Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress Senate Bill SB1456 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	II
2	2	118THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION S. 1456
5	5	To provide for certain energy development, permitting reforms, and for other
6	6	purposes.
7	7	IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
8	8	MAY4, 2023
9	9	Mr. B
10	10	ARRASSO(for himself, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. RISCH, Mr. LEE, Mr. DAINES,
11	11	Ms. M
12	12	URKOWSKI, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. CASSIDY, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, and
13	13	Mr. H
14	14	AWLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re-
15	15	ferred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
16	16	A BILL
17	17	To provide for certain energy development, permitting
18	18	reforms, and for other purposes.
19	19	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
20	20	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
21	21	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3
22	22	(a) S
23	23	HORTTITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4
24	24	‘‘Spur Permitting of Underdeveloped Resources Act’’ or 5
25	25	the ‘‘SPUR Act’’. 6
26	26	(b) T
27	27	ABLE OFCONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7
28	28	this Act is as follows: 8
29	29	Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
30	30	TITLE I—OIL AND GAS LEASING AND PERMITTING
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34	34	Subtitle A—Onshore and Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing
35	35	Sec. 1101. Onshore oil and gas leasing.
36	36	Sec. 1102. Offshore oil and gas leasing.
37	37	Sec. 1103. Prohibition on delays.
38	38	Subtitle B—Permitting of Federal Oil and Gas Minerals
39	39	Sec. 1201. Term of application for permit to drill.
40	40	Sec. 1202. Cooperative federalism in oil and gas permitting on available Fed-
41	41	eral land.
42	42	Sec. 1203. Split estate permitting compliance.
43	43	Sec. 1204. Fee-fee-fed permitting compliance.
44	44	Sec. 1205. State and Tribal authority for hydraulic fracturing regulation.
45	45	Subtitle C—Liquefied Natural Gas Exports
46	46	Sec. 1301. Action on applications to export liquefied natural gas.
47	47	Sec. 1302. Small scale LNG access.
48	48	TITLE II—MINERAL LEASING AND PERMITTING
49	49	Sec. 2001. Land use plan criteria under the Federal Land Policy and Manage-
50	50	ment Act of 1976.
51	51	Sec. 2002. Congressional approval of withdrawals under the Federal Land Pol-
52	52	icy and Management Act of 1976.
53	53	Sec. 2003. Prohibition of certain moratoria.
54	54	Sec. 2004. Prohibition of the establishment of new categories of Federal land
55	55	designations by the heads of Federal land management agen-
56	56	cies.
57	57	Sec. 2005. Coal leases on Federal land.
58	58	Sec. 2006. Modification to definitions of critical material and critical mineral
59	59	and critical mineral designation criteria.
60	60	Sec. 2007. Permitting process improvements.
61	61	TITLE III—FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
62	62	Sec. 3001. Tariff reforms, rate treatments, and rulemaking to ensure the reli-
63	63	ability and security of electric service and interstate natural
64	64	gas service.
65	65	Sec. 3002. Federal authorizations under the Natural Gas Act.
66	66	Sec. 3003. Federal authorizations under section 216 of the Federal Power Act.
67	67	Sec. 3004. Promoting interagency coordination for review of natural gas
68	68	projects.
69	69	Sec. 3005. Coordination process to protect electric reliability.
70	70	Sec. 3006. Addressing inaction by Commission on certain electric rate filings.
71	71	Sec. 3007. Tolling order reform for the Natural Gas Act.
72	72	Sec. 3008. Tolling order reform for the Federal Power Act.
73	73	Sec. 3009. De novo review of civil penalties under the Natural Gas Act.
74	74	Sec. 3010. Extension of time to commence construction of certain hydropower
75	75	projects.
76	76	Sec. 3011. Judicial review.
77	77	Sec. 3012. Approval for border-crossing facilities.
78	78	TITLE IV—OTHER NATURAL RESOURCES
79	79	Sec. 4001. Root and stem projects.
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83	83	Sec. 4002. Consultation under certain land and resource management plans
84	84	and land use plans.
85	85	Sec. 4003. Renewal term of grazing permits or leases.
86	86	Sec. 4004. Renewal of grazing permits and leases and certain actions during
87	87	extreme natural events and disasters.
88	88	Sec. 4005. Withdrawal of BLM proposed rule.
89	89	TITLE I—OIL AND GAS LEASING 1
90	90	AND PERMITTING 2
91	91	Subtitle A—Onshore and Offshore 3
92	92	Oil and Gas Leasing 4
93	93	SEC. 1101. ONSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING. 5
94	94	(a) D
95	95	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 6
96	96	(1) O
97	97	NSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE SALE .—The 7
98	98	term ‘‘onshore oil and gas lease sale’’ means an oil 8
99	99	and gas lease sale conducted under section 17 of the 9
100	100	Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226). 10
101	101	(2) S
102	102	ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 11
103	103	the Secretary of the Interior. 12
104	104	(b) O
105	105	NSHOREOIL ANDGASLEASESALES.— 13
106	106	(1) C
107	107	ONGRESSIONAL DECLARATION OF POL -14
108	108	ICY.—Consistent with the policy described in section 15
109	109	102(a)(12) of the Federal Land Policy and Manage-16
110	110	ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701(a)(12)) that the 17
111	111	Bureau of Land Management manage public land 18
112	112	‘‘in a manner which recognizes the Nation’s need for 19
113	113	domestic sources of minerals’’ from public land, 20
114	114	Congress declares that it is the policy of the United 21
115	115	States that it is in the national interest for the De-22
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119	119	partment of the Interior to move forward expedi-1
120	120	tiously to immediately resume quarterly onshore oil 2
121	121	and gas lease sales. 3
122	122	(2) R
123	123	EQUIREMENT TO IMMEDIATELY RESUME 4
124	124	ONSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE SALES .—The Sec-5
125	125	retary shall immediately resume quarterly onshore 6
126	126	oil and gas lease sales in accordance with section 7
127	127	17(b)(1)(A) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 8
128	128	226(b)(1)(A)). 9
129	129	(3) S
130	130	TATUTORY LEASE TERMS .—During the 5- 10
131	131	year period beginning on the date of enactment of 11
132	132	this Act, in order to promote increased production 12
133	133	on Federal land, the Secretary may, on a determina-13
134	134	tion that it is in the national interest, reduce the ap-14
135	135	plicable royalty rate on individual leases issued 15
136	136	under an onshore oil and gas lease sale to not less 16
137	137	than 12.5 percent. 17
138	138	(4) A
139	139	PPROVED RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN 18
140	140	REQUIREMENT.—In conducting a quarterly onshore 19
141	141	oil and gas lease sale in a State described in section 20
142	142	17(b)(1)(A) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 21
143	143	226(b)(1)(A)), the Secretary— 22
144	144	(A) shall offer not less than 25 percent of 23
145	145	available parcels nominated for oil and gas de-24
146	146	velopment under the applicable resource man-25
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150	150	agement plan in effect for relevant Bureau of 1
151	151	Land Management resource management areas 2
152	152	within the applicable State; and 3
153	153	(B) shall not restrict the parcels offered to 4
154	154	1 Bureau of Land Management field office 5
155	155	within the applicable State unless all nominated 6
156	156	parcels are located within the same Bureau of 7
157	157	Land Management field office. 8
158	158	(5) R
159	159	EPLACEMENT SALES .—If, for any reason, 9
160	160	an onshore oil and gas lease sale for a calendar year 10
161	161	is canceled, delayed, or deferred or is paused due to 11
162	162	section 208 of Executive Order 14008 (42 U.S.C. 12
163	163	4321 note; relating to tackling the climate crisis at 13
164	164	home and abroad), the Secretary shall conduct a re-14
165	165	placement sale by not later than 180 days after the 15
166	166	date of the cancellation, delay, deferral, or pause, as 16
167	167	applicable. 17
168	168	(c) M
169	169	INERALLEASINGACTREFORMS.— 18
170	170	(1) E
171	171	XPRESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR OIL AND 19
172	172	GAS LEASING.— 20
173	173	(A) I
174	174	N GENERAL.—Section 17 of the Min-21
175	175	eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is amended 22
176	176	by striking the section designation and all that 23
177	177	follows through the end of subsection (a) and 24
178	178	inserting the following: 25
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182	182	‘‘SEC. 17. LEASING OF OIL AND GAS PARCELS. 1
183	183	‘‘(a) L
184	184	EASINGAUTHORIZED.— 2
185	185	‘‘(1) I
186	186	N GENERAL.—Any parcel of land subject 3
187	187	to disposition under this Act that is known or be-4
188	188	lieved to contain oil or gas deposits shall be made 5
189	189	available for leasing, subject to paragraphs (2) and 6
190	190	(3), by the Secretary of the Interior, or for National 7
191	191	Forest System land, the Secretary of Agriculture, as 8
192	192	applicable (referred to in this subsection as the ‘Sec-9
193	193	retary concerned’), not later than 18 months after 10
194	194	the date of receipt by the Secretary concerned of an 11
195	195	expression of interest in leasing the applicable parcel 12
196	196	of land available for disposition under this section, 13
197	197	in accordance with procedures established under 14
198	198	subsection (q) and for which the applicable fee was 15
199	199	paid under that subsection, if the Secretary con-16
200	200	cerned determines that the parcel of land is open to 17
201	201	oil or gas leasing under the approved resource man-18
202	202	agement plan applicable to the planning area in 19
203	203	which the parcel of land is located that is in effect 20
204	204	on the date on which the expression of interest was 21
205	205	submitted to the Secretary concerned (referred to in 22
206	206	this subsection as the ‘approved resource manage-23
207	207	ment plan’). 24
208	208	‘‘(2) R
209	209	ESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANS .— 25
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213	213	‘‘(A) LEASE TERMS AND CONDITIONS .—A 1
214	214	lease issued by the Secretary concerned under 2
215	215	this section with respect to an applicable parcel 3
216	216	of land made available for leasing under para-4
217	217	graph (1)— 5
218	218	‘‘(i) shall be subject to the terms and 6
219	219	conditions of the approved resource man-7
220	220	agement plan; and 8
221	221	‘‘(ii) may not require any stipulations 9
222	222	or mitigation requirements not included in 10
223	223	the approved resource management plan. 11
224	224	‘‘(B) E
225	225	FFECT OF AMENDMENT .—The fact 12
226	226	that the approved resource management plan is 13
227	227	being amended shall not prevent or delay the 14
228	228	Secretary concerned from making the applicable 15
229	229	parcel of land available for leasing if the other 16
230	230	requirements of this section have been met, as 17
231	231	determined by the Secretary concerned. 18
232	232	‘‘(C) E
233	233	FFECT OF LEASING DECISION .—A 19
234	234	lease sale conducted under the terms of an ap-20
235	235	proved resource management plan shall not be 21
236	236	considered to be an action that limits the choice 22
237	237	of reasonable alternatives for an environmental 23
238	238	review conducted pursuant to the National En-24
239	239	vironmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 25
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243	243	4321 et seq.) for the purpose of amending that 1
244	244	resource management plan.’’. 2
245	245	(B) R
246	246	EFUND OF EXPRESSION OF INTER -3
247	247	EST FEE.—Section 17(q) of the Mineral Leas-4
248	248	ing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(q)) is amended— 5
249	249	(i) by striking ‘‘Secretary’’ each place 6
250	250	it appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of the 7
251	251	Interior’’; 8
252	252	(ii) in paragraph (1), by striking 9
253	253	‘‘nonrefundable’’; and 10
254	254	(iii) by adding at the end the fol-11
255	255	lowing: 12
256	256	‘‘(3) R
257	257	EFUND FOR NONWINNING BID .—If a per-13
258	258	son other than the person who submitted the expres-14
259	259	sion of interest is the highest responsible qualified 15
260	260	bidder for a parcel of land covered by the applicable 16
261	261	expression of interest in a lease sale conducted 17
262	262	under this section— 18
263	263	‘‘(A) as a condition of the issuance of the 19
264	264	lease, the person who is the highest responsible 20
265	265	qualified bidder shall pay to the Secretary of 21
266	266	the Interior an amount equal to the applicable 22
267	267	fee paid by the person who submitted the ex-23
268	268	pression of interest; and 24
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272	272	‘‘(B) not later than 10 days after the date 1
273	273	of the lease sale, the Secretary of the Interior 2
274	274	shall refund to the person who submitted the 3
275	275	expression of interest an amount equal to the 4
276	276	amount of the initial fee paid.’’. 5
277	277	(2) P
278	278	ROTESTED LEASE SALES .—Section 6
279	279	17(b)(1)(A) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 7
280	280	226(b)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting after the sev-8
281	281	enth sentence the following: ‘‘The Secretary of the 9
282	282	Interior shall resolve any protest to a lease sale 10
283	283	within 60 days following such payment. Notwith-11
284	284	standing any other provision of law, if the Secretary 12
285	285	of the Interior denies a protest to a lease sale, any 13
286	286	lease subject to the protest shall not be subject to 14
287	287	further environmental review by the Secretary of the 15
288	288	Interior pursuant to the National Environmental 16
289	289	Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).’’. 17
290	290	(3) E
291	291	FFECT OF LITIGATION.—Section 17 of the 18
292	292	Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is amended by 19
293	293	adding at the end the following: 20
294	294	‘‘(r) E
295	295	FFECT OFLITIGATION.— 21
296	296	‘‘(1) I
297	297	N GENERAL.—A civil action relating to an 22
298	298	environmental review under the Federal Land Policy 23
299	299	and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 24
300	300	seq.), division A of subtitle III of title 54, United 25
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304	304	States Code (formerly known as the ‘National His-1
305	305	toric Preservation Act’), or the National Environ-2
306	306	mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 3
307	307	with respect to a lease sale conducted under this sec-4
308	308	tion shall not— 5
309	309	‘‘(A) affect the validity of a lease issued 6
310	310	under the lease sale that is the subject of the 7
311	311	civil action; or 8
312	312	‘‘(B) except as provided in paragraph 9
313	313	(3)(B), cause a delay in the timelines estab-10
314	314	lished under subsection (p)(2) for the consider-11
315	315	ation of an application for permit to drill with 12
316	316	respect to a lease issued under the lease sale 13
317	317	that is the subject of the civil action. 14
318	318	‘‘(2) R
319	319	EMAND; PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS 15
320	320	FOR PERMIT TO DRILL .—If, in a civil action de-16
321	321	scribed in paragraph (1), the environmental review 17
322	322	for a lease sale is found by the applicable court to 18
323	323	violate the National Environmental Policy Act of 19
324	324	1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)— 20
325	325	‘‘(A) notwithstanding chapter 5 or 7 of 21
326	326	title 5, United States Code (commonly referred 22
327	327	to as the ‘Administrative Procedure Act’), the 23
328	328	applicable court shall not set aside the lease 24
329	329	sale and vacate the leases issued pursuant to 25
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333	333	the sale but instead remand the matter to the 1
334	334	Secretary of the Interior to resolve the viola-2
335	335	tion; and 3
336	336	‘‘(B) the Secretary of the Interior shall 4
337	337	continue to process all applicable applications 5
338	338	for permit to drill pursuant to subsection 6
339	339	(p)(2). 7
340	340	‘‘(3) N
341	341	OTICE.— 8
342	342	‘‘(A) I
343	343	N GENERAL.—Not later than 60 9
344	344	days after the date on which a civil action de-10
345	345	scribed in paragraph (1) is filed, the Secretary 11
346	346	of the Interior shall notify the holder of any 12
347	347	lease issued under the lease sale that is the sub-13
348	348	ject of the civil action of the filing of the civil 14
349	349	action. 15
350	350	‘‘(B) T
351	351	IMELINE.—Not later than 90 days 16
352	352	after the date of receipt of a notice under sub-17
353	353	paragraph (A), the leaseholder may file with the 18
354	354	Secretary of the Interior a request to pause the 19
355	355	timeline under subsection (e)(1) with respect to 20
356	356	the term of the lease during any period in 21
357	357	which the civil action is pending.’’. 22
358	358	(4) L
359	359	EASE CANCELLATION .—Section 17 of the 23
360	360	Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) (as amended 24
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364	364	by paragraph (3)) is amended by adding at the end 1
365	365	the following: 2
366	366	‘‘(s) L
367	367	EASECANCELLATION.—A lease issued under 3
368	368	this section shall be considered to be valid and not subject 4
369	369	to cancellation by the Secretary of the Interior for any 5
370	370	reason, except for— 6
371	371	‘‘(1) the express written agreement to the can-7
372	372	cellation by the lessee; or 8
373	373	‘‘(2) a determination by the Secretary of the In-9
374	374	terior that cancellation is appropriate in accordance 10
375	375	with section 3108.3 of title 43, Code of Federal Reg-11
376	376	ulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of 12
377	377	this subsection), subject to the limitation that a 13
378	378	lease may not be determined to be improperly issued 14
379	379	under that section based on a finding by a Federal 15
380	380	court that the environmental review for the lease 16
381	381	sale pursuant to which the lease was issued was in 17
382	382	violation of the Federal Land Policy and Manage-18
383	383	ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), division 19
384	384	A of subtitle III of title 54, United States Code (for-20
385	385	merly known as the ‘National Historic Preservation 21
386	386	Act’), or the National Environmental Policy Act of 22
387	387	1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).’’. 23
388	388	(5) L
389	389	IMITATIONS FOR FILING OIL AND GAS 24
390	390	CONTESTS.—Section 42 of the Mineral Leasing Act 25
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394	394	(30 U.S.C. 226–2) is amended by striking the sec-1
395	395	tion designation and all that follows through the pe-2
396	396	riod at the end of the second sentence, and inserting 3
397	397	the following: 4
398	398	‘‘SEC. 42. LIMITATIONS FOR FILING OIL AND GAS CON-5
399	399	TESTS. 6
400	400	‘‘(a) I
401	401	NGENERAL.—Notwithstanding chapter 5 or 7 7
402	402	of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as 8
403	403	the ‘Administrative Procedure Act’), no action contesting 9
404	404	a decision of the Secretary involving any oil and gas lease 10
405	405	sale, individual lease, or individual permit shall be main-11
406	406	tained unless the action is commenced or taken by not 12
407	407	later than 60 days after the date on which the final deci-13
408	408	sion of the Secretary relating to the action was made. 14
409	409	‘‘(b) J
410	410	URISDICTION.—An action contesting a decision 15
411	411	of the Secretary may only be commenced— 16
412	412	‘‘(1) for an individual lease or permit, in the 17
413	413	district court of the United States for the district in 18
414	414	which the property, or some part thereof, is located; 19
415	415	and 20
416	416	‘‘(2) for a lease sale, in a district court of the 21
417	417	United States in the State in which the sale oc-22
418	418	curred. 23
419	419	‘‘(c) R
420	420	EMOVAL.—A defendant or defendant inter-24
421	421	venor in an action challenging a lease sale, lease, or permit 25
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425	425	in multiple states may remove the action to the district 1
426	426	court of the United States for the district in which the 2
427	427	property is located pursuant to section 1441(c) of title 28, 3
428	428	United States Code.’’. 4
429	429	SEC. 1102. OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING. 5
430	430	(a) 2023–2028 O
431	431	UTERCONTINENTALSHELFOIL 6
432	432	ANDGASLEASINGPROGRAM.— 7
433	433	(1) I
434	434	N GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 8
435	435	provision of law, not later than September 30, 2023, 9
436	436	the Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this sec-10
437	437	tion as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall approve a final 2023– 11
438	438	2028 oil and gas leasing program under section 18 12
