H.R. 1900 — Reported in House

IB Union Calendar No. 192 113th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1900 [Report No. 113–269] IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 9, 2013Mr. Pompeo (for himself, Mr. Matheson, Mr. Olson, Mr. Gardner, and Mr. Johnson of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce November 18, 2013Additional sponsors: Mr. McKinley, Mr. Radel, Mr. Latta, Mr. Marino, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Hall, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Murphy of Pennsylvania, Mr. Barton, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Terry, Mr. Harper, Mr. Kline, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Sessions, and Mr. Duncan of South Carolina November 18, 2013Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printedStrike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic A BILL To provide for the timely consideration of all licenses, permits, and approvals required under Federal law with respect to the siting, construction, expansion, or operation of any natural gas pipeline projects. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act. 2. Regulatory approval of natural gas pipeline projects Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717f) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections: (i) The Commission shall approve or deny a certificate of public convenience and necessity that is sought under this Act not later than 12 months after providing public notice of the application. (j) (1) The agency responsible for issuing any license, permit, or approval required under Federal law in connection with the siting, construction, expansion, or operation of any natural gas pipeline project for which a certificate of public convenience and necessity is sought under this Act shall approve or deny the issuance of the license, permit, or approval not later than 90 days after the Commission issues its final environmental document relating to the project. (2) An agency may request that the Commission extend the time period under paragraph (1) by 30 days. The Commission shall grant such extension if the agency demonstrates that the extension is necessary because of unforeseen circumstances beyond the control of the agency. (3) If an agency described in paragraph (1) does not approve or deny the issuance of the license, permit, or approval within the time period specified under para-graph (1) or (2), as applicable, such license, permit, or approval shall go into effect. . 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act. 2. Regulatory approval of natural gas pipeline projects Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717f) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (i) (1) The Commission shall approve or deny an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a prefiled project not later than 12 months after receiving a complete application that is ready to be processed, as defined by the Commission by regulation. (2) The agency responsible for issuing any license, permit, or approval required under Federal law in connection with a prefiled project for which a certificate of public convenience and necessity is sought under this Act shall approve or deny the issuance of the license, permit, or approval not later than 90 days after the Commission issues its final environmental document relating to the project. (3) The Commission may extend the time period under paragraph (2) by 30 days if an agency demonstrates that it cannot otherwise complete the process required to approve or deny the license, permit, or approval, and therefor will be compelled to deny the license, permit, or approval. In granting an extension under this paragraph, the Commission may offer technical assistance to the agency as necessary to address conditions preventing the completion of the review of the application for the license, permit, or approval. (4) If an agency described in paragraph (2) does not approve or deny the issuance of the license, permit, or approval within the time period specified under paragraph (2) or (3), as applicable, such license, permit, or approval shall take effect upon the expiration of 30 days after the end of such period. The Commission shall incorporate into the terms of such license, permit, or approval any conditions proffered by the agency described in paragraph (2) that the Commission does not find are inconsistent with the final environmental document. (5) For purposes of this subsection, the term prefiled project means a project for the siting, construction, expansion, or operation of a natural gas pipeline with respect to which a prefiling docket number has been assigned by the Commission pursuant to a prefiling process established by the Commission for the purpose of facilitating the formal application process for obtaining a certificate of public convenience and necessity. . November 18, 2013Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed