Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy

Executive Order 13795 of April 28, 2017

Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy
Strategy

By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, including the Outer Continental Shelf Lands
Act, 43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq., and in order to maintain
global leadership in energy innovation, exploration,
and production, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Findings. America must put the energy needs
of American families and businesses first and continue
implementing a plan that ensures energy security and
economic vitality for decades to come. The energy and
minerals produced from lands and waters under Federal
management are important to a vibrant economy and to
our national security. Increased domestic energy
production on Federal lands and waters strengthens the
Nation's security and reduces reliance on imported
energy. Moreover, low energy prices, driven by an
increased American energy supply, will benefit American
families and help reinvigorate American manufacturing
and job growth. Finally, because the Department of
Defense is one of the largest consumers of energy in
the United States, domestic energy production also
improves our Nation's military readiness.

Sec. 2. Policy. It shall be the policy of the United
States to encourage energy exploration and production,
including on the Outer Continental Shelf, in order to
maintain the Nation's position as a global energy
leader and foster energy security and resilience for
the benefit of the American people, while ensuring that
any such activity is safe and environmentally
responsible.

Sec. 3. Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy
Strategy. To carry out the policy set forth in section
2 of this order, the Secretary of the Interior shall:

    (a) as appropriate and consistent with applicable
law, including the procedures set forth in section 1344
of title 43, United States Code, in consultation with
the Secretary of Defense, give full consideration to
revising the schedule of proposed oil and gas lease
sales, as described in that section, so that it
includes, but is not limited to, annual lease sales, to
the maximum extent permitted by law, in each of the
following Outer Continental Shelf Planning Areas, as
designated by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
(BOEM) (Planning Areas): Western Gulf of Mexico,
Central Gulf of Mexico, Chukchi Sea, Beaufort Sea, Cook
Inlet, Mid-Atlantic, and South Atlantic;
    (b) ensure that any revisions made pursuant to
subsection (a) of this section do not hinder or affect
ongoing lease sales currently scheduled as part of the
2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing
Proposed Final Program, as published on November 18,
2016; and
    (c) develop and implement, in coordination with the
Secretary of Commerce and to the maximum extent
permitted by law, a streamlined permitting approach for
privately funded seismic data research and collection
aimed at expeditiously determining the offshore energy
resource potential of the United States within the
Planning Areas.

Sec. 4. Responsible Planning for Future Offshore Energy
Potential. (a) The Secretary of Commerce shall, unless
expressly required otherwise, refrain from designating
or expanding any National Marine Sanctuary under the
National Marine Sanctuaries Act, 16 U.S.C. 1431 et
seq., unless the sanctuary designation or expansion
proposal includes a timely, full accounting from the
Department of the Interior of any energy or mineral
resource potential

within the designated area--including offshore energy
from wind, oil, natural gas, methane hydrates, and any
other sources that the Secretary of Commerce deems
appropriate--and the potential impact the proposed
designation or expansion will have on the development
of those resources. The Secretary of the Interior shall
provide any such accounting within 60 days of receiving
a notification of intent to propose any such National
Marine Sanctuary designation or expansion from the
Secretary of Commerce.

    (b) The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with
the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the
Interior, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall
conduct a review of all designations and expansions of
National Marine Sanctuaries, and of all designations
and expansions of Marine National Monuments under the
Antiquities Act of 1906, recently recodified at
sections 320301 to 320303 of title 54, United States
Code, designated or expanded within the 10-year period
prior to the date of this order.

(i) The review under this subsection shall include:

(A) an analysis of the acreage affected and an analysis of the budgetary
impacts of the costs of managing each National Marine Sanctuary or Marine
National Monument designation or expansion;

(B) an analysis of the adequacy of any required Federal, State, and
tribal consultations conducted before the designations or expansions; and

(C) the opportunity costs associated with potential energy and mineral
exploration and production from the Outer Continental Shelf, in addition to
any impacts on production in the adjacent region.

(ii) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Commerce,
in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the
Interior, shall report the results of the review under this subsection to
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Chairman of the
Council on Environmental Quality, and the Assistant to the President for
Economic Policy.

    (c) To further streamline existing regulatory
authorities, Executive Order 13754 of December 9, 2016
(Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience), is hereby
revoked.