439	439	of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 13
440	440	U.S.C. 1344). 14
441	441	(2) W
442	442	AIVER.—In order to meet the deadline de-15
443	443	scribed in paragraph (1), the Secretary may— 16
444	444	(A) limit any comment periods required 17
445	445	under subsections (c) and (d) of section 18 of 18
446	446	the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 19
447	447	U.S.C. 1344); and 20
448	448	(B) waive any other requirements under 21
449	449	that section that would delay final approval of 22
450	450	the oil and gas leasing program described in 23
451	451	paragraph (1). 24
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455	455	(3) REQUIREMENTS.—The oil and gas leasing 1
456	456	program described in paragraph (1) shall include the 2
457	457	following: 3
458	458	(A) A minimum of 2 Gulf of Mexico re-4
459	459	gion-wide lease sales each year in the following 5
460	460	planning areas of the Gulf of Mexico region, as 6
461	461	described in the final program decision docu-7
462	462	ment entitled ‘‘2017–2020 Outer Continental 8
463	463	Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Pro-9
464	464	gram (November 2016)’’: 10
465	465	(i) The Central Gulf of Mexico Plan-11
466	466	ning Area. 12
467	467	(ii) The Western Gulf of Mexico Plan-13
468	468	ning Area. 14
469	469	(B) At least 1 region-wide lease sale in the 15
470	470	Alaska regions of the outer Continental Shelf, 16
471	471	as described in the final program decision docu-17
472	472	ment entitled ‘‘2017–2020 Outer Continental 18
473	473	Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Pro-19
474	474	gram (November 2016)’’. 20
475	475	(4) S
476	476	TATUTORY LEASE TERMS .—During the 5- 21
477	477	year period beginning on the date of enactment of 22
478	478	this Act, in order to promote increased production 23
479	479	on the outer Continental Shelf, the Secretary may, 24
480	480	on a determination that it is in the national interest, 25
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483	483	•S 1456 IS
484	484	reduce the applicable royalty rate on individual oil 1
485	485	and gas leases issued under the Outer Continental 2
486	486	Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) to not less 3
487	487	than 12.5 percent. 4
488	488	(b) S
489	489	UBSEQUENTOFFSHORELEASINGPROGRAMS.— 5
490	490	Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 6
491	491	U.S.C. 1344) is amended— 7
492	492	(1) in subsection (a), in the first sentence of the 8
493	493	matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sub-9
494	494	sections (c) and (d) of this section’’ and inserting 10
495	495	‘‘subsections (c) through (f)’’; 11
496	496	(2) by redesignating subsections (f) through (i) 12
497	497	as subsections (g) through (j), respectively; 13
498	498	(3) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol-14
499	499	lowing: 15
500	500	‘‘(f) S
501	501	UBSEQUENTLEASINGPROGRAMS.— 16
502	502	‘‘(1) I
503	503	N GENERAL.—Not later than 36 months 17
504	504	after conducting the first lease sale under an oil and 18
505	505	gas leasing program prepared pursuant to this sec-19
506	506	tion, the Secretary shall begin preparing the subse-20
507	507	quent oil and gas leasing program under this sec-21
508	508	tion. 22
509	509	‘‘(2) R
510	510	EQUIREMENT.—Each subsequent oil and 23
511	511	gas leasing program under this section— 24
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514	514	•S 1456 IS
515	515	‘‘(A) shall be approved not later than 180 1
516	516	days before the expiration of the previous oil 2
517	517	and gas leasing program; and 3
518	518	‘‘(B) shall contain a minimum of 5 lease 4
519	519	sales.’’; and 5
520	520	(4) by conforming the margin of subsection (j) 6
521	521	(as so redesignated) to the margin of subsection (i) 7
522	522	(as so redesignated). 8
523	523	(c) L
524	524	EASE ORPERMITCANCELLATION.— 9
525	525	(1) I
526	526	N GENERAL.—Section 5(a)(2) of the Outer 10
527	527	Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1334(a)(2)) 11
528	528	is amended— 12
529	529	(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 13
530	530	(A), by striking ‘‘any lease or permit—’’ and all 14
531	531	that follows through the end of subparagraph 15
532	532	(B) and inserting the following: ‘‘any lease or 16
533	533	permit— 17
534	534	‘‘(A) that the lease or permit shall be con-18
535	535	sidered to be valid and not subject to cancella-19
536	536	tion by the Secretary for any reason, except 20
537	537	for— 21
538	538	‘‘(i) the express written agreement to 22
539	539	the cancellation by the lessee or permittee; 23
540	540	or 24
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543	543	•S 1456 IS
544	544	‘‘(ii) a determination by the Secretary 1
545	545	that cancellation is appropriate (including 2
546	546	cancellation under subsection (c), section 3
547	547	8(o), section 11(c)(1), and subsections 4
548	548	(h)(2)(C) and (j) of section 25), in accord-5
549	549	ance with the regulations prescribed under 6
550	550	this section, subject to the limitation that 7
551	551	a lease or permit may not be cancelled by 8
552	552	the Secretary based on a finding by a Fed-9
553	553	eral court that the environmental review 10
554	554	for the lease sale pursuant to which the 11
555	555	lease was issued was in violation of the 12
556	556	National Environmental Policy Act of 13
557	557	1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and’’; and 14
558	558	(B) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 15
559	559	subparagraph (B). 16
560	560	(2) C
561	561	ONFORMING AMENDMENTS .— 17
562	562	(A) Section 11(c)(1) of the Outer Conti-18
563	563	nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1340(c)(1)) 19
564	564	is amended— 20
565	565	(i) in the fourth sentence, by striking 21
566	566	‘‘result in any condition described in sec-22
567	567	tion 5(a)(2)(A)(i) of this Act’’ and insert-23
568	568	ing ‘‘probably cause serious harm or dam-24
569	569	age to life (including fish and other aquatic 25
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572	572	•S 1456 IS
573	573	life), to property, to any mineral (in areas 1
574	574	leased or not leased), to the national secu-2
575	575	rity or defense, or to the marine, coastal, 3
576	576	or human environment’’; and 4
577	577	(ii) in the fifth sentence— 5
578	578	(I) by striking ‘‘, subject to sec-6
579	579	tion 5(a)(2)(B) of this Act,’’; and 7
580	580	(II) by striking ‘‘section 8
581	581	5(a)(2)(C) (i) or (ii) of this Act’’ and 9
582	582	inserting ‘‘section 5(a)(2)(B)’’. 10
583	583	(B) Section 25(h)(2)(C) of the Outer Con-11
584	584	tinental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 12
585	585	1351(h)(2)(C)) is amended, in the first sen-13
586	586	tence, by striking ‘‘section 5(a)(2)(C) of this 14
587	587	Act’’ and inserting ‘‘section 5(a)(2)(B)’’. 15
588	588	(d) E
589	589	FFECT OFLITIGATION.—Section 8 of the Outer 16
590	590	Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) is amended 17
591	591	by adding at the end the following: 18
592	592	‘‘(q) E
593	593	FFECT OFLITIGATION.— 19
594	594	‘‘(1) I
595	595	N GENERAL.—A civil action relating to an 20
596	596	environmental review under the National Environ-21
597	597	mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 22
598	598	with respect to a lease sale conducted under this sec-23
599	599	tion shall not— 24
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602	602	•S 1456 IS
603	603	‘‘(A) affect the validity of a lease issued 1
604	604	under the lease sale that is the subject of the 2
605	605	civil action; or 3
606	606	‘‘(B) except as provided in paragraph 4
607	607	(3)(B), cause a delay in the timelines for the 5
608	608	consideration of an application for permit to 6
609	609	drill with respect to a lease issued under the 7
610	610	lease sale that is the subject of the civil action. 8
611	611	‘‘(2) R
612	612	EMAND; PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS 9
613	613	FOR PERMIT TO DRILL .—If, in a civil action de-10
614	614	scribed in paragraph (1), the environmental review 11
615	615	for a lease sale is found by the applicable court to 12
616	616	violate the National Environmental Policy Act of 13
617	617	1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)— 14
618	618	‘‘(A) notwithstanding chapter 5 or 7 of 15
619	619	title 5, United States Code (commonly referred 16
620	620	to as the ‘Administrative Procedures Act’), the 17
621	621	applicable court shall not set aside the lease 18
622	622	sale and vacate the leases issued pursuant to 19
623	623	the sale but instead remand the matter to the 20
624	624	Secretary of the Interior to resolve the viola-21
625	625	tion; and 22
626	626	‘‘(B) the Secretary shall continue to proc-23
627	627	ess all applicable applications for permit to drill 24
628	628	in accordance with this Act. 25
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631	631	•S 1456 IS
632	632	‘‘(3) NOTICE.— 1
633	633	‘‘(A) I
634	634	N GENERAL.—Not later than 60 2
635	635	days after the date on which a civil action de-3
636	636	scribed in paragraph (1) is filed, the Secretary 4
637	637	shall notify the holder of any lease issued under 5
638	638	the lease sale that is the subject of the civil ac-6
639	639	tion of the filing of the civil action. 7
640	640	‘‘(B) T
641	641	IMELINE.—Not later than 90 days 8
642	642	after the date of receipt of a notice under sub-9
643	643	paragraph (A), the leaseholder may file with the 10
644	644	Secretary a request to pause the timeline with 11
645	645	respect to the term of the lease during any pe-12
646	646	riod in which the civil action is pending.’’. 13
647	647	SEC. 1103. PROHIBITION ON DELAYS. 14
648	648	(a) I
649	649	NGENERAL.—The President shall not, through 15
650	650	Executive order or any other administrative procedure, 16
651	651	pause, cancel, delay, defer, or otherwise impede or cir-17
652	652	cumvent the Federal energy mineral leasing processes 18
653	653	under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) 19
654	654	or the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 20
655	655	1331 et seq.) or a related rulemaking process required by 21
656	656	subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, 22
657	657	United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Administra-23
658	658	tive Procedure Act’’), without congressional approval. 24
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661	661	•S 1456 IS
662	662	(b) REBUTTABLEPRESUMPTION.—There shall be a 1
663	663	rebuttable presumption that any attempt by the President 2
664	664	to pause, cancel, delay, defer, or otherwise impede or cir-3
665	665	cumvent any Federal energy mineral leasing or permitting 4
666	666	process under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 5
667	667	et seq.) or the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 6
668	668	U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) or a related rulemaking process re-7
669	669	quired by subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of 8
670	670	title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Ad-9
671	671	ministrative Procedure Act’’), without congressional ap-10
672	672	proval, is a violation of the applicable law. 11
673	673	Subtitle B—Permitting of Federal 12
674	674	Oil and Gas Minerals 13
675	675	SEC. 1201. TERM OF APPLICATION FOR PERMIT TO DRILL. 14
676	676	Section 17(p) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 15
677	677	226(p)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 16
678	678	‘‘(4) T
679	679	ERM.—An application for permit to drill 17
680	680	approved under this subsection shall be valid for the 18
681	681	4-year period beginning on the date of the ap-19
682	682	proval.’’. 20
683	683	SEC. 1202. COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM IN OIL AND GAS 21
684	684	PERMITTING ON AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND. 22
685	685	(a) I
686	686	NGENERAL.—The Mineral Leasing Act (30 23
687	687	U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended— 24
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690	690	•S 1456 IS
691	691	(1) by redesignating section 44 as section 46; 1
692	692	and 2
693	693	(2) by inserting after section 43 the following: 3
694	694	‘‘SEC. 44. COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM IN OIL AND GAS PER-4
695	695	MITTING ON AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND. 5
696	696	‘‘(a) D
697	697	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 6
698	698	‘‘(1) APD.—The term ‘APD’ means a permit— 7
699	699	‘‘(A) that grants authority to drill for oil 8
700	700	and gas; and 9
701	701	‘‘(B) for which an application has been re-10
702	702	ceived that includes— 11
703	703	‘‘(i) a drilling plan; and 12
704	704	‘‘(ii) evidence of bond coverage. 13
705	705	‘‘(2) A
706	706	VAILABLE FEDERAL LAND .—The term 14
707	707	‘available Federal land’ means any Federal land 15
708	708	that— 16
709	709	‘‘(A) is located within the boundaries of a 17
710	710	State; 18
711	711	‘‘(B) is not held by the United States in 19
712	712	trust for the benefit of a federally recognized 20
713	713	Indian Tribe or a member of a federally recog-21
714	714	nized Indian Tribe; 22
715	715	‘‘(C) is not a unit of the National Park 23
716	716	System; 24
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719	719	•S 1456 IS
720	720	‘‘(D) is not a unit of the National Wildlife 1
721	721	Refuge System, other than a unit of the Na-2
722	722	tional Wildlife Refuge System for which oil and 3
723	723	gas drilling is allowed under law; 4
724	724	‘‘(E) is not a congressionally approved wil-5
725	725	derness area under the Wilderness Act (16 6
726	726	U.S.C. 1131 et seq.); and 7
727	727	‘‘(F) has been identified as land available 8
728	728	for lease, or has been leased, for the explo-9
729	729	ration, development, and production of oil and 10
730	730	gas— 11
731	731	‘‘(i) by the Bureau of Land Manage-12
732	732	ment under— 13
733	733	‘‘(I) a resource management plan 14
734	734	under the Federal Land Policy and 15
735	735	Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 16
736	736	1701 et seq.); or 17
737	737	‘‘(II) an integrated activity plan 18
738	738	with respect to the National Petro-19
739	739	leum Reserve-Alaska; or 20
740	740	‘‘(ii) by the Forest Service under a 21
741	741	National Forest management plan under 22
742	742	the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re-23
743	743	sources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 24
744	744	1600 et seq.). 25
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747	747	•S 1456 IS
748	748	‘‘(3) DRILLING PLAN.—The term ‘drilling plan’ 1
749	749	means a plan described in section 3162.3–1(e) of 2
750	750	title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 3
751	751	regulation). 4
752	752	‘‘(4) S
753	753	ECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 5
754	754	the Secretary of the Interior. 6
755	755	‘‘(5) S
756	756	TATE APPLICANT.—The term ‘State ap-7
757	757	plicant’ means a State that submits an application 8
758	758	under subsection (c). 9
759	759	‘‘(6) S
760	760	TATE PROGRAM.—The term ‘State pro-10
761	761	gram’ means a program in a State under which the 11
762	762	State may— 12
763	763	‘‘(A) issue APDs, approve drilling plans, 13
764	764	approve sundry notices, approve suspensions of 14
765	765	operations or production, or grant rights-of-way 15
766	766	on available Federal land; and 16
767	767	‘‘(B) impose sanctions for violations of 17
768	768	State laws, regulations, or any condition of an 18
769	769	issued APD or approved drilling plan, as appli-19
770	770	cable. 20
771	771	‘‘(7) S
772	772	UNDRY NOTICE.—The term ‘sundry no-21
773	773	tice’ means a written request submitted pursuant to 22
774	774	section 3173.10 of title 43, Code of Federal Regula-23
775	775	tions (or successor regulations). 24
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778	778	•S 1456 IS
779	779	‘‘(8) SUSPENSION OF OPERATIONS OR PRODUC -1
780	780	TION.—The term ‘suspension of operations or pro-2
781	781	duction’ means a suspension of operations or pro-3
782	782	duction described in section 17 or section 39. 4
783	783	‘‘(b) A
784	784	UTHORIZATIONS.— 5
785	785	‘‘(1) I
786	786	N GENERAL.—On receipt of an applica-6
787	787	tion under subsection (c), the Secretary may dele-7
788	788	gate to a State exclusive authority— 8
789	789	‘‘(A) to issue an APD on available Federal 9
790	790	land; 10
791	791	‘‘(B) to approve drilling plans on available 11
792	792	Federal land; 12
793	793	‘‘(C) to approve sundry notices relating to 13
794	794	work performed on available Federal land; 14
795	795	‘‘(D) to approve suspensions of operations 15
796	796	or production; and 16
797	797	‘‘(E) to grant rights-of-way in accordance 17
798	798	with paragraph (3). 18
799	799	‘‘(2) I
800	800	NSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT .—On re-19
801	801	quest of a State for which authority is delegated 20
802	802	under paragraph (1), the authority delegated may 21
803	803	include the authority to inspect and enforce an 22
804	804	APD, drilling plan, or right-of-way, as applicable. 23
805	805	‘‘(3) R
806	806	IGHTS-OF-WAY.—The authority to grant 24
807	807	a right-of-way delegated to a State under paragraph 25
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810	810	•S 1456 IS
811	811	(1)(E) shall be the authority of the Secretary or the 1
812	812	Secretary of Agriculture, as applicable, under section 2
813	813	501 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 3
814	814	Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761) and section 28 of this 4
815	815	Act, to grant, issue, or renew rights-of-way over, 5
816	816	upon, under, or through available Federal land. 6
817	817	‘‘(4) E
818	818	FFECT OF FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL 7
819	819	REVIEWS.—A State for which authority is delegated 8
820	820	under paragraph (1) shall continue processing appli-9
821	821	cations for an APD, applications for approval of a 10
822	822	drilling plan, applications for approval of a sundry 11
823	823	notice, and applications to grant a right-of-way, re-12
824	824	gardless of whether the Federal Government is car-13
825	825	rying out any review related to the APD, drilling 14
826	826	plan, sundry notice, or right-of-way under the Na-15
827	827	tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 16
828	828	4321 et seq.) or the Endangered Species Act of 17
829	829	1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 18
830	830	‘‘(5) E
831	831	FFECT OF STATE ENFORCEMENT AC -19
832	832	TION.—If a State for which authority is delegated 20
833	833	under paragraph (1) imposes a sanction for violating 21
834	834	a condition of an issued APD or approved drilling 22
835	835	plan, the Secretary may not issue a penalty for the 23
836	836	same violation under section 109 of the Federal Oil 24
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839	839	•S 1456 IS
840	840	and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 1
841	841	U.S.C. 1719). 2
842	842	‘‘(c) S
843	843	TATEAPPLICATIONPROCESS.— 3
844	844	‘‘(1) S
845	845	UBMISSION OF APPLICATION .—A State 4
846	846	seeking a delegation of authority under subpara-5
847	847	graph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E) of subsection (b)(1) 6
848	848	shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 7
849	849	time, in such manner, and containing such informa-8
850	850	tion as the Secretary may require, including a de-9
851	851	scription of the State program that the State pro-10
852	852	poses to administer under State law. 11
853	853	‘‘(2) D
854	854	EADLINE FOR APPROVAL OR DIS -12
855	855	APPROVAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date 13
856	856	on which an application under paragraph (1) is re-14
857	857	ceived, the Secretary shall approve or disapprove the 15
858	858	application. 16
859	859	‘‘(3) R
860	860	EQUIREMENTS FOR APPROVAL .— 17
861	861	‘‘(A) I
862	862	N GENERAL.—The Secretary may 18
863	863	approve an application received under para-19
864	864	graph (1) only if the Secretary determines 20
865	865	that— 21
866	866	‘‘(i) the State applicant would be at 22
867	867	least as effective as the Secretary in 23
868	868	issuing APDs, approving drilling plans, ap-24
869	869	proving sundry notices, approving suspen-25
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872	872	•S 1456 IS
873	873	sions of operations or production, or grant-1
874	874	ing rights-of-way, as applicable; 2
875	875	‘‘(ii) the State program of the State 3
876	876	applicant— 4
877	877	‘‘(I) complies with this Act; and 5
878	878	‘‘(II) provides for the termination 6
879	879	or modification of an issued APD, ap-7
880	880	proved drilling plan, approved sundry 8
881	881	notice, approved suspension of oper-9
882	882	ations or production, or granted right- 10
883	883	of-way, as applicable, for cause, in-11
884	884	cluding for— 12
885	885	‘‘(aa) the violation of any 13
886	886	condition of the issued APD, ap-14
887	887	proved drilling plan, approved 15
888	888	sundry notice, approved suspen-16
889	889	sion of operations or production, 17
890	890	or granted right-of-way; 18
891	891	‘‘(bb) obtaining the issued 19
892	892	APD, approved drilling plan, ap-20
893	893	proved sundry notice, approved 21
894	894	suspension of operations or pro-22
895	895	duction, or granted right-of-way 23
896	896	by misrepresentation; or 24
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899	899	•S 1456 IS
900	900	‘‘(cc) failure to fully disclose 1
901	901	in the application all relevant 2
902	902	facts; 3
903	903	‘‘(iii) the State applicant has suffi-4
904	904	cient administrative and technical per-5
905	905	sonnel and sufficient funding to carry out 6
906	906	the State program; and 7
907	907	‘‘(iv) approval of the application 8
908	908	would not result in decreased royalty pay-9
909	909	ments owed to the United States under 10
910	910	subsection (a) of section 35. 11
911	911	‘‘(B) M
912	912	EMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING .— 12
913	913	With respect to a State applicant seeking au-13
914	914	thority under subsection (b)(2) to inspect and 14
915	915	enforce APDs, drilling plans, or rights-of-way, 15
916	916	as applicable, before approving the application 16
917	917	of the State applicant, the Secretary shall enter 17
918	918	into a memorandum of understanding with the 18
919	919	State applicant under paragraph (6) that de-19
920	920	scribes the Federal and State responsibilities 20
921	921	with respect to the inspection and enforcement. 21
922	922	‘‘(C) P
923	923	UBLIC NOTICE.—Before approving 22
924	924	an application received under paragraph (1), 23
925	925	the Secretary shall— 24
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928	928	•S 1456 IS
929	929	‘‘(i) provide public notice of the appli-1
930	930	cation; 2
931	931	‘‘(ii) solicit public comment for the 3
932	932	application; and 4
933	933	‘‘(iii) hold a public hearing for the ap-5
934	934	plication in the State. 6
935	935	‘‘(4) D
936	936	ISAPPROVAL.—If the Secretary dis-7
937	937	approves an application submitted under paragraph 8
938	938	(1), the Secretary shall provide to the State appli-9
939	939	cant written notification of— 10
940	940	‘‘(A) the reasons for the disapproval, in-11
941	941	cluding any information, data, or analysis on 12
942	942	which the disapproval is based; and 13
943	943	‘‘(B) any revisions or modifications nec-14
944	944	essary to obtain approval. 15
945	945	‘‘(5) R
946	946	ESUBMITTAL OF APPLICATION .—A State 16
947	947	may resubmit an application under paragraph (1) at 17
948	948	any time. 18
949	949	‘‘(6) S
950	950	TATE MEMORANDA OF UNDER -19
951	951	STANDING.—Before a State submits an application 20
952	952	under paragraph (1), the Secretary, on request of 21
953	953	the State, may enter into a memorandum of under-22
954	954	standing with the State regarding the proposed 23
955	955	State program— 24
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958	958	•S 1456 IS
959	959	‘‘(A) to describe the Federal and State re-1
960	960	sponsibilities for oil and gas regulations; 2
961	961	‘‘(B) to provide technical assistance; and 3
962	962	‘‘(C) to share best management practices. 4
963	963	‘‘(d) A
964	964	DMINISTRATIVEFEES FORAPDS.— 5
965	965	‘‘(1) I
966	966	N GENERAL.—A State for which authority 6
967	967	has been delegated under subsection (b)(1)(A) may 7
968	968	collect a fee for each application for an APD that 8
969	969	is submitted to the State. 9
970	970	‘‘(2) N
971	971	O COLLECTION OF FEE BY SEC -10
972	972	RETARY.—The Secretary may not collect a fee from 11
973	973	the applicant or from the State for an application 12
974	974	for an APD that is submitted to a State for which 13
975	975	authority has been delegated under subsection 14
976	976	(b)(1)(A). 15
977	977	‘‘(3) U
978	978	SE.—A State shall use 100 percent of 16
979	979	the fees collected under this subsection for the ad-17
980	980	ministration of the approved State program of the 18
981	981	State. 19
982	982	‘‘(e) V
983	983	OLUNTARYTERMINATION OFAUTHORITY.— 20
984	984	‘‘(1) I
985	985	N GENERAL.—After providing written no-21
986	986	tice to the Secretary, a State may voluntarily termi-22
987	987	nate any authority delegated to the State under sub-23
988	988	section (b)(1) on expiration of the 60-day period be-24
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991	991	•S 1456 IS
992	992	ginning on the date on which the Secretary receives 1
993	993	the written notice. 2
994	994	‘‘(2) R
995	995	ESUMPTION BY SECRETARY .—On termi-3
996	996	nation of the authority delegated to a State under 4
997	997	paragraph (1), the Secretary shall resume any ac-5
998	998	tivities for which authority was delegated to the 6
999	999	State under subsection (b)(1). 7
1000	1000	‘‘(f) A
1001	1001	PPEAL OFDENIAL OFAPPLICATION.—If a 8
1002	1002	State for which the Secretary has delegated authority 9
1003	1003	under subsection (b)(1) denies an application submitted 10
1004	1004	under subsection (c)(1), the applicant may appeal the de-11
1005	1005	cision to the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the De-12
1006	1006	partment of the Interior. 13
1007	1007	‘‘(g) F
1008	1008	EDERALADMINISTRATION OF STATEPRO-14
1009	1009	GRAM.— 15
1010	1010	‘‘(1) N
1011	1011	OTIFICATION.—If the Secretary has rea-16
1012	1012	son to believe that a State is not administering or 17
1013	1013	enforcing an approved State program, the Secretary 18
1014	1014	shall notify the relevant State regulatory authority 19
1015	1015	of any possible deficiencies. 20
1016	1016	‘‘(2) S
1017	1017	TATE RESPONSE.—Not later than 30 21
1018	1018	days after the date on which a State receives notifi-22
1019	1019	cation of a possible deficiency under paragraph (1), 23
1020	1020	the State shall— 24
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1023	1023	•S 1456 IS
1024	1024	‘‘(A) take appropriate action to correct the 1
1025	1025	possible deficiency; and 2
1026	1026	‘‘(B) notify the Secretary of the action in 3
1027	1027	writing. 4
1028	1028	‘‘(3) D
1029	1029	ETERMINATION.— 5
1030	1030	‘‘(A) I
1031	1031	N GENERAL.—On expiration of the 6
1032	1032	30-day period described in paragraph (2), the 7
1033	1033	Secretary shall issue public notice of any deter-8
1034	1034	mination of the Secretary that— 9
1035	1035	‘‘(i) a violation of all or any part of an 10
1036	1036	approved State program has resulted from 11
1037	1037	a failure of the State to administer or en-12
1038	1038	force the approved State program of the 13
1039	1039	State; or 14
1040	1040	‘‘(ii) the State has not demonstrated 15
1041	1041	the capability and intent of the State to 16
1042	1042	administer or enforce the State program of 17
1043	1043	the State. 18
1044	1044	‘‘(B) A
1045	1045	PPEAL.—A State may appeal the 19
1046	1046	determination of the Secretary under subpara-20
1047	1047	graph (A) in the applicable United States Dis-21
1048	1048	trict Court. 22
1049	1049	‘‘(C) R
1050	1050	ESUMPTION BY SECRETARY PEND -23
1051	1051	ING APPEAL.—The Secretary may not resume 24
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1054	1054	•S 1456 IS
1055	1055	activities under paragraph (4) if an appeal 1
1056	1056	under subparagraph (B) is pending. 2
1057	1057	‘‘(4) R
1058	1058	ESUMPTION BY SECRETARY .—Except as 3
1059	1059	provided in paragraph (3)(C), if the Secretary has 4
1060	1060	made a determination under paragraph (3)(A), the 5
1061	1061	Secretary shall resume any activities for which au-6
1062	1062	thority was delegated to the State during the pe-7
1063	1063	riod— 8
1064	1064	‘‘(A) beginning on the date on which the 9
1065	1065	Secretary issues the public notice under para-10
1066	1066	graph (3)(A); and 11
1067	1067	‘‘(B) ending on the date on which the Sec-12
1068	1068	retary determines that the State may admin-13
1069	1069	ister or enforce, as applicable, the approved 14
1070	1070	State program of the State. 15
1071	1071	‘‘(5) S
1072	1072	TANDING.—A State with an approved 16
1073	1073	regulatory program shall have standing to sue the 17
1074	1074	Secretary for any action taken under this sub-18
1075	1075	section.’’. 19
1076	1076	(b) E
1077	1077	XISTINGAUTHORITIES.—Section 390(a) of the 20
1078	1078	Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15942(a)) is 21
1079	1079	amended— 22
1080	1080	(1) by striking ‘‘Action by the Secretary’’ and 23
1081	1081	inserting ‘‘The Secretary’’; 24
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1084	1084	•S 1456 IS
1085	1085	(2) by striking ‘‘with respect to any of the ac-1
1086	1086	tivities described in subsection (b) shall be subject to 2
1087	1087	a rebuttable presumption that the use of’’ and in-3
1088	1088	serting ‘‘shall apply’’; and 4
1089	1089	(3) by striking ‘‘would apply if the activity’’ and 5
1090	1090	inserting ‘‘for each action described in subsection (b) 6
1091	1091	if the action’’. 7
1092	1092	SEC. 1203. SPLIT ESTATE PERMITTING COMPLIANCE. 8
1093	1093	(a) I
1094	1094	NGENERAL.—Notwithstanding the Mineral 9
1095	1095	Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), the Federal Oil and 10
1096	1096	Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 11
1097	1097	et seq.), or subpart 3162 of title 43, Code of Federal Reg-12
1098	1098	ulations (or successor regulations), but subject to any 13
1099	1099	State or Tribal requirements and subsection (c), the Sec-14
1100	1100	retary of the Interior shall not require a permit to drill 15
1101	1101	for an oil and gas lease under the Mineral Leasing Act 16
1102	1102	(30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) for an action occurring within an 17
1103	1103	oil and gas drilling or spacing unit if— 18
1104	1104	(1) less than 50 percent of the minerals within 19
1105	1105	the oil and gas drilling or spacing unit are minerals 20
1106	1106	owned by the Federal Government; and 21
1107	1107	(2) the Federal Government does not own or 22
1108	1108	lease the surface estate within the area directly im-23
1109	1109	pacted by the action. 24
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1112	1112	•S 1456 IS
1113	1113	(b) NOTIFICATION.—For each State permit to drill 1
1114	1114	or drilling plan that would impact or extract oil and gas 2
1115	1115	owned by the Federal Government— 3
1116	1116	(1) each lessee, or designee of a lessee, shall— 4
1117	1117	(A) notify the Secretary of the Interior of 5
1118	1118	the submission of a State application for a per-6
1119	1119	mit to drill or drilling plan on submission of the 7
1120	1120	application; and 8
1121	1121	(B) provide a copy of the application de-9
1122	1122	scribed in subparagraph (A) to the Secretary of 10
1123	1123	the Interior not later than 5 days after the date 11
1124	1124	on which the permit or plan is submitted; and 12
1125	1125	(2) each lessee, designee of a lessee, or applica-13
1126	1126	ble State shall notify the Secretary of the Interior of 14
1127	1127	the approved State permit to drill or drilling plan 15
1128	1128	not later than 45 days after the date on which the 16
1129	1129	permit or plan is approved. 17
1130	1130	(c) N
1131	1131	ONAPPLICABILITY TO INDIANLANDS.—Sub-18
1132	1132	section (a) shall not apply to Indian lands (as defined in 19
1133	1133	section 3 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management 20
1134	1134	Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1702)). 21
1135	1135	(d) E
1136	1136	FFECT.—Nothing in this section affects— 22
1137	1137	(1) other authorities of the Secretary of the In-23
1138	1138	terior under the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man-24
1139	1139	agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); or 25
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1142	1142	•S 1456 IS
1143	1143	(2) the amount of royalties due to the Federal 1
1144	1144	Government from the production of the Federal min-2
1145	1145	erals within the oil and gas drilling or spacing unit. 3
1146	1146	SEC. 1204. FEE-FEE-FED PERMITTING COMPLIANCE. 4
1147	1147	(a) I
1148	1148	NGENERAL.—Notwithstanding the Mineral 5
1149	1149	Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), the Federal Oil and 6
1150	1150	Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 7
1151	1151	et seq.), or subpart 3162 of title 43, Code of Federal Reg-8
1152	1152	ulations (or successor regulations), the Secretary of the 9
1153	1153	Interior shall issue a categorical exclusion pursuant to sec-10
1154	1154	tion 390 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 11
1155	1155	15942) for an application for permit to drill into and 12
1156	1156	produce Federal minerals from a well pad constructed on 13
1157	1157	entirely non-Federal lands. 14
1158	1158	(b) A
1159	1159	PPLICATION FORPERMITTODRILL.—Section 15
1160	1160	17(g) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(g)) is 16
1161	1161	amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘For an ap-17
1162	1162	plication for a permit to drill into and produce Federal 18
1163	1163	minerals from a well pad constructed on entirely non-Fed-19
1164	1164	eral lands, the Secretary shall limit review pursuant to the 20
1165	1165	National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 21
1166	1166	4321 et seq.), section 7 of the Endangered Species Act 22
1167	1167	of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536), and section 306108 of title 54, 23
1168	1168	United States Code, only to the approval of the permit. 24
1169	1169	The Secretary shall have no authority to require a bond 25
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1172	1172	•S 1456 IS
1173	1173	to protect non-Federal lands, to enter non-Federal lands 1
1174	1174	without the consent of the applicable landowner, or to re-2
1175	1175	quire mitigation of surface disturbances on non-Federal 3
1176	1176	lands.’’. 4
1177	1177	SEC. 1205. STATE AND TRIBAL AUTHORITY FOR HYDRAULIC 5
1178	1178	FRACTURING REGULATION. 6
1179	1179	The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is 7
1180	1180	amended by inserting after section 44 (as added by section 8
1181	1181	1202(a)(2)) the following: 9
1182	1182	‘‘SEC. 45. STATE AND TRIBAL AUTHORITY FOR HYDRAULIC 10
1183	1183	FRACTURING REGULATION. 11
1184	1184	‘‘(a) D
1185	1185	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 12
1186	1186	‘‘(1) H
1187	1187	YDRAULIC FRACTURING .—The term ‘hy-13
1188	1188	draulic fracturing’ means the process of creating 14
1189	1189	small cracks or fractures in underground geological 15
1190	1190	formations for well stimulation purposes of bringing 16
1191	1191	hydrocarbons into the wellbore and to the surface 17
1192	1192	for capture. 18
1193	1193	‘‘(2) S
1194	1194	ECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 19
1195	1195	the Secretary of the Interior. 20
1196	1196	‘‘(b) E
1197	1197	NFORCEMENT OF FEDERALREGULATIONS.— 21
1198	1198	The Secretary shall not enforce any Federal regulation, 22
1199	1199	guidance, or permit requirement regarding hydraulic frac-23
1200	1200	turing relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activi-24
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1203	1203	•S 1456 IS
1204	1204	ties on or under any land in any State that has regula-1
1205	1205	tions, guidance, or permit requirements for that activity. 2
1206	1206	‘‘(c) S
1207	1207	TATEAUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall defer 3
1208	1208	to State regulations, guidance, and permit requirements 4
1209	1209	for all activities regarding hydraulic fracturing relating to 5
1210	1210	oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on Federal 6
1211	1211	land. 7
1212	1212	‘‘(d) T
1213	1213	RANSPARENCY OFSTATEREGULATIONS.— 8
1214	1214	‘‘(1) I
1215	1215	N GENERAL.—Each State shall submit to 9
1216	1216	the Bureau of Land Management a copy of the reg-10
1217	1217	ulations of the State that apply to hydraulic frac-11
1218	1218	turing operations on Federal land, including the reg-12
1219	1219	ulations that require disclosure of chemicals used in 13
1220	1220	hydraulic fracturing operations. 14
1221	1221	‘‘(2) A
1222	1222	VAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make 15
1223	1223	available to the public on the website of the Sec-16
1224	1224	retary the regulations submitted under paragraph 17
1225	1225	(1). 18
1226	1226	‘‘(e) T
1227	1227	RIBALAUTHORITY ON TRUSTLAND.—The 19
1228	1228	Secretary shall not enforce any Federal regulation, guid-20
1229	1229	ance, or permit requirement with respect to hydraulic frac-21
1230	1230	turing on any land held in trust or restricted status for 22
1231	1231	the benefit of a federally recognized Indian Tribe or a 23
1232	1232	member of a federally recognized Indian Tribe, except 24
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1235	1235	•S 1456 IS
1236	1236	with the express consent of the beneficiary on whose behalf 1
1237	1237	the land is held in trust or restricted status.’’. 2
1238	1238	Subtitle C—Liquefied Natural Gas 3
1239	1239	Exports 4
1240	1240	SEC. 1301. ACTION ON APPLICATIONS TO EXPORT LIQUE-5
1241	1241	FIED NATURAL GAS. 6
1242	1242	(a) D
1243	1243	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 7
1244	1244	(1) C
1245	1245	OVERED APPLICATION .—The term ‘‘cov-8
1246	1246	ered application’’ means an application submitted 9
1247	1247	with respect to a covered facility for an authoriza-10
1248	1248	tion to export natural gas under section 3(a) of the 11
1249	1249	Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b(a)). 12
1250	1250	(2) C
1251	1251	OVERED FACILITY.—The term ‘‘covered 13
1252	1252	facility’’ means a liquefied natural gas export facility 14
1253	1253	for which a proposal to site, construct, expand, or 15
1254	1254	operate is required to be approved by— 16
1255	1255	(A) the Secretary; and 17
1256	1256	(B)(i) the Federal Energy Regulatory 18
1257	1257	Commission; or 19
1258	1258	(ii) the Maritime Administration. 20
1259	1259	(3) S
1260	1260	ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 21
1261	1261	the Secretary of Energy. 22
1262	1262	(b) D
1263	1263	ECISIONDEADLINE.—The Secretary shall issue 23
1264	1264	a final decision on a covered application not later than 24
1265	1265	45 days after the later of— 25
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1268	1268	•S 1456 IS
1269	1269	(1) the date on which each review required 1
1270	1270	under the National Environmental Policy Act of 2
1271	1271	1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect to the 3
1272	1272	siting, construction, expansion, or operation of the 4
1273	1273	covered facility that is the subject of the covered ap-5
1274	1274	plication is concluded in accordance with subsection 6
1275	1275	(c); and 7
1276	1276	(2) the date of enactment of this Act. 8
1277	1277	(c) C
1278	1278	ONCLUSION OFREVIEW.—For purposes of sub-9
1279	1279	section (b), a review required under the National Environ-10
1280	1280	mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall 11
1281	1281	be concluded on the date on which the lead agency, as 12
1282	1282	applicable— 13
1283	1283	(1) publishes a notice of availability of the final 14
1284	1284	environmental impact statement, for a covered facil-15
1285	1285	ity requiring an environmental impact statement; 16
1286	1286	(2) publishes a notice of availability of the envi-17
1287	1287	ronmental assessment and associated finding of no 18
1288	1288	significant impact, for a covered facility for which an 19
1289	1289	environmental assessment has been prepared; or 20
1290	1290	(3) determines that the covered application is 21
1291	1291	eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the 22
1292	1292	implementing regulations of that Act. 23
1293	1293	(d) U
1294	1294	NTIMELYFINALDECISION.— 24
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1297	1297	•S 1456 IS
1298	1298	(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary fails to 1
1299	1299	issue a final decision under subsection (b) by the ap-2
1300	1300	plicable date required under that subsection, the cov-3
1301	1301	ered application shall be considered approved, and 4
1302	1302	the environmental review issued by the lead agency 5
1303	1303	under subsection (c) shall be considered sufficient to 6
1304	1304	satisfy all requirements of the National Environ-7
1305	1305	mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 8
1306	1306	(2) F
1307	1307	INAL AGENCY ACTION .—A determination 9
1308	1308	under paragraph (1) shall be considered to be a final 10
1309	1309	agency action. 11
1310	1310	(e) J
1311	1311	UDICIALREVIEW.— 12
1312	1312	(1) I
1313	1313	N GENERAL.—Except for review in the Su-13
1314	1314	preme Court of the United States, the court of ap-14
1315	1315	peals of the United States for the circuit in which 15
1316	1316	a covered facility is, or will be, located pursuant to 16
1317	1317	a covered application shall have original and exclu-17
1318	1318	sive jurisdiction over any civil action for the review 18
1319	1319	of an order issued by the Secretary with respect to 19
1320	1320	the covered application. 20
1321	1321	(2) E
1322	1322	XPEDITED REVIEW .—The applicable 21
1323	1323	United States Court of Appeals shall— 22
1324	1324	(A) set any civil action brought under this 23
1325	1325	subsection for expedited review; and 24
1326	1326	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456
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1328	1328	•S 1456 IS
1329	1329	(B) set the action on the docket as soon as 1
1330	1330	practicable after the filing date of the initial 2
1331	1331	pleading. 3
1332	1332	(3) T
1333	1333	RANSFER OF EXISTING ACTIONS .—In the 4
1334	1334	case of a covered application for which a petition for 5
1335	1335	review has been filed as of the date of enactment of 6
1336	1336	this Act, the petition shall be— 7
1337	1337	(A) on a motion by the applicant, trans-8
