A bill to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (P.L. 83-212), as amended, to provide that the Secretary of the Interior give equal consideration in making leasing decisions to the potential for environmental damage and the potential for adverse impact on the coastal zone, and for other purposes.
Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to give equal weight in making oil and gas leasing decisions to the potential for environmental damage, potential for the discovery of oil and gas, and the potential for adverse impact on the coastal zone. (Currently, the Secretary is to strike the proper balance between the three.)
Requires the Secretary and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating to require the use of the best available and safest technologies and operating procedures on all new drilling and production operations and, wherever practicable, on existing operations wherever failure of equipment or procedures would have significant effect on safety, health, or the environment.
Referred to Subcommittee on Mining, Forest Management and Bonneville Power Administration.