Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB1115 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	IB
2		-	Union Calendar No. 15
	1	+	I
3	2		118THCONGRESS
4	3		1
5	4		STSESSION H. R. 1115
6		-	[Report No. 118–23]
7	5		To provide for Federal and State agency coordination in the approval of
8	6		certain authorizations under the Natural Gas Act, and for other purposes.
9	7		IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
10	8		FEBRUARY21, 2023
11	9		Mr. B
12	10		URGESSintroduced the following bill; which was referred to the
13	11		Committee on Energy and Commerce
14		-	M
15		-	ARCH23, 2023
16		-	Additional sponsors: Mrs. M
17		-	ILLER-MEEKS, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. CURTIS, and
18		-	Mr. B
19		-	UCSHON
20		-	M
21		-	ARCH23, 2023
22		-	Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
23		-	House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
24		-	[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
25		-	[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 21, 2023]
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28		-	•HR 1115 RH
29	12		A BILL
30	13		To provide for Federal and State agency coordination in
31	14		the approval of certain authorizations under the Natural
32	15		Gas Act, and for other purposes.
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35		-	•HR 1115 RH
36	16		Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
37	17		tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
38	18		SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
39	19		This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Interagency 4
40	20		Coordination for Review of Natural Gas Pipelines Act’’. 5
41	21		SEC. 2. FERC PROCESS COORDINATION FOR NATURAL GAS 6
42	22		PIPELINE PROJECTS. 7
43	23		(a) D
44	24		EFINITIONS.—In this section: 8
45	25		(1) C
46	26		OMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 9
47	27		means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 10
48		-	(2) F
49		-	EDERAL AUTHORIZATION .—The term ‘‘Fed-11
50		-	eral authorization’’ has the meaning given that term 12
51		-	in section 15(a) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 13
52		-	717n(a)). 14
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	30	+	•HR 1115 IH
	31	+	(2) FEDERAL AUTHORIZATION .—The term 1
	32	+	‘‘Federal authorization’’ has the meaning given that 2
	33	+	term in section 15(a) of the Natural Gas Act (15 3
	34	+	U.S.C. 717n(a)). 4
53	35		(3) NEPA
54		-	REVIEW.—The term ‘‘NEPA review’’ 15
55		-	means the process of reviewing a proposed Federal ~~ac-16~~
56		-	~~tion~~ under section 102 of the National ~~Environmental 17~~
57		-	Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332). 18
	36	+	REVIEW.—The term ‘‘NEPA review’’ 5
	37	+	means the process of reviewing a proposed Federal 6
	38	+	action under section 102 of the National Environ-7
	39	+	mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332). 8
58	40		(4) P
59		-	ROJECT-RELATED NEPA REVIEW.—The term 19
60		-	‘‘project-related NEPA review’’ means any NEPA re-20
61		-	view required to be conducted with respect to the 21
62		-	issuance of an authorization under section 3 of the 22
63		-	Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public convenience 23
64		-	and necessity under section 7 of such Act. 24
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	41	+	ROJECT-RELATED NEPA REVIEW .—The 9
	42	+	term ‘‘project-related NEPA review’’ means any 10
	43	+	NEPA review required to be conducted with respect 11
	44	+	to the issuance of an authorization under section 3 12
	45	+	of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public con-13
	46	+	venience and necessity under section 7 of such Act. 14
	47	+	(b) C
	48	+	OMMISSIONNEPA REVIEWRESPONSIBIL-15
	49	+	ITIES.—In acting as the lead agency under section 16
	50	+	15(b)(1) of the Natural Gas Act for the purposes of com-17
	51	+	plying with the National Environmental Policy Act of 18
	52	+	1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect to an author-19
	53	+	ization under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certifi-20
	54	+	cate of public convenience and necessity under section 7 21
	55	+	of such Act, the Commission shall, in accordance with this 22
	56	+	section and other applicable Federal law— 23
	57	+	(1) be the only lead agency; 24
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	60	+	•HR 1115 IH
	61	+	(2) coordinate as early as practicable with each 1
	62	+	agency designated as a participating agency under 2
	63	+	subsection (d)(3) to ensure that the Commission de-3
	64	+	velops information in conducting its project-related 4
	65	+	NEPA review that is usable by the participating 5
