article: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Gasoline Price Reduction and Refinery Tax Fairness Act of 2004''. SEC. 2. POLICY. It is the policy of the United States to take all actions necessary in the areas of conservation, efficiency, alternative sources, technology development, and domestic production to reduce the United States dependence on foreign energy sources by January 1, 2014, to 45 percent of the Nation's total energy needs. SEC. 3. OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION DEFINED. Section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1362) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(24) Oil and gas exploration and production.--The term `oil and gas exploration, production, processing, or treatment operations or transmission facilities' means all field activities or operations associated with exploration, production, processing, or treatment operations, or transmission facilities, including activities necessary to prepare a site for drilling and for the movement and placement of drilling equipment, whether or not such field activities or operations may be considered to be construction activities.''. SEC. 4. OFFICE OF FEDERAL ENERGY PROJECT COORDINATION. (a) Establishment.--The President shall establish the Office of Federal Energy Project Coordination (referred to in this section as the ``Office'') within the Executive Office of the President in the same manner and with the same mission as the White House Energy Projects Task Force established by Executive Order No. 13212 (42 U.S.C. 13201 note). (b) Staffing.--The Office shall be staffed by functional experts from relevant Federal agencies on a nonreimbursable basis to carry out the mission of the Office. (c) Report.--The Office shall transmit an annual report to Congress that describes the activities put in place to coordinate and expedite Federal decisions on energy projects. The report shall list accomplishments in improving the Federal decisionmaking process and shall include any additional recommendations or systemic changes needed to establish a more effective and efficient Federal permitting process. SEC. 5. FEDERAL ONSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING AND PERMITTING PRACTICES. (a) Review of Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Practices.-- (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to National Forest System lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture, shall perform an internal review of current Federal onshore oil and gas leasing and permitting practices. (2) Inclusions.--The review shall include the process for-- (A) accepting or rejecting offers to lease; (B) administrative appeals of decisions or orders of officers or employees of the Bureau of Land Management with respect to a Federal oil or gas lease; (C) considering surface use plans of operation, including the timeframes in which the plans are considered, and any recommendations for improving and expediting the process; and (D) identifying stipulations to address site- specific concerns and conditions, including those stipulations relating to the environment and resource use conflicts. (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall transmit a report to Congress that describes-- (1) actions taken under section 3 of Executive Order No. 13212 (42 U.S.C. 13201 note); and (2) actions taken or any plans to improve the Federal onshore oil and gas leasing program. SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT OF FEDERAL OIL AND GAS LEASING PROGRAMS. (a) Timely Action on Leases and Permits.--To ensure timely action on oil and gas leases and applications for permits to drill on land otherwise available for leasing, the Secretary of the Interior (in this section referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall-- (1) ensure expeditious compliance with section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)); (2) improve consultation and coordination with the States and the public; and (3) improve the collection, storage, and retrieval of information relating to the leasing activities. (b) Best Management Practices.-- (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop and implement best management practices to-- (A) improve the administration of the onshore oil and gas leasing program under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.); and (B) ensure timely action on oil and gas leases and applications for permits to drill on lands otherwise available for leasing. (2) Considerations.--In developing the best management practices under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider any recommendations from the review under section 5. (3) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the development of best management practices under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall publish, for public comment, proposed regulations that set forth specific timeframes for processing leases and applications in accordance with the practices, including deadlines for-- (A) approving or disapproving resource management plans and related documents, lease applications, and surface use plans; and (B) related administrative appeals. (c) Improved Enforcement.