,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ccbd ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #c1 #bjbe,mr4 ,durbin 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,blunt ,rochester1 ,ms4 ,duckworth1 ,mr4 ,markey1 and ,mr4 ,booker7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources ,a ,,bill ,to confirm and clarify the ,federal ,energy ,regulatory ,commission's obligation to assess and mitigate the impacts to climate change and environmental justice communities from projects approved pursuant to the ,natural ,gas ,act1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,ferc ,greenhouse ,gas and ,environmental ,justice ,policy ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,greenhouse gas and environmental justice policy 7a7 ,mitigation proposal ,section #g7;d7 of the ,natural ,gas ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gag;f7d77 is amended by inserting 1 including a mitigation proposal described in subsection 7i77#c71 after contain such information4 7b7 ,present or future public convenience and necessity determination ,section #g of the ,natural ,gas ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gag;f7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7i7 ,present or future public convenience and necessity determination 7#a7 ,in general ,in finding whether a proposed action1 to the extent that may be authorized by a certificate1 is or will be required by the present or future public convenience and necessity under subsection 7e71 the ,commission shall determine whether-- 7,a7 the environmental effects of such proposed action1 including any effects relating to the environment of such proposed action on environmental justice communities1 are significant1 and if such significant environmental effects1 if any1 can be mitigated pursuant to a mitigation proposal required under subsection 7d72 7,b7 the significant environmental effects of the proposed action outweigh the benefits of the proposed action under paragraph 7#d72 and 7,c7 the proposed action is necessary to ensure energy reliability and affordability4 7#b7 ,significant environmental effects 7,a7 ,in general ,in determining whether the environmental effects of a proposed action are significant under paragraph 7#a77;,a71 the ,commission shall1 with respect to such proposed action-- 7i7 evaluate such environmental effects on environmental justice communities under subparagraph 7,b72 and 7ii7 quantify reasonably foreseeable greenhouse gas emissions resulting from such proposed action under subparagraph 7,c74 7,b7 ,environmental justice communities ,the ,commission shall evaluate the effects of a proposed action on environmental justice communities based on all evidence in the record1 including-- 7i7 existing environmental and public health stressors2 7ii7 any adverse environmental and public health stressors resulting from the proposed action2 7iii7 the presence or absence of adverse cumulative stressors2 7iv7 potential environmental and public health stressors associated with the proposed action2 and 7v7 other factors1 as identified by the ,commission and the affected environmental justice communities following a meaningful opportunity for public engagement by those communities4 7,c7 ,quantification of greenhouse gas emissions ,the ,commission shall quantify reasonably foreseeable greenhouse gas emissions resulting from a proposed action based on all evidence in the record1 including-- 7i7 the projected capacity of the relevant pipelines to transport natural gas2 7ii7 the projected utilization rate of the relevant pipelines2 7iii7 the construction and operation of the proposed action2 7iv7 the projected downstream greenhouse gas emissions and effects1 including cumulative effects1 on environmental justice communities resulting from the proposed action1 including those resulting from the combustion of the natural gas2 7v7 the projected upstream greenhouse gas emissions and effects1 including cumulative effects1 on environmental justice communities resulting from the proposed action1 including those resulting from leakage or other release of the natural gas2 and 7vi7 other factors1 as identified by the ,commission4 7,d7 ,threshold ,for purposes of determining whether the environmental effects of a proposed action are significant under this paragraph1 the ,commission shall-- 7i7 with respect to environmental effects described in subparagraph 7,b71 consider that-- 7,i7 no community should bear a disproportionate share of the adverse environmental and public health consequences that results from the ,commission approving an application for a certificate of public convenience or necessity2 and 7,,ii7 it is in the public interest for the ,commission1 where appropriate1 to limit the future placement and expansion of a proposed action in environmental justice communities2 and 7ii7 with respect to quantifying greenhouse gas emissions under subparagraph 7,c71 presume-- 7,i7 a proposed action that has reasonably foreseeable emissions of at least #ajj1jjj metric tons per year of carbon dioxide equivalent to have a significant effect on climate change2 and 7,,ii7 greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide shall be converted to carbon dioxide equivalent using the #bj-year global warming potentials from the most recent assessment report published by the ,intergovernmental ,panel on ,climate ,change4 7#c7 ,mitigation 7,a7 ,in general ,under subsection 7d71 the ,commission shall require an applicant for a certificate to submit a proposal with the applicable application that details how the applicant will mitigate all or a portion of the environmental effects of the proposed action1 including on climate change and environmental justice communities4 7,b7 ,conditions ,upon reviewing the mitigation proposal under subparagraph 7,a71 the ,commission shall1 to the extent practicable1 attach to the issuance of a certificate1 and to the exercise of the rights granted thereunder1 conditions that require the holder of such certificate to address any potential adverse effects of any action authorized under such certificate on climate change and environmental justice communities4 7,c7 ,additional requirement ,for any proposed action the ,commission approves for which it does not require conditions that mitigate or offset the significant environmental effects of the proposed action to below the significance threshold described in paragraph 7#b77;,d71 the ,commission shall provide a detailed explanation as to why such mitigation is not practicable4 7#d7 ,weighing 7,a7 ,in general ,under paragraph 7#a77;,b71 the ,commission shall weigh all environmental effects1 including significant environmental effects1 to the extent any significant environmental effects can be practicably mitigated under the threshold described in paragraph 7#b77;,d7 and determine whether the benefits of the proposed action outweigh such environmental effects4 7,b7 ,limitation ,in the event the ,commission finds that the proposed action is or will be required by the present or future public convenience and necessity under subsection 7e7 despite any significant environmental effects that cannot be practicably mitigated1 the ,commission shall provide a detailed explanation as to why the ,commission finds the proposed action to be nevertheless required by the present or future public convenience and necessity4 7#e7 ,definitions ,in this subsection3 7,a7 ,certificate ,the term certificate means a certificate of public convenience and necessity described in subsection 7c74 7,b7 ,environmental effect ,the term environmental effect means an effect caused by a proposed action on the environment and climate change4 7,c7 ,environmental justice community ,the term environmental justice community means any population of color1 community of color1 indigenous community1 or low-income community that experiences a disproportionate burden of the negative human health and environmental impacts of pollution or other environmental hazards4 7,d7 ,proposed action ,the term proposed action means a proposed service1 sale1 operation1 construction1 extension1 or acquisition1 as described in subsection 7e71 in an application for a certificate4 4