	66	+	agency in considering an aspect of an application for 6
	67	+	a Federal authorization for which the agency is re-7
	68	+	sponsible; and 8
	69	+	(3) take such actions as are necessary and 9
	70	+	proper to facilitate the expeditious resolution of its 10
	71	+	project-related NEPA review. 11
	72	+	(c) D
	73	+	EFERENCE TOCOMMISSION.—In making a deci-12
	74	+	sion with respect to a Federal authorization required with 13
	75	+	respect to an application for authorization under section 14
	76	+	3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public conven-15
	77	+	ience and necessity under section 7 of such Act, each agen-16
	78	+	cy shall give deference, to the maximum extent authorized 17
	79	+	by law, to the scope of the project-related NEPA review 18
	80	+	that the Commission determines to be appropriate. 19
	81	+	(d) P
	82	+	ARTICIPATINGAGENCIES.— 20
	83	+	(1) I
	84	+	DENTIFICATION.—The Commission shall 21
	85	+	identify, as early as practicable after it is notified by 22
	86	+	a person applying for an authorization under section 23
	87	+	3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public 24
	88	+	convenience and necessity under section 7 of such 25
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67		-	•HR 1115 RH
68		-	(b) COMMISSIONNEPA REVIEWRESPONSIBILITIES.— 1
69		-	In acting as the lead agency under section 15(b)(1) of the 2
70		-	Natural Gas Act for the purposes of complying with the 3
71		-	National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4
72		-	4321 et seq.) with respect to an authorization under section 5
73		-	3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public conven-6
74		-	ience and necessity under section 7 of such Act, the Commis-7
75		-	sion shall, in accordance with this section and other appli-8
76		-	cable Federal law— 9
77		-	(1) be the only lead agency; 10
78		-	(2) coordinate as early as practicable with each 11
79		-	agency designated as a participating agency under 12
80		-	subsection (d)(3) to ensure that the Commission devel-13
81		-	ops information in conducting its project-related 14
82		-	NEPA review that is usable by the participating 15
83		-	agency in considering an aspect of an application for 16
84		-	a Federal authorization for which the agency is re-17
85		-	sponsible; and 18
86		-	(3) take such actions as are necessary and prop-19
87		-	er to facilitate the expeditious resolution of its project- 20
88		-	related NEPA review. 21
89		-	(c) D
90		-	EFERENCE TOCOMMISSION.—In making a deci-22
91		-	sion with respect to a Federal authorization required with 23
92		-	respect to an application for authorization under section 24
93		-	3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public conven-25
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	91	+	•HR 1115 IH
	92	+	Act, any Federal or State agency, local government, 1
	93	+	or Indian Tribe that may issue a Federal authoriza-2
	94	+	tion or is required by Federal law to consult with 3
	95	+	the Commission in conjunction with the issuance of 4
	96	+	a Federal authorization required for such authoriza-5
	97	+	tion or certificate. 6
	98	+	(2) I
	99	+	NVITATION.— 7
	100	+	(A) I
	101	+	N GENERAL.—The Commission shall 8
	102	+	invite any agency identified under paragraph 9
	103	+	(1) to participate in the review process for the 10
	104	+	applicable Federal authorization. 11
	105	+	(B) D
	106	+	EADLINE.—An invitation issued 12
	107	+	under subparagraph (A) shall establish a dead-13
	108	+	line by which a response to the invitation shall 14
	109	+	be submitted to the Commission, which may be 15
	110	+	extended by the Commission for good cause. 16
	111	+	(3) D
	112	+	ESIGNATION AS PARTICIPATING AGEN -17
	113	+	CIES.—The Commission shall designate an agency 18
	114	+	identified under paragraph (1) as a participating 19
	115	+	agency with respect to an application for authoriza-20
	116	+	tion under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a 21
	117	+	certificate of public convenience and necessity under 22
	118	+	section 7 of such Act unless the agency informs the 23
	119	+	Commission, in writing, by the deadline established 24
	120	+	pursuant to paragraph (2)(B), that the agency— 25
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96		-	•HR 1115 RH
97		-	ience and necessity under section 7 of such Act, each agency 1
98		-	shall give deference, to the maximum extent authorized by 2
99		-	law, to the scope of the project-related NEPA review that 3
100		-	the Commission determines to be appropriate. 4
101		-	(d) P
102		-	ARTICIPATINGAGENCIES.— 5
	123	+	•HR 1115 IH
	124	+	(A) has no jurisdiction or authority with 1
	125	+	respect to the applicable Federal authorization; 2
	126	+	(B) has no special expertise or information 3
