,,ii #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ahdd ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #ai1 #bjag,mr4 ,inhofe 7for himself and ,mr4 ,king7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources ,a ,,bill ,to provide for coordination by the ,federal ,energy ,regulatory ,commission of the process for reviewing certain natural gas projects under the jurisdiction of the ,commission1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,coordinating ,interagency ,review of ,natural ,gas ,infrastructure ,act of #bjag4 #b4 ,,ferc process coordination 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,agency ,the term agency means any ,federal1 ,state1 or other governmental entity with authority to implement an agency action4 7#b7 ,agency action 7,a7 ,in general ,the term agency action means any action required to be carried out by an agency under ,federal law with respect to a project4 7,b7 ,inclusions ,the term agency action includes the provision1 and any determination relating to the provision1 of any permit1 special use authorization1 certification1 opinion1 consultation1 or approval required under ,federal law with respect to an application for-- 7i7 authorization under section #c7;e7 of the ,natural ,gas ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gag;b7e772 or 7ii7 a certificate of public convenience and necessity under section #g of that ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gag;f74 7#c7 ,commission ,the term ,commission means the ,federal ,energy ,regulatory ,commission4 7#d7 ,federal authorization 7,a7 ,in general ,the term ,federal authorization means any authorization required under ,federal law with respect to an application for-- 7i7 authorization under section #c7;e7 of the ,natural ,gas ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gag;b7e772 or 7ii7 a certificate of public convenience and necessity under section #g of that ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gag;f74 7,b7 ,inclusions ,the term ,federal authorization includes any permit1 special use authorization1 certification1 opinion1 consultation1 or approval required under ,federal law with respect to an application described in subparagraph 7,a74 7#e7 ,lead agency ,the term lead agency means the ,commission4 7#f7 ,,nepa review ,the term ,,nepa review means an environmental impact statement or similar analysis required under the ,national ,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dcba et seq474 7#g7 ,project ,the term project means a natural gas project subject to the jurisdiction of the ,commission that requires one or more ,federal authorizations4 7#h7 ,ready for processing ,the term ready for processing1 with respect to an application for ,federal authorization1 means that the application is sufficiently complete for the purpose of commencing a review of the application for any agency action4 7b7 ,responsibilities of agencies in project ,,nepa reviews 7#a7 ,in general ,in carrying out any ,,nepa review of a project1 the lead agency shall-- 7,a7 to the maximum extent practicable and in accordance with the authority of the lead agency under section #ae of the ,natural ,gas ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gagn71 facilitate the expeditious resolution of the ,,nepa review2 and 7,b7 ensure that the ,,nepa review is completed in accordance with-- 7i7 this section2 and 7ii7 applicable ,federal law4 7#b7 ,designation of participating agencies 7,a7 ,invitations and requests 7i7 ,in general ,as early as practicable in the ,,nepa review process for a project1 the lead agency shall-- 7,i7 identify any other agencies with jurisdiction over any ,federal authorizations that may be related to the ,,nepa review2 and 7,,ii7 invite such agencies to become participating agencies4 7ii7 ,deadline ,an invitation under clause 7i77,,ii7 shall establish a deadline for a response to the invitation1 to be submitted to the lead agency1 which may be extended by the lead agency for good cause4 7iii7 ,requests ,any agency with jurisdiction over a ,federal authorization relating to the ,,nepa review process for a project may submit a request to become a participating agency1 regardless of whether the lead agency invited the agency to become a participating agency under clause 7i71 subject to the condition that such a request shall be timely submitted4 7,b7 ,designation ,the lead agency shall designate as a participating agency-- 7i7 each agency invited under subparagraph 7,a77i77,,ii71 unless the invited agency informs the lead agency1 in writing1 by the deadline specified in the invitation1 that the invited agency-- 7,i7 has no jurisdiction or authority with respect to the applicable project2 7,,ii7 has no expertise or information relevant to the ,,nepa review of the project2 or 7,,iii7 does not intend to submit comments for the record in the ,,nepa review2 and 7ii7 each agency that submits a request under subparagraph 7,a77iii7 to become a participating agency4 7,c7 ,consultation by lead agency ,as soon as practicable after commencing a ,,nepa review of a project1 the lead agency shall coordinate with the participating agencies to ensure that the information developed during the ,,nepa review is also usable by the participating agencies in carrying out the obligations of the participating agencies with respect to each ,federal authorization for the project4 7#c7 ,responsibilities of participating agencies 7,a7 ,effect of designation ,designation as a participating agency for a project under paragraph 7#b77;,b7 does not indicate that the participating agency-- 7i7 supports a proposed ,federal authorization for the project2 or 7ii7 has any jurisdiction over1 or special expertise with respect to evaluation of1 the ,federal authorization for the project4 7,b7 ,effect of nondesignation 7i7 ,in general ,the lead agency shall not1 with respect to an agency that is not designated as a participating agency for a project under paragraph 7#b77;,b7 with respect to an application for one or more ,federal authorizations-- 7,i7 take into consideration any agency action1 comments1 or other information submitted by the agency2 or 7,,ii7 include any such comments or other information in the record of the ,,nepa review4 7ii7 ,supplemental ,,nepa review requests ,an agency that is not designated a participating agency for a project under paragraph 7#b77;,b7 may not request or develop a supplemental ,,nepa review of the project1 unless the agency-- 7,i7 demonstrates that such a review is necessary for the agency to carry out an obligation of the agency with respect to a ,federal authorization for the project2 and 