H.R. 3041

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3041 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3041

To direct the executive agencies to ensure continuity of certain 
federal permits that are required to develop the nation's offshore 
energy resources.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 28, 2025

Mr. Hunt introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To direct the executive agencies to ensure continuity of certain 
federal permits that are required to develop the nation's offshore 
energy resources.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This bill may be cited as the ``Regulatory Integrity for Gulf 
Energy Development Act of 2025'' or the ``RIGED Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

For the purposes of this Act:
(a) Offshore Energy Resource Development refers to oil and gas 
leasing, exploration, and production activities conducted on the Outer 
Continental Shelf, as defined in Section 2 of the Outer Continental 
Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331).
(b) Secretary refers to the Secretaries of the Interior and/or 
Commerce.
(c) Administrator refers to the Administrator or Acting 
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
(NOAA).

SEC. 3. CONTINUITY OF PERMITS FOR OFFSHORE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT.

(a) Federal Permits for Oil and Gas Leasing.--Section 8 of the 
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
``(q) Continuity of Federal Permits.--If a previously issued permit 
under this Act is required for offshore oil and gas production and has 
expired, the Secretary shall, to the extent of his or her authority, 
ensure that all terms, conditions, and requirements of the expired 
permit remain in effect for any permittee previously covered under the 
permit, as well as any similarly situated new or prospective permittee, 
until a new permit is finalized and issued. In determining the 
equivalence of, or applicability to, new or prospective permittees, the 
Secretary shall consider consistency with applicable federal laws, 
federal regulations, and the protection of human life and the 
environment.
``(1) In carrying out subsection (q), the Secretary is 
authorized and directed to coordinate with any other Federal 
agency having jurisdiction over an expiring or expired permit 
to ensure that the terms, conditions, and requirements of such 
permit remain in effect, consistent with applicable laws and 
regulations.
``(A) To facilitate the coordination required under 
paragraph (1), the Secretary may establish joint agency 
working groups composed of representatives from 
relevant Federal agencies. These working groups shall 
be responsible for ensuring interagency collaboration, 
streamlining permit continuity processes, and 
maintaining compliance with applicable environmental 
and regulatory requirements.
``(B) Establishment of joint agency working groups 
pursuant to this subsection shall be notified to 
Congress and the President no later than 15 days 
following establishment of the working group's 
creation. Notification shall include:
``(i) The names and titles of the Federal 
officials serving on the working group;
``(ii) The scope, objectives, and intended 
outcomes of the working group; and
``(iii) An estimated duration of the 
working group's activities, expressed in 
days.''.
(b) Federal Permits for Oil and Gas Production.--Section 402(a) of 
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342(a)) is amended 
by inserting before the period at the end the following:
``(6) If the Administrator is in the process of issuing a 
new permit under this subsection that covers multiple 
permittees with similar operations and types of discharges, and 
the new permit is reasonably similar to an expired permit 
covering such permittees, the Administrator shall continue to 
apply the same terms, conditions, and requirements as the 
expired permit to both existing and prospective permittees, 
until the new permit is issued.''.
(c) Continuity of Federal Biological Opinions.--For purposes of the 
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's National Outer Continental Shelf 
Oil and Gas Leasing Program, compliance with the Biological Opinion on 
Federally Regulated Oil and Gas Program Activities in the Gulf of 
Mexico, issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service on March 13, 
2020, and amended on April 24, 2021, shall be deemed compliance with 
all applicable requirements of the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1361 et 
seq.), until the Secretary of the Interior or Secretary of Commerce 
approves a new biological opinion under their respective authorities 
pursuant to those Acts or any other applicable federal law, superseding 
the existing opinion and establishing new compliance obligations.
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