	127	+	relevant to any project-related NEPA review; or 4
	128	+	(C) does not intend to submit comments 5
	129	+	for the record for the project-related NEPA re-6
	130	+	view conducted by the Commission. 7
	131	+	(4) E
	132	+	FFECT OF NON-DESIGNATION.— 8
	133	+	(A) E
	134	+	FFECT ON AGENCY .—Any agency 9
	135	+	that is not designated as a participating agency 10
	136	+	under paragraph (3) with respect to an applica-11
	137	+	tion for an authorization under section 3 of the 12
	138	+	Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public con-13
	139	+	venience and necessity under section 7 of such 14
	140	+	Act may not request or conduct a NEPA review 15
	141	+	that is supplemental to the project-related 16
	142	+	NEPA review conducted by the Commission, 17
	143	+	unless the agency— 18
	144	+	(i) demonstrates that such review is 19
	145	+	legally necessary for the agency to carry 20
	146	+	out responsibilities in considering an as-21
	147	+	pect of an application for a Federal au-22
	148	+	thorization; and 23
	149	+	(ii) requires information that could 24
	150	+	not have been obtained during the project- 25
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	153	+	•HR 1115 IH
	154	+	related NEPA review conducted by the 1
	155	+	Commission. 2
	156	+	(B) C
	157	+	OMMENTS; RECORD.—The Commis-3
	158	+	sion shall not, with respect to an agency that is 4
	159	+	not designated as a participating agency under 5
	160	+	paragraph (3) with respect to an application for 6
	161	+	an authorization under section 3 of the Natural 7
	162	+	Gas Act or a certificate of public convenience 8
	163	+	and necessity under section 7 of such Act— 9
	164	+	(i) consider any comments or other in-10
	165	+	formation submitted by such agency for 11
	166	+	the project-related NEPA review conducted 12
	167	+	by the Commission; or 13
	168	+	(ii) include any such comments or 14
	169	+	other information in the record for such 15
	170	+	project-related NEPA review. 16
	171	+	(e) S
	172	+	CHEDULE.— 17
	173	+	(1) D
	174	+	EADLINE FOR FEDERAL AUTHORIZA -18
	175	+	TIONS.—A deadline for a Federal authorization re-19
	176	+	quired with respect to an application for authoriza-20
	177	+	tion under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a 21
	178	+	certificate of public convenience and necessity under 22
	179	+	section 7 of such Act set by the Commission under 23
	180	+	section 15(c)(1) of such Act shall be not later than 24
	181	+	90 days after the Commission completes its project- 25
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	185	+	related NEPA review, unless an applicable schedule 1
	186	+	is otherwise established by Federal law. 2
	187	+	(2) C
	188	+	ONCURRENT REVIEWS .—Each Federal and 3
	189	+	State agency— 4
	190	+	(A) that may consider an application for a 5
	191	+	Federal authorization required with respect to 6
	192	+	an application for authorization under section 3 7
	193	+	of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public 8
	194	+	convenience and necessity under section 7 of 9
	195	+	such Act shall formulate and implement a plan 10
	196	+	for administrative, policy, and procedural mech-11
	197	+	anisms to enable the agency to ensure comple-12
	198	+	tion of Federal authorizations in compliance 13
	199	+	with schedules established by the Commission 14
	200	+	under section 15(c)(1) of such Act; and 15
	201	+	(B) in considering an aspect of an applica-16
	202	+	tion for a Federal authorization required with 17
	203	+	respect to an application for authorization 18
	204	+	under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a 19
	205	+	certificate of public convenience and necessity 20
	206	+	under section 7 of such Act, shall— 21
	207	+	(i) formulate and implement a plan to 22
	208	+	enable the agency to comply with the 23
	209	+	schedule established by the Commission 24
	210	+	under section 15(c)(1) of such Act; 25
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	213	+	•HR 1115 IH
	214	+	(ii) carry out the obligations of that 1
	215	+	agency under applicable law concurrently, 2
	216	+	and in conjunction with, the project-related 3
	217	+	NEPA review conducted by the Commis-4
	218	+	sion, and in compliance with the schedule 5
	219	+	established by the Commission under sec-6
	220	+	tion 15(c)(1) of such Act, unless the agen-7
	221	+	cy notifies the Commission in writing that 8
	222	+	doing so would impair the ability of the 9
	223	+	agency to conduct needed analysis or oth-10
	224	+	erwise carry out such obligations; 11
	225	+	(iii) transmit to the Commission a 12
	226	+	statement— 13
	227	+	(I) acknowledging receipt of the 14
	228	+	schedule established by the Commis-15
	229	+	sion under section 15(c)(1) of the 16