7,,ii7 requires information that could not have been obtained during the ,,nepa review carried out by the lead agency for the project4 7c7 ,concurrent agency action reviews 7#a7 ,applications 7,a7 ,in general ,in accordance with the schedule established by the lead agency under section #ae7;c7 of the ,natural ,gas ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gagn7c771 each agency conducting any agency action for a ,federal authorization for a project shall-- 7i7 not later than #de days after the date on which the application is received by the agency1 provide to the applicant a notice describing whether the application is ready for processing2 and 7ii7 if the agency determines that an application is not ready for processing1 include in the notice described in clause 7i7 a comprehensive description of the information required to be submitted for the application to be ready for processing4 7,b7 ,revised applications ,if an applicant submits a revised application for ,federal authorization for a project after receiving a notification under subparagraph 7,a7 that the initial application was not ready for processing1 the agency receiving the revised application shall1 not later than #cj days after the date on which the revised application is received-- 7i7 determine whether the revised application-- 7,i7 provided all information included in the comprehensive description described in subparagraph 7,a77ii72 and 7,,ii7 is ready for processing2 and 7ii7 if the agency determines that the revised application is not ready for processing1 provide to the applicant a notice describing the information included in the comprehensive description under subparagraph 7,a77ii7 that the applicant did not include in the revised application4 7,c7 ,supplementation ,an agency considering an aspect of an application for a ,federal authorization may require the applicant to supplement the application with such additional information as the agency determines to be necessary to complete the review of the application1 regardless of whether the agency has determined under subparagraph 7,a7 or 7,b7 that an application is ready for processing4 7#b7 ,concurrent reviews ,each agency carrying out an agency action for a ,federal authorization 7other than a ,,nepa review7 shall-- 7,a7 unless doing so would impair the ability of the agency to conduct an analysis that could not otherwise be developed during the ,,nepa review carried out by the lead agency for the project1 to the maximum extent authorized by law1 conduct the agency action-- 7i7 concurrently and in conjunction with the ,,nepa review2 and 7ii7 in accordance with the applicable schedule established by the lead agency2 7,b7 submit to the lead agency progress reports not less frequently than once every #ij days2 and 7,c7 formulate and implement a plan for administrative1 policy1 and procedural mechanisms to enable the agency to ensure completion of the agency action for the ,federal authorization in accordance with an applicable schedule established by the ,commission under section #ae7;c77#a7 of the ,natural ,gas ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gagn7c77#a774 7d7 ,modifications to1 and failures ,to meet1 deadlines 7#a7 ,in general ,in any case in which an agency 7including the lead agency7 modifies or fails to meet a deadline required with respect to an agency action for a ,federal authorization for a project under the applicable schedule established by the ,commission under section #ae7;c77#a7 of the ,natural ,gas ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gagn7c77#a771 the head of the agency 7including1 in the case of a failure by a ,state agency1 the head of the appropriate ,federal agency7 shall1 by not later than #ae days after the applicable deadline1 provide a notice of the modification or failure to-- 7,a7 the appropriate committees of ,congress2 7,b7 the lead agency 7if applicable72 7,c7 the ,director of the ,office of ,management and ,budget2 and 7,d7 the developer of the project4 7#b7 ,inclusion ,a notice under paragraph 7#a7 shall include an implementation plan to ensure completion of the relevant agency action for the ,federal authorization4 7#c7 ,requirement of ,commission ,the ,commission shall provide to each affected agency a notice describing any change in a schedule established for a project under section #ae7;c77#a7 of the ,natural ,gas ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gagn7c77#a774 7e7 ,advanced surveys 7#a7 ,in general ,in any case in which an agency action for a ,federal authorization requires the applicant to submit any environmental data for purposes of filing or submitting an application1 the agency shall consider any such data gathered by aerial or other remote means4 7#b7 ,conditional approval ,an agency may grant a conditional approval for ,federal authorization1 subject to the condition that any data described in paragraph 7#a7 shall be verified by a subsequent1 onsite inspection4 7f7 ,accountability1 transparency1 and efficiency 7#a7 ,in general ,with respect to an application for ,federal authorization that requires more than #a ,federal authorization1 the ,commission1 in consultation with each agency conducting an agency action for a ,federal authorization1 shall monitor and record information relating to the agency actions required to complete the ,federal authorizations1 including-- 7,a7 any applicable schedule established by the ,commission under section #ae7;c77#a7 of the ,natural ,gas ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gagn7c77#a772 7,b7 7i7 a list of all agency actions required by each applicable agency to obtain a final decision regarding the ,federal authorization2 7ii7 the expected completion date for each such agency action2 and 7iii7 a point of contact at each agency responsible for each such agency action2 and 7,c7 in any case in which an agency action is pending as of the deadline applicable to the agency action under the schedule described in subparagraph 7,a71 a brief explanation of the reasons for the delay4 7#b7 ,publication ,the ,commission shall publish on the website of the ,commission the information recorded under paragraph 7#a71 except to the extent that the information is otherwise made publicly available on a permitting-related dashboard or equivalent website4 7g7 ,savings clause ,nothing in this section-- 7#a7 supersedes1 amends1 or modifies any provision of-- 7,a7 the ,national ,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dcba et seq472 or 7,b7 any other ,federal law2 or 7#b7 affects the responsibility of any ,federal officer or employee to comply with or enforce such a provision4