Bill Text: VA SB795 | 2020 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: Offshore drilling; prohibition on leases, policy.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2020-03-25 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0452) [SB795 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2020-SB795-Prefiled.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§28.2-1208, 67-300, and 67-301 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§28.2-1208. Granting easements in, permitting the use of, or leasing the beds of certain waters.
A. The Marine Resources
Commission may, with the approval of the Attorney General and the Governor,
grant easements over or under or lease the beds of the waters of the
Commonwealth outside of the Baylor Survey. Every easement or lease executed
pursuant to this section shall be for a period not to exceed five years, except
in the case of offshore renewable energy leases described in clause (ii), in
which case the period shall not exceed 30 years, and shall specify the rent and
such other terms deemed expedient and proper. Such easements and leases may
include the right to renew the same for an additional period not to exceed five
years. Any lease that authorizes grantees or lessees to (i) prospect for and
take from the bottoms covered thereby, oil, gas, and other
specified minerals and mineral substances;
or (ii) generate electrical energy from wave or tidal action, currents,
offshore winds, or thermal or salinity gradients, and transmit energy from such
sources to shore shall require a royalty. Except for offshore renewable energy
leases, purchase payment for any easement granted to a public service
corporation, certificated telephone company, interstate natural gas company or
provider of cable television or other multichannel video programming service
shall be $100 and shall be for a period of 40 years. However, no easement or
lease shall in any way affect or interfere with the rights vouchsafed to the
people of the Commonwealth concerning fishing, fowling, and the catching and
taking of oysters and other shellfish in and from the leased bottoms or the
waters above.
B. All easements granted and leases made pursuant to this section shall be executed for, and in the name and on behalf of, the Commonwealth by the Attorney General and shall be countersigned by the Governor.
C. All oil, gas and other
minerals mineral
royalties collected from such easements or leases on and after July 1, 2000,
shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the Marine Habitat and
Waterways Improvement Fund. All royalties collected as a result of the
generation or transmission of electrical or compressed air energy from offshore
renewable sources including wave or tidal action, currents, offshore winds, and
thermal or salinity gradients shall be paid into the state treasury and
appropriated to the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium established
pursuant to §67-600.
D. Prior to December 1 of each year, the Commissioner and the Attorney General shall make reports to the General Assembly on all easements and leases executed pursuant to this section during the preceding 12 months.
E. The Commission shall, in cooperation with the Division of Geology and Mineral Resources of the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy and with the assistance of affected state agencies, departments and institutions, including the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium, maintain a State Subaqueous Minerals and Coastal Energy Management Plan that shall supplement the State Minerals Management Plan set forth in §2.2-1157 and the Virginia Energy Plan (§67-200 et seq.). The State Subaqueous Minerals and Coastal Energy Management Plan shall include provisions for (i) the holding of public hearings, (ii) public advertising for competitive bids or proposals for mineral and renewable energy leasing and extraction activities, (iii) preparation of environmental impact reports to be reviewed by the appropriate agency of the Commonwealth, and (iv) review and approval of leases by the Attorney General and the Governor as required by subsection A. The environmental impact reports shall address, but not be limited to:
1. The environmental impact of the proposed activity;
2. Any adverse environmental effects that cannot be avoided if the proposed activity is undertaken;
3. Measures proposed to minimize the impact of the proposed activity;
4. Any alternative to the proposed activity; and
5. Any irreversible environmental changes which would be involved in the proposed activity.
For the purposes of subdivision 4 of this subsection, the report shall contain all alternatives considered and the reasons why the alternatives were rejected. If a report does not set forth alternatives, it shall state why alternatives were not considered.
F. Neither the Commission nor the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy shall grant any lease, easement, or permit allowing on the beds of any waters of the Commonwealth any infrastructure for conveying oil or gas associated with an offshore oil or gas lease in the Atlantic Ocean. For purposes of this section, the term "infrastructure" includes pipelines, gathering systems, processing facilities, storage facilities, and tankers.
§67-300. Offshore wind energy resources.
A. In recognition of
the need for energy independence, it shall be the policy of the Commonwealth to
support federal efforts to:
1. Determine the
extent of oil and natural gas resources 50 miles or more off the Atlantic
shoreline, including appropriate federal funding for such an investigation; and
2. Permit the
production and development of oil and natural gas resources 50 miles or more
off the Atlantic shoreline taking into account the impact on affected
localities, the armed forces of the United States of America, and the
mid-Atlantic regional spaceport.
B. The policy of the
Commonwealth shall further support the inclusion of the Atlantic Planning Areas
in the Minerals Management Service's draft environmental impact statement with
respect to oil and natural gas exploration, production, and development 50
miles or more off the Atlantic shoreline.
C. It shall be is
the policy of the Commonwealth to support federal efforts to examine the
feasibility of offshore wind energy being utilized in an environmentally
responsible fashion.
§67-301. Royalties from offshore natural gas and oil resources.
A. Any revenues and royalties paid to the Commonwealth as a result of any offshore natural gas and oil drilling and exploration shall be deposited in the Virginia Offshore Energy Emergency Response Fund (the Fund) established pursuant to §10.1-2503 until the Fund reaches $50 million. If moneys are withdrawn from the Fund to carry out the provisions of §10.1-2503, all revenues and royalties paid to the Commonwealth as a result of offshore leasing, exploration, development, or production of offshore natural gas and oil shall be deposited in the Fund until a total of $50 million is reestablished.
B. Once
the balance in the Fund reaches the amount of $50 million, any revenues and
royalties paid to the Commonwealth as a result of offshore natural gas and oil
drilling or exploration shall be placed in the general fund,
at the end of each fiscal year.
C. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections A and B, this section shall not be construed as an endorsement by the Commonwealth of offshore natural gas or oil exploration, leasing, drilling, development, or production.