Federal

SITE Act

Source: Congress.gov · 6,103 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill changes how large electric transmission lines that cross multiple states get approved and built. It creates a new federal process where the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (a government agency that regulates energy) can issue permits for these major power lines, rather than requiring companies to get approval from each state individually. ##

Who It Affects

- Electric utility companies that want to build or upgrade power lines - Landowners whose property would be crossed by or near these transmission lines - State governments and state utility commissions - Tribal nations whose land might be affected - Federal agencies involved in energy or environmental review ##

Key Provisions

- Companies can apply to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a single permit to build interstate transmission lines that cross at least 2 states and have at least 1,000 megawatts of power capacity (Sec. 224(b)(2)) - The Commission must notify all affected landowners in writing, including a bold-type warning that their property may be crossed or used for construction, and explaining how to submit comments (Sec. 224(d)) - Once approved, companies can use eminent domain (a legal power to take private property for public use) to acquire necessary land, but only in federal or state courts and must pay fair market value based on an appraisal the landowner selects (Sec. 224(g) and (h)) - Tribal nations must give consent before the Commission approves environmental documents affecting their land (Sec. 224(b)(5)(C)) - Landowners can demand their property back if the transmission line is not built within the timeline specified in the permit (Sec. 224(j)(1)) - The Commission must create detailed rules within 18 months that specify the application process, required consultations with states and tribes, and how community impacts will be considered (Sec. 224(b)(4)) ##

What Changes

If this law passes, interstate power line projects no longer need separate approval from each state they cross. Instead, one federal permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would be sufficient for projects meeting the bill's size requirements (crossing 2+ states with 1,000+ megawatts capacity). This streamlines the approval process but gives the federal government power over siting decisions. Landowners get written notice and can comment, but the federal agency has final say. States keep authority over air quality, water pollution, coastal zones, and historic preservation under existing laws. Landowners can sue in federal court within 60 days if they disagree with the Commission's decision. ##

Important Definitions

- **Energy transmission facility**: Power lines using alternating current or high-voltage direct current to move large amounts of electricity across long distances - **Affected landowner**: Any property owner whose land would be crossed by the power line, used as a construction site, sit next to an existing utility easement within 500 feet of the line, or have a home within 500 feet of the proposed line (includes federal, state, and local governments) - **Right-of-way**: A strip of land that allows passage, including access roads, contractor yards, and temporary work areas - **Certificate of public convenience and necessity**: The official permit issued by the Commission allowing construction and operation of the transmission facility - **Eminent domain**: The government's legal power to take private property for public use, requiring the owner receive fair compensation - **Tribal land**: Property defined as "Indian land" under the Energy Policy Act of 1992 ##

Effective Date

Not specified in bill text

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1766 To amend the Federal Power Act to establish a procedure for the siting of certain interstate electric transmission facilities, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 23, 2023 Mr. QUIGLEY (for himself, Mr. PETERS, and Mr. CASTEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Federal Power Act to establish a procedure for the siting of certain interstate electric transmission facilities, 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 ‘‘Streamlining Inter- 4 state Transmission of Electricity Act’’ or the ‘‘SITE Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. SITING OF CERTAIN INTERSTATE ELECTRIC TRANS- 6 MISSION FACILITIES. 7 Part II of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824 et 8 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:40 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1766.IH H1766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 1766 IH ‘‘SEC. 224. SITING OF CERTAIN INTERSTATE ELECTRIC 1 TRANSMISSION FACILITIES. 2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 ‘‘(1) AFFECTED LANDOWNER.— 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘affected 5 landowner’ includes each owner of a property 6 interest in land or other property described in 7 subparagraph (B), including— 8 ‘‘(i) the Federal Government; 9 ‘‘(ii) a State or local government; and 10 ‘‘(iii) each owner noted in the most 11 recent county or city tax record as receiv- 12 ing the relevant tax notice with respect to 13 that interest. 14 ‘‘(B) LAND AND OTHER PROPERTY DE- 15 SCRIBED.—The land or other property referred 16 to in subparagraph (A) is any land or other 17 property— 18 ‘‘(i) that is or will be crossed by the 19 energy transmission facility proposed to be 20 constructed or modified under the applica- 21 ble certificate of public convenience and 22 necessity; 23 ‘‘(ii) that is or will be used as a facil- 24 ity site with respect to the energy trans- 25 mission facility proposed to be constructed 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:40 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1766.IH H1766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 1766 IH or modified under the applicable certificate 1 of public convenience and necessity; 2 ‘‘(iii) that abuts any boundary of an 3 existing right-of-way or other facility site 4 that— 5 ‘‘(I) is owned by an electric util- 6 ity; and 7 ‘‘(II) is located not more than 8 500 feet from the energy transmission 9 facility to be constructed or modified 10 under the applicable certificate of 11 public convenience and necessity; 12 ‘‘(iv) that abuts the boundary of a 13 proposed facility site for the energy trans- 14 mission facility to be constructed or modi- 15 fied under the applicable certificate of pub- 16 lic convenience and necessity; 17 ‘‘(v) that is crossed by, or abuts any 18 boundary of, an existing or proposed right- 19 of-way that— 20 ‘‘(I) will be used for the energy 21 transmission facility to be constructed 22 or modified under the applicable cer- 23 tificate of public convenience and ne- 24 cessity; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:40 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1766.IH H1766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 1766 IH ‘‘(II) is located not more than 1 500 feet from the proposed location of 2 that energy transmission facility; or 3 ‘‘(vi) on which a residence is located 4 not more than 500 feet from the boundary 5 of any right-of-way for that energy trans- 6 mission facility. 7 ‘‘(2) ALTERNATING CURRENT TRANSMISSION 8 FACILITY.—The term ‘alternating current trans- 9 mission facility’ means a transmission facility that 10 uses alternating current for the bulk transmission of 11 electric energy. 12 ‘‘(3) ENERGY TRANSMISSION FACILITY.—The 13 term ‘energy transmission facility’ means, as appli- 14 cable— 15 ‘‘(A) an alternating current transmission 16 facility; or 17 ‘‘(B) a high-voltage, direct current trans- 18 mission facility. 19 ‘‘(4) FACILITY SITE.—The term ‘facility site’ 20 includes— 21 ‘‘(A) a right-of-way; 22 ‘‘(B) an access road; 23 ‘‘(C) a contractor yard; and 24 ‘‘(D) any temporary workspace. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:40 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1766.IH H1766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 1766 IH ‘‘(5) HIGH-VOLTAGE, DIRECT CURRENT TRANS- 1 MISSION FACILITY.—The term ‘high-voltage, direct 2 current transmission facility’ means a transmission 3 facility that uses direct current for the bulk trans- 4 mission of electric energy. 5 ‘‘(6) TRIBAL LAND.—The term ‘Tribal land’ 6 has the meaning given the term ‘Indian land’ in sec- 7 tion 2601 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (25 8 U.S.C. 3501). 9 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATE OF PUBLIC CONVENIENCE AND 10 NECESSITY.