Sec. 5. Modification of the Withdrawal of Areas of the
Outer Continental Shelf from Leasing Disposition. The
body text in each of the memoranda of withdrawal from
disposition by leasing of the United States Outer
Continental Shelf issued on December 20, 2016, January
27, 2015, and July 14, 2008, is modified to read, in
its entirety, as follows:

    “Under the authority vested in me as President of
the United States, including section 12(a) of the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1341(a), I
hereby withdraw from disposition by leasing, for a time
period without specific expiration, those areas of the
Outer Continental Shelf designated as of July 14, 2008,
as Marine Sanctuaries under the Marine Protection,
Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, 16 U.S.C. 1431-
1434, 33 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.”
    Nothing in the withdrawal under this section
affects any rights under existing leases in the
affected areas.

Sec. 6. Reconsideration of Notice to Lessees and
Financial Assurance Regulatory Review. The Secretary of
the Interior shall direct the Director of BOEM to take
all necessary steps consistent with law to review
BOEM's Notice to Lessees No. 2016-N01 of September 12,
2016 (Notice to Lessees and Operators of Federal Oil
and Gas, and Sulfur Leases, and Holders of Pipeline
Right-of-Way and Right-of-Use and Easement Grants in
the Outer Continental Shelf), and determine whether
modifications are necessary, and if so, to what extent,
to ensure operator compliance with lease terms while
minimizing unnecessary regulatory burdens. The
Secretary of the Interior shall also review BOEM's
financial assurance regulatory policy to determine the
extent to which additional regulation is necessary.

Sec. 7. Reconsideration of Well Control Rule. The
Secretary of the Interior shall review the Final Rule
of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental

Enforcement (BSEE) entitled “Oil and Gas and Sulfur
Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf-Blowout
Preventer Systems and Well Control,” 81 Fed. Reg.
25888 (April 29, 2016), for consistency with the policy
set forth in section 2 of this order, and shall publish
for notice and comment a proposed rule revising that
rule, if appropriate and as consistent with law. The
Secretary of the Interior shall also take all
appropriate action to lawfully revise any related rules
and guidance for consistency with the policy set forth
in section 2 of this order. Additionally, the Secretary
of the Interior shall review BSEE's regulatory regime
for offshore operators to determine the extent to which
additional regulation is necessary.

Sec. 8. Reconsideration of Proposed Offshore Air Rule.
The Secretary of the Interior shall take all steps
necessary to review BOEM's Proposed Rule entitled “Air
Quality Control, Reporting, and Compliance,” 81 Fed.
Reg. 19718 (April 5, 2016), along with any related
rules and guidance, and, if appropriate, shall, as soon
as practicable and consistent with law, consider
whether the proposed rule, and any related rules and
guidance, should be revised or withdrawn.

Sec. 9. Expedited Consideration of Incidental
Harassment Authorizations, Incidental-Take, and Seismic
Survey Permits. The Secretary of the Interior and the
Secretary of Commerce shall, to the maximum extent
permitted by law, expedite all stages of consideration
of Incidental Take Authorization requests, including
Incidental Harassment Authorizations and Letters of
Authorization, and Seismic Survey permit applications
under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C.
1331 et seq., and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, 16
U.S.C. 1361 et seq.

Sec. 10. Review of National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) Technical Memorandum NMFS-OPR-55.
The Secretary of Commerce shall review NOAA's Technical
Memorandum NMFS-OPR-55 of July 2016 (Technical Guidance
for Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Sound on
Marine Mammal Hearing) for consistency with the policy
set forth in section 2 of this order and, after
consultation with the appropriate Federal agencies,
take all steps permitted by law to rescind or revise
that guidance, if appropriate.

Sec. 11. Review of Offshore Arctic Drilling Rule. The
Secretary of the Interior shall immediately take all
steps necessary to review the Final Rule entitled “Oil
and Gas and Sulfur Operations on the Outer Continental
Shelf--Requirements for Exploratory Drilling on the
Arctic Outer Continental Shelf,” 81 Fed. Reg. 46478
(July 15, 2016), and, if appropriate, shall, as soon as
practicable and consistent with law, publish for notice
and comment a proposed rule suspending, revising, or
rescinding this rule.

Sec. 12. Definition. As used in this order, “Outer
Continental Shelf Planning Areas, as designated by the
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management” means those areas
delineated in the diagrams on pages S-5 and S-8 of the
2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing
Draft Proposed Program, as published by the BOEM in
January 2015, with the exception of any buffer zones
included in such planning documents.

Sec. 13. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.

    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.

    (Presidential Sig.)

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    April 28, 2017.