1338	1338	ferred to the court of appeals of the United 9
1339	1339	States in which the covered facility that is the 10
1340	1340	subject of the covered application is, or will be, 11
1341	1341	located; and 12
1342	1342	(B) adjudicated in accordance with this 13
1343	1343	subsection. 14
1344	1344	SEC. 1302. SMALL SCALE LNG ACCESS. 15
1345	1345	Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b) 16
1346	1346	is amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 17
1347	1347	following: 18
1348	1348	‘‘(c) E
1349	1349	XPEDITEDAPPLICATION AND APPROVAL 19
1350	1350	P
1351	1351	ROCESS.— 20
1352	1352	‘‘(1) I
1353	1353	N GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 21
1354	1354	(a), the following actions shall be deemed to be con-22
1355	1355	sistent with the public interest, and applications for 23
1356	1356	each of the following actions shall be granted with-24
1357	1357	out modification or delay: 25
1358	1358	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456
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1360	1360	•S 1456 IS
1361	1361	‘‘(A) The importation of natural gas re-1
1362	1362	ferred to in subsection (b). 2
1363	1363	‘‘(B) The exportation of natural gas in a 3
1364	1364	volume of not more than 51,750,000,000 cubic 4
1365	1365	feet per year, subject to the last sentence of 5
1366	1366	subsection (a). 6
1367	1367	‘‘(C) The exportation of natural gas to a 7
1368	1368	nation with which there is in effect a free trade 8
1369	1369	agreement requiring national treatment for 9
1370	1370	trade in natural gas. 10
1371	1371	‘‘(2) E
1372	1372	XCLUSION.—Subparagraphs (B) and (C) 11
1373	1373	of paragraph (1) shall not apply to any nation sub-12
1374	1374	ject to sanctions imposed by the United States.’’. 13
1375	1375	TITLE II—MINERAL LEASING 14
1376	1376	AND PERMITTING 15
1377	1377	SEC. 2001. LAND USE PLAN CRITERIA UNDER THE FEDERAL 16
1378	1378	LAND POLICY AND MANAGEMENT ACT OF 17
1379	1379	1976. 18
1380	1380	Section 202(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Man-19
1381	1381	agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712(c)) is amended— 20
1382	1382	(1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 21
1383	1383	end; 22
1384	1384	(2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para-23
1385	1385	graph (10); and 24
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1388	1388	•S 1456 IS
1389	1389	(3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol-1
1390	1390	lowing: 2
1391	1391	‘‘(9)(A) review a mineral resource assessment 3
1392	1392	applicable to the public lands covered by the land 4
1393	1393	use plan that was completed during the 10-year pe-5
1394	1394	riod ending on the effective date of the land use 6
1395	1395	plan; and 7
1396	1396	‘‘(B) in consultation with the Secretary of En-8
1397	1397	ergy and the Secretary of Defense, determine the 9
1398	1398	significance of the minerals located within the public 10
1399	1399	lands to energy security, national security, and eco-11
1400	1400	nomic security, in accordance with subparagraph 12
1401	1401	(A); and’’. 13
1402	1402	SEC. 2002. CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL OF WITHDRAWALS 14
1403	1403	UNDER THE FEDERAL LAND POLICY AND 15
1404	1404	MANAGEMENT ACT OF 1976. 16
1405	1405	Section 204(c)(1) of the Federal Land Policy and 17
1406	1406	Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1714(c)(1)) is 18
1407	1407	amended in the second sentence by striking ‘‘no later than 19
1408	1408	its effective date’’ and all that follows through ‘‘approve 20
1409	1409	the withdrawal’’ and inserting ‘‘not later than 90 days be-21
1410	1410	fore the effective date of the withdrawal and the with-22
1411	1411	drawal shall terminate and become ineffective if Congress 23
1412	1412	has not enacted a joint resolution approving the with-24
1413	1413	drawal prior to the effective date of the withdrawal.’’. 25
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1416	1416	•S 1456 IS
1417	1417	SEC. 2003. PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN MORATORIA. 1
1418	1418	(a) D
1419	1419	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 2
1420	1420	(1) M
1421	1421	INERAL.—The term ‘‘mineral’’ means any 3
1422	1422	mineral subject to sections 2319 through 2344 of 4
1423	1423	the Revised Statutes (commonly known as the ‘‘Min-5
1424	1424	ing Law of 1872’’) (30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.) and any 6
1425	1425	mineral located on lands acquired by the United 7
1426	1426	States (as defined in section 2 of the Mineral Leas-8
1427	1427	ing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351)). 9
1428	1428	(2) S
1429	1429	ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 10
1430	1430	the Secretary of the Interior. 11
1431	1431	(b) P
1432	1432	ROHIBITION OF CERTAINMORATORIA.—The 12
1433	1433	Secretary may not declare a moratorium on issuing leases, 13
1434	1434	claims, or permits on Federal land, including land on the 14
1435	1435	outer Continental Shelf, for the mining of minerals or re-15
1436	1436	lated activities. 16
1437	1437	(c) P
1438	1438	ROHIBITION ON RESCISSION OF CERTAIN 17
1439	1439	L
1440	1440	EASES, PERMITS, ORCLAIMS.—The President or the 18
1441	1441	Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture, as applicable, 19
1442	1442	may not rescind any lease, permit, or claim for the mining 20
1443	1443	and extraction of any mineral on National Forest System 21
1444	1444	land or Bureau of Land Management land unless— 22
1445	1445	(1) specifically authorized by an Act of Con-23
1446	1446	gress; or 24
1447	1447	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456
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1449	1449	•S 1456 IS
1450	1450	(2) the lessee, permittee, or claimant fails to 1
1451	1451	comply with a provision of the applicable lease, per-2
1452	1452	mit, or claim. 3
1453	1453	SEC. 2004. PROHIBITION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW 4
1454	1454	CATEGORIES OF FEDERAL LAND DESIGNA-5
1455	1455	TIONS BY THE HEADS OF FEDERAL LAND 6
1456	1456	MANAGEMENT AGENCIES. 7
1457	1457	The head of a Federal land management agency may 8
1458	1458	not establish a new category of Federal land designations 9
1459	1459	that is not otherwise expressly authorized by Federal stat-10
1460	1460	ute. 11
1461	1461	SEC. 2005. COAL LEASES ON FEDERAL LAND. 12
1462	1462	(a) E
1463	1463	NVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS FOR NEW 13
1464	1464	C
1465	1465	OALLEASES.—The environmental assessment prepared 14
1466	1466	by the Bureau of Land Management entitled ‘‘Lifting the 15
1467	1467	Pause on the Issuance of New Federal Coal Leases for 16
1468	1468	Thermal (Steam) Coal’’ (DOI–BLM–WO–WO2100– 17
1469	1469	2019–0001–EA) is deemed to satisfy the requirements of 18
1470	1470	the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 19
1471	1471	4321 et seq.) for purposes of the issuance of new coal 20
1472	1472	leases on Federal land. 21
1473	1473	(b) O
1474	1474	FFERING OFLEASES; ACCEPTANCE OFBIDS.— 22
1475	1475	Section 2(a)(1) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 23
1476	1476	201(a)(1)) is amended— 24
1477	1477	(1) in the first sentence— 25
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1480	1480	•S 1456 IS
1481	1481	(A) by striking ‘‘he finds’’ and inserting 1
1482	1482	‘‘the Secretary of the Interior finds’’; and 2
1483	1483	(B) by striking ‘‘he shall, in his discretion, 3
1484	1484	upon the request of any qualified applicant or 4
1485	1485	on his own motion, from time to time, offer’’ 5
1486	1486	and inserting ‘‘the Secretary of the Interior, not 6
1487	1487	later than 90 days after the date of receipt of 7
1488	1488	the request of any qualified applicant, or on the 8
1489	1489	motion of the Secretary of the Interior not 9
1490	1490	fewer than 4 times each calendar year, shall 10
1491	1491	offer’’; and 11
1492	1492	(2) in the fifth sentence, by striking ‘‘No bid 12
1493	1493	shall be accepted which is less than the fair market 13
1494	1494	value, as determined by the Secretary,’’ and insert-14
1495	1495	ing ‘‘No bid shall be accepted that is less than the 15
1496	1496	fair market value, as determined by the Secretary of 16
1497	1497	the Interior by the date that is 45 days after the 17
1498	1498	date of receipt of the bid,’’. 18
1499	1499	SEC. 2006. MODIFICATION TO DEFINITIONS OF CRITICAL 19
1500	1500	MATERIAL AND CRITICAL MINERAL AND 20
1501	1501	CRITICAL MINERAL DESIGNATION CRITERIA. 21
1502	1502	(a) D
1503	1503	EFINITIONS OFCRITICALMATERIAL ANDCRIT-22
1504	1504	ICALMINERAL.— 23
1505	1505	(1) D
1506	1506	EFINITION OF CRITICAL MATERIAL .—Sec-24
1507	1507	tion 7002(a)(2)(A) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 25
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1510	1510	•S 1456 IS
1511	1511	U.S.C. 1606(a)(2)(A)) is amended, in the matter 1
1512	1512	preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘non-fuel’’. 2
1513	1513	(2) D
1514	1514	EFINITION OF CRITICAL MINERAL .—Sec-3
1515	1515	tion 7002(a)(3)(B)(i) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 4
1516	1516	U.S.C. 1606(a)(3)(B)(i)) is amended by striking 5
1517	1517	‘‘fuel minerals’’ and inserting ‘‘oil, oil shale, coal, or 6
1518	1518	natural gas’’. 7
1519	1519	(b) M
1520	1520	ODIFICATION TOCRITICALMINERALDESIGNA-8
1521	1521	TIONCRITERIA.—Section 7002(c)(4)(A)(ii) of the Energy 9
1522	1522	Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(c)(4)(A)(ii)) is amended by 10
1523	1523	inserting ‘‘significant projected domestic production de-11
1524	1524	cline,’’ after ‘‘abrupt demand growth,’’. 12
1525	1525	SEC. 2007. PERMITTING PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS. 13
1526	1526	(a) D
1527	1527	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 14
1528	1528	(1) B
1529	1529	YPRODUCT.—The term ‘‘byproduct’’ has 15
1530	1530	the meaning given the term in section 7002(a) of the 16
1531	1531	Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(a)). 17
1532	1532	(2) I
1533	1533	NDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 18
1534	1534	has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 19
1535	1535	Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 20
1536	1536	Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 21
1537	1537	(3) M
1538	1538	INERAL.—The term ‘‘mineral’’ means any 22
1539	1539	mineral subject to sections 2319 through 2344 of 23
1540	1540	the Revised Statutes (commonly known as the ‘‘Min-24
1541	1541	ing Law of 1872’’) (30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.), and min-25
1542	1542	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456
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1544	1544	•S 1456 IS
1545	1545	erals located on lands acquired by the United States 1
1546	1546	(as defined in section 2 of the Mineral Leasing Act 2
1547	1547	for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351)). 3
1548	1548	(4) S
1549	1549	ECRETARY.—Except as otherwise provided, 4
1550	1550	the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the In-5
1551	1551	terior. 6
1552	1552	(5) S
1553	1553	TATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 7
1554	1554	(A) a State; 8
1555	1555	(B) the District of Columbia; 9
1556	1556	(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 10
1557	1557	(D) Guam; 11
1558	1558	(E) American Samoa; 12
1559	1559	(F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 13
1560	1560	Mariana Islands; and 14
1561	1561	(G) the United States Virgin Islands. 15
1562	1562	(b) M
1563	1563	INERALSSUPPLYCHAIN ANDRELIABILITY.— 16
1564	1564	Section 40206 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs 17
1565	1565	Act (30 U.S.C. 1607) is amended— 18
1566	1566	(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘
1567	1567	CRIT-19
1568	1568	ICAL MINERALS ’’ and inserting ‘‘MINERALS’’; 20
1569	1569	(2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 21
1570	1570	following: 22
1571	1571	‘‘(a) D
1572	1572	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 23
1573	1573	‘‘(1) L
1574	1574	EAD AGENCY.—The term ‘lead agency’ 24
1575	1575	means the Federal agency with primary responsi-25
1576	1576	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456
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1578	1578	•S 1456 IS
1579	1579	bility for issuing a mineral exploration or mine per-1
1580	1580	mit or lease for a mineral project. 2
1581	1581	‘‘(2) M
1582	1582	INERAL.—The term ‘mineral’ has the 3
1583	1583	meaning given the term in section 2007(a) of the 4
1584	1584	Spur Permitting of Underdeveloped Resources Act. 5
1585	1585	‘‘(3) M
1586	1586	INERAL EXPLORATION OR MINE PER -6
1587	1587	MIT.—The term ‘mineral exploration or mine permit’ 7
1588	1588	means— 8
1589	1589	‘‘(A) an authorization of the Bureau of 9
1590	1590	Land Management or the Forest Service, as ap-10
1591	1591	plicable, for exploration for minerals that re-11
1592	1592	quires analysis under the National Environ-12
1593	1593	mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 13
1594	1594	seq.); 14
1595	1595	‘‘(B) a plan of operations for a mineral 15
1596	1596	project approved by the Bureau of Land Man-16
1597	1597	agement or the Forest Service; or 17
1598	1598	‘‘(C) any other Federal permit or author-18
1599	1599	ization for a mineral project. 19
1600	1600	‘‘(4) M
1601	1601	INERAL PROJECT.—The term ‘mineral 20
1602	1602	project’ means a project that— 21
1603	1603	‘‘(A) is located on— 22
1604	1604	‘‘(i) a mining claim, millsite claim, or 23
1605	1605	tunnel site claim for any mineral; 24
1606	1606	‘‘(ii) lands open to mineral entry; or 25
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1609	1609	•S 1456 IS
1610	1610	‘‘(iii) a Federal mineral lease; and 1
1611	1611	‘‘(B) is for the purposes of exploring for or 2
1612	1612	producing minerals.’’; 3
1613	1613	(3) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘critical’’ each 4
1614	1614	place it appears; 5
1615	1615	(4) in subsection (c)— 6
1616	1616	(A) in the matter preceding paragraph 7
1617	1617	(1)— 8
1618	1618	(i) by striking ‘‘critical mineral pro-9
1619	1619	duction on Federal land’’ and inserting 10
1620	1620	‘‘mineral projects’’; and 11
1621	1621	(ii) by striking ‘‘practicable, shall 12
1622	1622	complete the’’ and inserting ‘‘practicable, 13
1623	1623	and in accordance with subsection (h), 14
1624	1624	shall complete those’’; 15
1625	1625	(B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘critical 16
1626	1626	mineral-related activities on Federal land’’ and 17
1627	1627	inserting ‘‘mineral projects’’; 18
1628	1628	(C) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 19
1629	1629	the end; 20
1630	1630	(D) in paragraph (9), by striking the pe-21
1631	1631	riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 22
1632	1632	(E) by adding at the end the following: 23
1633	1633	‘‘(10) deferring to and relying on baseline data, 24
1634	1634	analyses, and reviews performed by State agencies 25
1635	1635	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456
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1637	1637	•S 1456 IS
1638	1638	with jurisdiction over the environmental or reclama-1
1639	1639	tion permits for the proposed mineral project.’’; 2
1640	1640	(5) in subsection (d)— 3
1641	1641	(A) by striking ‘‘critical’’ each place it ap-4
1642	1642	pears; and 5
1643	1643	(B) in paragraph (3), in the matter pre-6
1644	1644	ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘mineral- 7
1645	1645	related activities on Federal land’’ and inserting 8
1646	1646	‘‘mineral projects’’; 9
1647	1647	(6) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘critical’’; 10
1648	1648	(7) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘critical’’ each 11
1649	1649	place it appears; 12
1650	1650	(8) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘critical’’; and 13
1651	1651	(9) by adding at the end the following: 14
1652	1652	‘‘(h) O
1653	1653	THERREQUIREMENTS.— 15
1654	1654	‘‘(1) M
1655	1655	EMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT .—To 16
1656	1656	maximize efficiency and effectiveness of the Federal 17
1657	1657	permitting and review processes described in sub-18
1658	1658	section (c), the lead agency in the Federal permit-19
1659	1659	ting and review processes of a mineral project shall 20
1660	1660	enter into a memorandum of agreement with a 21
1661	1661	project applicant on request by the applicant to 22
1662	1662	carry out the activities described in subsection (c). 23
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1665	1665	•S 1456 IS
1666	1666	‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—A lead agency described 1
1667	1667	in paragraph (1) shall carry out that paragraph in 2
1668	1668	consultation with— 3
1669	1669	‘‘(A) any other Federal agency involved in 4
1670	1670	the applicable Federal permitting and review 5
1671	1671	processes; and 6
1672	1672	‘‘(B) on request of the project applicant, 7
1673	1673	an affected State government, local government, 8
1674	1674	Indian Tribe, or other entity that the lead agen-9
1675	1675	cy determines appropriate. 10
1676	1676	‘‘(3) T
1677	1677	IMELINES AND SCHEDULES .— 11
1678	1678	‘‘(A) D
1679	1679	EADLINES.—Any timelines or 12
1680	1680	schedules established under subsection (c)(1) 13
1681	1681	relating to a review under section 102(2)(C) of 14
1682	1682	the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 15
1683	1683	(42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) shall require that the 16
1684	1684	review process not exceed— 17
1685	1685	‘‘(i) 1 year for an environmental as-18
1686	1686	sessment; and 19
1687	1687	‘‘(ii) 2 years for an environmental im-20
1688	1688	pact statement. 21
1689	1689	‘‘(B) E
1690	1690	XTENSION.—A project applicant 22
1691	1691	may enter into one or more agreements with a 23
1692	1692	lead agency to extend 1 or more of the dead-24
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1695	1695	•S 1456 IS
1696	1696	lines described in subparagraph (A) by not 1
1697	1697	more than 6 months. 2
1698	1698	‘‘(C) A
1699	1699	DJUSTMENT OF TIMELINES .—At the 3
1700	1700	request of a project applicant, the lead agency 4
1701	1701	and any other entity that is a signatory to a 5
1702	1702	memorandum of agreement under paragraph 6
1703	1703	(1) may, by unanimous agreement, adjust— 7
1704	1704	‘‘(i) any deadlines described in sub-8
1705	1705	paragraph (A); and 9
1706	1706	‘‘(ii) any deadlines extended under 10
1707	1707	subparagraph (B). 11
1708	1708	‘‘(D) D
1709	1709	EADLINE FOR ISSUANCE OF AU -12
1710	1710	THORIZATIONS.—For a proposed agency action 13
1711	1711	with a timeline or schedule established under 14
1712	1712	subsection (c)(1) and a review process estab-15
1713	1713	lished in accordance with subparagraph (A), the 16
1714	1714	record of decision prepared for the proposed 17
1715	1715	agency action and all authorizations required 18
1716	1716	under any other Federal law with respect to the 19
1717	1717	proposed agency action shall be issued not later 20
1718	1718	than 90 days after the date on which the appli-21
1719	1719	cable environmental impact statement or envi-22
1720	1720	ronmental assessment is published in the Fed-23
1721	1721	eral Register. 24
1722	1722	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456
1723	1723	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 57
1724	1724	•S 1456 IS
1725	1725	‘‘(4) DOCUMENT PREPARED BY PROJECT APPLI -1
1726	1726	CANT.—The lead agency with respect to a mineral 2
1727	1727	project may adopt an environmental impact state-3
1728	1728	ment or environmental assessment prepared by or 4
1729	1729	for a project applicant with respect to the mineral 5
1730	1730	project if that document fulfills the requirements of 6
1731	1731	section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 7
1732	1732	Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). 8
1733	1733	‘‘(5) E
1734	1734	FFECT ON PENDING APPLICATIONS .—On 9
1735	1735	a written request by a project applicant, the require-10
1736	1736	ments of this subsection shall apply to any applica-11
1737	1737	tion for a mineral exploration or mine permit or 12
1738	1738	mineral lease that was submitted before the date of 13
1739	1739	enactment of the Spur Permitting of Under-14
1740	1740	developed Resources Act.’’. 15
1741	1741	(c) F
1742	1742	EDERALREGISTERPROCESSIMPROVEMENT.— 16
1743	1743	Section 7002(f) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 17
1744	1744	1606(f)) is amended— 18
1745	1745	(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘critical’’ in 19
1746	1746	each place it appears; and 20
1747	1747	(2) by striking paragraph (4). 21
1748	1748	(d) D
1749	1749	ESIGNATION OFMINING AS ACOVEREDSECTOR 22
1750	1750	FORFEDERALPERMITTINGIMPROVEMENT PURPOSES.— 23
1751	1751	Section 41001(6)(A) of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 24
1752	1752	4370m(6)(A)) is amended in the matter preceding clause 25
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1754	1754	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 58
1755	1755	•S 1456 IS
1756	1756	(i) by inserting ‘‘minerals production,’’ before ‘‘or any 1
1757	1757	other sector’’. 2
1758	1758	(e) M
1759	1759	INERALEXPLORATIONACTIVITIESWITHLIM-3
1760	1760	ITEDSURFACEDISTURBANCE.— 4
1761	1761	(1) D
1762	1762	EFINITION OF SECRETARY CONCERNED .— 5
1763	1763	In this subsection, the term ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ 6