	230	+	Natural Gas Act; and 17
	231	+	(II) setting forth the plan formu-18
	232	+	lated under clause (i) of this subpara-19
	233	+	graph; 20
	234	+	(iv) not later than 30 days after the 21
	235	+	agency receives such application for a Fed-22
	236	+	eral authorization, transmit to the appli-23
	237	+	cant a notice— 24
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	240	+	•HR 1115 IH
	241	+	(I) indicating whether such appli-1
	242	+	cation is ready for processing; and 2
	243	+	(II) if such application is not 3
	244	+	ready for processing, that includes a 4
	245	+	comprehensive description of the in-5
	246	+	formation needed for the agency to 6
	247	+	determine that the application is 7
	248	+	ready for processing; 8
	249	+	(v) determine that such application 9
	250	+	for a Federal authorization is ready for 10
	251	+	processing for purposes of clause (iv) if 11
	252	+	such application is sufficiently complete for 12
	253	+	the purposes of commencing consideration, 13
	254	+	regardless of whether supplemental infor-14
	255	+	mation is necessary to enable the agency to 15
	256	+	complete the consideration required by law 16
	257	+	with respect to such application; and 17
	258	+	(vi) not less often than once every 90 18
	259	+	days, transmit to the Commission a report 19
	260	+	describing the progress made in consid-20
	261	+	ering such application for a Federal au-21
	262	+	thorization. 22
	263	+	(3) F
	264	+	AILURE TO MEET DEADLINE .—If a Fed-23
	265	+	eral or State agency, including the Commission, fails 24
	266	+	to meet a deadline for a Federal authorization set 25
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	269	+	•HR 1115 IH
	270	+	forth in the schedule established by the Commission 1
	271	+	under section 15(c)(1) of the Natural Gas Act, not 2
	272	+	later than 5 days after such deadline, the head of 3
	273	+	the relevant Federal agency (including, in the case 4
	274	+	of a failure by a State agency, the Federal agency 5
	275	+	overseeing the delegated authority) shall notify Con-6
	276	+	gress and the Commission of such failure and set 7
	277	+	forth a recommended implementation plan to ensure 8
	278	+	completion of the action to which such deadline ap-9
	279	+	plied. 10
	280	+	(f) C
	281	+	ONSIDERATION OFAPPLICATIONS FORFEDERAL 11
	282	+	A
	283	+	UTHORIZATION.— 12
103	284		(1) I
104		-	DENTIFICATION.—The Commission shall 6
105		-	identify, not later than 30 days after the Commission 7
106		-	receives an application for an authorization under 8
107		-	section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of 9
108		-	public convenience and necessity under section 7 of 10
109		-	such Act, any Federal or State agency, local govern-11
110		-	ment, or Indian Tribe that may issue a Federal au-12
111		-	thorization or is required by Federal law to consult 13
112		-	with the Commission in conjunction with the issuance 14
113		-	of a Federal authorization required for such author-15
114		-	ization or certificate. 16
115		-	(2) I
116		-	NVITATION.— 17
	285	+	SSUE IDENTIFICATION AND RESOLU -13
	286	+	TION.— 14
117	287		(A) I
118		-	N GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days 18
119		-	after the Commission receives an application for 19
120		-	an authorization under section 3 of the Natural 20
121		-	Gas Act or a certificate of public convenience 21
122		-	and necessity under section 7 of such Act, the 22
123		-	Commission shall invite any agency identified 23
124		-	under paragraph (1) to participate in the review 24
125		-	process for the applicable Federal authorization. 25
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129		-	(B) DEADLINE.—An invitation issued 1
130		-	under subparagraph (A) shall establish a dead-2
131		-	line by which a response to the invitation shall 3
132		-	be submitted to the Commission, which may be 4
133		-	extended by the Commission for good cause. 5
134		-	(3) D
135		-	ESIGNATION AS PARTICIPATING AGEN -6
136		-	CIES.—Not later than 60 days after the Commission 7
137		-	receives an application for an authorization under 8
138		-	section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of 9
139		-	public convenience and necessity under section 7 of 10
140		-	such Act, the Commission shall designate an agency 11
141		-	identified under paragraph (1) as a participating 12
142		-	agency with respect to an application for authoriza-13
143		-	tion under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a cer-14
144		-	tificate of public convenience and necessity under sec-15
145		-	tion 7 of such Act unless the agency informs the Com-16
146		-	mission, in writing, by the deadline established pur-17
147		-	suant to paragraph (2)(B), that the agency— 18
