S.Amdt. 5252

1. Adds SEC. __. MORATORIUM OF OIL AND GAS LEASING IN CERTAIN AREAS OF GULF OF MEXICO wherever appropriate

   Adds a section

   Inserted: SEC. __. MORATORIUM OF OIL AND GAS LEASING IN CERTAIN AREAS OF GULF OF MEXICO.

   Inserted: (a) In General.--Section 104(a) of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note; Public Law 109-432) is amended--

   Inserted: (1) by striking paragraph (1);

   Inserted: (2) in paragraph (2), by striking "125 miles" and inserting "50 miles";

   Inserted: (3) in paragraph (3), by striking "100 miles" each place it appears and inserting "50 miles"; and

   Inserted: (4) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively.

   Inserted: (b) Regulations.--

   Inserted: (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior shall promulgate regulations that establish appropriate environmental safeguards for the exploration and production of oil and natural gas on the outer Continental Shelf.

   Inserted: (2) Minimum requirements.--At a minimum, the regulations shall include--

   Inserted: (A) provisions requiring surety bonds of sufficient value to ensure the mitigation of any foreseeable incident;

   Inserted: (B) provisions assigning liability to the leaseholder in the event of an incident causing damage or loss, regardless of the negligence of the leaseholder or lack of negligence;

   Inserted: (C) provisions no less stringent than those contained in the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure regulations promulgated under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.);

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   Inserted: (D) provisions ensuring that--

   Inserted: (i) no facility for the exploration or production of resources is visible to the unassisted eye from any shore of any coastal State; and

   Inserted: (ii) the impact of offshore production facilities on coastal vistas is otherwise mitigated;

   Inserted: (E) provisions to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that exploration and production activities will result in no significant adverse effect on fish or wildlife (including habitat), subsistence resources, or the environment; and

   Inserted: (F) provisions that will impose seasonal limitations on activity to protect breeding, spawning, and wildlife migration patterns.

   Inserted: (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 105 of the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006 (Public Law 109-54; 119 Stat. 521) (as amended by section 103(d) of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note; Public Law 109-432)) is amended by inserting "and any other area that the Secretary of the Interior may offer for leasing, preleasing, or any related activity under section 104 of that Act" after "2006)".

   The amendment doesn't say where this goes; the clerk decides.

   Original wording

   At the appropriate place, insert the following:

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As printed