Promoting Interagency Coordination for Review of Natural Gas Pipelines Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1616 To provide for Federal and State agency coordination in the approval of certain authorizations under the Natural Gas Act, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 8, 2021 Mr. BURGESS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To provide for Federal and State agency coordination in the approval of certain authorizations under the Natural Gas Act, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Interagency 4 Coordination for Review of Natural Gas Pipelines Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FERC PROCESS COORDINATION FOR NATURAL GAS 6 PIPELINE PROJECTS. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 9 means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1616.IH H1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1616 IH (2) FEDERAL AUTHORIZATION.—The term 1 ‘‘Federal authorization’’ has the meaning given that 2 term in section 15(a) of the Natural Gas Act (15 3 U.S.C. 717n(a)). 4 (3) NEPA REVIEW.—The term ‘‘NEPA review’’ 5 means the process of reviewing a proposed Federal 6 action under section 102 of the National Environ- 7 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332). 8 (4) PROJECT-RELATED NEPA REVIEW.—The 9 term ‘‘project-related NEPA review’’ means any 10 NEPA review required to be conducted with respect 11 to the issuance of an authorization under section 3 12 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public con- 13 venience and necessity under section 7 of such Act. 14 (b) COMMISSION NEPA REVIEW RESPONSIBIL- 15 ITIES.—In acting as the lead agency under section 16 15(b)(1) of the Natural Gas Act for the purposes of com- 17 plying with the National Environmental Policy Act of 18 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect to an author- 19 ization under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certifi- 20 cate of public convenience and necessity under section 7 21 of such Act, the Commission shall, in accordance with this 22 section and other applicable Federal law— 23 (1) be the only lead agency; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1616.IH H1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1616 IH (2) coordinate as early as practicable with each 1 agency designated as a participating agency under 2 subsection (d)(3) to ensure that the Commission de- 3 velops information in conducting its project-related 4 NEPA review that is usable by the participating 5 agency in considering an aspect of an application for 6 a Federal authorization for which the agency is re- 7 sponsible; and 8 (3) take such actions as are necessary and 9 proper to facilitate the expeditious resolution of its 10 project-related NEPA review. 11 (c) DEFERENCE TO COMMISSION.—In making a deci- 12 sion with respect to a Federal authorization required with 13 respect to an application for authorization under section 14 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public conven- 15 ience and necessity under section 7 of such Act, each agen- 16 cy shall give deference, to the maximum extent authorized 17 by law, to the scope of the project-related NEPA review 18 that the Commission determines to be appropriate. 19 (d) PARTICIPATING AGENCIES.— 20 (1) IDENTIFICATION.—The Commission shall 21 identify, as early as practicable after it is notified by 22 a person applying for an authorization under section 23 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public 24 convenience and necessity under section 7 of such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1616.IH H1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1616 IH Act, any Federal or State agency, local government, 1 or Indian Tribe that may issue a Federal authoriza- 2 tion or is required by Federal law to consult with 3 the Commission in conjunction with the issuance of 4 a Federal authorization required for such authoriza- 5 tion or certificate. 6 (2) INVITATION.— 7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 8 invite any agency identified under paragraph 9 (1) to participate in the review process for the 10 applicable Federal authorization. 11 (B) DEADLINE.—An invitation issued 12 under subparagraph (A) shall establish a dead- 13 line by which a response to the invitation shall 14 be submitted to the Commission, which may be 15 extended by the Commission for good cause. 16 (3) DESIGNATION AS PARTICIPATING AGEN- 17 CIES.—The Commission shall designate an agency 18 identified under paragraph (1) as a participating 19 agency with respect to an application for authoriza- 20 tion under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a 21 certificate of public convenience and necessity under 22 section 7 of such Act unless the agency informs the 23 Commission, in writing, by the deadline established 24 pursuant to paragraph (2)(B), that the agency— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1616.IH H1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1616 IH (A) has no jurisdiction or authority with 1 respect to the applicable Federal authorization; 2 (B) has no special expertise or information 3 relevant to any project-related NEPA review; or 4 (C) does not intend to submit comments 5 for the record for the project-related NEPA re- 6 view conducted by the Commission. 7 (4) EFFECT OF NON-DESIGNATION.— 8 (A) EFFECT ON AGENCY.—Any agency 9 that is not designated as a participating agency 10 under paragraph (3) with respect to an applica- 11 tion for an authorization under section 3 of the 12 Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public con- 13 venience and necessity under section 7 of such 14 Act may not request or conduct a NEPA review 15 that is supplemental to the project-related 16 NEPA review conducted by the Commission, 17 unless the agency— 18 (i) demonstrates that such review is 19 legally necessary for the agency to carry 20 out responsibilities in considering an as- 21 pect of an application for a Federal au- 22 thorization; and 23 (ii) requires information that could 24 not have been obtained during the project- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1616.IH H1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1616 IH related NEPA review conducted by the 1 Commission. 2 (B) COMMENTS; RECORD.—The Commis- 3 sion shall not, with respect to an agency that is 4 not designated as a participating agency under 5 paragraph (3) with respect to an application for 6 an authorization under section 3 of the Natural 7 Gas Act or a certificate of public convenience 8 and necessity under section 7 of such Act— 9 (i) consider any comments or other in- 10 formation submitted by such agency for 11 the project-related NEPA review conducted 12 by the Commission; or 13 (ii) include any such comments or 14 other information in the record for such 15 project-related NEPA review. 16 (e) SCHEDULE.— 17 (1) DEADLINE FOR FEDERAL AUTHORIZA- 18 TIONS.