PACMESA

This Act may be cited as the “Pacific Minerals Economic Security Act” or “PACMESA”.

(a) Requirements for certain leases issued under Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.— Section 8(k) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(k)) is amended—

(1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (6);

(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:

“(2) No royalty relief.— The Secretary may not reduce, suspend, waive, eliminate, or otherwise exempt from payment any cash bonus, rental, royalty, or other amount due for a lease issued under paragraph (1) for a covered area of the outer Continental Shelf.

(3) Security.—

(A) Initial surety bond.— The Secretary may not issue a lease under paragraph (1) for a covered area of the outer Continental Shelf unless and until the prospective lessee provides to the Secretary a surety bond (or other form of security or financial assurance, as the Secretary determines appropriate) of not less than $100,000 to cover the lessee’s obligations under the lease.

(B) Supplemental surety bond.— The Secretary may not approve a plan authorizing production activities pursuant to a lease issued under paragraph (1) for a covered area of the outer Continental Shelf unless and until the lessee provides to the Secretary a supplemental surety bond (or other form of security or financial assurance, as the Secretary determines appropriate) of an amount determined by the Secretary based on—

(i) the financial health of the lessee;

(ii) the financial ability of the lessee to cover obligations of the lease;

(iii) the estimated cost of decommissioning; and

(iv) the estimated cost of environmental restoration of area subject to the lease.

(C) Adjustment of supplemental surety bond.—

(i) In general.— If the cumulative potential obligations and liabilities of a lease under paragraph (1) for a covered area either increase or decrease, the Secretary may adjust the amount of supplemental financial assurance required.

(ii) Responsibility.— An adjustment under clause (i) may be made—

(I) independently by the Secretary; or

(II) at the discretion of the Secretary at the request of the lessee.

(4) Study.—

(A) In general.— Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of the Pacific Minerals Economic Security Act, the Secretary shall conduct a study on potential environmental impact mitigation methods for the different kinds of seabed mining being considered in the waters adjacent to covered territories.

(B) Contents.— The study required under subparagraph (A) shall include—

(i) which potential activities could be employed to mitigate the environmental impacts of seabed mining; and

(ii) the potential costs of each different kind of mitigation activity considered.

(C) Consultation.— In conducting the study under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall make reasonable efforts to consult with Northern Marianas College, the University of Guam, and American Samoa Community College.

(D) Submission.— The completed study under subparagraph (A) shall be submitted to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.

(5) Revenue sharing for certain leases.—

(A) In general.— Notwithstanding section 9 and subsection (m) of this section, beginning in fiscal year 2027 and for each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary shall deposit—

(i) 50 percent of all covered leasing revenues in the general fund of the Treasury; and

(ii) 50 percent of all covered leasing revenues in a special account in the Treasury from which the Secretary shall disburse such covered leasing revenues to the covered territories a point on the coastline of which is located within 200 nautical miles of the geographic center of the applicable leased tract, to be allocated in amounts (based on a formula established by the Secretary by regulation) that are inversely proportional to the respective distances between the point on the coastline of each such covered territory that is closest to the geographic center of the applicable leased tract and the geographic center of the applicable leased tract.

(B) Minimum allocation.— For each applicable leased tract, the amount allocated under subparagraph (A)(ii) to each covered territory satisfying the distance requirement under that subparagraph with respect to that tract shall be at least 10 percent of the covered leasing revenues attributable to such tract that are available for allocation to covered territories under that subparagraph.

(C) Use of amounts.— Each covered territory shall use all amounts received pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii) only for—

(i) coastal restoration activities;

(ii) the development and maintenance of infrastructure, including energy infrastructure;

(iii) environmental mitigation activities; or

(iv) fiscal stabilization or debt reduction.

(D) Administration.— Amounts made available pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii) shall—

(i) be made available, without further appropriation, in accordance with this paragraph;

(ii) remain available until expended; and

(iii) be in addition to any amounts otherwise appropriated under any other provision of law.”; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

“(7) Definitions.— In this subsection:

(A) Covered area of the outer Continental Shelf.— The term covered area of the Outer Continental Shelf means an area on the Outer Continental Shelf that is adjacent to a covered territory.

(B) Covered leasing revenues.— The term covered leasing revenues—

(i) means all cash bonuses, rentals, royalties, and other amounts paid to the Secretary for or under a lease issued under paragraph (1) for a covered area of the outer Continental Shelf; and

(ii) does not include any cash bonus, rental, royalty, or other amount generated from such a lease subject to section 8(g).

(C) Covered territory.— The term covered territory means—

(i) Guam;

(ii) American Samoa; and

(iii) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.”.

(b) Notice.—

(1) In general.— With respect to any prospecting, testing, delineation, production plan, or permit application submitted pursuant to this Act or an amendment made by this Act that would require a consistency review under the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall, immediately upon submission of such plan, provide to the Governor of each adjacent covered territory notice of the plan.

(2) Environmental review.— In the case of a plan described in paragraph (1) requiring an environmental assessment, the Secretary of the Interior shall invite the Governor of each adjacent covered territory to review and provide comments regarding the proposed activities and include a specified period of time for the applicable Governor to provide such comments.

(3) Adjacent covered territory defined.— In this subsection, the term adjacent covered territory means a covered territory (as defined in section 8(k) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, as amended by this Act) that is adjacent to an area of the Outer Continental Shelf to which a plan described in paragraph (1) applies.