Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) Provisions in P.L. 115-97, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
link to page 1 
Updated February 21, 2018
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) Provisions in
P.L. 115-97, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (P.L. 115-97), enacted in
decades-long congressional debate over whether to
December 2017, included provisions establishing an oil and
authorize development of the Coastal Plain’s mineral
gas program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
resources or to continue prohibiting development to protect
(ANWR or the Refuge). ANWR consists of 19 million
biological and subsistence values.
acres in northeast Alaska, administered by the Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS) in the Department of the Interior
The ANWR provisions in P.L. 115-97 responded to a
(Figure 1). Initially established as a national wildlife range
reconciliation instruction to the Senate Committee on
in 1960, the area was expanded and established as a refuge
Energy and Natural Resources in the FY2018 concurrent
by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of
resolution on the budget (H.Con.Res. 71). The committee
1980 (ANILCA; 16 U.S.C. §§668dd note, 3141 et seq.).
was instructed to report changes in laws within its
ANILCA designated a portion of the Refuge as wilderness
jurisdiction to reduce the deficit by not less than $1 billion
and, in Section 1002, required a study of another portion—
for the FY2018-FY2027 period. The Congressional Budget
the 1.57-million-acre Coastal Plain (also referred to as the
Office (CBO) estimated that the ANWR provisions in Title
1002 Area)—to assess its wildlife and potential impacts of
II of the law, along with other oil and gas provisions in that
oil and gas development. The Coastal Plain is viewed as an
title, would increase net offsetting receipts by about $1.1
onshore oil prospect, with a 2005 mean estimate by the U.S.
billion during this period.
Geological Survey of 7.7 billion barrels of technically
recoverable oil on federal lands (10.4 billion barrels
Other bills related to ANWR’s Coastal Plain were
including Native lands and adjacent waters). It also is a
introduced in the 115th Congress prior to enactment of P.L.
center of activity for caribou and other wildlife, with Native
115-97. H.R. 1889 and S. 820 would establish the Coastal
subsistence uses and critical habitat for polar bears under
Plain as wilderness, while H.R. 49 and S. 49 propose oil
the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. §§1531-1544).
and gas leasing programs for the Coastal Plain that are
Section 1003 of ANILCA prohibited oil and gas
similar but not identical to the program mandated by P.L.
development in the Refuge unless authorized by an act of
115-97. This CRS product focuses on P.L. 115-97.
Congress. The enactment of P.L. 115-97 culminated a
Figure 1. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Source: FWS, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan, Introduction, April 2015, at https://www.fws.gov/home/arctic-ccp/.
Edited by CRS.
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) Provisions in P.L. 115-97, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Establishment of Oil and Gas Program
50% of revenues derived from oil and gas leases on the
P.L. 115-97 directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting
Coastal Plain (including royalties, rents, and bonus bids) be
through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to
distributed to the State of Alaska and that the remaining
establish and administer a competitive program for the
50% be deposited into the U.S. Treasury as miscellaneous
leasing, development, production, and transportation of oil
receipts. This split differs from that established by the
and gas in and from ANWR’s Coastal Plain. Although the
MLA, under which the State of Alaska typically receives
Refuge as a whole is administered by FWS, under the
90% of the revenue from federal onshore oil and gas leases
Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (MLA; 30 U.S.C. §§181 et
within the state, with 10% deposited in the Treasury as
seq.), BLM manages onshore federal energy and mineral
miscellaneous receipts. All other states receive 50% of the
resources, not only on its own lands but also on those of
revenues from leases within their states (minus a 2% cost-
other federal agencies. The law further provides that
sharing deduction), while 40% are deposited in the
Section 1003 of ANILCA, which prohibits oil and gas
Reclamation Fund (which funds certain federally owned
development in ANWR unless authorized by Congress,
and operated western water and power projects) and 10%
shall not apply to the Refuge’s Coastal Plain.
are deposited in the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.
Refuge Purposes
Schedule of Lease Sales
ANILCA stated four purposes for which ANWR was
The law requires at least two area-wide lease sales in the
established and is to be managed, including
Refuge’s Coastal Plain. An initial lease sale is required
(1) conservation of fish and wildlife populations and
within four years of the law’s enactment, and a second lease
habitats, (2) fulfillment of U.S. international fish and
sale is required within seven years of enactment.
wildlife treaty obligations, (3) providing the opportunity for
Separately, other provisions require that at least two lease
continued subsistence use by local residents, and (4)
sales be conducted within 10 years of the law’s enactment.
ensuring water quality and quantity within the Refuge. P.L.
Each ANWR lease sale must offer at least 400,000 acres
115-97 amends ANILCA to add, as a fifth purpose of the
and must include those areas with the highest potential for
Refuge, “to provide for an oil and gas program on the
discovery of hydrocarbons.
Coastal Plain.” Under the National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C.
Surface Development and Rights-of-Way
§668dd), ANILCA Section 304, and regulations at 43
The law requires the Secretary of the Interior to grant any
C.F.R. Section 3101.5-3 for Alaskan refuges, FWS
easements or rights-of-way necessary to carry out the bill’s
undertakes compatibility determinations to assess whether
provisions for exploration, development, production, and
proposed refuge activities are compatible with the purposes
transportation in the Coastal Plain. It directs the Secretary
for which a refuge was established as well as the mission of
to authorize up to 2,000 surface acres of federal land on the
the National Wildlife Refuge System as a whole. The
Coastal Plain to be covered by production and support
addition of oil and gas development as a refuge purpose
facilities. (This 2,000-acre limit does not appear to apply to
thus affects the context for a compatibility determination,
Native surface lands on the Coastal Plain owned by the
but it is not yet clear how FWS would approach
Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation or through individual Native
compatibility for oil and gas activities.
allotments.) The law does not require the development
facilities to be concentrated in a single 2,000-acre area. The
Oil and Gas Program Management
law specifies that “airstrips and any area covered by gravel
The law directs BLM to manage the oil and gas program on
berms or piers in support of pipelines” shall be included in
the Refuge’s Coastal Plain in a manner similar to the
the 2,000-acre limit. It is unclear whether other potential
administration of lease sales under the Naval Petroleum
disturbances—for instance, temporary roads or areas under
Reserves Production Act of 1976 (NPRPA, 42 U.S.C.
a pipeline that might be temporarily disturbed during
§§6501 et seq.) and associated regulations, except as
construction—would be included within the limit.
otherwise provided. The NPRPA provided for competitive
oil and gas leasing in the National Petroleum Reserve in
Further Reading
Alaska (NPR-A), subject to certain conditions and
For additional information, see CRS Report RL33872,
restrictions. The regulatory framework for the NPR-A (43
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): An Overview, by
C.F.R. §§3130, 3137, 3150, 3152, and 3160) includes
Laura B. Comay, Michael Ratner, and R. Eliot Crafton;
requirements for leasing terms, bonding, environmental
CRS Report RL32838, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
obligations, and many other activities associated with oil
(ANWR): Votes and Legislative Actions Since the 95th
and gas development.
Congress, by Laura B. Comay; and CRS Report R40806,
Energy Projects on Federal Lands: Leasing and
Revenues and Royalties
Authorization, by Adam Vann.
The MLA requires royalty payments of at least 12.5% of
the value of production for oil and gas leases on federal
Laura B. Comay, Analyst in Natural Resources Policy
lands. P.L. 115-97 sets the royalty rate for oil and gas leases
in ANWR’s Coastal Plain at 16.67%. The law directs that
IF10782
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) Provisions in P.L. 115-97, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF10782 · VERSION 9 · UPDATED
Updated February 21, 2018
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) Provisions in
P.L. 115-97, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (P.L. 115-97), enacted in
decades-long congressional debate over whether to
December 2017, included provisions establishing an oil and
authorize development of the Coastal Plain’s mineral
gas program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
resources or to continue prohibiting development to protect
(ANWR or the Refuge). ANWR consists of 19 million
biological and subsistence values.
acres in northeast Alaska, administered by the Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS) in the Department of the Interior
The ANWR provisions in P.L. 115-97 responded to a
(Figure 1). Initially established as a national wildlife range
reconciliation instruction to the Senate Committee on
in 1960, the area was expanded and established as a refuge
Energy and Natural Resources in the FY2018 concurrent
by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of
resolution on the budget (H.Con.Res. 71). The committee
1980 (ANILCA; 16 U.S.C. §§668dd note, 3141 et seq.).
was instructed to report changes in laws within its
ANILCA designated a portion of the Refuge as wilderness
jurisdiction to reduce the deficit by not less than $1 billion
and, in Section 1002, required a study of another portion—
for the FY2018-FY2027 period. The Congressional Budget
the 1.57-million-acre Coastal Plain (also referred to as the
Office (CBO) estimated that the ANWR provisions in Title
1002 Area)—to assess its wildlife and potential impacts of
II of the law, along with other oil and gas provisions in that
oil and gas development. The Coastal Plain is viewed as an
title, would increase net offsetting receipts by about $1.1
onshore oil prospect, with a 2005 mean estimate by the U.S.
billion during this period.
Geological Survey of 7.7 billion barrels of technically
recoverable oil on federal lands (10.4 billion barrels
Other bills related to ANWR’s Coastal Plain were
including Native lands and adjacent waters). It also is a
introduced in the 115th Congress prior to enactment of P.L.
center of activity for caribou and other wildlife, with Native
115-97. H.R. 1889 and S. 820 would establish the Coastal
subsistence uses and critical habitat for polar bears under
Plain as wilderness, while H.R. 49 and S. 49 propose oil
the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. §§1531-1544).
and gas leasing programs for the Coastal Plain that are
Section 1003 of ANILCA prohibited oil and gas
similar but not identical to the program mandated by P.L.
development in the Refuge unless authorized by an act of
115-97. This CRS product focuses on P.L. 115-97.
Congress. The enactment of P.L. 115-97 culminated a
Figure 1. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Source: FWS, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan, Introduction, April 2015, at https://www.fws.gov/home/arctic-ccp/.
Edited by CRS.
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) Provisions in P.L. 115-97, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Establishment of Oil and Gas Program
50% of revenues derived from oil and gas leases on the
P.L. 115-97 directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting
Coastal Plain (including royalties, rents, and bonus bids) be
through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to
distributed to the State of Alaska and that the remaining
establish and administer a competitive program for the
50% be deposited into the U.S. Treasury as miscellaneous
leasing, development, production, and transportation of oil
receipts. This split differs from that established by the
and gas in and from ANWR’s Coastal Plain. Although the
MLA, under which the State of Alaska typically receives
Refuge as a whole is administered by FWS, under the
90% of the revenue from federal onshore oil and gas leases
Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (MLA; 30 U.S.C. §§181 et
within the state, with 10% deposited in the Treasury as
seq.), BLM manages onshore federal energy and mineral
miscellaneous receipts. All other states receive 50% of the
resources, not only on its own lands but also on those of
revenues from leases within their states (minus a 2% cost-
other federal agencies. The law further provides that
sharing deduction), while 40% are deposited in the
Section 1003 of ANILCA, which prohibits oil and gas
Reclamation Fund (which funds certain federally owned
development in ANWR unless authorized by Congress,
and operated western water and power projects) and 10%
shall not apply to the Refuge’s Coastal Plain.
are deposited in the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.
Refuge Purposes
Schedule of Lease Sales
ANILCA stated four purposes for which ANWR was
The law requires at least two area-wide lease sales in the
established and is to be managed, including
Refuge’s Coastal Plain. An initial lease sale is required
(1) conservation of fish and wildlife populations and
within four years of the law’s enactment, and a second lease
habitats, (2) fulfillment of U.S. international fish and
sale is required within seven years of enactment.
wildlife treaty obligations, (3) providing the opportunity for
Separately, other provisions require that at least two lease
continued subsistence use by local residents, and (4)
sales be conducted within 10 years of the law’s enactment.
ensuring water quality and quantity within the Refuge. P.L.
Each ANWR lease sale must offer at least 400,000 acres
115-97 amends ANILCA to add, as a fifth purpose of the
and must include those areas with the highest potential for
Refuge, “to provide for an oil and gas program on the
discovery of hydrocarbons.
Coastal Plain.” Under the National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C.
Surface Development and Rights-of-Way
§668dd), ANILCA Section 304, and regulations at 43
The law requires the Secretary of the Interior to grant any
C.F.R. Section 3101.5-3 for Alaskan refuges, FWS
easements or rights-of-way necessary to carry out the bill’s
undertakes compatibility determinations to assess whether
provisions for exploration, development, production, and
proposed refuge activities are compatible with the purposes
transportation in the Coastal Plain. It directs the Secretary
for which a refuge was established as well as the mission of
to authorize up to 2,000 surface acres of federal land on the
the National Wildlife Refuge System as a whole. The
Coastal Plain to be covered by production and support
addition of oil and gas development as a refuge purpose
facilities. (This 2,000-acre limit does not appear to apply to
thus affects the context for a compatibility determination,
Native surface lands on the Coastal Plain owned by the
but it is not yet clear how FWS would approach
Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation or through individual Native
compatibility for oil and gas activities.
allotments.) The law does not require the development
facilities to be concentrated in a single 2,000-acre area. The
Oil and Gas Program Management
law specifies that “airstrips and any area covered by gravel
The law directs BLM to manage the oil and gas program on
berms or piers in support of pipelines” shall be included in
the Refuge’s Coastal Plain in a manner similar to the
the 2,000-acre limit. It is unclear whether other potential
administration of lease sales under the Naval Petroleum
disturbances—for instance, temporary roads or areas under
Reserves Production Act of 1976 (NPRPA, 42 U.S.C.
a pipeline that might be temporarily disturbed during
§§6501 et seq.) and associated regulations, except as
construction—would be included within the limit.
otherwise provided. The NPRPA provided for competitive
oil and gas leasing in the National Petroleum Reserve in
Further Reading
Alaska (NPR-A), subject to certain conditions and
For additional information, see CRS Report RL33872,
restrictions. The regulatory framework for the NPR-A (43
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): An Overview, by
C.F.R. §§3130, 3137, 3150, 3152, and 3160) includes
Laura B. Comay, Michael Ratner, and R. Eliot Crafton;
requirements for leasing terms, bonding, environmental
CRS Report RL32838, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
obligations, and many other activities associated with oil
(ANWR): Votes and Legislative Actions Since the 95th
and gas development.
Congress, by Laura B. Comay; and CRS Report R40806,
Energy Projects on Federal Lands: Leasing and
Revenues and Royalties
Authorization, by Adam Vann.
The MLA requires royalty payments of at least 12.5% of
the value of production for oil and gas leases on federal
Laura B. Comay, Analyst in Natural Resources Policy
lands. P.L. 115-97 sets the royalty rate for oil and gas leases
in ANWR’s Coastal Plain at 16.67%. The law directs that
IF10782
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) Provisions in P.L. 115-97, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF10782 · VERSION 9 · UPDATED