1764	1764	means— 7
1765	1765	(A) the Secretary of the Interior, with re-8
1766	1766	spect to land under the jurisdiction of the Sec-9
1767	1767	retary of the Interior; or 10
1768	1768	(B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re-11
1769	1769	spect to land of the National Forest System. 12
1770	1770	(2) N
1771	1771	OTICE.—An operator may submit to the 13
1772	1772	Secretary concerned notice requesting to carry out 14
1773	1773	mineral exploration activities other than casual use, 15
1774	1774	which shall include a description of the mineral ex-16
1775	1775	ploration activities and subsequent reclamation ac-17
1776	1776	tivities intended to be carried out. 18
1777	1777	(3) A
1778	1778	PPROVAL.—Notwithstanding any other 19
1779	1779	provision of law, not later than 15 calendar days 20
1780	1780	after receiving a notice under paragraph (2), the 21
1781	1781	Secretary concerned shall allow the activities de-22
1782	1782	scribed in the notice to proceed if— 23
1783	1783	(A) the surface disturbance on Federal 24
1784	1784	land will not exceed 5 acres; 25
1785	1785	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456
1786	1786	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 59
1787	1787	•S 1456 IS
1788	1788	(B) the Secretary concerned determines 1
1789	1789	that the notice is complete; and 2
1790	1790	(C) financial assurance is provided. 3
1791	1791	(f) U
1792	1792	SE OFMININGCLAIMS FORANCILLARYACTIVI-4
1793	1793	TIES.—Section 10101 of the Omnibus Budget Reconcili-5
1794	1794	ation Act of 1993 (30 U.S.C. 28f) is amended by adding 6
1795	1795	at the end the following: 7
1796	1796	‘‘(e) S
1797	1797	ECURITY OFTENURE.— 8
1798	1798	‘‘(1) C
1799	1799	LAIMANT RIGHTS.— 9
1800	1800	‘‘(A) D
1801	1801	EFINITION OF OPERATIONS .—In 10
1802	1802	this paragraph, the term ‘operations’ means— 11
1803	1803	‘‘(i) with respect to a locatable min-12
1804	1804	eral, any activity or work carried out in 13
1805	1805	connection with— 14
1806	1806	‘‘(I) prospecting; 15
1807	1807	‘‘(II) exploration; 16
1808	1808	‘‘(III) processing; 17
1809	1809	‘‘(IV) discovery and assessment; 18
1810	1810	‘‘(V) development; or 19
1811	1811	‘‘(VI) extraction; 20
1812	1812	‘‘(ii) the reclamation of an area dis-21
1813	1813	turbed by an activity described in clause 22
1814	1814	(i); and 23
1815	1815	‘‘(iii) any activity reasonably incident 24
1816	1816	to an activity described in clause (i) or (ii), 25
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1818	1818	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 60
1819	1819	•S 1456 IS
1820	1820	regardless of whether that incidental activ-1
1821	1821	ity is carried out on a mining claim, in-2
1822	1822	cluding the construction and maintenance 3
1823	1823	of any facility, road, transmission line, 4
1824	1824	pipeline, or any other necessary infrastruc-5
1825	1825	ture or means of access on public land. 6
1826	1826	‘‘(B) R
1827	1827	IGHTS TO USE, OCCUPATION, AND 7
1828	1828	OPERATIONS.—A claimant shall have the right 8
1829	1829	to use, occupy, and conduct operations on pub-9
1830	1830	lic land, with or without the discovery of a valu-10
1831	1831	able mineral deposit, if— 11
1832	1832	‘‘(i) the claimant makes a timely pay-12
1833	1833	ment of the location fee required by section 13
1834	1834	10102 and the claim maintenance fee re-14
1835	1835	quired by subsection (a); or 15
1836	1836	‘‘(ii) in the case of a claimant who 16
1837	1837	qualifies for a waiver under subsection 17
1838	1838	(d)— 18
1839	1839	‘‘(I) the claimant makes a timely 19
1840	1840	payment of the location fee required 20
1841	1841	by section 10102; and 21
1842	1842	‘‘(II) the claimant complies with 22
1843	1843	the required assessment work under 23
1844	1844	the general mining laws. 24
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1847	1847	•S 1456 IS
1848	1848	‘‘(2) FULFILLMENT OF FEDERAL LAND POLICY 1
1849	1849	AND MANAGEMENT ACT OF 1976 .—A claimant that 2
1850	1850	fulfills the requirements of this section and section 3
1851	1851	10102 shall be deemed to satisfy any requirements 4
1852	1852	under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 5
1853	1853	of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) for the payment 6
1854	1854	of fair market value to the United States for the use 7
1855	1855	of public land and resources pursuant to the general 8
1856	1856	mining laws. 9
1857	1857	‘‘(3) S
1858	1858	AVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub-10
1859	1859	section diminishes any right (including a right of 11
1860	1860	entry, use, or occupancy) of a claimant.’’. 12
1861	1861	(g) L
1862	1862	IMITATION ONJUDICIALREVIEW.— 13
1863	1863	(1) I
1864	1864	N GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 14
1865	1865	provision of law, a claim arising under Federal law 15
1866	1866	seeking judicial review of a permit, license, or ap-16
1867	1867	proval issued by a lead agency (as defined in sub-17
1868	1868	section (a) of section 40206 of the Infrastructure In-18
1869	1869	vestment and Jobs Act (30 U.S.C. 1607)) for a min-19
1870	1870	ing project shall be barred unless it is filed not later 20
1871	1871	than 60 days after the date of publication of a no-21
1872	1872	tice in the Federal Register announcing that the 22
1873	1873	permit, license, or approval is final in accordance 23
1874	1874	with the law under which the agency action is taken, 24
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1877	1877	•S 1456 IS
1878	1878	unless a shorter time is specified in the Federal law 1
1879	1879	pursuant to which judicial review is allowed. 2
1880	1880	(2) S
1881	1881	AVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub-3
1882	1882	section— 4
1883	1883	(A) establishes a right to judicial review; 5
1884	1884	or 6
1885	1885	(B) places any limit on filing a claim that 7
1886	1886	a person has violated the terms of a permit, li-8
1887	1887	cense, or approval. 9
1888	1888	(h) R
1889	1889	EMAND.—Notwithstanding any other provision 10
1890	1890	of law, no approval of a mineral exploration or mine per-11
1891	1891	mit as defined in section 40206(a) of the Infrastructure 12
1892	1892	Investment and Jobs Act (30 U.S.C. 1607) (as amended 13
1893	1893	by subsection (b)(2)) shall be vacated or otherwise limited, 14
1894	1894	delayed, or enjoined unless the applicable court concludes 15
1895	1895	allowing such proposed action will pose a risk of an immi-16
1896	1896	nent and substantial environmental harm and there is no 17
1897	1897	other equitable remedy available as a matter of law. 18
1898	1898	TITLE III—FEDERAL ENERGY 19
1899	1899	REGULATORY COMMISSION 20
1900	1900	SEC. 3001. TARIFF REFORMS, RATE TREATMENTS, AND 21
1901	1901	RULEMAKING TO ENSURE THE RELIABILITY 22
1902	1902	AND SECURITY OF ELECTRIC SERVICE AND 23
1903	1903	INTERSTATE NATURAL GAS SERVICE. 24
1904	1904	(a) D
1905	1905	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 25
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1907	1907	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 63
1908	1908	•S 1456 IS
1909	1909	(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 1
1910	1910	means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 2
1911	1911	(2) C
1912	1912	RITICAL ELECTRIC INFRASTRUCTURE ; DE-3
1913	1913	FENSE CRITICAL ELECTRIC INFRASTRUCTURE ; GRID 4
1914	1914	SECURITY EMERGENCY .—The terms ‘‘critical electric 5
1915	1915	infrastructure’’, ‘‘defense critical electric infrastruc-6
1916	1916	ture’’, and ‘‘grid security emergency’’ have the 7
1917	1917	meanings given the terms in section 215A(a) of the 8
1918	1918	Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o–1(a)). 9
1919	1919	(3) I
1920	1920	NTERSTATE NATURAL GAS PIPELINE .—The 10
1921	1921	term ‘‘interstate natural gas pipeline’’ means a facil-11
1922	1922	ity under the jurisdiction of the Commission under 12
1923	1923	the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.) that is 13
1924	1924	engaged in the transportation of natural gas in 14
1925	1925	interstate commerce, or the sale in interstate com-15
1926	1926	merce of natural gas for resale, under section 3 or 16
1927	1927	7 of that Act (15 U.S.C. 717b, 717f). 17
1928	1928	(4) N
1929	1929	ATURAL DISASTER.—The term ‘‘natural 18
1930	1930	disaster’’ means— 19
1931	1931	(A) a major disaster declared by the Presi-20
1932	1932	dent under section 401 of the Robert T. Staf-21
1933	1933	ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 22
1934	1934	Act (42 U.S.C. 5170); and 23
1935	1935	(B) any other natural catastrophe, includ-24
1936	1936	ing a hurricane, tornado, storm, snowstorm, 25
1937	1937	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456
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1939	1939	•S 1456 IS
1940	1940	superstorm, flood, high water, winddriven 1
1941	1941	water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic 2
1942	1942	eruption, landslide, mudslide, drought, and 3
1943	1943	wildfire. 4
1944	1944	(b) T
1945	1945	ARIFFREFORMS, RATETREATMENTS, AND 5
1946	1946	R
1947	1947	ULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 6
1948	1948	enactment of this Act, the Commission shall adopt tariff 7
1949	1949	provisions and rate treatments, and establish separately, 8
1950	1950	by rule, additional reforms, that, in the determination of 9
1951	1951	the Commission, are necessary to protect the adequacy, 10
1952	1952	affordability, reliability, and security of the supply and de-11
1953	1953	livery of— 12
1954	1954	(1) electricity, and attributes of electric supply, 13
1955	1955	that enhance the continuance or prompt resumption 14
1956	1956	of the supply or delivery of electricity— 15
1957	1957	(A) under normal operating conditions; or 16
1958	1958	(B) during or after— 17
1959	1959	(i) a grid security emergency; or 18
1960	1960	(ii) a natural disaster; and 19
1961	1961	(2) natural gas by interstate natural gas pipe-20
1962	1962	lines. 21
1963	1963	(c) R
1964	1964	EQUIREDCONSIDERATIONS.— 22
1965	1965	(1) I
1966	1966	N GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 23
1967	1967	(b), the Commission shall— 24
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1970	1970	•S 1456 IS
1971	1971	(A) consider whether and the extent to 1
1972	1972	which each of the matters described in subpara-2
1973	1973	graphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (2) have 3
1974	1974	a material impact on the adequacy, afford-4
1975	1975	ability, reliability, and security of the supply or 5
1976	1976	delivery of— 6
1977	1977	(i) electricity; or 7
1978	1978	(ii) natural gas by interstate natural 8
1979	1979	gas pipelines; and 9
1980	1980	(B) ensure that the record of the rule-10
1981	1981	making proceeding under that subsection re-11
1982	1982	flects that consideration. 12
1983	1983	(2) M
1984	1984	ATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED .—In carrying 13
1985	1985	out subsection (b), the Commission shall solicit, con-14
1986	1986	sider, and include in the record of the rulemaking 15
1987	1987	proceeding under that subsection evidence of— 16
1988	1988	(A) with respect to each category of facili-17
1989	1989	ties that are subject to the jurisdiction of the 18
1990	1990	Commission and have a material impact on the 19
1991	1991	supply or delivery of electricity, including inter-20
1992	1992	state natural gas pipelines, or of natural gas by 21
1993	1993	interstate natural gas pipelines— 22
1994	1994	(i) the adequacy, affordability, reli-23
1995	1995	ability, and security of— 24
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1998	1998	•S 1456 IS
1999	1999	(I) the facilities in the applicable 1
2000	2000	category; 2
2001	2001	(II) the contribution to the sup-3
2002	2002	ply and delivery of electricity or nat-4
2003	2003	ural gas, as applicable, by the facili-5
2004	2004	ties in the applicable category; and 6
2005	2005	(III) the supply and delivery of 7
2006	2006	other energy products by facilities in 8
2007	2007	the applicable category, to the extent 9
2008	2008	that the supply and delivery of those 10
2009	2009	energy products has a material impact 11
2010	2010	on the supply or delivery of electricity 12
2011	2011	or natural gas, as applicable; and 13
2012	2012	(ii) rate treatments and tariff reforms 14
2013	2013	that would protect the adequacy, afford-15
2014	2014	ability, reliability, and security of the sup-16
2015	2015	ply and delivery of, as applicable— 17
2016	2016	(I) electricity; or 18
2017	2017	(II) natural gas by interstate 19
2018	2018	natural gas pipelines; 20
2019	2019	(B) the attributes of electric generating 21
2020	2020	units that make a demonstrable contribution 22
2021	2021	to— 23
2022	2022	(i) grid stability; and 24
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2025	2025	•S 1456 IS
2026	2026	(ii) the continuation or resumption of 1
2027	2027	reliable service in a defined region; 2
2028	2028	(C)(i) the state of development of relevant 3
2029	2029	energy technologies, including electric tech-4
2030	2030	nologies; and 5
2031	2031	(ii) the likelihood of deployment of those 6
2032	2032	technologies during the 7-year period beginning 7
2033	2033	on the date of enactment of this Act; 8
2034	2034	(D) identifiable threats to— 9
2035	2035	(i) critical electric infrastructure; and 10
2036	2036	(ii) defense critical electric infrastruc-11
2037	2037	ture; and 12
2038	2038	(E) identifiable impediments to the ade-13
2039	2039	quacy, affordability, reliability, or security of 14
2040	2040	the supply and delivery of electricity or of nat-15
2041	2041	ural gas by interstate natural gas pipelines pre-16
2042	2042	sented by any precedents or rules of the Com-17
2043	2043	mission in effect as of the date of enactment of 18
2044	2044	this Act. 19
2045	2045	(d) U
2046	2046	PDATES.— 20
2047	2047	(1) I
2048	2048	N GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that 21
2049	2049	is 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 22
2050	2050	and every 5 years thereafter, the Commission 23
2051	2051	shall— 24
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2053	2053	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 68
2054	2054	•S 1456 IS
2055	2055	(A) revise and update the rule established 1
2056	2056	under subsection (b); or 2
2057	2057	(B) make a public determination that re-3
2058	2058	vising and updating the rule is not necessary at 4
2059	2059	that time. 5
2060	2060	(2) R
2061	2061	EQUIREMENT.—In carrying out paragraph 6
2062	2062	(1), the Commission shall solicit, consider, and in-7
2063	2063	clude in the record of any rulemaking proceeding 8
2064	2064	carried out under subparagraph (A) of that para-9
2065	2065	graph or any determination made under subpara-10
2066	2066	graph (B) of that paragraph any new evidence or in-11
2067	2067	formation relating to the matters described in sub-12
2068	2068	paragraphs (A) through (E) of subsection (c)(2). 13
2069	2069	SEC. 3002. FEDERAL AUTHORIZATIONS UNDER THE NAT-14
2070	2070	URAL GAS ACT. 15
2071	2071	Section 15 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717n) 16
2072	2072	is amended— 17
2073	2073	(1) in subsection (a), by inserting before ‘‘In 18
2074	2074	this section’’ the following: 19
2075	2075	‘‘D
2076	2076	EFINITION OF FEDERAL AUTHORIZATION .— 20
2077	2077	’’; 21
2078	2078	(2) in subsection (e), by inserting before ‘‘Hear-22
2079	2079	ings under this’’ the following: 23
2080	2080	‘‘H
2081	2081	EARINGS AND PROCEEDINGS .—’’; 24
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2083	2083	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 69
2084	2084	•S 1456 IS
2085	2085	(3) in subsection (f), by inserting before ‘‘All 1
2086	2086	hearings,’’ the following: 2
2087	2087	‘‘G
2088	2088	OVERNING RULES.—’’; and 3
2089	2089	(4) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol-4
2090	2090	lowing: 5
2091	2091	‘‘(g) A
2092	2092	DDITIONALREQUIREMENTS.— 6
2093	2093	‘‘(1) D
2094	2094	EFINITION OF EFFECTS.—In conducting 7
2095	2095	a review under the National Environmental Policy 8
2096	2096	Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) relating to any 9
2097	2097	Federal authorization (or to any other decision relat-10
2098	2098	ing to the issuance of an order or certificate, or the 11
2099	2099	approval or denial of an application, under section 3 12
2100	2100	or 7), the Commission shall consider the term ‘ef-13
2101	2101	fects’, as used in that Act with respect to impacts 14
2102	2102	and effects, to mean physical changes to the human 15
2103	2103	environment as a result of a proposed action or al-16
2104	2104	ternative action to be carried out by a Federal agen-17
2105	2105	cy that— 18
2106	2106	‘‘(A) are reasonably foreseeable, not specu-19
2107	2107	lative, and not remote in time or geographically 20
2108	2108	remote; 21
2109	2109	‘‘(B) have a reasonably close causal rela-22
2110	2110	tionship that is not the product of a lengthy 23
2111	2111	causal chain to the proposed action or alter-24
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2113	2113	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 70
2114	2114	•S 1456 IS
2115	2115	native action, respectively, as determined by the 1
2116	2116	Commission; 2
2117	2117	‘‘(C) the Commission has the ability to 3
2118	2118	prevent and that would not occur absent the 4
2119	2119	proposed action or alternative action; and 5
2120	2120	‘‘(D) do not constitute potential effects 6
2121	2121	from emissions upstream or downstream of the 7
2122	2122	facility that is the subject of the application 8
2123	2123	under section 3 or 7. 9
2124	2124	‘‘(2) R
2125	2125	EQUIREMENT.—For purposes of para-10
2126	2126	graph (1)(B), a ‘but for’ causal relationship is insuf-11
2127	2127	ficient to establish a reasonably close causal relation-12
2128	2128	ship. 13
2129	2129	‘‘(3) A
2130	2130	LTERNATIVES.—Any alternatives re-14
2131	2131	quired to be analyzed under the National Environ-15
2132	2132	mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 16
2133	2133	by the Commission shall— 17
2134	2134	‘‘(A) meet the purpose and need for the 18
2135	2135	proposed action; 19
2136	2136	‘‘(B) where applicable, meet the goals of 20
2137	2137	the applicant; and 21
2138	2138	‘‘(C) be within the authority of the Federal 22
2139	2139	agency to control. 23
2140	2140	‘‘(4) N
2141	2141	O USE OF SOCIAL COST METRICS .—In 24
2142	2142	conducting a review described in paragraph (1), the 25
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2144	2144	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 71
2145	2145	•S 1456 IS
2146	2146	Commission shall not consider or apply any metric 1
2147	2147	that purports to estimate the monetized damages or 2
2148	2148	benefits associated with incremental increases or de-3
2149	2149	creases in greenhouse gas emissions.’’. 4
2150	2150	SEC. 3003. FEDERAL AUTHORIZATIONS UNDER SECTION 216 5
2151	2151	OF THE FEDERAL POWER ACT. 6
2152	2152	Section 216(h) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 7
2153	2153	824p(h)) is amended— 8
2154	2154	(1) in paragraph (1)— 9
2155	2155	(A) by striking ‘‘(1) In this subsection’’ 10
2156	2156	and all that follows through ‘‘The term’’ in sub-11
2157	2157	paragraph (A) and inserting the following: 12
2158	2158	‘‘(1) D
2159	2159	EFINITION OF FEDERAL AUTHORIZA -13
2160	2160	TION.— 14
2161	2161	‘‘(A) I
2162	2162	N GENERAL.—In this subsection, the 15
2163	2163	term’’; and 16
2164	2164	(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘(B) 17
2165	2165	The term’’ and inserting the following: 18
2166	2166	‘‘(B) I
2167	2167	NCLUSIONS.—In this subsection, the 19
2168	2168	term’’; and 20
2169	2169	(2) by adding at the end the following: 21
2170	2170	‘‘(10) A
2171	2171	DDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS .— 22
2172	2172	‘‘(A) D
2173	2173	EFINITION OF EFFECTS .—In con-23
2174	2174	ducting a review under the National Environ-24
2175	2175	mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 25
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2179	2179	seq.) relating to any Federal authorization (or 1
2180	2180	to any other decision relating to the issuance of 2
2181	2181	a Federal authorization, or the approval or de-3
2182	2182	nial of an application, under this section), the 4
2183	2183	Commission shall consider the term ‘effects’, as 5
2184	2184	used in that Act with respect to impacts and ef-6
2185	2185	fects, to mean physical changes to the human 7
2186	2186	environment as a result of a proposed action or 8
2187	2187	alternative action to be carried out by a Federal 9
2188	2188	agency that— 10
2189	2189	‘‘(i) are reasonably foreseeable, not 11
2190	2190	speculative, and not remote in time or geo-12
2191	2191	graphically remote; 13
2192	2192	‘‘(ii) have a reasonably close causal 14
2193	2193	relationship that is not the product of a 15
2194	2194	lengthy causal chain to the proposed action 16
2195	2195	or alternative action, respectively, as deter-17
2196	2196	mined by the Commission; 18
2197	2197	‘‘(iii) the Commission has the ability 19
2198	2198	to prevent and that would not occur absent 20
2199	2199	the proposed action or alternative action; 21
2200	2200	and 22
2201	2201	‘‘(iv) do not constitute potential ef-23
2202	2202	fects from emissions upstream or down-24
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2205	2205	•S 1456 IS
2206	2206	stream of the facility that is the subject of 1
2207	2207	the application under this section. 2
2208	2208	‘‘(B) R
2209	2209	EQUIREMENT.—For purposes of 3
