US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

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[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 42USC6508]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
            CHAPTER 78--NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA
 
Sec. 6508. Competitive leasing of oil and gas

    There shall be conducted, notwithstanding any other provision of law 
and pursuant to such rules and regulations as the Secretary may 
prescribe, an expeditious program of competitive leasing of oil and gas 
in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska: Provided, That (1) 
activities undertaken pursuant to this section shall include or provide 
for such conditions, restrictions, and prohibitions as the Secretary 
deems necessary or appropriate to mitigate reasonably foreseeable and 
significantly adverse effects on the surface resources of the National 
Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (the Reserve); (2) the provisions of section 
202 and section 603 of the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act of 
1976 (90 Stat. 2743) [43 U.S.C. 1712, 1782] shall not be applicable to 
the Reserve; (3) the first lease sale shall be conducted within twenty 
months of December 12, 1980: Provided, That the first lease sale shall 
be conducted only after publication of a final environmental impact 
statement if such is deemed necessary under the provisions of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332); (4) the 
withdrawals established by section 102 of Public Law 94-258 [42 U.S.C. 
6502] are rescinded for the purposes of the oil and gas leasing program 
authorized herein; (5) bidding systems used in lease sales shall be 
based on bidding systems included in section 205(a)(1)(A) through (H) 
\1\ of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978 (92 
Stat. 629) [43 U.S.C. 1337(a)(1)(A)-(H)]; (6) lease tracts may encompass 
identified geological structures; (7) the size of lease tracts may be up 
to sixty thousand acres, as determined by the Secretary; (8) each lease 
shall be issued for an initial period of ten years, and shall be 
extended for so long thereafter as oil or gas is produced from the lease 
in paying quantities, or as drilling or reworking operations, as 
approved by the Secretary, are conducted thereon; (9) for purposes of 
conservation of the natural resources of any oil or gas pool, field, or 
like area, or any part thereof, lessees thereof and their 
representatives are authorized to unite with each other, or jointly or 
separately with others, in collectively adopting and operating under a 
unit agreement for such pool, field, or like area, or any part thereof 
(whether or not any other part of said oil or gas pool, field, or like 
area is already subject to any cooperative or unit plan of development 
or operation), whenever determined by the Secretary to be necessary or 
advisable in the public interest. Drilling, production, and well 
reworking operations performed in accordance with a unit agreement shall 
be deemed to be performed for the benefit of all leases that are subject 
in whole or in part to such unit agreement. When separate tracts cannot 
be independently developed and operated in conformity with an 
established well spacing or development program, any lease, or a portion 
thereof, may be pooled with other lands, whether or not owned by the 
United States, under a communitization or drilling agreement providing 
for an apportionment of production or royalties among the separate 
tracts of land comprising the drilling or spacing unit when determined 
by the Secretary of the Interior to be in the public interest, and 
operations or production pursuant to such an agreement shall be deemed 
to be operations or production as to each such lease committed thereto; 
(10) to encourage the greatest ultimate recovery of oil or gas or in the 
interest of conservation the Secretary is authorized to waive, suspend, 
or reduce the rental, or minimum royalty, or reduce the royalty on an 
entire leasehold, including on any lease operated pursuant to a unit 
agreement, whenever in his judgment the leases cannot be successfully 
operated under the terms provided therein. The Secretary is authorized 
to direct or assent to the suspension of operations and production on 
any lease or unit. In the event the Secretary, in the interest of 
conservation, shall direct or assent to the suspension of operations and 
production on any lease or unit, any payment of acreage rental or 
minimum royalty prescribed by such lease or unit likewise shall be 
suspended during the period of suspension of operations and production, 
and the term of such lease shall be extended by adding any such 
suspension period thereto; and (11) all receipts from sales, rentals, 
bonuses, and royalties on leases issued pursuant to this section shall 
be paid into the Treasury of the United States: Provided, That 50 
percent thereof shall be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury 
semiannually, as soon thereafter as practicable after March 30 and 
September 30 each year, to the State of Alaska for: (A) planning; (B) 
construction, maintenance, and operation of essential public facilities; 
and (C) other necessary provisions of public service: Provided further, 
That in the allocation of such funds, the State shall give priority to 
use by subdivisions of the State most directly or severely impacted by 
development of oil and gas leased under this section.
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    \1\ See References in Text note below.
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    Any agency of the United States and any person authorized by the 
Secretary may conduct geological and geophysical explorations in the 
National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska which do not interfere with 
operations under any contract maintained or granted previously. Any 
information acquired in such explorations shall be subject to the 
conditions of 43 U.S.C. 1352(a)(1)(A).
    Any action seeking judicial review of the adequacy of any program or 
site-specific environmental impact statement under section 102 of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) concerning 
oil and gas leasing in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska shall be 
barred unless brought in the appropriate District Court within 60 days 
after notice of the availability of such statement is published in the 
Federal Register.
    The detailed environmental studies and assessments that have been 
conducted on the exploration program and the comprehensive land-use 
studies carried out in response to sections 105(b) and (c) of Public Law 
94-258 [42 U.S.C. 6505(b), (c)] shall be deemed to have fulfilled the 
requirements of section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy 
Act (Public Law 91-190) [42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)], with regard to the first 
two oil and gas lease sales in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska: 
Provided, That not more than a total of 2,000,000 acres may be leased in 
these two sales: Provided further, That any exploration or production 
undertaken pursuant to this section shall be in accordance with section 
104(b) of the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 (90 Stat. 
304; 42 U.S.C. 6504).