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of an applica- 12 tion under subsection (c)(1) relating to an energy 13 transmission facility described in paragraph (2), the 14 Commission, after making the finding described in 15 paragraph (3) with respect to that energy trans- 16 mission facility, shall issue to any person, by publi- 17 cation in the Federal Register, a certificate of public 18 convenience and necessity for the construction, 19 modification, operation, or abandonment of that en- 20 ergy transmission facility, subject to such reasonable 21 terms and conditions as the Commission determines 22 to be appropriate. 23 ‘‘(2) ENERGY TRANSMISSION FACILITY DE- 24 SCRIBED.—An energy transmission facility referred 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:40 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1766.IH H1766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 1766 IH to in paragraph (1) is an energy transmission facil- 1 ity that— 2 ‘‘(A) traverses or, on construction or modi- 3 fication in accordance with a certificate of pub- 4 lic convenience and necessity issued under that 5 paragraph, will traverse not fewer than 2 6 States; and 7 ‘‘(B) is not less than 1,000 megawatts or 8 1,000 megavolt-amperes in power capacity. 9 ‘‘(3) FINDING DESCRIBED.—The finding re- 10 ferred to in paragraph (1) is a finding that— 11 ‘‘(A) the applicant for a certificate of pub- 12 lic convenience and necessity is able and will- 13 ing— 14 ‘‘(i) to carry out the activities and 15 perform the services proposed in the appli- 16 cation in a manner determined to be ap- 17 propriate by the Commission; and 18 ‘‘(ii) to achieve compliance with the 19 applicable requirements of— 20 ‘‘(I) this part; and 21 ‘‘(II) any rules and regulations 22 promulgated by the Commission pur- 23 suant to this part; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:40 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1766.IH H1766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 1766 IH ‘‘(B) the energy transmission facility to be 1 constructed, modified, or operated under the 2 certificate of public convenience and necessity 3 will— 4 ‘‘(i) traverse not fewer than 2 States; 5 ‘‘(ii) be used for the transmission of 6 electric energy in interstate commerce; and 7 ‘‘(iii) have a power capacity of not less 8 than 1,000 megawatts or 1,000 megavolt- 9 amperes; and 10 ‘‘(C) operation of the energy transmission 11 facility as proposed in the application— 12 ‘‘(i) will— 13 ‘‘(I) enable the use of renewable 14 energy; 15 ‘‘(II) reduce congestion; or 16 ‘‘(III) improve the reliability of 17 the transmission system; 18 ‘‘(ii) will maximize, to the extent rea- 19 sonable and economical, the use of— 20 ‘‘(I) existing facility sites; and 21 ‘‘(II) the transmission capabili- 22 ties of existing energy transmission 23 facilities; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:40 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1766.IH H1766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 1766 IH ‘‘(iii) will, to the extent practicable, 1 minimize the use of eminent domain. 2 ‘‘(4) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 18 months 3 after the date of enactment of this section, the Com- 4 mission shall issue rules specifying— 5 ‘‘(A) a pre-filing process during which a 6 person described in subsection (c)(1) and the 7 Commission shall consult with— 8 ‘‘(i) the appropriate State agencies, 9 State public utility commissions, and State 10 energy offices in each State the proposed 11 project traverses; 12 ‘‘(ii) appropriate Federal agencies; 13 and 14 ‘‘(iii) each Indian Tribe that may be 15 affected by the proposed project; 16 ‘‘(B) the form of, and information to be 17 contained in, an application submitted under 18 subsection (c)(1); 19 ‘‘(C) requirements for determining whether 20 the applicable energy transmission facility will 21 be constructed or modified— 22 ‘‘(i) to traverse not fewer than 2 23 States; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:40 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1766.IH H1766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 1766 IH ‘‘(ii) to be used for the transmission 1 of electric energy in interstate commerce; 2 and 3 ‘‘(iii) to have a power capacity of not 4 less than 1,000 megawatts or 1,000 mega- 5 volt-amperes; 6 ‘‘(D) criteria for determining the reason- 7 able and economical use of— 8 ‘‘(i) existing rights-of-way; and 9 ‘‘(ii) the transmission capabilities of 10 existing towers or structures; 11 ‘‘(E) the manner in which an application 12 submitted under subsection (c)(1) and any pro- 13 posal for the construction or modification of an 14 energy transmission facility shall be considered, 15 which, to the extent practicable, shall be con- 16 sistent with State statutory and regulatory poli- 17 cies concerning generation and retail sales of 18 electricity in the States in which the electric en- 19 ergy transmitted by the energy transmission fa- 20 cility will be generated or sold; and 21 ‘‘(F) the manner in which the Commission 22 will consider the needs of communities that will 23 be impacted directly by the proposed energy 24 transmission facility, including how any impacts 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:40 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1766.IH H1766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 1766 IH of the proposed energy transmission facility 1 could be mitigated or offset. 2 ‘‘(5) PUBLIC NOTICE, COMMENT, AND OPPOR- 3 TUNITY FOR A HEARING ON CERTAIN DRAFT DOCU- 4 MENTS.— 5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 6 provide not less than 90 days for public com- 7 ment on any initial scoping document or draft 8 environmental impact statement prepared for 9 an energy transmission facility with respect to 10 which an application for a certificate of public 11 convenience and necessity has been submitted 12 under subsection (c)(1). 13 ‘‘(B) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR 14 HEARING.—The Commission shall— 15 ‘‘(i) publish in the Federal Register a 16 notice of the filing of each draft scoping 17 document or draft environmental impact 18 statement described in clause (i); and 19 ‘‘(ii) provide to the individuals and en- 20 tities described in paragraph (6)(B) notice 21 and reasonable opportunity for the presen- 22 tation of any views and recommendations 23 with respect to the initial scoping docu- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:40 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1766.IH H1766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 1766 IH ment or draft environmental impact state- 1 ment. 2 ‘‘(C) TRIBAL CONSENT.—With respect to 3 an Indian Tribe that may be affected by a po- 4 tential project, the Commission— 5 ‘‘(i) shall provide notice to the appro- 6 priate Tribal officials and an opportunity 7 of public comment in accordance with sub- 8 paragraph (A); and 9 ‘‘(ii) shall not approve a scoping docu- 10 ment or draft environmental impact state- 11 ment unless consent has been obtained 12 from the proper Tribal officials in a man- 13 ner consistent with the requirements of 14 section 2 of the Act of February 5, 1948 15 (62 Stat. 18, chapter 45; 25 U.S.C. 324). 16 ‘‘(6) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR A HEAR- 17 ING ON APPLICATIONS.— 18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any proceeding be- 19 fore the Commission to consider an application 20 for a certificate of public convenience and ne- 21 cessity under this section, the Commission 22 shall— 23 ‘‘(i) publish a notice of the application 24 in the Federal Register; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:40 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1766.IH H1766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 1766 IH ‘‘(ii) provide to the individuals and en- 1 tities described in subparagraph (B) a no- 2 tice and reasonable opportunity for the 3 presentation of any views and rec- 4 ommendations with respect to the need for, 5 and impact of, the construction or modi- 6 fication of the energy transmission facility 7 proposed to be constructed or modified 8 under the certificate. 9 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES DE- 10 SCRIBED.—The individuals and entities referred 11 to in subparagraph (A) are— 12 ‘‘(i) an agency, selected by the Gov- 13 ernor (or equivalent official) of the applica- 14 ble State, of each State in which the en- 15 ergy transmission facility proposed to be 16 constructed or modified under the applica- 17 ble certificate of public convenience and 18 necessity is or will be located; 19 ‘‘(ii) each affected landowner; and 20 ‘‘(iii) as determined by the Commis- 21 sion— 22 ‘‘(I) each affected Federal agen- 23 cy; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:40 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1766.IH H1766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •HR 1766 IH ‘‘(II) each Indian Tribe that may 1 be affected by the proposed construc- 2 tion or modification. 3 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION.—The Commission may 4 not— 5 ‘‘(i) require an applicant for a certifi- 6 cate of public convenience and necessity 7 under this section to provide any notice re- 8 quired under this section; or 9 ‘‘(ii) enter into a contract to provide 10 any notice required under this section 11 with— 12 ‘‘(I) the applicant for the applica- 13 ble certificate of public convenience 14 and necessity; or 15 ‘‘(II) any other person that has a 16 financial interest in the project pro- 17 posed in the application for that cer- 18 tificate. 19 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person desiring a certifi- 21 cate of public convenience and necessity under this 22 section shall submit to the Commission an applica- 23 tion at such time, in such manner, and containing 24 such information as the Commission may require. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:40 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1766.IH H1766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_ [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

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