THIS SEARCH THIS DOCUMENT GO TO
Next Hit Forward New Bills Search
Prev Hit Back HomePage
Hit List Best Sections Help
Doc Contents
S.2557
National Energy Security Act of 2000 (Placed on the Calendar in the
Senate)
SEC. 415. FINDINGS.
(a) Prior to permanent closure of the geologic repository in Yucca Mountain, Congress
must determine whether the spent fuel in the repository should be treated as waste
subject to permanent burial or should be considered an energy resource that is
needed to meet future energy requirements;
(b) Future use of nuclear
energy may require construction of a second geologic repository unless Yucca Mountain can
safely accommodate additional spent fuel. Improved spent fuel strategies may
increase the capacity of Yucca Mountain.
(c) Prior to construction of any second permanent geologic repository , the nation's current
plans for permanent burial of spent fuel should be reevaluated.
SEC. 416. OFFICE OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL RESEARCH.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT- There is hereby established an Office of Spent Nuclear Fuel Research (referred to as
the `Office' in this section) within the Office of Nuclear Energy Science and Technology
of the Department of Energy. The Office shall be headed by the Associate
Director, who shall be a member of the Senior Executive Service appointed by
the Director of the Office of Nuclear Energy Science and Technology,
and compensated at a rate determined by applicable law.
(b) ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR- The Associate Director of the Office of Spent
Nuclear Fuel Research shall be
responsible for carrying out an integrated research, development, and
demonstration program on technologies for treatment, recycling, and disposal
of high-level nuclear
radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, subject to the general
supervision of the Secretary. The Associate Director of the Office shall
report to the Director of the Office of Nuclear Energy Science and Technology.
The first such Associate Director shall be appointed within 90 days of the
enactment of this Act.
(c) GRANT AND CONTRACT AUTHORITY- In carrying out his responsibilities
under this section, the Secretary may make grants, or enter into contracts,
for the purposes of the research projects and activities described in
(d)(2).
(d)(1) DUTIES- The Associate Director of the Office shall involve national
laboratories, universities, the commercial nuclear industry, and other
organizations to investigate technologies for the treatment, recycling, and
disposal of spent nuclear fuel
and high-level radioactive waste.
(2) The Associate Director of the Office shall:
(A) develop a research plan to provide recommendations by 2015;
(B) identify technologies for the treatment, recycling, and disposal of
spent nuclear fuel and
high-level radioactive waste;
(C) conduct research and development activities on such
technologies;
(D) ensure that all activities include as key objectives minimization of
proliferation concerns and risk to health of the general public or site
workers, as well as development of cost-effective technologies;
(E) require research on both reactor- and accelerator-based
transmutation systems;
(F) require research on advanced processing and separations;
(G) encourage that research efforts include participation of
international collaborators;
(H) be authorized to fund international collaborators when they bring
unique capabilities not available in the United States and their host
country is unable to provide for their support;
(I) ensure that research efforts with the Office are coordinated with
research on advance fuel cycles and reactors conducted within the Office of
Nuclear Energy Science and
Technology.
(e) REPORT- The Associate Director of the Office of Spent Nuclear Fuel Research shall annually
prepare and submit a report to the Congress on the activities and expenditures
of the Office, including the process that has been made to achieve the
objectives of paragraph (b).
Subtitle D--Coal Resources
SEC. 420. COAL GENERATING CAPACITY.
The Secretary of Energy shall examine existing coal-fired power plants and
submit a report to the Congress within six months from the enactment of this
Act on the potential of such plants for increased generation and any
impediments to achieving such increase. The report shall describe, in detail,
options for improving the efficiency of these plants. The report shall include
recommendations for a program of research, development, demonstration, and
commercial application to develop economically and environmentally acceptable
advanced technologies for current electricity generation facilities using coal
as the primary feedstock, including commercial-scale applications of advanced
clean coal technologies. The report shall also include an assessment of the
costs to develop and demonstrate such technologies and the time required to
undertake such development and demonstration.
