Protecting Our Conserved Lands Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4910 To prohibit the use of eminent domain for the construction or expansion of a natural gas pipe line through land conserved by certain land trusts and local governments, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 29, 2019 Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire (for herself, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. QUIGLEY, and Mr. HUFFMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To prohibit the use of eminent domain for the construction or expansion of a natural gas pipe line through land conserved by certain land trusts and local governments, 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 ‘‘Protecting Our Con- 4 served Lands Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON THE USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN. 6 Section 7(h) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 7 717f(h)) is amended— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4910.IH H4910 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4910 IH (1) by striking ‘‘When’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) 1 When’’; and 2 (2) by adding at the end the following new 3 paragraph: 4 ‘‘(2) Beginning on January 1, 2022, notwithstanding 5 paragraph (1), a holder of a certificate of public conven- 6 ience and necessity may not exercise the right of eminent 7 domain to acquire land or other property necessary to con- 8 struct, operate, or maintain a pipe line for the transpor- 9 tation of natural gas, or any station or equipment nec- 10 essary to the proper operation of such pipe line, any part 11 of which will be located on land that is— 12 ‘‘(A) subject to a conservation easement or 13 other conservation-related restriction by an organiza- 14 tion described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 15 Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation 16 under section 501(a) of such Code; 17 ‘‘(B) owned by or deeded to an organization de- 18 scribed in subparagraph (A) for the purpose of con- 19 servation; 20 ‘‘(C) subject to a conservation easement or 21 other conservation-related restriction by a munici- 22 pality, county, or other division of local government; 23 or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4910.IH H4910 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4910 IH ‘‘(D) owned by or deeded to a municipality, 1 county, or other division or subdivision of local gov- 2 ernment for the purpose of conservation.’’. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4910.IH H4910 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS