US Senate committee approves bill directing offshore energy revenues to coastal states, fisheries research

The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has approved a bill that would take money from offshore energy projects and redistribute it to adjacent states for coastal restoration, infrastructure, and fisheries research.

First introduced in 2021, the Reinvesting in Shoreline Economies & Ecosystems (RISEE) Act would create a new offshore wind revenue-sharing model, requiring offshore energy projects to share 37.5 percent of revenue with adjacent states. Those states can spend that money to support coastal restoration, invest in hurricane protection, improve infrastructure, or dedicate it to fisheries science and research.

The legislation was passed out of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in 2022, but never received a vote from the full Senate.U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) and U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) reintroduced the legislation in 2023 and are hoping Congress will pass it into law before the end of the current legislative session.

“I’m pleased to see continued progress and hope we can pass RISEE before the end of this [session],” U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) said in a statement.

“We are one step closer to bringing hundreds of millions of additional dollars to Louisiana to rebuild our shoreline and support flood control structures while creating thousands of good-paying jobs,” Cassidy said in a statement. “The RISEE Act is good for our economy, our environment, and the nation. Let’s get this bill across the finish line.”

The legislation would direct 12.5 percent of offshore wind revenue to the National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund.The RISEE Act would also make major changes to the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA), which determines how much money Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama receive from offshore energy producers in the Gulf of Mexico.

GOMESA requires offshore energy producers to share 37 percent of their revenue with those Gulf of Mexico states, but it currently caps those payments at USD 375 million (EUR 358 million). Cassidy claimed an analysis showed that the four states lost USD 216 million (EUR 206 million) in offshore revenue sharing last year due to the cap.

The RISEE Act would eliminate that cap, allowing those four states to receive even more money when energy production revenues peak.

“The current GOMESA cap unfairly targets oil-producing states and denies them revenue that they have earned. Without this money to build infrastructure and storm barriers, Louisianans remain even more vulnerable to natural disasters. Eliminating the GOMESA cap is key to protecting people’s lives and livelihoods, and I’m glad we’ve made a way to move this bill forward. There’s still more to be done, but this is a step in the right direction,” U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) said.