SEC. 425. COAL LIQUEFACTION.
The Secretary of Energy shall provide grants for the refinement and
demonstration of new technologies for the conversion of coal to liquids. Such
grants shall be for the design and construction of an indirect liquefaction
plant capable of production in commercial quantities. There are authorized to
be appropriated for the purpose of this section such sums as may be necessary
through fiscal year 2004.
TITLE V--ARCTIC COASTAL PLAIN DOMESTIC ENERGY SECURITY ACT OF
2000
SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE
This title may be cited as the `Arctic Coastal Plain Domestic Energy
Security Act of 2000'.
SEC. 502. DEFINITIONS.
When used in this title the term--
(1) `Coastal Plain' means that area identified as such in the map
entitled `Arctic National Wildlife Refuge', dated August 1980, as referenced
in section 1002(b) of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of
1980 (16 U.S.C. 3142(b)(1)) comprising approximately 1,549,000 acres;
and
(2) `Secretary', except as otherwise provided, means the Secretary of
the Interior or the Secretary's designee.
SEC. 503. LEASING PROGRAM FOR LANDS WITHIN THE COASTAL PLAIN.
(a) AUTHORIZATION- The Congress hereby authorizes and directs the
Secretary, acting through the Bureau of Land Management in consultation with
the Fish and Wildlife Service and other appropriate Federal offices and
agencies, to take such actions as are necessary to establish and implement a
competitive oil and gas leasing program that will result in an environmentally
sound program for the exploration, development, and production of the oil and
gas resources of the Coastal Plain and to administer the provisions of this
title through regulations, lease terms, conditions, restrictions,
prohibitions, stipulations, and other provisions that ensure the oil and gas
exploration, development, and production activities on the Coastal Plain will
result in no significant adverse effect on fish and wildlife, their habitat,
subsistence resources, and the environment, and shall require the application
of the best commercially available technology for oil and gas exploration,
development, and production, on all new exploration, development, and
production operations, and whenever practicable, on existing operations, and
in a manner to ensure the receipt of fair market value by the public for the
mineral resources to be leased.
(b) REPEAL- The prohibitions and limitations contained in section 1003 of
the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 3143)
are hereby repealed.
(c) COMPATIBILITY- Congress hereby determines that the oil and gas leasing
program and activities authorized by this section in the Coastal Plain are
compatible with the purposes for which the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was
established, and that no further findings or decisions are required to
implement this determination.
(d) SOLE AUTHORITY- This title shall be the sole authority for leasing on
the Coastal Plain: Provided, That nothing in this title shall be
deemed to expand or limit State and local regulatory authority.
(e) FEDERAL LAND- The Coastal Plain shall be considered `Federal land' for
the purposes of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982.
(f) SPECIAL AREAS- The Secretary, after consultation with the State of
Alaska, City of Kaktovik, and the North Slope Borough, is authorized to
designate up to a total of 45,000 acres of the Coastal Plain as Special Areas
and close such areas to leasing if the Secretary determines that these Special
Areas are of such unique character and interest so as to require special
management and regulatory protection. The Secretary may, however, permit
leasing of all or portions of any Special Areas within the Coastal Plain by
setting lease terms that limit or condition surface use and occupancy by
lessees of such lands but permit the use of horizontal drilling technology
from sites on leases located outside the designated Special Areas.
(g) LIMITATION ON CLOSED AREAS- The Secretary's sole authority to close
lands within the Coastal Plain to oil and gas leasing and to exploration,
development, and production is that set forth in this title.
(h) CONVEYANCE- In order to maximize Federal revenues by removing clouds
on title of lands and clarifying land ownership patterns within the Coastal
Plain, the Secretary, notwithstanding the provisions of section 1302(h)(2) of
the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3192(h)(2)), is
authorized and directed to convey (1) to the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation the
surface estate of the lands described in paragraph 2 of the Public Land Order
6959, to the extent necessary to fulfill the Corporation's entitlement under
section 12 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1611), and
(2) to the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation the subsurface estate beneath
such surface estate pursuant to the August 9, 1983, agreement between the
Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and the United States of America.
