II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2280 To amend title 40, United States Code, to establish an Appalachian regional energy hub initiative, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 25, 2019 Mrs. CAPITO (for herself and Mr. MCCONNELL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To amend title 40, United States Code, to establish an Appalachian regional energy hub initiative, 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 ‘‘Appalachian Regional 4 Energy Hub Initiative Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. APPALACHIAN REGIONAL ENERGY HUB. 6 (a) APPALACHIAN REGIONAL ENERGY HUB INITIA- 7 TIVE.— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:09 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2280.IS S2280 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2280 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 145 1 of subtitle IV of title 40, United States Code, is 2 amended by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘§ 14511. Appalachian regional energy hub initiative 4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Appalachian Regional Com- 5 mission may provide technical assistance to, make grants 6 to, enter into contracts with, or otherwise provide amounts 7 to individuals or entities in the Appalachian region for 8 projects and activities— 9 ‘‘(1) to conduct research and analysis regarding 10 the economic impact of an ethane storage hub in the 11 Appalachian region that supports a more-effective 12 energy market performance due to the scale of the 13 project, such as a project with the capacity to store 14 and distribute more than 100,000 barrels per day of 15 hydrocarbon feedstock with a minimum gross heat- 16 ing value of 1,700 Btu per standard cubic foot; 17 ‘‘(2) with the potential to significantly con- 18 tribute to the economic resilience of the area in 19 which the project is located; and 20 ‘‘(3) that will help establish a regional energy 21 hub in the Appalachian region for natural gas and 22 natural gas liquids, including storage and associated 23 pipelines. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:09 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2280.IS S2280 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2280 IS ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON AVAILABLE AMOUNTS.—Of the 1 cost of any activity eligible for a grant under this sec- 2 tion— 3 ‘‘(1) not more than 50 percent may be provided 4 from amounts made available to carry out this sec- 5 tion; 6 ‘‘(2) in the case of a project to be carried out 7 in a county for which a distressed county designa- 8 tion is in effect under section 14526, not more than 9 80 percent may be provided from amounts made 10 available to carry out this section; and 11 ‘‘(3) in the case of a project to be carried out 12 in a county for which an at-risk county designation 13 is in effect under section 14526, not more than 70 14 percent may be provided from amounts made avail- 15 able to carry out this section. 16 ‘‘(c) SOURCES OF ASSISTANCE.—Subject to sub- 17 section (b), a grant provided under this section may be 18 provided from amounts made available to carry out this 19 section, in combination with amounts made available— 20 ‘‘(1) under any other Federal program; or 21 ‘‘(2) from any other source. 22 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding any provi- 23 sion of law limiting the Federal share under any other 24 Federal program, amounts made available to carry out 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:09 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2280.IS S2280 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2280 IS this section may be used to increase that Federal share, 1 as the Appalachian Regional Commission determines to be 2 appropriate.’’. 3 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 4 subchapter I of chapter 145 of title 40, United 5 States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 6 relating to section 14510 the following: 7 ‘‘14511. Appalachian regional energy hub initiative.’’. (b) AUTHORIZATIONS.—Section 14703 of title 40, 8 United States Code, is amended— 9 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 10 subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and 11 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol- 12 lowing: 13 ‘‘(d) APPALACHIAN REGIONAL ENERGY HUB INITIA- 14 TIVE.—Of the amounts made available under subsection 15 (a), $5,000,000 shall be used to carry out section 14511 16 for each fiscal year.’’. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:09 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2280.IS S2280 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS