Alaska’s Right to Produce Act 2.0

of placing a moratorium on or otherwise suspending or pausing oil and gas leasing in the Coastal Plain shall have no force or effect. (b) Approval and Ratification of Existing Documentation and Authorizations.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Congress-- (1) ratifies and approves all authorizations, permits, verifications, extensions, biological opinions, incidental take statements, and any other approvals or orders issued pursuant to Federal law, as described in the record of decision published by the Bureau of Land Management entitled ``Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Record of Decision'' and dated October 2025, necessary for the establishment and administration of the Coastal Plain oil and gas leasing program; and (2) directs the Secretary, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the heads of other Federal departments and agencies, as applicable, to process, reinstate, or continue to maintain such authorizations, permits, verifications, extensions, biological opinions, incidental take statements, and any other approvals or orders described in paragraph (1). (c) Applicability of Other Law.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the authorizations, permits, verifications, extensions, biological opinions, incidental take statements, and any other approvals or orders described in subsection (b)(1) shall be considered to satisfy the requirements of-- (1) section 1002 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3142); (2) section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)); (3) section 20001 of Public Law 115-97 (16 U.S.C. 3143 note); (4) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); (5) the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.); (6) subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, United States Code; and (7) section 306108 of title 54, United States Code (commonly referred to as the ``National Historic Preservation Act''), on receipt of a resolution of approval of a cultural resources plan with reasonable mitigation measures by the Native Village of Kaktovik. SEC. 5. COASTAL PLAIN OIL AND GAS LEASING PROGRAM. (a) Cancelling a Lease.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President and the Secretary may not cancel a lease issued under the Coastal Plain oil and gas leasing program if the Secretary has previously opened bids for such a lease or disclosed the high bidder for any tract that was included in a lease sale under the Coastal Plain oil and gas leasing program unless the lessee is in violation of the terms of the lease and fails to cure the violation after a reasonable period of time. (b) Judicial Review.-- (1) Judicial preclusion.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law and except as provided in paragraph (2), no court shall have jurisdiction to review any action taken by the Secretary, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, or any other Federal agency, or a State administrative agency or an Indian Tribe (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)) acting pursuant to Federal law, that grants an authorization, permit, verification, biological opinion, incidental take statement, or other approval described in section 4(b) for the Coastal Plain oil and gas leasing program, whether issued prior to, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act, and including any action pending in a court as of that date of enactment. (2) Forum exclusivity.--The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over any claim regarding-- (A) the validity of this section; or (B) the scope of authority conferred by this section. (3) Right to petition.-- (A) In general.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a lease holder may obtain a review of an alleged failure by an agency to act in accordance with section 20001 of Public Law 115-97 (16 U.S.C. 3143 note) or with any law pertaining to the grant of an authorization, permit, verification, biological opinion, incidental take statement, or other approval related to a lease of the lease holder by filing a written petition with a court of competent jurisdiction seeking an order under subparagraph (B). (B) Deadlines.--If a court of competent jurisdiction finds that an agency has failed to act in accordance with section 20001 of Public Law 115-97 (16 U.S.C. 3143 note) or with any law pertaining to the grant of an authorization, permit, verification, biological opinion, incidental take statement, or other approval related to a lease of a lease holder, the court shall set a schedule and deadline for the agency to act as soon as practicable, which shall not exceed 90 days from the date on which the order of the court is issued, unless the court determines a longer time period is necessary to comply with applicable law. SEC. 6. COASTAL PLAIN UNIT AGREEMENTS. (a) Unit Agreements.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations to establish and execute a unit agreement system for the Coastal Plain that is substantially similar to the unit agreement requirements described in section 107(j) of the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6506a(j)), including the need for a public interest determination, production allocation methodology, benefit of operations, and pooling. (b) Consultation.--In making a public interest determination under the unit agreement system established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with-- (1) with respect to the creation or expansion of units that include acreage in which the State of Alaska or a Regional Corporation has an interest in the mineral estate, the State of Alaska or applicable Regional Corporation; and (2) with respect to land usage that would minimize the impact to surface resources and facilitate consolidation of facilities through shared infrastructure, the North Slope Borough. SEC. 7. COASTAL PLAIN EXPLORATION INCENTIVES AND ACTIVITIES. (a) Exploration Incentives.-- (1) Waiver, suspension, or reduction.-- (A) In general.--To encourage the greatest ultimate recovery of oil and gas or in the interest of conservation of the Coastal Plain, the Secretary may waive, suspend, or reduce the rental fees or minimum royalty, or reduce the royalty on an entire leasehold on the Coastal Plain (including on any lease operated pursuant to a unit agreement), whenever the Secretary determines, after consultation with the State of Alaska and the North Slope Borough, and with the concurrence of any Regional Corporation for a lease that includes land that was made available for acquisition by the Regional Corporation pursuant to applicable law, that-- (i) a waiver, suspension, or reduction is necessary to promote development; or (ii) the applicable lease cannot be successfully operated under the applicable terms. (B) Applicability.--Subparagraph (A) shall apply to any lease on the Coastal Plain that is in effect on or after the date of enactment of this Act. (2) Suspension of operations and production.-- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary may, on the request of the lessee, assent to the suspension of operations and production on any lease or unit on the Coastal Plain. (3) Suspension of payments.-- (A) In general.--In the interest of conservation of the Coastal Plain, the Secretary may direct or assent to the suspension of operations and production of any lease or unit on the Coastal Plain. (B) Payments.--If the operations or production of a lease or unit is suspended under subparagraph (A), any payment of acreage rental or minimum royalty prescribed by that lease or unit shall be suspended during the period the lease or unit is suspended. (C) Extension.--If the operations or production of a lease or unit is suspended under subparagraph (A), the term of that lease or unit shall be extended by adding the duration of the suspension period to the term of the lease or unit. (b) Exploration Activities.-- (1) In general.--Any agency of the United States or person authorized by the Secretary may conduct geological and geophysical exploration activities in the Coastal Plain which do not interfere with operations or production under any contract maintained or previously granted. (2) Information.--Any agency of the United States or person authorized by the Secretary carrying out activities described in paragraph (1) shall provide to the Secretary access to, and copies of, all data and information (including processed, analyzed, and interpreted information) obtained from those activities. SEC. 8. NPR-A RULE PROHIBITION. The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, may not take any action to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the final rule of the Bureau of Land Management entitled ``Management and Protection of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska'' (89 Fed. Reg. 38712 (May 7, 2024)), or any substantially similar rule. Calendar No. 678 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 5438 _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To ratify and approve all authorizations, permits, verifications, extensions, biological opinions, incidental take statements, and any other approvals or orders issued pursuant to Federal law necessary for the establishment and administration of the Coastal Plain oil and gas leasing program, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ September 22, 2026 Read the second time and placed on the calendar