in paragraph (1)(A), as designated by the amendment made by paragraph
(1)of this subsection— by striking and the provisions of such lease and inserting the provisions of such lease, and other applicable environmental and natural resource conservation laws ; and by striking the fourth sentence and inserting the following: The Secretary shall approve such plan, as submitted or modified, within 90 days after its submission and it is made publicly accessible by the Secretary, or within such additional time as the Secretary determines is necessary to complete any environmental, safety, or other reviews, if the Secretary determines that— any proposed activity under such plan is not likely to result in any condition described in section 5(a)(2)(A)(i); the plan complies with other applicable environmental or natural resource conservation laws; and the applicant has demonstrated the capability and technology to respond immediately and effectively to a worst-case oil spill in real-world conditions in the area of the proposed activity. ; and by adding at the end the following: If the Secretary requires greater than 90 days to review an exploration plan submitted pursuant to any oil and gas lease issued or maintained under this Act, then the Secretary may provide for a suspension of that lease pursuant to section 5 until the review of the exploration plan is completed. . Section 11(c) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1340(c) ) is amended by amending paragraph
(3)to read as follows: An exploration plan submitted under this subsection shall include, in the degree of detail that the Secretary may by regulation require— a schedule of anticipated exploration activities to be undertaken; a detailed and accurate description of equipment to be used for such activities, including— a description of each drilling unit; a statement of the design and condition of major safety-related pieces of equipment, including independent third-party certification of such equipment; and a description of any new technology to be used; a map showing the location of each well to be drilled; a scenario for the potential blowout of the well involving the highest potential volume of liquid hydrocarbons, along with a complete description of a response plan to both control the blowout and manage the accompanying discharge of hydrocarbons, including the likelihood for surface intervention to stop the blowout, the availability of a rig to drill a relief well, an estimate of the time it would take to drill a relief well, a description of other technology that may be used to regain control of the well or capture escaping hydrocarbons and the potential timeline for using that technology for its intended purpose, and the strategy, organization, and resources necessary to avoid harm to the environment and human health from hydrocarbons; an analysis of the potential impacts of the worst-case-scenario discharge of hydrocarbons on the marine, coastal, and human environments for activities conducted pursuant to the proposed exploration plan; and such other information deemed pertinent by the Secretary. . Section 11(d) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1340(d) ) is amended to read as follows: The Secretary shall, by regulation, require that any lessee operating under an approved exploration plan obtain a permit prior to drilling any well in accordance with such plan, and prior to any significant modification of the well design as originally approved by the Secretary. The Secretary may not grant any drilling permit or modification of the permit prior to completion of a full engineering review of the well system, including a determination that critical safety systems, including blowout prevention, will utilize best available technology and that blowout prevention systems will include redundancy and remote triggering capability. The Secretary shall not grant any drilling permit or modification of the permit prior to completion of a safety and environmental management plan to be utilized by the operator during all well operations. . Section 11(g) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1340(g) ) is amended— by striking shall be issued and inserting may be issued ; by inserting and after consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, after in accordance with regulations issued by the Secretary ; by striking the and at the end of paragraph (2); in paragraph (3), by striking will not be unduly harmful to and inserting is not likely to harm ; by striking the period at the end of paragraph
(3)and inserting a semicolon; and by adding at the end the following: the exploration will be conducted in accordance with other applicable environmental and natural resource conservation laws; in the case of geophysical surveys, the applicant shall use the best available technologies and methods to minimize impacts on marine life; and in the case of drilling operations, the applicant has available oil spill response and clean-up equipment and technology that has been demonstrated to be capable of effectively remediating a worst-case release of oil. . Section 11 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1340 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: The Secretary shall treat the approval of an exploration plan, or a significant revision of such a plan, as an agency action requiring preparation of an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and shall require that such plan be based on the best available technology to ensure safety in carrying out both the drilling of the well and any oil spill response. The Secretary shall disapprove an exploration plan if the Secretary determines, because of exceptional geological conditions in the lease areas, exceptional resource values in the marine or coastal environment, or other exceptional circumstances, that— implementation of the plan would probably cause serious harm or damage to life (including fish and other aquatic life), to property, to any mineral deposits (in areas leased or not leased), to the national security or defense, or to the marine, coastal, or human environments; the threat of harm or damage will not disappear or decrease to an acceptable extent within a reasonable period of time; and the advantages of disapproving the plan outweigh the advantages of exploration. If a plan is disapproved under this subsection, the Secretary may cancel such lease in accordance with subsection (c)(1) of this section. .
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