2210	2210	subparagraph (A)(ii), a ‘but for’ causal rela-4
2211	2211	tionship is insufficient to establish a reasonably 5
2212	2212	close causal relationship. 6
2213	2213	‘‘(C) A
2214	2214	LTERNATIVES.—Any alternatives re-7
2215	2215	quired to be analyzed under the National Envi-8
2216	2216	ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 9
2217	2217	et seq.) by the Commission shall— 10
2218	2218	‘‘(i) meet the purpose and need for 11
2219	2219	the proposed action; 12
2220	2220	‘‘(ii) where applicable, meet the goals 13
2221	2221	of the applicant; and 14
2222	2222	‘‘(iii) be within the authority of the 15
2223	2223	Federal agency to control. 16
2224	2224	‘‘(D) N
2225	2225	O USE OF SOCIAL COST METRICS .— 17
2226	2226	In conducting a review described in subpara-18
2227	2227	graph (A), the Commission shall not consider or 19
2228	2228	apply any metric that purports to estimate the 20
2229	2229	monetized damages or benefits associated with 21
2230	2230	incremental increases or decreases in green-22
2231	2231	house gas emissions.’’. 23
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2234	2234	•S 1456 IS
2235	2235	SEC. 3004. PROMOTING INTERAGENCY COORDINATION FOR 1
2236	2236	REVIEW OF NATURAL GAS PROJECTS. 2
2237	2237	(a) D
2238	2238	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 3
2239	2239	(1) C
2240	2240	OMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 4
2241	2241	means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 5
2242	2242	(2) F
2243	2243	EDERAL AUTHORIZATION .—The term 6
2244	2244	‘‘Federal authorization’’ has the meaning given that 7
2245	2245	term in section 15(a) of the Natural Gas Act (15 8
2246	2246	U.S.C. 717n(a)). 9
2247	2247	(3) E
2248	2248	NVIRONMENTAL REVIEW .—The term ‘‘en-10
2249	2249	vironmental review’’ means the process of preparing, 11
2250	2250	for a proposed agency action in accordance with the 12
2251	2251	National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 13
2252	2252	U.S.C. 4332)— 14
2253	2253	(A) an environmental impact statement; 15
2254	2254	(B) an environmental assessment; 16
2255	2255	(C) a categorical exclusion; 17
2256	2256	(D) a finding of no significant impact; and 18
2257	2257	(E) a record of decision. 19
2258	2258	(4) P
2259	2259	ROJECT-RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL RE -20
2260	2260	VIEW.—The term ‘‘project-related environmental re-21
2261	2261	view’’ means any environmental review required to 22
2262	2262	be conducted with respect to the issuance of an au-23
2263	2263	thorization under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act 24
2264	2264	or a certificate of public convenience and necessity 25
2265	2265	under section 7 of such Act. 26
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2268	2268	•S 1456 IS
2269	2269	(b) COMMISSIONRESPONSIBILITIES.—In acting as 1
2270	2270	the lead agency under section 15(b)(1) of the Natural Gas 2
2271	2271	Act for the purposes of complying with the National Envi-3
2272	2272	ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 4
2273	2273	with respect to an authorization under section 3 of the 5
2274	2274	Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public convenience and 6
2275	2275	necessity under section 7 of such Act, the Commission 7
2276	2276	shall, in accordance with this section and other applicable 8
2277	2277	Federal law— 9
2278	2278	(1) be the only lead agency; 10
2279	2279	(2) coordinate as early as practicable with each 11
2280	2280	agency designated as a participating agency under 12
2281	2281	subsection (d)(3) to ensure that the Commission de-13
2282	2282	velops information in conducting its project-related 14
2283	2283	environmental review that is usable by the partici-15
2284	2284	pating agency in considering an aspect of an appli-16
2285	2285	cation for a Federal authorization for which the 17
2286	2286	agency is responsible; and 18
2287	2287	(3) take such actions as are necessary and 19
2288	2288	proper to facilitate the expeditious resolution of its 20
2289	2289	project-related environmental review. 21
2290	2290	(c) D
2291	2291	EFERENCE TOCOMMISSION.—In making a deci-22
2292	2292	sion with respect to a Federal authorization required with 23
2293	2293	respect to an application for authorization under section 24
2294	2294	3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public conven-25
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2297	2297	•S 1456 IS
2298	2298	ience and necessity under section 7 of such Act, each agen-1
2299	2299	cy shall give deference, to the maximum extent authorized 2
2300	2300	by law, to the scope of the project-related environmental 3
2301	2301	review that the Commission determines to be appropriate. 4
2302	2302	(d) P
2303	2303	ARTICIPATINGAGENCIES.— 5
2304	2304	(1) I
2305	2305	DENTIFICATION.—The Commission shall 6
2306	2306	identify, not later than 30 days after the Commis-7
2307	2307	sion receives an application for an authorization 8
2308	2308	under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certifi-9
2309	2309	cate of public convenience and necessity under sec-10
2310	2310	tion 7 of such Act, any Federal or State agency, 11
2311	2311	local government, or Indian Tribe that may issue a 12
2312	2312	Federal authorization or is required by Federal law 13
2313	2313	to consult with the Commission in conjunction with 14
2314	2314	the issuance of a Federal authorization required for 15
2315	2315	such authorization or certificate. 16
2316	2316	(2) I
2317	2317	NVITATION.— 17
2318	2318	(A) I
2319	2319	N GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days 18
2320	2320	after the Commission receives an application for 19
2321	2321	an authorization under section 3 of the Natural 20
2322	2322	Gas Act or a certificate of public convenience 21
2323	2323	and necessity under section 7 of such Act, the 22
2324	2324	Commission shall invite any agency identified 23
2325	2325	under paragraph (1) to participate in the review 24
2326	2326	process for the applicable Federal authorization. 25
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2329	2329	•S 1456 IS
2330	2330	(B) DEADLINE.—An invitation issued 1
2331	2331	under subparagraph (A) shall establish a dead-2
2332	2332	line by which a response to the invitation shall 3
2333	2333	be submitted to the Commission, which may be 4
2334	2334	extended by the Commission for good cause. 5
2335	2335	(3) D
2336	2336	ESIGNATION AS PARTICIPATING AGEN -6
2337	2337	CIES.—Not later than 60 days after the Commission 7
2338	2338	receives an application for an authorization under 8
2339	2339	section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of 9
2340	2340	public convenience and necessity under section 7 of 10
2341	2341	such Act, the Commission shall designate an agency 11
2342	2342	identified under paragraph (1) as a participating 12
2343	2343	agency with respect to an application for authoriza-13
2344	2344	tion under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a 14
2345	2345	certificate of public convenience and necessity under 15
2346	2346	section 7 of such Act unless the agency informs the 16
2347	2347	Commission, in writing, by the deadline established 17
2348	2348	pursuant to paragraph (2)(B), that the agency— 18
2349	2349	(A) has no jurisdiction or authority with 19
2350	2350	respect to the applicable Federal authorization; 20
2351	2351	(B) has no special expertise or information 21
2352	2352	relevant to any project-related environmental 22
2353	2353	review; or 23
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2356	2356	•S 1456 IS
2357	2357	(C) does not intend to submit comments 1
2358	2358	for the record for the project-related environ-2
2359	2359	mental review conducted by the Commission. 3
2360	2360	(4) E
2361	2361	FFECT OF NON-DESIGNATION.— 4
2362	2362	(A) E
2363	2363	FFECT ON AGENCY .—Any agency 5
2364	2364	that is not designated as a participating agency 6
2365	2365	under paragraph (3) with respect to an applica-7
2366	2366	tion for an authorization under section 3 of the 8
2367	2367	Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public con-9
2368	2368	venience and necessity under section 7 of such 10
2369	2369	Act may not request or conduct an environ-11
2370	2370	mental review that is supplemental to the 12
2371	2371	project-related environmental review conducted 13
2372	2372	by the Commission, unless the agency— 14
2373	2373	(i) demonstrates that such review is 15
2374	2374	legally necessary for the agency to carry 16
2375	2375	out responsibilities in considering an as-17
2376	2376	pect of an application for a Federal au-18
2377	2377	thorization; and 19
2378	2378	(ii) requires information that could 20
2379	2379	not have been obtained during the project- 21
2380	2380	related environmental review conducted by 22
2381	2381	the Commission. 23
2382	2382	(B) C
2383	2383	OMMENTS; RECORD.—The Commis-24
2384	2384	sion shall not, with respect to an agency that is 25
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2387	2387	•S 1456 IS
2388	2388	not designated as a participating agency under 1
2389	2389	paragraph (3) with respect to an application for 2
2390	2390	an authorization under section 3 of the Natural 3
2391	2391	Gas Act or a certificate of public convenience 4
2392	2392	and necessity under section 7 of such Act— 5
2393	2393	(i) consider any comments or other in-6
2394	2394	formation submitted by such agency for 7
2395	2395	the project-related environmental review 8
2396	2396	conducted by the Commission; or 9
2397	2397	(ii) include any such comments or 10
2398	2398	other information in the record for such 11
2399	2399	project-related environmental review. 12
2400	2400	(e) W
2401	2401	ATERQUALITYIMPACTS.— 13
2402	2402	(1) I
2403	2403	N GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 401 14
2404	2404	of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 15
2405	2405	U.S.C. 1341), a certification under such section 16
2406	2406	shall not be required with respect to a Federal au-17
2407	2407	thorization. 18
2408	2408	(2) C
2409	2409	OORDINATION.—With respect to any envi-19
2410	2410	ronmental review for a Federal authorization to con-20
2411	2411	duct an activity that will directly result in a dis-21
2412	2412	charge into the navigable waters (within the mean-22
2413	2413	ing of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act), the 23
2414	2414	Commission shall identify as an agency under sub-24
2415	2415	section (d)(1) the State in which the discharge origi-25
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2418	2418	•S 1456 IS
2419	2419	nates or will originate, or, if appropriate, the inter-1
2420	2420	state water pollution control agency having jurisdic-2
2421	2421	tion over the navigable waters at the point where the 3
2422	2422	discharge originates or will originate. 4
2423	2423	(3) P
2424	2424	ROPOSED CONDITIONS .—A State or inter-5
2425	2425	state agency designated as a participating agency 6
2426	2426	pursuant to paragraph (2) may propose to the Com-7
2427	2427	mission terms or conditions for inclusion in an au-8
2428	2428	thorization under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act 9
2429	2429	or a certificate of public convenience and necessity 10
2430	2430	under section 7 of such Act that the State or inter-11
2431	2431	state agency determines are necessary to ensure that 12
2432	2432	any discharge described in paragraph (2) conducted 13
2433	2433	pursuant to such authorization or certification will 14
2434	2434	comply with the applicable provisions of sections 15
2435	2435	301, 302, 303, 306, and 307 of the Federal Water 16
2436	2436	Pollution Control Act. 17
2437	2437	(4) C
2438	2438	OMMISSION CONSIDERATION OF CONDI -18
2439	2439	TIONS.—The Commission may include a term or 19
2440	2440	condition in an authorization under section 3 of the 20
2441	2441	Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public conven-21
2442	2442	ience and necessity under section 7 of such Act pro-22
2443	2443	posed by a State or interstate agency under para-23
2444	2444	graph (3) only if the Commission finds with clear 24
2445	2445	and convincing evidence that the term or condition 25
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2448	2448	•S 1456 IS
2449	2449	is necessary to ensure that any discharge described 1
2450	2450	in paragraph (2) conducted pursuant to such au-2
2451	2451	thorization or certification will comply with the ap-3
2452	2452	plicable provisions of sections 301, 302, 303, 306, 4
2453	2453	and 307 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. 5
2454	2454	(f) S
2455	2455	CHEDULE.— 6
2456	2456	(1) D
2457	2457	EADLINE FOR FEDERAL AUTHORIZA -7
2458	2458	TIONS.—A deadline for a Federal authorization re-8
2459	2459	quired with respect to an application for authoriza-9
2460	2460	tion under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a 10
2461	2461	certificate of public convenience and necessity under 11
2462	2462	section 7 of such Act set by the Commission under 12
2463	2463	section 15(c)(1) of such Act shall be not later than 13
2464	2464	90 days after the Commission completes its project- 14
2465	2465	related environmental review, unless an applicable 15
2466	2466	schedule is otherwise established by Federal law. 16
2467	2467	(2) C
2468	2468	ONCURRENT REVIEWS .—Each Federal and 17
2469	2469	State agency— 18
2470	2470	(A) that may consider an application for a 19
2471	2471	Federal authorization required with respect to 20
2472	2472	an application for authorization under section 3 21
2473	2473	of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public 22
2474	2474	convenience and necessity under section 7 of 23
2475	2475	such Act shall formulate and implement a plan 24
2476	2476	for administrative, policy, and procedural mech-25
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2479	2479	•S 1456 IS
2480	2480	anisms to enable the agency to ensure comple-1
2481	2481	tion of Federal authorizations in compliance 2
2482	2482	with schedules established by the Commission 3
2483	2483	under section 15(c)(1) of such Act; and 4
2484	2484	(B) in considering an aspect of an applica-5
2485	2485	tion for a Federal authorization required with 6
2486	2486	respect to an application for authorization 7
2487	2487	under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a 8
2488	2488	certificate of public convenience and necessity 9
2489	2489	under section 7 of such Act, shall— 10
2490	2490	(i) formulate and implement a plan to 11
2491	2491	enable the agency to comply with the 12
2492	2492	schedule established by the Commission 13
2493	2493	under section 15(c)(1) of such Act; 14
2494	2494	(ii) carry out the obligations of that 15
2495	2495	agency under applicable law concurrently, 16
2496	2496	and in conjunction with, the project-related 17
2497	2497	environmental review conducted by the 18
2498	2498	Commission, and in compliance with the 19
2499	2499	schedule established by the Commission 20
2500	2500	under section 15(c)(1) of such Act, unless 21
2501	2501	the agency notifies the Commission in writ-22
2502	2502	ing that doing so would impair the ability 23
2503	2503	of the agency to conduct needed analysis 24
2504	2504	or otherwise carry out such obligations; 25
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2508	2508	(iii) transmit to the Commission a 1
2509	2509	statement— 2
2510	2510	(I) acknowledging receipt of the 3
2511	2511	schedule established by the Commis-4
2512	2512	sion under section 15(c)(1) of the 5
2513	2513	Natural Gas Act; and 6
2514	2514	(II) setting forth the plan formu-7
2515	2515	lated under clause (i) of this subpara-8
2516	2516	graph; 9
2517	2517	(iv) not later than 30 days after the 10
2518	2518	agency receives such application for a Fed-11
2519	2519	eral authorization, transmit to the appli-12
2520	2520	cant a notice— 13
2521	2521	(I) indicating whether such appli-14
2522	2522	cation is ready for processing; and 15
2523	2523	(II) if such application is not 16
2524	2524	ready for processing, that includes a 17
2525	2525	comprehensive description of the in-18
2526	2526	formation needed for the agency to 19
2527	2527	determine that the application is 20
2528	2528	ready for processing; 21
2529	2529	(v) determine that such application 22
2530	2530	for a Federal authorization is ready for 23
2531	2531	processing for purposes of clause (iv) if 24
2532	2532	such application is sufficiently complete for 25
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2535	2535	•S 1456 IS
2536	2536	the purposes of commencing consideration, 1
2537	2537	regardless of whether supplemental infor-2
2538	2538	mation is necessary to enable the agency to 3
2539	2539	complete the consideration required by law 4
2540	2540	with respect to such application; and 5
2541	2541	(vi) not less often than once every 90 6
2542	2542	days, transmit to the Commission a report 7
2543	2543	describing the progress made in consid-8
2544	2544	ering such application for a Federal au-9
2545	2545	thorization. 10
2546	2546	(3) F
2547	2547	AILURE TO MEET DEADLINE .—If a Fed-11
2548	2548	eral or State agency, including the Commission, fails 12
2549	2549	to meet a deadline for a Federal authorization set 13
2550	2550	forth in the schedule established by the Commission 14
2551	2551	under section 15(c)(1) of the Natural Gas Act, not 15
2552	2552	later than 5 days after such deadline, the head of 16
2553	2553	the relevant Federal agency (including, in the case 17
2554	2554	of a failure by a State agency, the Federal agency 18
2555	2555	overseeing the delegated authority) shall notify Con-19
2556	2556	gress and the Commission of such failure and set 20
2557	2557	forth a recommended implementation plan to ensure 21
2558	2558	completion of the action to which such deadline ap-22
2559	2559	plied. 23
2560	2560	(g) C
2561	2561	ONSIDERATION OF APPLICATIONS FOR FED-24
2562	2562	ERALAUTHORIZATION.— 25
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2565	2565	•S 1456 IS
2566	2566	(1) ISSUE IDENTIFICATION AND RESOLU -1
2567	2567	TION.— 2
2568	2568	(A) I
2569	2569	DENTIFICATION.—Federal and State 3
2570	2570	agencies that may consider an aspect of an ap-4
2571	2571	plication for a Federal authorization shall iden-5
2572	2572	tify, as early as possible, any issues of concern 6
2573	2573	that may delay or prevent an agency from 7
2574	2574	working with the Commission to resolve such 8
2575	2575	issues and granting such authorization. 9
2576	2576	(B) I
2577	2577	SSUE RESOLUTION.—The Commission 10
2578	2578	may forward any issue of concern identified 11
2579	2579	under subparagraph (A) to the heads of the rel-12
2580	2580	evant agencies (including, in the case of an 13
2581	2581	issue of concern that is a failure by a State 14
2582	2582	agency, the Federal agency overseeing the dele-15
2583	2583	gated authority, if applicable) for resolution. 16
2584	2584	(2) R
2585	2585	EMOTE SURVEYS.—If a Federal or State 17
2586	2586	agency considering an aspect of an application for a 18
2587	2587	Federal authorization requires the person applying 19
2588	2588	for such authorization to submit data, the agency 20
2589	2589	shall consider any such data gathered by aerial or 21
2590	2590	other remote means that the person submits. The 22
2591	2591	agency may grant a conditional approval for the 23
2592	2592	Federal authorization based on data gathered by 24
2593	2593	aerial or remote means, conditioned on the 25
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2596	2596	•S 1456 IS
2597	2597	verification of such data by subsequent onsite in-1
2598	2598	spection. 2
2599	2599	(3) A
2600	2600	PPLICATION PROCESSING .—The Commis-3
2601	2601	sion, and Federal and State agencies, may allow a 4
2602	2602	person applying for a Federal authorization to fund 5
2603	2603	a third-party contractor to assist in reviewing the 6
2604	2604	application for such authorization. 7
2605	2605	(h) A
2606	2606	CCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, EFFI-8
2607	2607	CIENCY.—For an application for an authorization under 9
2608	2608	section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public 10
2609	2609	convenience and necessity under section 7 of such Act that 11
2610	2610	requires multiple Federal authorizations, the Commission, 12
2611	2611	with input from any Federal or State agency considering 13
2612	2612	an aspect of the application, shall track and make avail-14
2613	2613	able to the public on the Commission’s website information 15
2614	2614	related to the actions required to complete the Federal au-16
2615	2615	thorizations. Such information shall include the following: 17
2616	2616	(1) The schedule established by the Commission 18
2617	2617	under section 15(c)(1) of the Natural Gas Act. 19
2618	2618	(2) A list of all the actions required by each ap-20
2619	2619	plicable agency to complete permitting, reviews, and 21
2620	2620	other actions necessary to obtain a final decision on 22
2621	2621	the application. 23
2622	2622	(3) The expected completion date for each such 24
2623	2623	action. 25
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2626	2626	•S 1456 IS
2627	2627	(4) A point of contact at the agency responsible 1
2628	2628	for each such action. 2
2629	2629	(5) In the event that an action is still pending 3
2630	2630	as of the expected date of completion, a brief expla-4
2631	2631	nation of the reasons for the delay. 5
2632	2632	(i) P
2633	2633	IPELINESECURITY.—In considering an applica-6