—A deadline for a Federal authorization re- 19 quired with respect to an application for authoriza- 20 tion under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a 21 certificate of public convenience and necessity under 22 section 7 of such Act set by the Commission under 23 section 15(c)(1) of such Act shall be not later than 24 90 days after the Commission completes its project- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1616.IH H1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1616 IH related NEPA review, unless an applicable schedule 1 is otherwise established by Federal law. 2 (2) CONCURRENT REVIEWS.—Each Federal and 3 State agency— 4 (A) that may consider an application for a 5 Federal authorization required with respect to 6 an application for authorization under section 3 7 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public 8 convenience and necessity under section 7 of 9 such Act shall formulate and implement a plan 10 for administrative, policy, and procedural mech- 11 anisms to enable the agency to ensure comple- 12 tion of Federal authorizations in compliance 13 with schedules established by the Commission 14 under section 15(c)(1) of such Act; and 15 (B) in considering an aspect of an applica- 16 tion for a Federal authorization required with 17 respect to an application for authorization 18 under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a 19 certificate of public convenience and necessity 20 under section 7 of such Act, shall— 21 (i) formulate and implement a plan to 22 enable the agency to comply with the 23 schedule established by the Commission 24 under section 15(c)(1) of such Act; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1616.IH H1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1616 IH (ii) carry out the obligations of that 1 agency under applicable law concurrently, 2 and in conjunction with, the project-related 3 NEPA review conducted by the Commis- 4 sion, and in compliance with the schedule 5 established by the Commission under sec- 6 tion 15(c)(1) of such Act, unless the agen- 7 cy notifies the Commission in writing that 8 doing so would impair the ability of the 9 agency to conduct needed analysis or oth- 10 erwise carry out such obligations; 11 (iii) transmit to the Commission a 12 statement— 13 (I) acknowledging receipt of the 14 schedule established by the Commis- 15 sion under section 15(c)(1) of the 16 Natural Gas Act; and 17 (II) setting forth the plan formu- 18 lated under clause (i) of this subpara- 19 graph; 20 (iv) not later than 30 days after the 21 agency receives such application for a Fed- 22 eral authorization, transmit to the appli- 23 cant a notice— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1616.IH H1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1616 IH (I) indicating whether such appli- 1 cation is ready for processing; and 2 (II) if such application is not 3 ready for processing, that includes a 4 comprehensive description of the in- 5 formation needed for the agency to 6 determine that the application is 7 ready for processing; 8 (v) determine that such application 9 for a Federal authorization is ready for 10 processing for purposes of clause (iv) if 11 such application is sufficiently complete for 12 the purposes of commencing consideration, 13 regardless of whether supplemental infor- 14 mation is necessary to enable the agency to 15 complete the consideration required by law 16 with respect to such application; and 17 (vi) not less often than once every 90 18 days, transmit to the Commission a report 19 describing the progress made in consid- 20 ering such application for a Federal au- 21 thorization. 22 (3) FAILURE TO MEET DEADLINE.—If a Fed- 23 eral or State agency, including the Commission, fails 24 to meet a deadline for a Federal authorization set 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1616.IH H1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1616 IH forth in the schedule established by the Commission 1 under section 15(c)(1) of the Natural Gas Act, not 2 later than 5 days after such deadline, the head of 3 the relevant Federal agency (including, in the case 4 of a failure by a State agency, the Federal agency 5 overseeing the delegated authority) shall notify Con- 6 gress and the Commission of such failure and set 7 forth a recommended implementation plan to ensure 8 completion of the action to which such deadline ap- 9 plied. 10 (f) CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATIONS FOR FEDERAL 11 AUTHORIZATION.— 12 (1) ISSUE IDENTIFICATION AND RESOLU- 13 TION.— 14 (A) IDENTIFICATION.—Federal and State 15 agencies that may consider an aspect of an ap- 16 plication for a Federal authorization shall iden- 17 tify, as early as possible, any issues of concern 18 that may delay or prevent an agency from 19 working with the Commission to resolve such 20 issues and granting such authorization. 21 (B) ISSUE RESOLUTION.—The Commission 22 may forward any issue of concern identified 23 under subparagraph (A) to the heads of the rel- 24 evant agencies (including, in the case of an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1616.IH H1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1616 IH issue of concern that is a failure by a State 1 agency, the Federal agency overseeing the dele- 2 gated authority, if applicable) for resolution. 3 (2) REMOTE SURVEYS.—If a Federal or State 4 agency considering an aspect of an application for a 5 Federal authorization requires the person applying 6 for such authorization to submit data, the agency 7 shall consider any such data gathered by aerial or 8 other remote means that the person submits. The 9 agency may grant a conditional approval for the 10 Federal authorization based on data gathered by 11 aerial or remote means, conditioned on the 12 verification of such data by subsequent onsite in- 13 spection. 14 (3) APPLICATION PROCESSING.—The Commis- 15 sion, and Federal and State agencies, may allow a 16 person applying for a Federal authorization to fund 17 a third-party contractor to assist in reviewing the 18 application for such authorization. 19 (g) ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, EFFI- 20 CIENCY.—For an application for an authorization under 21 section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public 22 convenience and necessity under section 7 of such Act that 23 requires multiple Federal authorizations, the Commission, 24 with input from any Federal or State agency considering 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1616.IH H1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1616 IH an aspect of the application, shall track and make avail- 1 able to the public on the Commission’s website information 2 related to the actions required to complete the Federal au- 3 thorizations. Such information shall include the following: 4 (1) The schedule established by the Commission 5 under section 15(c)(1) of the Natural Gas Act. 6 (2) A list of all the actions required by each ap- 7 plicable agency to complete permitting, reviews, and 8 other actions necessary to obtain a final decision on 9 the application. 10 (3) The expected completion date for each such 11 action. 12 (4) A point of contact at the agency responsible 13 for each such action. 14 (5) In t [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]