Pipeline Fairness, Transparency, and Responsible Development Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4502 To amend the Natural Gas Act to bolster fairness and transparency in the consideration of interstate natural gas pipeline permits, to provide for greater public input opportunities in the natural gas pipeline permit- ting process, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES AUGUST 6, 2020 Mr. KAINE (for himself and Mr. WARNER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To amend the Natural Gas Act to bolster fairness and trans- parency in the consideration of interstate natural gas pipeline permits, to provide for greater public input op- portunities in the natural gas pipeline permitting process, 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 ‘‘Pipeline Fairness, 4 Transparency, and Responsible Development Act of 5 2020’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4502.IS S4502 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4502 IS SEC. 2. NOTICE TO AFFECTED LANDOWNERS. 1 (a) INITIAL NOTICE.—Section 7(d) of the Natural 2 Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717f(d)) is amended— 3 (1) by striking the subsection designation and 4 all that follows through ‘‘Application for certificates’’ 5 and inserting the following: 6 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATE OF PUBLIC 7 CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 9 an application for a certificate’’; and 10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.— 12 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION.—An application for a 13 certificate of public convenience and necessity 14 under paragraph (1) shall include— 15 ‘‘(i) the name and address of each in- 16 terested party on whom the applicant is re- 17 quired to serve notice of the application 18 under that paragraph; and 19 ‘‘(ii) a copy of the notice proposed to 20 be served on each interested party under 21 that paragraph. 22 ‘‘(B) NOTICE.— 23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A notice served on 24 an interested party under paragraph (1) 25 shall include— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4502.IS S4502 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4502 IS ‘‘(I) a description of the pro- 1 ceeding before the Commission relat- 2 ing to the application for a certificate 3 of public convenience and necessity; 4 ‘‘(II) complete instructions on 5 how the interested party can move to 6 intervene in the proceeding described 7 in the notice, including instructions on 8 how to intervene— 9 ‘‘(aa) electronically; and 10 ‘‘(bb) through a paper filing; 11 ‘‘(III) a clear statement of the 12 contents required to be included in a 13 motion to intervene in the proceeding 14 described in the notice; 15 ‘‘(IV) the deadline for the inter- 16 ested party to move to intervene in 17 the proceeding described in the notice; 18 and 19 ‘‘(V) a section, separated from 20 the remaining text of the notice and 21 clearly displayed in bold print, inform- 22 ing the interested party that— 23 ‘‘(aa) in order to preserve 24 the right to seek judicial review 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4502.IS S4502 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4502 IS of a decision by the Commission 1 relating to the certificate of pub- 2 lic convenience and necessity, the 3 interested party must intervene 4 in the proceeding described in the 5 notice; and 6 ‘‘(bb) intervention in the 7 proceeding described in the notice 8 is the only way to preserve the 9 right to judicial review described 10 in item (aa). 11 ‘‘(ii) REVIEW.—The Commission 12 shall— 13 ‘‘(I) review each notice submitted 14 to the Commission under subpara- 15 graph (A)(ii) to determine whether 16 the notice meets the requirements de- 17 scribed in clause (i); and 18 ‘‘(II) approve the notice only if 19 the notice meets those requirements. 20 ‘‘(iii) SERVICE.— 21 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—An applicant 22 may not serve notice on an interested 23 party under paragraph (1) unless the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4502.IS S4502 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4502 IS notice has been approved by the Com- 1 mission under clause (ii). 2 ‘‘(II) DEADLINE.—A notice 3 under paragraph (1) shall be served 4 on an interested party not less than 5 60 days before the last day on which 6 the interested party may intervene in 7 the proceeding described in the notice. 8 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMA- 9 TION RELATING TO INTERESTED PARTIES.—On 10 request of any person, the Commission shall 11 disclose the names and addresses submitted to 12 the Commission under subparagraph (A)(i), 13 subject to such reasonable terms and conditions 14 as the Commission determines to be appro- 15 priate.’’. 16 (b) SUBSEQUENT NOTICE.—Section 7(e) of the Nat- 17 ural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717f(e)) is amended— 18 (1) by striking the subsection designation and 19 all that follows through ‘‘of this section,’’ in the first 20 sentence and inserting the following: 21 ‘‘(e) ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATE.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except in the cases gov- 23 erned by the provisos in subparagraphs (A) and (B) 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4502.IS S4502 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4502 IS of subsection (c)(1), and subject to paragraphs (2) 1 through (4),’’; 2 (2) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), by 3 striking ‘‘necessity; otherwise’’ in the first sentence 4 and all that follows through ‘‘The Commission’’ in 5 the second sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘ne- 6 cessity. 7 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—The Commission shall 8 deny any application for which the Commission has 9 not made the findings described in paragraph (1). 10 ‘‘(3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Commis- 11 sion’’; and 12 (3) by adding at the end the following: 13 ‘‘(4) NOTICE OF ISSUANCE.— 14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On issuance of a cer- 15 tificate of public convenience and necessity by 16 the Commission, the applicant requesting the 17 certificate shall provide to each interested party 18 on whom the applicant served notice of the ap- 19 plication under subsection (d) a notice of the 20 issuance of the certificate. 21 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—Each notice under 22 subparagraph (A) shall include— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4502.IS S4502 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4502 IS ‘‘(i) complete instructions on how the 1 recipient of the notice may apply for a re- 2 hearing before the Commission; 3 ‘‘(ii) a clear statement of the contents 4 required to be included in an application 5 for a rehearing before the Commission; 6 ‘‘(iii) the deadline for the recipient to 7 file that application; 8 ‘‘(iv) the time period for seeking judi- 9 cial review of a decision of the Commission 10 on an application for rehearing; 11 ‘‘(v) a statement informing the recipi- 12 ent that judicial review will not be avail- 13 able with respect to a decision of the Com- 14 mission on any issue for which the recipi- 15 ent has not sought rehearing before the 16 Commission; and 17 ‘‘(vi) a clear reference to— 18 ‘‘(I) subsections (a) and (b) of 19 section 19; and 20 ‘‘(II) any rules issued under 21 those subsections relating to the time 22 or manner of seeking— 23 ‘‘(aa) a rehearing before the 24 Commission; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4502.IS S4502 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4502 IS ‘‘(bb) judicial review of a de- 1 cision of the Commission under 2 this section, including any deci- 3 sion on a rehearing. 4 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF NOTICE.—A court may 5 not grant a petition for eminent domain under 6 subsection (h) with respect to any property cov- 7 ered by the applicable certificate of public con- 8 venience and necessity issued under this sub- 9 section unless the holder of the certificate has 10 provided notice under this paragraph to each 11 interested party described in subparagraph 12 (A).’’. 13 SEC. 3. CONDITIONED CERTIFICATES. 14 Section 7(e) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 15 717f(e)) (as amended by section 2(b)) is amended by add- 16 ing at the end the following: 17 ‘‘(5) RESTRICTIONS.— 18 ‘‘(A) EMINENT DOMAIN.— 19 ‘‘(i) COMMENCEMENT OF ACTION.—A 20 holder of a certificate of public convenience 21 and necessity may not commence an action 22 under subsection (h) until the earliest date 23 on which all timely applications for rehear- 24 ing under section 19(a)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4502.IS S4502 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4502 IS ‘‘(I) have received a ruling on the 1 merits by the Commission under that 2 section; or 3 ‘‘(II) have been deemed denied 4 under paragraph (3)(B)(i) of that sec- 5 tion. 6 ‘‘(ii) RULING ON PETITION.—A court 7 may not grant a petition for eminent do- 8 main under subsection (h) with respect to 9 any property covered by the applicable cer- 10 tificate of public convenience and necessity 11 if the holder of that certificate has not re- 12 ceived all required certifications, authoriza- 13 tions, approvals, permits, or other permis- 14 sions from Federal or State agencies nec- 15 essary— 16 ‘‘(I) to begin construction; and 17 ‘‘(II) to complete the entire 18 project for which the certificate was 19 issued. 20 ‘‘(B) CONSTRUCTION.—The holder of a 21 certificate of public convenience and necessity 22 may not begin construction under that certifi- 23 cate until the later of— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4502.IS S4502 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4502 IS ‘‘(i) the earliest date on which the 1 holder has received all required certifi- 2 cations, authorizations, approvals, permits, 3 or other permissions described in subpara- 4 graph (A)(ii); and 5 ‘‘(ii) the earliest date on which all 6 timely applications for rehearing under 7 section 19(a)— 8 ‘‘(I) have received a ruling on the 9 merits by the Commission under that 10 section; or 11 ‘‘(II) have been deemed denied 12 under paragraph (3)(B)(i) of that sec- 13 tion.’’. 14 SEC. 4. EMINENT DOMAIN. 15 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—With respect to the 16 construction and operation of natural gas pipelines, it is 17 the policy of the United States to protect the rights of 18 citizens of the United States to their private property, in- 19 cluding by limiting the taking of private property by the 20 Federal Government to situations in which the taking is 21 for public use, with just compensation, and required by 22 the public convenience and necessity, and not merely to 23 advance the economic interests of private parties that 24 would be given ownership or use of the property taken. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4502.IS S4502 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4502 IS (b) JUST COMPENSATION.—Section 7(h) of the Nat- 1 ural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717f(h)) is amended— 2 (1) by striking the subsection designation and 3 all that follows through ‘‘When any holder’’ in the 4 first sentence and inserting the following: 5 ‘‘(h) EMINENT DOMAIN.— 6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—When any holder’’; 7 (2) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), in the 8 second sentence— 9 (A) by striking ‘‘The practice’’ and insert- 10 ing the following: 11 ‘‘(2) PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE.— 12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 13 graph (B), the practice’’; 14 (3) in paragraph (2)(A) (as so designated), by 15 striking ‘‘situated: Provided, That the’’ and insert- 16 ing the following ‘‘situated. 17 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The’’; and 18 (4) by adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(3) JUST COMPENSATION.— 20 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF LOST CONSERVATION 21 VALUE.—In this paragraph, the term ‘lost con- 22 servation value’ means— 23 ‘‘(i) the value of any use of land for 24 conservation purposes (as defined in sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4502.IS S4502 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4502 IS tion 1.170A–14(d) of title 26, Code of 1 Federal Regulations (or a successor regula- 2 tion)) that is interrupted or prevented by 3 the exercise of the right of eminent domain 4 under paragraph (1); 5 ‘‘(ii) any decrease in the value of land 6 due to the interruption or prevention of a 7 use described in clause (i); and 8 ‘‘(iii) any lost benefit or decrease in 9 the value of a benefit due to the interrup- 10 tion or prevention of a use described in 11 clause (i). 12 ‘‘(B) LAND SUBJECT TO A CONSERVATION 13 EASEMENT.—In determining the just compensa- 14 tion for property acquired by the exercise of the 15 right of eminent domain under paragraph (1), 16 in the case of land subject to a conservation 17 easement, the court with jurisdiction over the 18 proceeding shall consider the lost conservation 19 value of that land.’’. 20 SEC. 5. APPRAISALS, OFFERS OF COMPENSATION, AND POS- 21 SESSION. 22 Section 7(h) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 23 717f(h)) (as amended by section 4(b)) is amended by add- 24 ing at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4502.IS S4502 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 4502 IS ‘‘(4) APPRAISALS AND OFFERS OF COMPENSA- 1 TION.— 2 ‘‘(A) APPRAISALS.— 3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The holder of a 4 certificate of public convenience and neces- 5 sity shall have the property covered by the 6 certificate appraised in accordance with 7 generally accepted appraisal standards. 8 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT.—The owner of 9 the applicable property (or a designated 10 representative of the owner) shall be given 11 the opportunity to accompany the ap- 12 praiser during any inspection of the prop- 13 erty that is part of an appraisal under 14 clause (i). 15 ‘‘(iii) TIMING.—An appraisal under 16 clause (i) shall be carried out before the 17 holder of the certificate of public conven- 18 ience and necessity makes an offer of com- 19 pensation to the owner of the applicable 20 property. 21 ‘‘(B) OFFERS OF COMPENSATION.—Any 22 offer of compensation made to an owner of 23 property that is covered by a certificate of pub- 24 lic convenience and necessity— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4502.IS S4502 pamtmann on D [Text truncated for display. 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