2634	2634	tion for an authorization under section 3 of the Natural 7
2635	2635	Gas Act or a certificate of public convenience and neces-8
2636	2636	sity under section 7 of such Act, the Federal Energy Reg-9
2637	2637	ulatory Commission shall consult with the Administrator 10
2638	2638	of the Transportation Security Administration regarding 11
2639	2639	the applicant’s compliance with security guidance and best 12
2640	2640	practice recommendations of the Administration regarding 13
2641	2641	pipeline infrastructure security, pipeline cybersecurity, 14
2642	2642	pipeline personnel security, and other pipeline security 15
2643	2643	measures. 16
2644	2644	SEC. 3005. COORDINATION PROCESS TO PROTECT ELEC-17
2645	2645	TRIC RELIABILITY. 18
2646	2646	(a) D
2647	2647	EFINITION.—Section 215(a) of the Federal 19
2648	2648	Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(a)) is amended by adding at 20
2649	2649	the end the following: 21
2650	2650	‘‘(9) The term ‘agency head’ means the prin-22
2651	2651	cipal officer of any executive agency of the United 23
2652	2652	States. 24
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2655	2655	•S 1456 IS
2656	2656	‘‘(10) The term ‘identified agency proposal’ 1
2657	2657	means any proposed rule, regulation, standard, cri-2
2658	2658	teria document, deadline, or determination that, if 3
2659	2659	adopted, is likely to have a significant negative im-4
2660	2660	pact on the reliability and adequacy of the bulk- 5
2661	2661	power system in North America.’’. 6
2662	2662	(b) E
2663	2663	LECTRICRELIABILITYORGANIZATIONCOORDI-7
2664	2664	NATION.—Section 215 of the Federal Power Act (16 8
2665	2665	U.S.C. 824o) is amended— 9
2666	2666	(1) in subsection (g)— 10
2667	2667	(A) by striking ‘‘The ERO’’ and inserting 11
2668	2668	‘‘(1) The ERO’’; and 12
2669	2669	(B) by adding at the end the following: 13
2670	2670	‘‘(2) At the request of a State, the Commission, 14
2671	2671	an agency head with authority over the identified 15
2672	2672	agency proposal at issue, or on its own motion, the 16
2673	2673	ERO, in conducting periodic assessments under 17
2674	2674	paragraph (1), in consultation with relevant regional 18
2675	2675	reliability coordinators, shall— 19
2676	2676	‘‘(A) consider the potential impacts of any 20
2677	2677	identified agency proposal; and 21
2678	2678	‘‘(B) as soon as practicable after con-22
2679	2679	ducting the assessment, submit to the Commis-23
2680	2680	sion and the relevant agency head a report con-24
2681	2681	taining an assessment of the identified agency 25
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2684	2684	•S 1456 IS
2685	2685	proposal describing those potential impacts and 1
2686	2686	any relevant information relating to those po-2
2687	2687	tential impacts.’’; 3
2688	2688	(2) by redesignating subsections (h) through (k) 4
2689	2689	as subsections (i) through (l), respectively; and 5
2690	2690	(3) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol-6
2691	2691	lowing: 7
2692	2692	‘‘(h)(1) The agency head shall make available to the 8
2693	2693	Commission for review and comment an identified agency 9
2694	2694	proposal in accordance with paragraph (2). 10
2695	2695	‘‘(2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the agency head 11
2696	2696	shall provide to the Commission the identified agency pro-12
2697	2697	posal described in that paragraph— 13
2698	2698	‘‘(A) on the earliest date on which the identified 14
2699	2699	agency proposal is provided to the Office of Manage-15
2700	2700	ment and Budget or any another Federal agency for 16
2701	2701	formal review and comment; or 17
2702	2702	‘‘(B) if the identified agency proposal is not 18
2703	2703	provided to the Office of Management and Budget 19
2704	2704	or any other Federal agency for formal review and 20
2705	2705	comment, not later than 90 days before the date on 21
2706	2706	which the agency head publishes in the Federal Reg-22
2707	2707	ister or otherwise makes available for public inspec-23
2708	2708	tion or comment the identified agency proposal. 24
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2711	2711	•S 1456 IS
2712	2712	‘‘(3)(A) The Commission, in consultation with the 1
2713	2713	ERO, shall, by order, provide to the agency head com-2
2714	2714	ments on the identified agency proposal. 3
2715	2715	‘‘(B) An agency head shall not finalize any identified 4
2716	2716	agency proposal that is the subject of a comment from 5
2717	2717	the Commission under subparagraph (A) until the agency 6
2718	2718	head has responded in writing to the Commission with an 7
2719	2719	explanation of how the agency head has modified or deter-8
2720	2720	mined not to modify the identified agency proposal in re-9
2721	2721	sponse to the comment from the Commission. 10
2722	2722	‘‘(C) Not later than the date on which an identified 11
2723	2723	agency proposal with respect to which a comment is pro-12
2724	2724	vided by the Commission under subparagraph (A) is pub-13
2725	2725	lished in the Federal Register, the agency head shall— 14
2726	2726	‘‘(i) include the comment and any response pro-15
2727	2727	vided by the agency head under subparagraph (B) in 16
2728	2728	the public record of the applicable proceeding relat-17
2729	2729	ing to the identified agency proposal; or 18
2730	2730	‘‘(ii) otherwise make the comment and response 19
2731	2731	available for public inspection.’’. 20
2732	2732	SEC. 3006. ADDRESSING INACTION BY COMMISSION ON 21
2733	2733	CERTAIN ELECTRIC RATE FILINGS. 22
2734	2734	Section 205 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 23
2735	2735	824d) is amended by striking subsection (g) and inserting 24
2736	2736	the following: 25
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2739	2739	•S 1456 IS
2740	2740	‘‘(g) INACTION BYCOMMISSIONDUE TOVACANCY, 1
2741	2741	I
2742	2742	NCAPACITY, RECUSAL, ORLACK OFQUORUM.—With re-2
2743	2743	spect to a change described in subsection (d), if the Com-3
2744	2744	mission allows the 60-day period described in that sub-4
2745	2745	section to expire without issuing an order accepting or de-5
2746	2746	nying the change because the Commissioners are divided 6
2747	2747	2 against 2 as to the lawfulness of the change, as a result 7
2748	2748	of vacancy, incapacity, or recusal on the Commission, or 8
2749	2749	because the Commission lacks a quorum— 9
2750	2750	‘‘(1) the Secretary of the Commission shall 10
2751	2751	issue a notice stating the reason that the Commis-11
2752	2752	sion was unable to issue an order accepting or deny-12
2753	2753	ing the change; 13
2754	2754	‘‘(2) the change shall be considered to be re-14
2755	2755	jected; and 15
2756	2756	‘‘(3) the rejection described in paragraph (2) 16
2757	2757	shall take effect automatically, by operation of law, 17
2758	2758	on issuance of the notice described in paragraph 18
2759	2759	(1).’’. 19
2760	2760	SEC. 3007. TOLLING ORDER REFORM FOR THE NATURAL 20
2761	2761	GAS ACT. 21
2762	2762	Section 19(a) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 22
2763	2763	717r(a)) is amended, in the fourth sentence, by striking 23
2764	2764	‘‘thirty’’ and inserting ‘‘60’’. 24
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2767	2767	•S 1456 IS
2768	2768	SEC. 3008. TOLLING ORDER REFORM FOR THE FEDERAL 1
2769	2769	POWER ACT. 2
2770	2770	Section 313(a) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 3
2771	2771	825l(a)) is amended, in the fourth sentence, by striking 4
2772	2772	‘‘thirty’’ and inserting ‘‘60’’. 5
2773	2773	SEC. 3009. DE NOVO REVIEW OF CIVIL PENALTIES UNDER 6
2774	2774	THE NATURAL GAS ACT. 7
2775	2775	Section 22(b) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 8
2776	2776	717t–1(b)) is amended by inserting before the period at 9
2777	2777	the end the following: ‘‘, in accordance with the same pro-10
2778	2778	visions as are applicable under section 31(d) of the Fed-11
2779	2779	eral Power Act (16 U.S.C. 823b(d)) in the case of civil 12
2780	2780	penalties assessed under section 31 of the Federal Power 13
2781	2781	Act (16 U.S.C. 823b)’’. 14
2782	2782	SEC. 3010. EXTENSION OF TIME TO COMMENCE CONSTRUC-15
2783	2783	TION OF CERTAIN HYDROPOWER PROJECTS. 16
2784	2784	(a) D
2785	2785	EFINITION OFCOVEREDPROJECT.—In this sec-17
2786	2786	tion, the term ‘‘covered project’’ means a hydropower 18
2787	2787	project with respect to which the Federal Energy Regu-19
2788	2788	latory Commission issued a license before March 13, 2020. 20
2789	2789	(b) A
2790	2790	UTHORIZATION OF EXTENSION.—Notwith-21
2791	2791	standing section 13 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 22
2792	2792	806), on the request of a licensee of a covered project, 23
2793	2793	the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may, after 24
2794	2794	reasonable notice and for good cause shown, extend in ac-25
2795	2795	cordance with subsection (c) the period during which the 26
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2798	2798	•S 1456 IS
2799	2799	licensee is required to commence construction of the cov-1
2800	2800	ered project for an additional 4 years beyond the 8 years 2
2801	2801	authorized by that section. 3
2802	2802	(c) P
2803	2803	ERIOD OFEXTENSION.—An extension of time 4
2804	2804	to commence construction of a covered project under sub-5
2805	2805	section (b) shall— 6
2806	2806	(1) begin on the date on which the final exten-7
2807	2807	sion of the period for commencement of construction 8
2808	2808	granted to the licensee under section 13 of the Fed-9
2809	2809	eral Power Act (16 U.S.C. 806) expires; and 10
2810	2810	(2) end on the date that is 4 years after the lat-11
2811	2811	est date to which the Federal Energy Regulatory 12
2812	2812	Commission is authorized to extend the period for 13
2813	2813	commencement of construction under that section. 14
2814	2814	SEC. 3011. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 15
2815	2815	Section 19(d)(3) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 16
2816	2816	717r(d)(3)) is amended, in the first sentence, by inserting 17
2817	2817	‘‘, is not supported by clear and convincing evidence,’’ 18
2818	2818	after ‘‘such permit’’. 19
2819	2819	SEC. 3012. APPROVAL FOR BORDER-CROSSING FACILITIES. 20
2820	2820	(a) D
2821	2821	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 21
2822	2822	(1) A
2823	2823	PPROPRIATE FEDERAL AGENCIES .—The 22
2824	2824	term ‘‘appropriate Federal agencies’’ in subsection 23
2825	2825	(b)(2)(A) means the Secretary of Defense, the Attor-24
2826	2826	ney General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Sec-25
2827	2827	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00093 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456
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2829	2829	•S 1456 IS
2830	2830	retary of Commerce, the Secretary of Transpor-1
2831	2831	tation, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of 2
2832	2832	Homeland Security, the Administrator of the Envi-3
2833	2833	ronmental Protection Agency, and, for applications 4
2834	2834	concerning the border with Mexico, the United 5
2835	2835	States Commissioner of the International Boundary 6
2836	2836	and Water Commission. 7
2837	2837	(2) B
2838	2838	ORDER-CROSSING FACILITY.—The term 8
2839	2839	‘‘border-crossing facility’’ means— 9
2840	2840	(A) the portion of an oil pipeline between 10
2841	2841	an international boundary and the first main-11
2842	2842	line valve on the United States side of an inter-12
2843	2843	national boundary; and 13
2844	2844	(B) the portion of a natural gas pipeline or 14
2845	2845	electric transmission facility that is located at 15
2846	2846	an international boundary of the United States. 16
2847	2847	(3) E
2848	2848	LECTRIC RELIABILITY ORGANIZATION ; RE-17
2849	2849	GIONAL ENTITY.—The terms ‘‘Electric Reliability 18
2850	2850	Organization’’ and ‘‘regional entity’’ have the mean-19
2851	2851	ings given those terms in section 215 of the Federal 20
2852	2852	Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o). 21
2853	2853	(4) I
2854	2854	NDEPENDENT SYSTEM OPERATOR ; RE-22
2855	2855	GIONAL TRANSMISSION ORGANIZATION .—The terms 23
2856	2856	‘‘Independent System Operator’’ and ‘‘Regional 24
2857	2857	Transmission Organization’’ have the meanings 25
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2860	2860	•S 1456 IS
2861	2861	given those terms in section 3 of the Federal Power 1
2862	2862	Act (16 U.S.C. 796). 2
2863	2863	(5) M
2864	2864	ODIFICATION.—The term ‘‘modification’’ 3
2865	2865	includes a reversal of flow direction, change in own-4
2866	2866	ership, change in flow volume, change in product de-5
2867	2867	livered, addition or removal of an interconnection, or 6
2868	2868	an adjustment to regulate flow (such as a reduction 7
2869	2869	or increase in the number of pump or compressor 8
2870	2870	stations or valves). 9
2871	2871	(6) N
2872	2872	ATURAL GAS.—The term ‘‘natural gas’’ 10
2873	2873	has the meaning given that term in section 2 of the 11
2874	2874	Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717a). 12
2875	2875	(7) O
2876	2876	IL.—The term ‘‘oil’’ means petroleum or 13
2877	2877	a petroleum product. 14
2878	2878	(b) A
2879	2879	UTHORIZATION OF CERTAINENERGYINFRA-15
2880	2880	STRUCTUREPROJECTS AT AN INTERNATIONAL BOUND-16
2881	2881	ARY OF THEUNITEDSTATES.— 17
2882	2882	(1) A
2883	2883	UTHORIZATION.—Except as provided in 18
2884	2884	paragraph (3) and subsection (f), no person may 19
2885	2885	construct, connect, or operate, a border-crossing fa-20
2886	2886	cility for the import or export of oil or natural gas, 21
2887	2887	or the transmission of electricity, across an inter-22
2888	2888	national border of the United States without obtain-23
2889	2889	ing a certificate of crossing for the border-crossing 24
2890	2890	facility under this subsection. 25
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2893	2893	•S 1456 IS
2894	2894	(2) CERTIFICATE OF CROSSING.— 1
2895	2895	(A) R
2896	2896	EQUIREMENT.—Not later than 90 2
2897	2897	days after final action is taken, by the relevant 3
2898	2898	official or agency identified under subparagraph 4
2899	2899	(B), under the National Environmental Policy 5
2900	2900	Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with re-6
2901	2901	spect to a border-crossing facility for which a 7
2902	2902	person requests a certificate of crossing under 8
2903	2903	this subsection, the relevant official or agency, 9
2904	2904	in consultation with appropriate Federal agen-10
2905	2905	cies, shall issue a certificate of crossing for the 11
2906	2906	border-crossing facility unless the relevant offi-12
2907	2907	cial or agency finds that the construction, con-13
2908	2908	nection, or operation, of the border-crossing fa-14
2909	2909	cility is not in the public interest of the United 15
2910	2910	States. 16
2911	2911	(B) R
2912	2912	ELEVANT OFFICIAL OR AGENCY .— 17
2913	2913	The relevant official or agency referred to in 18
2914	2914	subparagraph (A) is— 19
2915	2915	(i) the Federal Energy Regulatory 20
2916	2916	Commission with respect to border-cross-21
2917	2917	ing facilities consisting of oil or natural 22
2918	2918	gas pipelines; and 23
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2921	2921	•S 1456 IS
2922	2922	(ii) the Secretary of Energy with re-1
2923	2923	spect to border-crossing facilities consisting 2
2924	2924	of electric transmission facilities. 3
2925	2925	(C) A
2926	2926	DDITIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR 4
2927	2927	ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION FACILITIES .—In the 5
2928	2928	case of a request for a certificate of crossing for 6
2929	2929	a border-crossing facility consisting of an elec-7
2930	2930	tric transmission facility, the Secretary of En-8
2931	2931	ergy shall require, as a condition of issuing the 9
2932	2932	certificate of crossing under subparagraph (A), 10
2933	2933	that the border-crossing facility be constructed, 11
2934	2934	connected, operated, or maintained consistent 12
2935	2935	with all applicable policies and standards of— 13
2936	2936	(i) the Electric Reliability Organiza-14
2937	2937	tion and the applicable regional entity; and 15
2938	2938	(ii) any Regional Transmission Orga-16
2939	2939	nization or Independent System Operator 17
2940	2940	with operational or functional control over 18
2941	2941	the border-crossing facility. 19
2942	2942	(3) E
2943	2943	XCLUSIONS.—This subsection shall not 20
2944	2944	apply to any construction, connection, operation, or 21
2945	2945	maintenance of a border-crossing facility for the im-22
2946	2946	port or export of oil or natural gas, or the trans-23
2947	2947	mission of electricity— 24
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2950	2950	•S 1456 IS
2951	2951	(A) if the border-crossing facility is oper-1
2952	2952	ating for such import, export, or transmission 2
2953	2953	as of the date of enactment of this Act; 3
2954	2954	(B) if a permit described in subsection (e) 4
2955	2955	for the construction, connection, operation, or 5
2956	2956	maintenance has been issued; or 6
2957	2957	(C) if an application for a permit described 7
2958	2958	in subsection (e) for the construction, connec-8
2959	2959	tion, operation, or maintenance is pending on 9
2960	2960	the date of enactment of this Act, until the ear-10
2961	2961	lier of— 11
2962	2962	(i) the date on which such application 12
2963	2963	is denied; or 13
2964	2964	(ii) 2 years after the date of enact-14
2965	2965	ment of this Act, if such a permit has not 15
2966	2966	been issued by such date. 16
2967	2967	(4) E
2968	2968	FFECT OF OTHER LAWS .— 17
2969	2969	(A) A
2970	2970	PPLICATION TO PROJECTS .—Nothing 18
2971	2971	in this subsection or subsection (f) shall affect 19
2972	2972	the application of any other Federal statute to 20
2973	2973	a project for which a certificate of crossing for 21
2974	2974	a border-crossing facility is requested under 22
2975	2975	this subsection. 23
2976	2976	(B) N
2977	2977	ATURAL GAS ACT.—Nothing in this 24
2978	2978	subsection or subsection (f) shall affect the re-25
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2980	2980	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 99
2981	2981	•S 1456 IS
2982	2982	quirement to obtain approval or authorization 1
2983	2983	under sections 3 and 7 of the Natural Gas Act 2
2984	2984	(15 U.S.C. 717b, 717f) for the siting, construc-3
2985	2985	tion, or operation of any facility to import or 4
2986	2986	export natural gas. 5
2987	2987	(C) O
2988	2988	IL PIPELINES.—Nothing in this sub-6
2989	2989	section or subsection (f) shall affect the author-7
2990	2990	ity of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commis-8
2991	2991	sion with respect to oil pipelines under section 9
2992	2992	60502 of title 49, United States Code. 10
2993	2993	(D) S
2994	2994	COPE OF NEPA REVIEW .—Nothing in 11
2995	2995	this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, 12
2996	2996	shall affect the scope of any review required to 13
2997	2997	be conducted under section 102 of the National 14
2998	2998	Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 15
2999	2999	4332) with respect to a project for which a cer-16
3000	3000	tificate of crossing for a border-crossing facility 17
3001	3001	is requested under this subsection. 18
3002	3002	(c) I
3003	3003	MPORTATION OR EXPORTATION OF NATURAL 19
3004	3004	G
3005	3005	AS TOCANADA ANDMEXICO.—Section 3(c) of the Nat-20
3006	3006	ural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b(c)) (as amended by section 21
3007	3007	1303) is amended by adding at the end the following: 22
3008	3008	‘‘(3) C
3009	3009	ANADA AND MEXICO .—In the case of an 23
3010	3010	application for the importation of natural gas from, 24
3011	3011	or the exportation of natural gas to, Canada or Mex-25
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3013	3013	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 100
3014	3014	•S 1456 IS
3015	3015	ico, the Commission shall grant the application not 1
3016	3016	later than 30 days after the date on which the Com-2
3017	3017	mission receives the complete application.’’. 3
3018	3018	(d) T
3019	3019	RANSMISSION OFELECTRICENERGY TOCAN-4
3020	3020	ADA ANDMEXICO.— 5
3021	3021	(1) R
3022	3022	EPEAL OF REQUIREMENT TO SECURE 6
3023	3023	ORDER.—Section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act 7
3024	3024	(16 U.S.C. 824a(e)) is repealed. 8
3025	3025	(2) C
3026	3026	ONFORMING AMENDMENTS .— 9
3027	3027	(A) S
3028	3028	TATE REGULATIONS.—Section 202(f) 10
3029	3029	of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824a(f)) 11
3030	3030	is amended by striking ‘‘insofar as such State 12
3031	3031	regulation does not conflict with the exercise of 13
3032	3032	the Commission’s powers under or relating to 14
3033	3033	subsection (e)’’. 15
3034	3034	(B) S
3035	3035	EASONAL DIVERSITY ELECTRICITY 16
3036	3036	EXCHANGE.—Section 602(b) of the Public Util-17
3037	3037	ity Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 18
3038	3038	824a–4(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘the Com-19
3039	3039	mission has conducted hearings and made the 20
3040	3040	findings required under section 202(e) of the 21
3041	3041	Federal Power Act’’ and all that follows 22
3042	3042	through the period at the end and inserting 23
3043	3043	‘‘the Secretary has conducted hearings and 24
3044	3044	finds that the proposed transmission facilities 25