SEC. 504. RULES AND REGULATIONS.
(a) PROMULGATION- The Secretary shall prescribe such rules and regulations
as may be necessary to carry out the purposes and provisions of this title,
including rules and regulations relating to protection of the fish and
wildlife, their habitat, subsistence resources, and the environment of the
Coastal Plain. Such rules and regulations shall be promulgated no later than
fourteen months after the date of enactment of this title and shall, as of
their effective date, apply to all operations conducted under a lease issued
or maintained under the provisions of this title and all operations on the
Coastal Plain related to the leasing, exploration, development, and production
of oil and gas.
(b) REVISION OF REGULATIONS- The Secretary shall periodically review and,
if appropriate, revise the rules and regulations issued under subsection (a)
of this section to reflect any significant biological, environmental, or
engineering data which come to the Secretary's attention.
SEC. 505. ADEQUACY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR'S LEGISLATIVE
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.
The `Final Legislative Environmental Impact Statement' (April 1987) on the
Coastal Plain prepared pursuant to section 1002 of the Alaska National
Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 3142) and section 102(2)(C)
of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) is
hereby found by the Congress to be adequate to satisfy the legal and
procedural requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 with
respect to actions authorized to be taken by the Secretary to develop and
promulgate the regulations for the establishment of the leasing program
authorized by this title, to conduct the first lease sale and any subsequent
lease sale authorized by this title, and to grant rights-of-way and easements
to carry out the purposes of this title.
SEC. 506. LEASE SALES.
(a) LEASE SALES- Lands may be leased pursuant to the provisions of this
title to any person qualified to obtain a lease for deposits of oil and gas
under the Mineral Leasing Act, as amended (30 U.S.C. 181).
(b) PROCEDURES- The Secretary shall, by regulation, establish procedures
for--
(1) receipt and consideration of sealed nominations for any area in the
Coastal Plain for inclusion in, or exclusion (as provided in subsection (c))
from, a lease sale; and
(2) public notice of and comment on designation of areas to be included
in, or excluded from, a lease sale.
(c) LEASE SALES ON COASTAL PLAIN- The Secretary shall, by regulation,
provide for lease sales of lands on the Coastal Plain. When lease sales are to
be held, they shall occur after the nomination process provided for in
subsection (b) of this section. For the first lease sale, the Secretary shall
offer for lease those acres receiving the greatest number of nominations, but
no less than two hundred thousand acres and no more than three hundred
thousand acres shall be offered. If the total acreage nominated is less than
two hundred thousand acres, the Secretary shall include in such sale any other
acreage which he believes has the highest resource potential, but in no event
shall more than three hundred thousand acres of the Coastal Plain be offered
in such sale. With respect to subsequent lease sales, the Secretary shall
offer for lease no less than two hundred thousand acres of the Coastal Plain.
The initial lease sale shall be held within twenty months of the date of
enactment of this title. The second lease sale shall be held no later than
twenty-four months after the initial sale, with additional sales conducted no
later than twelve months thereafter so long as sufficient interest in
development exists to warrant, in the Secretary's judgment, the conduct of
such sales.
SEC. 507. GRANT OF LEASES BY THE SECRETARY.
(a) IN GENERAL- The Secretary is authorized to grant to the highest
responsible qualified bidder by sealed competitive cash bonus bid any lands to
be leased on the Coastal Plain upon payment by the lessee of such bonus as may
be accepted by the Secretary and of such royalty as may be fixed in the lease,
which shall be not less then 12 1/2 per centum in amount or value of the
production removed or sold from the lease.
(b) ANTITRUST REVIEW- Following each notice of a proposed lease sale and
before the acceptance of bids and the issuance of leases based on such bids,
the Secretary shall allow the Attorney General, in consultation with the
Federal Trade Commission, thirty days to perform an antitrust review of the
results of such lease sale on the likely effects the issuance of such leases
would have on competition and the Attorney General shall advise the Secretary
with respect to such review, including any recommendation for the
nonacceptance of any bid or the
imposition of terms or conditions on any lease, as may be appropriate to
prevent any situation inconsistent with the antitrust laws.
(c) SUBSEQUENT TRANSFERS- No lease issued under this title may be sold,
exchanged, assigned, sublet, or otherwise transferred except with the approval
of the Secretary. Prior to any such approval the Secretary shall consult with,
and give due consideration to the views of, the Attorney General.
(d) IMMUNITY- Nothing in this title shall be deemed to convey to any
person, association, corporation, or other business organization immunity from
civil or criminal liability, or to create defenses to actions, under any
antitrust law.
(e) DEFINITIONS- As used in this section, the term--
(1) `antitrust review' shall be deemed an `antitrust investigation' for
the purposes of the Antitrust Civil Process Act (15 U.S.C. 1311); and
(2) `antitrust laws' means those Acts set forth in section 1 of the
Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12) as amended.
SEC. 508. LEASE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
An oil or gas lease issued pursuant to this title shall--
(1) be for a tract consisting of a compact area not to exceed five
thousand seven hundred sixty acres, or nine surveyed or protracted sections
which shall be as compact in form as possible;
(2) be for an initial period of ten years and shall be extended for so
long thereafter as oil or gas is produced in paying quantities from the
lease or unit area to which the lease is committed or for so long as
drilling or reworking operations, as approved by the Secretary, are
conducted on the lease or unit area;
(3) require the payment of royalty as provided for in section 507 of
this title;
(4) require that exploration activities pursuant to any lease issued or
maintained under this title shall be conducted in accordance with an
exploration plan or a revision of such plan approved by the Secretary;
(5) require that all development and production pursuant to a lease
issued or maintained pursuant to this title shall be conducted in accordance
with development and production plans approved by the Secretary;
(6) require posting of bond as required by section 509 of this
title;
(7) provide that the Secretary may close, on a seasonal basis, portions
of the Coastal Plain to exploratory drilling activities as necessary to
protect caribou calving areas and other species of fish and wildlife;
(8) contain such provisions relating to rental and other fees as the
Secretary may prescribe at the time of offering the area for lease;
(9) provide that the Secretary may direct or assent to the suspension of
operations and production under any lease granted under the terms of this
title in the interest of conservation of the resource or where there is no
available system to transport the resource. If such a suspension is directed
or assented to by the Secretary, any payment of rental prescribed by such
lease shall be suspended during such period of suspension of operations and
production, and the term of the lease shall be extended by adding any such
suspension period thereto;
(10) provide that whenever the owner of a nonproducing lease fails to
comply with any of the provisions of this Act, or of any applicable
provision of Federal or State environmental law, or of the lease, or of any
regulation issued under this title, such lease may be canceled by the
Secretary if such default continues for more than thirty days after mailing
of notice by registered letter to the lease owner at the lease owner's post
office address of record;
(11) provide that whenever the owner of any producing lease fails to
comply with any of the provisions of this title, or of any applicable
provision of Federal or State environmental law, or of the lease, or of any
regulation issued under this title, such lease may be forfeited and canceled
by any appropriate proceeding brought by the Secretary in any United States
district court having jurisdiction under the provisions of this title;
(12) provide that cancellation of a lease under this title shall in no
way release the owner of the lease from the obligation to provide for
reclamation of the lease site;
(13) allow the lessee, at the discretion of the Secretary, to make
written relinquishment of all rights under any lease issued pursuant to this
title. The Secretary shall accept such relinquishment by the lessee of any
lease issued under this title where there has not been surface disturbance
on the lands covered by the lease;
THIS SEARCH THIS DOCUMENT GO TO
Next Hit Forward New Bills Search
Prev Hit Back HomePage
Hit List Best Sections Help
Doc Contents