--The Secretary shall improve inspection and enforcement of oil and gas activities, including enforcement of terms and conditions in permits to drill. (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to amounts authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226), there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2008-- (1) $40,000,000 to carry out subsections (a) and (b); and (2) $20,000,000 to carry out subsection (c). SEC. 7. CONSULTATION REGARDING OIL AND GAS LEASING ON PUBLIC LAND. (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall enter into a memorandum of understanding regarding oil and gas leasing on-- (1) public lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior; and (2) National Forest System lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture. (b) Contents.--The memorandum of understanding shall include provisions that-- (1) establish administrative procedures and lines of authority that ensure timely processing of oil and gas lease applications, surface use plans of operation, and applications for permits to drill, including steps for processing surface use plans and applications for permits to drill consistent with the timelines established by the amendment made by section 10; (2) eliminate duplication of effort by providing for coordination of planning and environmental compliance efforts; and (3) ensure that lease stipulations are-- (A) applied consistently; (B) coordinated between agencies; and (C) only as restrictive as necessary to protect the resource for which the stipulations are applied. (c) Data Retrieval System.-- (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a joint data retrieval system that is capable of-- (A) tracking applications and formal requests made in accordance with procedures of the Federal onshore oil and gas leasing program; and (B) providing information regarding the status of the applications and requests within the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture. (2) Resource mapping.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a joint Geographic Information System mapping system for use in-- (A) tracking surface resource values to aid in resource management; and (B) processing surface use plans of operation and applications for permits to drill. SEC. 8. ESTIMATES OF OIL AND GAS RESOURCES UNDERLYING ONSHORE FEDERAL LAND. (a) Assessment.--Section 604 of the Energy Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 6217) is amended-- (1) in subsection (a)-- (A) in paragraph (1)-- (i) by striking ``reserve''; and (ii) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon; and (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following: ``(2) the extent and nature of any restrictions or impediments to the development of the resources, including-- ``(A) impediments to the timely granting of leases; ``(B) post-lease restrictions, impediments, or delays on development for conditions of approval, applications for permits to drill, or processing of environmental permits; and ``(C) permits or restrictions associated with transporting the resources for entry into commerce; and ``(3) the quantity of resources not produced or introduced into commerce because of the restrictions.''; (2) in subsection (b)-- (A) by striking ``reserve'' and inserting ``resource''; and (B) by striking ``publically'' and inserting ``publicly''; and (3) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following: ``(d) Assessments.--Using the inventory, the Secretary of Energy shall make periodic assessments of economically recoverable resources accounting for a range of parameters such as current costs, commodity prices, technology, and regulations.''. (b) Methodology.--The Secretary of the Interior shall use the same assessment methodology across all geological provinces, areas, and regions in preparing and issuing national geological assessments to ensure accurate comparisons of geological resources. SEC. 9. COMPLIANCE WITH EXECUTIVE ORDER 13211; ACTIONS CONCERNING REGULATIONS THAT SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT ENERGY SUPPLY, DISTRIBUTION, OR USE. (a) Requirement.--The head of each Federal agency shall require that before the Federal agency takes any action that could have a significant adverse effect on the supply of domestic energy resources from Federal public land, the Federal agency taking the action shall comply with Executive Order No. 13211 (42 U.S.C. 13201 note). (b) Guidance.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall publish guidance for purposes of this section describing what constitutes a significant adverse effect on the supply of domestic energy resources under Executive Order No. 13211 (42 U.S.C. 13201 note). (c) Memorandum of Understanding.--The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall include in the memorandum of understanding under section 7 provisions for implementing subsection (a) of this section. SEC. 10. DEADLINE FOR CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATIONS FOR PERMITS. Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(p) Deadlines for Consideration of Applications for Permits.-- ``(1) In general.--Not later than 10 days after the date on which the Secretary receives an application for any permit to drill, the Secretary shall-- ``(A) notify the applicant that the application is complete; or ``(B) notify the applicant that information is missing and specify any information that is required to be submitted for the application to be complete. ``(2) Issuance or deferral.--Not later than 30 days after the applicant for a permit has submitted a complete application, the Secretary shall-- ``(A) issue the permit; or ``(B)(i) defer decision on the permit; and ``(ii) provide to the applicant a notice that specifies any steps that the applicant could take for the permit to be issued. ``(3) Requirements for deferred applications.