3045	3045	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00100 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456
3046	3046	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 101
3047	3047	•S 1456 IS
3048	3048	would not impair the sufficiency of electric sup-1
3049	3049	ply within the United States or would not im-2
3050	3050	pede or tend to impede the coordination in the 3
3051	3051	public interest of facilities subject to the juris-4
3052	3052	diction of the Secretary.’’. 5
3053	3053	(e) N
3054	3054	OPRESIDENTIALPERMITREQUIRED.—No 6
3055	3055	Presidential permit (or similar permit) shall be required 7
3056	3056	pursuant to any provision of law or Executive order for 8
3057	3057	the construction, connection, operation, or maintenance of 9
3058	3058	an oil or natural gas pipeline or electric transmission facil-10
3059	3059	ity, or any border-crossing facility thereof. 11
3060	3060	(f) M
3061	3061	ODIFICATIONS TO AND MAINTENANCE OF EX-12
3062	3062	ISTINGPROJECTS.—No certificate of crossing under sub-13
3063	3063	section (b), or permit described in subsection (e), shall be 14
3064	3064	required for a modification to or maintenance of— 15
3065	3065	(1) an oil or natural gas pipeline or electric 16
3066	3066	transmission facility that is operating for the import 17
3067	3067	or export of oil or natural gas or the transmission 18
3068	3068	of electricity as of the date of enactment of this Act; 19
3069	3069	(2) an oil or natural gas pipeline or electric 20
3070	3070	transmission facility for which a permit described in 21
3071	3071	subsection (e) has been issued; or 22
3072	3072	(3) a border-crossing facility for which a certifi-23
3073	3073	cate of crossing has previously been issued under 24
3074	3074	subsection (b). 25
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3076	3076	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 102
3077	3077	•S 1456 IS
3078	3078	(g) EFFECTIVEDATES; RULEMAKINGDEADLINES.— 1
3079	3079	(1) E
3080	3080	FFECTIVE DATE .—Subsections (b) 2
3081	3081	through (f) and the amendments made by such sub-3
3082	3082	sections shall take effect on the date that is 1 year 4
3083	3083	after the date of enactment of this Act. 5
3084	3084	(2) R
3085	3085	ULEMAKING DEADLINES .—Each relevant 6
3086	3086	official or agency described in subsection (b)(2)(B) 7
3087	3087	shall— 8
3088	3088	(A) not later than 180 days after the date 9
3089	3089	of enactment of this Act, publish in the Federal 10
3090	3090	Register notice of a proposed rulemaking to 11
3091	3091	carry out the applicable requirements of sub-12
3092	3092	section (b); and 13
3093	3093	(B) not later than 1 year after the date of 14
3094	3094	enactment of this Act, publish in the Federal 15
3095	3095	Register a final rule to carry out the applicable 16
3096	3096	requirements of subsection (b). 17
3097	3097	(h) J
3098	3098	UDICIALREVIEW.— 18
3099	3099	(1) I
3100	3100	N GENERAL.—Any entity aggrieved by a 19
3101	3101	final agency action taken under this section may ob-20
3102	3102	tain a review of such action by filing a petition for 21
3103	3103	review in— 22
3104	3104	(A) the United States Court of Appeals for 23
3105	3105	any circuit wherein an applicant for authoriza-24
3106	3106	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00102 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456
3107	3107	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 103
3108	3108	•S 1456 IS
3109	3109	tion under this section is located or has its 1
3110	3110	principal place of business; or 2
3111	3111	(B) in the United States Court of Appeals 3
3112	3112	for the District of Columbia. 4
3113	3113	(2) P
3114	3114	ETITION DEADLINE.—The petition must 5
3115	3115	be filed not later than 60 days after such action is 6
3116	3116	taken. 7
3117	3117	TITLE IV—OTHER NATURAL 8
3118	3118	RESOURCES 9
3119	3119	SEC. 4001. ROOT AND STEM PROJECTS. 10
3120	3120	(a) D
3121	3121	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 11
3122	3122	(1) C
3123	3123	OLLABORATIVE PROCESS .—The term ‘‘col-12
3124	3124	laborative process’’ means a process that— 13
3125	3125	(A) includes multiple interested persons 14
3126	3126	representing diverse interests; and 15
3127	3127	(B)(i) is transparent and nonexclusive; or 16
3128	3128	(ii) meets the requirements for a resource 17
3129	3129	advisory committee under subsections (c) 18
3130	3130	through (f) of section 205 of the Secure Rural 19
3131	3131	Schools and Community Self-Determination Act 20
3132	3132	of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7125). 21
3133	3133	(2) F
3134	3134	EDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 22
3135	3135	means— 23
3136	3136	(A) land of the National Forest System (as 24
3137	3137	defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and 25
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3139	3139	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 104
3140	3140	•S 1456 IS
3141	3141	Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 1
3142	3142	of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))); and 2
3143	3143	(B) public lands (as defined in section 103 3
3144	3144	of the Federal Land Policy and Management 4
3145	3145	Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)). 5
3146	3146	(3) S
3147	3147	ECRETARY CONCERNED .—The term ‘‘Sec-6
3148	3148	retary concerned’’ means, as applicable— 7
3149	3149	(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 8
3150	3150	through the Chief of the Forest Service; or 9
3151	3151	(B) the Secretary of the Interior, acting 10
3152	3152	through the Director of the Bureau of Land 11
3153	3153	Management. 12
3154	3154	(b) L
3155	3155	IST OFCONTRACTORS.—The Secretary con-13
3156	3156	cerned shall— 14
3157	3157	(1) maintain a list of non-Federal, third-party 15
3158	3158	contractors that the Secretary concerned can hire in 16
3159	3159	each State to complete the analysis described in sub-17
3160	3160	section (c)(1); and 18
3161	3161	(2) not later than 180 days after the date of 19
3162	3162	enactment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, 20
3163	3163	submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural 21
3164	3164	Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Nat-22
3165	3165	ural Resources of the House of Representatives a 23
3166	3166	copy of the list described in paragraph (1). 24
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3168	3168	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 105
3169	3169	•S 1456 IS
3170	3170	(c) AGREEMENTS.—If a person submits to the Sec-1
3171	3171	retary concerned a proposal for a project on Federal land 2
3172	3172	that was developed through a collaborative process and 3
3173	3173	that meets local and rural community needs, the Secretary 4
3174	3174	concerned may enter into an agreement with the person, 5
3175	3175	under which— 6
3176	3176	(1) the person initially provides to the Secretary 7
3177	3177	concerned all, or a portion of, the funding necessary 8
3178	3178	to complete any analysis that the Secretary con-9
3179	3179	cerned determines to be necessary under Federal 10
3180	3180	law, including the National Environmental Policy 11
3181	3181	Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the En-12
3182	3182	dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 13
3183	3183	seq.), for the consideration of the proposed project; 14
3184	3184	(2) the Secretary concerned uses the funding 15
3185	3185	provided under paragraph (1) to pay a contractor in-16
3186	3186	cluded on the list maintained under subsection 17
3187	3187	(b)(1) to conduct the analysis described in para-18
3188	3188	graph (1); 19
3189	3189	(3) on completion of the analysis described in 20
3190	3190	paragraph (1), if the Secretary concerned makes a 21
3191	3191	decision to proceed with the project, the Secretary 22
3192	3192	concerned— 23
3193	3193	(A) solicits bids to carry out the project; 24
3194	3194	and 25
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3196	3196	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 106
3197	3197	•S 1456 IS
3198	3198	(B) enters into a contract or agreement 1
3199	3199	under section 604 of the Healthy Forests Res-2
3200	3200	toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c) to 3
3201	3201	carry out the project; and 4
3202	3202	(4) using any receipts described in subsection 5
3203	3203	(d)(1), the Secretary concerned, to the maximum ex-6
3204	3204	tent practicable, repays to the person the funding 7
3205	3205	initially provided under paragraph (1). 8
3206	3206	(d) A
3207	3207	DDITIONALRELATEDAUTHORITIES.— 9
3208	3208	(1) U
3209	3209	SE OF RECEIPTS.—Any receipts that are 10
3210	3210	generated by a project described in subsection (c) 11
3211	3211	that are normally deposited in the General Fund of 12
3212	3212	the Treasury shall be available for expenditure by 13
3213	3213	the Secretary concerned, without further appropria-14
3214	3214	tion or fiscal year limitation, for the use described 15
3215	3215	in subsection (c)(4). 16
3216	3216	(2) C
3217	3217	ONTRACTORS.—The Secretary concerned 17
3218	3218	may noncompetitively hire a contractor included on 18
3219	3219	the list maintained under subsection (b)(1) to con-19
3220	3220	duct the analysis described in subsection (c)(1). 20
3221	3221	(e) S
3222	3222	AVINGSCLAUSES.— 21
3223	3223	(1) A
3224	3224	UTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY CON -22
3225	3225	CERNED.—The Secretary concerned shall— 23
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3227	3227	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 107
3228	3228	•S 1456 IS
3229	3229	(A) determine the sufficiency of any docu-1
3230	3230	ments prepared by a contractor under sub-2
3231	3231	section (c)(2); and 3
3232	3232	(B) retain responsibility for any author-4
3233	3233	izing decision relating to a proposed project de-5
3234	3234	scribed in subsection (c). 6
3235	3235	(2) R
3236	3236	EVIEW AND APPROVAL OF INDEPENDENT 7
3237	3237	THIRD PARTIES.—The Secretary concerned shall 8
3238	3238	verify that there is no conflict of interest between— 9
3239	3239	(A) a person that submits a proposal 10
3240	3240	under subsection (c); and 11
3241	3241	(B) a contractor that the Secretary con-12
3242	3242	cerned hires under paragraph (2) of that sub-13
3243	3243	section to carry out an analysis with respect to 14
3244	3244	that proposal. 15
3245	3245	(3) A
3246	3246	DMINISTRATIVE COSTS .—The Secretary 16
3247	3247	concerned— 17
3248	3248	(A) shall only use the funding provided to 18
3249	3249	the Secretary concerned under subsection (c)(1) 19
3250	3250	to pay a contractor pursuant to subsection 20
3251	3251	(c)(2); and 21
3252	3252	(B) shall not use any portion of the fund-22
3253	3253	ing provided to the Secretary concerned under 23
3254	3254	subsection (c)(1) to cover any other expense or 24
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3256	3256	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 108
3257	3257	•S 1456 IS
3258	3258	cost incurred by the Secretary concerned, in-1
3259	3259	cluding administrative costs. 2
3260	3260	(4) L
3261	3261	IMITATIONS ON REIMBURSEMENTS .—If in-3
3262	3262	sufficient receipts are generated by a project de-4
3263	3263	scribed in subsection (c) to reimburse the person 5
3264	3264	that provided funding under paragraph (1) of that 6
3265	3265	subsection, the Secretary concerned shall not provide 7
3266	3266	additional funding to the person. 8
3267	3267	(f) P
3268	3268	ROMOTION.—Not later than 60 days after the 9
3269	3269	date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned 10
3270	3270	shall provide guidance to each local field office of the Sec-11
3271	3271	retary concerned for— 12
3272	3272	(1) making stakeholders aware of the authority 13
3273	3273	under this Act; and 14
3274	3274	(2) encouraging use of that authority to meet 15
3275	3275	land management goals. 16
3276	3276	(g) T
3277	3277	REATMENT OF COLLABORATIVEMEMBERS.— 17
3278	3278	For purposes of a civil action relating to a project de-18
3279	3279	scribed in subsection (c), any person that participated in 19
3280	3280	the collaborative process to develop the proposal for the 20
3281	3281	project shall be— 21
3282	3282	(1) entitled to intervene, as of right, in any sub-22
3283	3283	sequent civil action; and 23
3284	3284	(2) considered to be a full participant in any 24
3285	3285	settlement negotiation relating to the project. 25
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3287	3287	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 109
3288	3288	•S 1456 IS
3289	3289	(h) SUNSET.—The requirements described in sub-1
3290	3290	section (b) and the authority to enter into an agreement 2
3291	3291	under subsection (c) shall expire on January 1, 2033. 3
3292	3292	SEC. 4002. CONSULTATION UNDER CERTAIN LAND AND RE-4
3293	3293	SOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANS AND LAND 5
3294	3294	USE PLANS. 6
3295	3295	(a) N
3296	3296	ATIONALFORESTSYSTEMLAND AND RE-7
3297	3297	SOURCEMANAGEMENT PLAN.—Section 6 of the Forest 8
3298	3298	and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 9
3299	3299	1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604) is amended by adding at the end 10
3300	3300	the following: 11
3301	3301	‘‘(n) C
3302	3302	OMPLETEDFEDERALACTION.—A land and 12
3303	3303	resource management plan for a unit of the National For-13
3304	3304	est System approved, amended, or revised under this sec-14
3305	3305	tion shall not— 15
3306	3306	‘‘(1) be considered to be a continuing Federal 16
3307	3307	agency action; or 17
3308	3308	‘‘(2) constitute a discretionary Federal involve-18
3309	3309	ment or control for a distinct Federal purpose.’’. 19
3310	3310	(b) B
3311	3311	UREAU OFLANDMANAGEMENT LANDUSE 20
3312	3312	P
3313	3313	LANS.—Section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and 21
3314	3314	Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712) is amended 22
3315	3315	by adding at the end the following: 23
3316	3316	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00109 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456
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3318	3318	•S 1456 IS
3319	3319	‘‘(g) COMPLETEDFEDERALACTION.—A land man-1
3320	3320	agement plan approved, amended, or revised under this 2
3321	3321	section shall not— 3
3322	3322	‘‘(1) be considered to be a continuing Federal 4
3323	3323	agency action; or 5
3324	3324	‘‘(2) constitute a discretionary Federal involve-6
3325	3325	ment or control for a distinct Federal purpose.’’. 7
3326	3326	SEC. 4003. RENEWAL TERM OF GRAZING PERMITS OR 8
3327	3327	LEASES. 9
3328	3328	Section 402 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage-10
3329	3329	ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1752) is amended— 11
3330	3330	(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘ten years’’ 12
3331	3331	and inserting ‘‘not more than 20 years’’; and 13
3332	3332	(2) in subsection (b)— 14
3333	3333	(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 15
3334	3334	by striking ‘‘shorter than ten years’’ and insert-16
3335	3335	ing ‘‘of less than 20 years’’; 17
3336	3336	(B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 18
3337	3337	the end; 19
3338	3338	(C) in paragraph (2)— 20
3339	3339	(i) by striking ‘‘ten years’’ and insert-21
3340	3340	ing ‘‘20 years’’; and 22
3341	3341	(ii) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 23
3342	3342	(D) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 24
3343	3343	paragraph (4); 25
3344	3344	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00110 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456
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3346	3346	•S 1456 IS
3347	3347	(E) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 1
3348	3348	following: 2
3349	3349	‘‘(3) the initial environmental analysis under 3
3350	3350	the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 4
3351	3351	U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect to a grazing allot-5
3352	3352	ment, permit, or lease has not been completed; or’’; 6
3353	3353	and 7
3354	3354	(F) in paragraph (4) (as so redesig-8
3355	3355	nated)— 9
3356	3356	(i) in the first proviso, by striking 10
3357	3357	‘‘shorter than ten years’’ and inserting ‘‘of 11
3358	3358	less than 20 years’’; and 12
3359	3359	(ii) in the second proviso— 13
3360	3360	(I) by striking ‘‘shorter than ten 14
3361	3361	years’’ and inserting ‘‘of less than 20 15
3362	3362	years’’; and 16
3363	3363	(II) by striking ‘‘items (1) 17
3364	3364	through (3) of this subsection’’ and 18
3365	3365	inserting ‘‘paragraphs (1) through 19
3366	3366	(4)’’. 20
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3369	3369	•S 1456 IS
3370	3370	SEC. 4004. RENEWAL OF GRAZING PERMITS AND LEASES 1
3371	3371	AND CERTAIN ACTIONS DURING EXTREME 2
3372	3372	NATURAL EVENTS AND DISASTERS. 3
3373	3373	Section 402(h) of the Federal Land Policy and Man-4
3374	3374	agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1752(h)) is amended by 5
3375	3375	adding at the end the following: 6
3376	3376	‘‘(3) R
3377	3377	ENEWAL.—A categorical exclusion (as 7
3378	3378	defined in section 1508.1 of title 40, Code of Fed-8
3379	3379	eral Regulations (or successor regulations)) under 9
3380	3380	the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 10
3381	3381	U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall apply with respect to the 11
3382	3382	renewal of a grazing permit or lease under this sec-12
3383	3383	tion, if— 13
3384	3384	‘‘(A) the renewal of the grazing permit or 14
3385	3385	lease is consistent, or substantially consistent, 15
3386	3386	with the use authorized in the permit or lease 16
3387	3387	being renewed; 17
3388	3388	‘‘(B) the renewal of the grazing permit or 18
3389	3389	lease is the same as, or has a minor adjustment 19
3390	3390	in, as determined by the Secretary or the Sec-20
3391	3391	retary of Agriculture, as applicable, the season 21
3392	3392	of use authorized in the permit or lease being 22
3393	3393	renewed; or 23
3394	3394	‘‘(C) the applicable permittee or lessee is 24
3395	3395	in compliance with the terms, conditions, and 25
3396	3396	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00112 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456
3397	3397	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 113
3398	3398	•S 1456 IS
3399	3399	applicable regulations of the permit or lease 1
3400	3400	being renewed. 2
3401	3401	‘‘(4) A
3402	3402	UTHORIZED USE DURING EMERGENCIES 3
3403	3403	AND NATURAL EVENTS AND DISASTERS .—A categor-4
3404	3404	ical exclusion (as defined in section 1508.1 of title 5
3405	3405	40, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regu-6
3406	3406	lations)) under the National Environmental Policy 7
3407	3407	Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall apply to 8
3408	3408	the temporary use of a vacant grazing allotments or 9
3409	3409	other minor adjustment in terms and conditions of 10
3410	3410	a permit or lease necessary to respond and adapt to 11
3411	3411	resource conditions, if— 12
3412	3412	‘‘(A) there is an unforeseen, uncontrollable 13
3413	3413	natural event or disaster (including extreme 14
3414	3414	weather conditions, drought, and infestation), 15
3415	3415	that impedes the use by the permittee or lessee 16
3416	3416	of the grazing allotment under established 17
3417	3417	terms and conditions; 18
3418	3418	‘‘(B) the use of the vacant grazing allot-19
3419	3419	ment or the adjustment in the authorized use 20
3420	3420	would be limited to 2 grazing seasons; 21
3421	3421	‘‘(C) a temporary adjustment in the exist-22
3422	3422	ing season of use to immediately respond to lo-23
3423	3423	calized resource conditions does not fluctuate 24
3424	3424	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00113 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456
3425	3425	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 114
3426	3426	•S 1456 IS
3427	3427	more than 14 days prior to, or immediately fol-1
3428	3428	lowing, the existing season of use date; 2
3429	3429	‘‘(D) the permittee or lessee is in compli-3
3430	3430	ance with— 4
3431	3431	‘‘(i) all other terms and conditions of 5
3432	3432	the applicable permit or lease; and 6
3433	3433	‘‘(ii) any applicable regulations; 7
3434	3434	‘‘(E) the vacant grazing allotment consid-8
3435	3435	ered for temporary use pursuant to section 405 9
3436	3436	has been assessed or evaluated; and 10
3437	3437	‘‘(F) the use of the vacant grazing allot-11
3438	3438	ment or adjustment in the authorized use does 12
3439	3439	not alter the original grazing allotment of the 13
3440	3440	permittee or lessee.’’. 14
3441	3441	SEC. 4005. WITHDRAWAL OF BLM PROPOSED RULE. 15
3442	3442	The Director of the Bureau of Land Management— 16
3443	3443	(1) shall withdraw the proposed rule of the Bu-17
3444	3444	reau of Land Management entitled ‘‘Conservation 18
3445	3445	and Landscape Health’’ (88 Fed. Reg. 19583 (April 19
3446	3446	3, 2023)); and 20
3447	3447	(2) may not take any action to finalize, imple-21
3448	3448	ment, or enforce the proposed rule described in 22
3449	3449	paragraph (1) or any substantially similar rule. 23
3450	3450	Æ
3451	3451	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00114 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456
3452	3452	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS