S. 2638 — Introduced in Senate

II 113th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 2638 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 22, 2014 Mr. Hoeven introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To amend the Natural Gas Act to provide certainty with respect to the timing of Department of Energy decisions to approve or deny applications to export natural gas. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Natural Gas Export Certainty Act of 2014. 2. Regulatory certainty Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b) is amended by adding at the end the following: (g) Deadline for certain applications for exportation of natural gas (1) LNG terminals (A) In general Subject to subparagraph (B), the Commission shall make a public interest determination and issue an order under subsection (a) for an application for the exportation of natural gas to a foreign country through a particular LNG terminal not later than 45 days after receipt of an application under subsection (e) for— (i) the conversion of that LNG terminal into an LNG import or export facility; or (ii) the construction of that LNG terminal. (B) Limitation Subparagraph (A) shall only apply to applications for the exportation of natural gas to a foreign country under subsection (a) that have been pending for a period of not less than 180 calendar days. (2) Application This subsection shall not apply with respect to an application under subsection (a) for the exportation of natural gas— (A) to a foreign country— (i) to which the exportation of natural gas is otherwise prohibited by law; or (ii) described in subsection (c); or (B) if the Commission has made a contingent determination with respect to the application. (3) Effect Except as specifically provided in this subsection, nothing in this subsection affects the authority of the Commission to review, process, and make a determination with respect to an application for the exportation of natural gas. (h) Judicial Action (1) In general The United States Court of Appeals for the circuit in which an export facility will be located pursuant to an application described in subsection (a) shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over any civil action for the review of— (A) an order issued by the Secretary of Energy with respect to the application; or (B) the failure of the Secretary to issue a decision on the application. (2) Order If the Court in a civil action described in paragraph (1) finds that the Secretary has failed to issue a decision on the application as required under subsection (a), the Court shall order the Secretary to issue the decision not later than 30 days after the date of the order of the Court. (3) Expedited consideration The Court shall— (A) set any civil action brought under this subsection for expedited consideration; and (B) set the matter on the docket as soon as practicable after the filing date of the initial pleading. .