148		-	(A) has no jurisdiction or authority with 19
149		-	respect to the applicable Federal authorization; 20
150		-	(B) has no special expertise or information 21
151		-	relevant to any project-related NEPA review; or 22
152		-	(C) does not intend to submit comments for 23
153		-	the record for the project-related NEPA review 24
154		-	conducted by the Commission. 25
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158		-	(4) EFFECT OF NON-DESIGNATION.— 1
159		-	(A) E
160		-	FFECT ON AGENCY.—Any agency that 2
161		-	is not designated as a participating agency 3
162		-	under paragraph (3) with respect to an applica-4
163		-	tion for an authorization under section 3 of the 5
164		-	Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public con-6
165		-	venience and necessity under section 7 of such 7
166		-	Act may not request or conduct a NEPA review 8
167		-	that is supplemental to the project-related NEPA 9
168		-	review conducted by the Commission, unless the 10
169		-	agency— 11
170		-	(i) demonstrates that such review is le-12
171		-	gally necessary for the agency to carry out 13
172		-	responsibilities in considering an aspect of 14
173		-	an application for a Federal authorization; 15
174		-	and 16
175		-	(ii) requires information that could not 17
176		-	have been obtained during the project-re-18
177		-	lated NEPA review conducted by the Com-19
178		-	mission. 20
179		-	(B) C
180		-	OMMENTS; RECORD.—The Commission 21
181		-	shall not, with respect to an agency that is not 22
182		-	designated as a participating agency under 23
183		-	paragraph (3) with respect to an application for 24
184		-	an authorization under section 3 of the Natural 25
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187		-	•HR 1115 RH
188		-	Gas Act or a certificate of public convenience 1
189		-	and necessity under section 7 of such Act— 2
190		-	(i) consider any comments or other in-3
191		-	formation submitted by such agency for the 4
192		-	project-related NEPA review conducted by 5
193		-	the Commission; or 6
194		-	(ii) include any such comments or 7
195		-	other information in the record for such 8
196		-	project-related NEPA review. 9
197		-	(e) W
198		-	ATERQUALITYIMPACTS.— 10
199		-	(1) I
200		-	N GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 401 11
201		-	of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 12
202		-	1341), an applicant for a Federal authorization shall 13
203		-	not be required to provide a certification under such 14
204		-	section with respect to the Federal authorization. 15
205		-	(2) C
206		-	OORDINATION.—With respect to any NEPA 16
207		-	review for a Federal authorization to conduct an ac-17
208		-	tivity that will directly result in a discharge into the 18
209		-	navigable waters (within the meaning of the Federal 19
210		-	Water Pollution Control Act), the Commission shall 20
211		-	identify as an agency under subsection (d)(1) the 21
212		-	State in which the discharge originates or will origi-22
213		-	nate, or, if appropriate, the interstate water pollution 23
214		-	control agency having jurisdiction over the navigable 24
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217		-	•HR 1115 RH
218		-	waters at the point where the discharge originates or 1
219		-	will originate. 2
220		-	(3) P
221		-	ROPOSED CONDITIONS.—A State or inter-3
222		-	state agency designated as a participating agency 4
223		-	pursuant to paragraph (2) may propose to the Com-5
224		-	mission terms or conditions for inclusion in an au-6
225		-	thorization under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or 7
226		-	a certificate of public convenience and necessity under 8
227		-	section 7 of such Act that the State or interstate agen-9
228		-	cy determines are necessary to ensure that any activ-10
229		-	ity described in paragraph (2) conducted pursuant to 11
230		-	such authorization or certification will comply with 12
231		-	the applicable provisions of sections 301, 302, 303, 13
232		-	306, and 307 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 14
233		-	Act. 15
234		-	(4) C
235		-	OMMISSION CONSIDERATION OF CONDI -16
236		-	TIONS.—The Commission may include a term or con-17
237		-	dition in an authorization under section 3 of the Nat-18
238		-	ural Gas Act or a certificate of public convenience 19
239		-	and necessity under section 7 of such Act proposed by 20
240		-	a State or interstate agency under paragraph (3) 21
241		-	only if the Commission finds that the term or condi-22
242		-	tion is necessary to ensure that any activity described 23
243		-	in paragraph (2) conducted pursuant to such author-24
244		-	ization or certification will comply with the applica-25
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247		-	•HR 1115 RH
248		-	ble provisions of sections 301, 302, 303, 306, and 307 1
249		-	of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. 2
250		-	(f) S
251		-	CHEDULE.— 3
252		-	(1) D
253		-	EADLINE FOR FEDERAL AUTHORIZA -4
254		-	TIONS.—A deadline for a Federal authorization re-5
255		-	quired with respect to an application for authoriza-6
256		-	tion under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a cer-7
257		-	tificate of public convenience and necessity under sec-8
258		-	tion 7 of such Act set by the Commission under sec-9
259		-	tion 15(c)(1) of such Act shall be not later than 90 10
260		-	days after the Commission completes its project-re-11
261		-	lated NEPA review, unless an applicable schedule is 12
262		-	otherwise established by Federal law. 13
263		-	(2) C
264		-	ONCURRENT REVIEWS .—Each Federal and 14
265		-	State agency— 15
266		-	(A) that may consider an application for a 16
267		-	Federal authorization required with respect to 17
268		-	an application for authorization under section 3 18
269		-	of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public 19
270		-	convenience and necessity under section 7 of such 20
271		-	Act shall formulate and implement a plan for 21
272		-	administrative, policy, and procedural mecha-22
273		-	nisms to enable the agency to ensure completion 23
274		-	of Federal authorizations in compliance with 24
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	288	+	DENTIFICATION.—Federal and State 15
	289	+	agencies that may consider an aspect of an ap-16
	290	+	plication for a Federal authorization shall iden-17
	291	+	tify, as early as possible, any issues of concern 18
	292	+	that may delay or prevent an agency from 19
	293	+	working with the Commission to resolve such 20
	294	+	issues and granting such authorization. 21
	295	+	(B) I
	296	+	SSUE RESOLUTION.—The Commission 22
	297	+	may forward any issue of concern identified 23
	298	+	under subparagraph (A) to the heads of the rel-24
	299	+	evant agencies (including, in the case of an 25
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277		-	•HR 1115 RH
278		-	schedules established by the Commission under 1
279		-	section 15(c)(1) of such Act; and 2
280		-	(B) in considering an aspect of an applica-3
281		-	tion for a Federal authorization required with 4
282		-	respect to an application for authorization under 5
283		-	section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate 6
284		-	of public convenience and necessity under section 7
285		-	7 of such Act, shall— 8
286		-	(i) formulate and implement a plan to 9
287		-	enable the agency to comply with the sched-10
288		-	ule established by the Commission under 11
289		-	section 15(c)(1) of such Act; 12
290		-	(ii) carry out the obligations of that 13
291		-	agency under applicable law concurrently, 14
292		-	and in conjunction with, the project-related 15
293		-	NEPA review conducted by the Commission, 16
294		-	and in compliance with the schedule estab-17
295		-	lished by the Commission under section 18
296		-	15(c)(1) of such Act, unless the agency noti-19
297		-	fies the Commission in writing that doing 20
298		-	so would impair the ability of the agency to 21
299		-	conduct needed analysis or otherwise carry 22
300		-	out such obligations; 23
301		-	(iii) transmit to the Commission a 24
302		-	statement— 25
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	302	+	•HR 1115 IH
	303	+	issue of concern that is a failure by a State 1
	304	+	agency, the Federal agency overseeing the dele-2
	305	+	gated authority, if applicable) for resolution. 3
	306	+	(2) R
	307	+	EMOTE SURVEYS.—If a Federal or State 4
	308	+	agency considering an aspect of an application for a 5
	309	+	Federal authorization requires the person applying 6
	310	+	for such authorization to submit data, the agency 7
	311	+	shall consider any such data gathered by aerial or 8
	312	+	other remote means that the person submits. The 9
	313	+	agency may grant a conditional approval for the 10
	314	+	Federal authorization based on data gathered by 11
	315	+	aerial or remote means, conditioned on the 12
	316	+	verification of such data by subsequent onsite in-13
	317	+	spection. 14
	318	+	(3) A
	319	+	PPLICATION PROCESSING .—The Commis-15
	320	+	sion, and Federal and State agencies, may allow a 16
	321	+	person applying for a Federal authorization to fund 17
	322	+	a third-party contractor to assist in reviewing the 18
	323	+	application for such authorization. 19
	324	+	(g) A
	325	+	CCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, EFFI-20
	326	+	CIENCY.—For an application for an authorization under 21
	327	+	section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public 22
	328	+	convenience and necessity under section 7 of such Act that 23
	329	+	requires multiple Federal authorizations, the Commission, 24
	330	+	with input from any Federal or State agency considering 25
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305		-	•HR 1115 RH
306		-	~~(I) acknowledging receipt~~ of the 1
307		-	~~schedule established by~~ the Commission 2
308		-	~~under section 15(c)(1) of~~ the ~~Natural~~ 3
309		-	~~Gas Act;~~ ~~and~~ 4
310		-	(II) ~~setting forth~~ the ~~plan formu-~~5
311		-	~~lated~~ under ~~clause~~ (i) of ~~this subpara-~~6
312		-	~~graph;~~ 7
313		-	~~(iv) not later than 30 days after the~~ 8
314		-	~~agency receives such application for~~ a ~~Fed-~~9
315		-	~~eral authorization, transmit to~~ the ~~appli-~~10
316		-	~~cant a notice—~~ 11
317		-	~~(I) indicating whether such appli-~~12
318		-	~~cation is ready for processing;~~ ~~and~~ 13
319		-	~~(II) if~~ such ~~application is not~~ 14
320		-	~~ready for processing,~~ that ~~includes a~~ 15
321		-	~~comprehensive description~~ of the ~~infor~~-16
322		-	~~mation needed~~ for the ~~agency to deter-~~17
323		-	~~mine that the application is ready for~~ 18
324		-	~~processing;~~ 19
325		-	~~(v) determine that such application for~~ 20
326		-	~~a Federal authorization is ready for proc-~~21
327		-	~~essing for purposes of clause (iv) if such ap-~~22
328		-	~~plication is sufficiently complete for~~ the 23
329		-	~~purposes of commencing consideration,~~ re-24
330		-	~~gardless of whether supplemental informa~~-25
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	333	+	•HR 1115 IH
	334	+	an aspect of the application, shall track and make avail-1
	335	+	able to the public on the Commission’s website information 2
	336	+	related to the actions required to complete the Federal au-3
	337	+	thorizations. Such information shall include the following: 4
	338	+	(1) The schedule established by the Commission 5
	339	+	under section 15(c)(1) of the Natural Gas Act. 6
	340	+	(2) A list of all the actions required by each ap-7
	341	+	plicable agency to complete permitting, reviews, and 8
	342	+	other actions necessary to obtain a final decision on 9
	343	+	the application. 10
	344	+	(3) The expected completion date for each such 11
	345	+	action. 12
	346	+	(4) A point of contact at the agency responsible 13
	347	+	for each such action. 14
	348	+	(5) In the event that an action is still pending 15
	349	+	as of the expected date of completion, a brief expla-16
	350	+	nation of the reasons for the delay. 17
	351	+	SEC. 3. PIPELINE SECURITY. 18
	352	+	In considering an application for an authorization 19
	353	+	under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate 20
	354	+	of public convenience and necessity under section 7 of such 21
	355	+	Act, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall 22
	356	+	consult with the Administrator of the Transportation Se-23
	357	+	curity Administration regarding the applicant’s compli-24
	358	+	ance with security guidance and best practice rec-25
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333		-	•HR 1115 RH
334		-	tion is necessary to enable the agency to 1
335		-	complete the consideration required by law 2
336		-	with respect to such application; and 3
337		-	(vi) not less often than once every 90 4
338		-	days, transmit to the Commission a report 5
339		-	describing the progress made in considering 6
340		-	such application for a Federal authoriza-7
341		-	tion. 8
342		-	(3) F
343		-	AILURE TO MEET DEADLINE .—If a Federal 9
344		-	or State agency, including the Commission, fails to 10
345		-	meet a deadline for a Federal authorization set forth 11
346		-	in the schedule established by the Commission under 12
347		-	section 15(c)(1) of the Natural Gas Act, not later than 13
348		-	5 days after such deadline, the head of the relevant 14
349		-	Federal agency (including, in the case of a failure by 15
350		-	a State agency, the Federal agency overseeing the del-16
351		-	egated authority) shall notify Congress and the Com-17
352		-	mission of such failure and set forth a recommended 18
353		-	implementation plan to ensure completion of the ac-19
354		-	tion to which such deadline applied. 20
355		-	(g) C
356		-	ONSIDERATION OFAPPLICATIONS FORFEDERAL 21
357		-	A
358		-	UTHORIZATION.— 22
359		-	(1) I
360		-	SSUE IDENTIFICATION AND RESOLUTION .— 23
361		-	(A) I
362		-	DENTIFICATION.—Federal and State 24
363		-	agencies that may consider an aspect of an ap-25
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366		-	•HR 1115 RH
367		-	plication for a Federal authorization shall iden-1
368		-	tify, as early as possible, any issues of concern 2
369		-	that may delay or prevent an agency from work-3