-- ``(A) In general.--If the Secretary provides notice under paragraph (2)(B)(ii), the applicant shall have a period of 2 years from the date of receipt of the notice in which to complete all requirements specified by the Secretary, including providing information needed for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). ``(B) Issuance of decision on permit.--If the applicant completes the requirements within the period specified in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall issue a decision on the permit not later than 10 days after the date of completion of the requirements described in subparagraph (A). ``(C) Denial of permit.--If the applicant does not complete the requirements within the period specified in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall deny the permit. ``(q) Report.--On a quarterly basis, each field office of the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service shall transmit to the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, respectively, a report that-- ``(1) specifies the number of applications for permits to drill received by the field office in the period covered by the report; and ``(2) describes how each of the applications was disposed of by the field office.''. SEC. 11. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS. In issuing any rule or order relating to gasoline production and distribution, a Federal agency shall include a detailed analysis of the effects the rule or order would have on gasoline supply. Each Federal agency shall seek to ensure that no such rule or order is issued that will increase United States dependence on foreign sources of oil. SEC. 12. ACCELERATED DEPRECIATION FOR REFINERY MACHINERY. (a) In General.--Subparagraph (B) of section 168(e)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to classification of property) is amended by striking ``and'' at the end of clause (v), by striking the period at the end of clause (vi) and inserting ``, and'', and by adding at the end the following new clause: ``(vii) any refinery machinery.''. (b) Alternative System.--The table contained in section 168(g)(3)(B) of such Code is amended by inserting after the item relating to subparagraph (B)(iii) the following new item: ``(B)(vii).................................................. 10''. (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall apply to property placed in service after December 31, 2004. SEC. 13. REFINERY PERMITTING PROCESS. Each Federal agency with authority to approve or disapprove actions affecting the siting or operation of United States refineries shall, within 180 days after receiving an application for such approval, either provide the approval or notify the applicant of the reasons for rejection along with an explanation of what steps would be necessary to obtain approval.
summary: Gasoline Price Reduction and Refinery Tax Fairness Act of 2004 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to define "oil and gas exploration, production, processing, or treatment operations or transmission facilities" as all field activities or operations associated with exploration, production, processing, or treatment operations, or transmission facilities, including activities necessary to prepare a site for drilling and for the movement and placement of drilling equipment, whether or not such field activities or operations may be considered to be construction activities. Directs the President to establish the Office of Federal Energy Project Coordination (Office) within the Executive Office of the President. Instructs the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) perform an internal review of Federal onshore oil and gas leasing and permitting practices; and (2) implement certain best management practices to ensure timely action on oil and gas leases and applications for permits to drill on lands otherwise available for leasing. Directs the Secretaries of the Interior and of Agriculture to: (1) enter into a prescribed Memorandum of Understanding regarding oil and gas leasing on public lands; and (2) establish a joint data retrieval system and a joint Geographic Information System mapping system. Amends the Energy Act of 2000 to require the Secretary of the Interior's inventory of all Federal onshore lands to identify restrictions or impediments to oil and gas resource development of such lands. Directs each Federal agency head to require the agency, before it takes action that could have a significant adverse effect on the supply of domestic energy resources from Federal public land, to act in compliance with a certain Executive Order that identifies actions to expedite energy-related projects. Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to set a deadline for expeditious consideration of applications for permits for oil and gas leases. Requires a Federal agency, in issuing any rule or order relating to gasoline production and distribution, to include a detailed analysis of the effects the rule or order would have on gasoline supply and seek to ensure that no rule or order is issued that will increase U.S. dependence on foreign sources of oil. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for accelerated depreciation for refinery machinery. Requires each Federal agency with the authority to do so to approve or disapprove (with specified explanations) within 180 days of its receipt any application for approval of an action affecting the siting or operation of U.S. refineries.