(Pub. L. 96-514, title I, Sec. 100, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2964; Pub. 
L. 98-620, title IV, Sec. 402(41), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3360; Pub. L. 
105-83, title I, Sec. 128, Nov. 14, 1997, 111 Stat. 1568.)

                       References in Text

    This section, referred to in first par., was in the original ``this 
Act'', meaning Pub. L. 96-514, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2957, known as 
the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 
1981. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.
    Subpar. (H) of section 205(a)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf 
Lands Act Amendments of 1978, referred to in first par., was 
redesignated subpar. (I) of section 205(a)(1), and a new subpar. (H) was 
added by Pub. L. 104-58, title III, Sec. 303, Nov. 28, 1995, 109 Stat. 
565.
    The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, referred to in text, 
is Pub. L. 91-190, Jan. 1, 1970, 83 Stat. 852, as amended, which is 
classified generally to chapter 55 (Sec. 4321 et seq.) of this title. 
For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title 
note set out under section 4321 of this title and Tables.

                          Codification

    Section was enacted as part of the Department of the Interior and 
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1981, and not as part of the Naval 
Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 which comprises this chapter.


                               Amendments

    1997--Pub. L. 105-83, in first par., substituted cls. (8) to (11) 
and two concluding provisos for ``(8) each lease shall be issued for an 
initial period of up to ten years, and shall be extended for so long 
thereafter as oil or gas is produced from the lease in paying 
quantities, or as drilling or reworking operations, as approved by the 
Secretary, are conducted thereon; and (9) all receipts from sales, 
rentals, bonuses, and royalties on leases issued pursuant to this 
section shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States: Provided, 
That 50 per centum thereof shall be paid by the Secretary of the 
Treasury semiannually, as soon as practicable after March 30 and 
September 30 each year, to the State of Alaska for (a) planning, (b) 
construction, maintenance, and operation of essential public facilities, 
and (c) other necessary provisions of public service: Provided further, 
That in the allocation of such funds, the State shall give priority to 
use by subdivisions of the State most directly or severely impacted by 
development of oil and gas leased under this section.''
    1984--Pub. L. 98-620 struck out provision in third par. that 
required that any proceeding on such action be assigned for hearing at 
the earliest possible date and be expedited by the Court.


                    Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 98-620 not applicable to cases pending on Nov. 
8, 1984, see section 403 of Pub. L. 98-620, set out as an Effective Date 
note under section 1657 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.