370		-	ing with the Commission to resolve such issues 4
371		-	and granting such authorization. 5
372		-	(B) I
373		-	SSUE RESOLUTION.—The Commission 6
374		-	may forward any issue of concern identified 7
375		-	under subparagraph (A) to the heads of the rel-8
376		-	evant agencies (including, in the case of an issue 9
377		-	of concern that is a failure by a State agency, 10
378		-	the Federal agency overseeing the delegated au-11
379		-	thority, if applicable) for resolution. 12
380		-	(2) R
381		-	EMOTE SURVEYS.—If a Federal or State 13
382		-	agency considering an aspect of an application for a 14
383		-	Federal authorization requires the person applying 15
384		-	for such authorization to submit data, the agency 16
385		-	shall consider any such data gathered by aerial or 17
386		-	other remote means that the person submits. The 18
387		-	agency may grant a conditional approval for the Fed-19
388		-	eral authorization based on data gathered by aerial or 20
389		-	remote means, conditioned on the verification of such 21
390		-	data by subsequent onsite inspection. 22
391		-	(3) A
392		-	PPLICATION PROCESSING.—The Commis-23
393		-	sion, and Federal and State agencies, may allow a 24
394		-	person applying for a Federal authorization to fund 25
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397		-	•HR 1115 RH
398		-	a third-party contractor to assist in reviewing the ap-1
399		-	plication for such authorization. 2
400		-	(h) A
401		-	CCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, EFFICIENCY.— 3
402		-	For an application for an authorization under section 3 4
403		-	of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public convenience 5
404		-	and necessity under section 7 of such Act that requires mul-6
405		-	tiple Federal authorizations, the Commission, with input 7
406		-	from any Federal or State agency considering an aspect 8
407		-	of the application, shall track and make available to the 9
408		-	public on the Commission’s website information related to 10
409		-	the actions required to complete the Federal authorizations. 11
410		-	Such information shall include the following: 12
411		-	(1) The schedule established by the Commission 13
412		-	under section 15(c)(1) of the Natural Gas Act. 14
413		-	(2) A list of all the actions required by each ap-15
414		-	plicable agency to complete permitting, reviews, and 16
415		-	other actions necessary to obtain a final decision on 17
416		-	the application. 18
417		-	(3) The expected completion date for each such 19
418		-	action. 20
419		-	(4) A point of contact at the agency responsible 21
420		-	for each such action. 22
421		-	(5) In the event that an action is still pending 23
422		-	as of the expected date of completion, a brief expla-24
423		-	nation of the reasons for the delay. 25
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426		-	•HR 1115 RH
427		-	SEC. 3. PIPELINE SECURITY. 1
428		-	In considering an application for an authorization 2
429		-	under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of 3
430		-	public convenience and necessity under section 7 of such 4
431		-	Act, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall con-5
432		-	sult with the Administrator of the Transportation Security 6
433		-	Administration regarding the applicant’s compliance with 7
434		-	security guidance and best practice recommendations of the 8
435		-	Administration regarding pipeline infrastructure security, 9
436		-	pipeline cybersecurity, pipeline personnel security, and 10
437		-	other pipeline security measures. 11
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440		-	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS Union Calendar No.
441		-	15
442		-	118
443		-	TH
444		-	CONGRESS
445		-	1
446		-	ST
447		-	S
448		-	ESSION
449		-
450		-	H. R. 1115
451		-	[Report No. 118–23]
452		-	A BILL
453		-	To provide for Federal and State agency coordina-
454		-	tion in the approval of certain authorizations
455		-	under the Natural Gas Act, and for other pur-
456		-	poses.
457		-	M
458		-	ARCH
459		-	23, 2023
460		-	Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
461		-	mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,
462		-	and ordered to be printed
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	361	+	•HR 1115 IH
	362	+	ommendations of the Administration regarding pipeline 1
	363	+	infrastructure security, pipeline cybersecurity, pipeline 2
	364	+	personnel security, and other pipeline security measures. 3
	365	+	Æ
	366	+	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Mar 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1115.IH H1115
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