Energy Infrastructure Improvement Act

Summary: Energy Infrastructure Improvement Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior (or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate for administrative jurisdiction over the federal lands involved) to issue permits for rights-of-way, temporary easements, or other necessary authorizations to allow a permittee to construct, operate, maintain, expand, or modify a natural gas, oil, or petroleum products pipeline and related facilities on eligible federal lands. Directs the Secretary to: (1) charge fees for such permits, (2) determine the initial fixed term for a permit, and (3) renew any right-of-way issued under this Act if the pipeline and its related facility is in commercial operation and operated and maintained in accordance with this Act. Grants the Secretary enforcement and modification powers, including fines and suspension or termination of rights-of-way.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Energy Infrastructure Improvement 
Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY FOR NATURAL GAS AND OIL PIPELINES.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any provision of the Mineral 
Leasing Act (cite), the Secretary may issue permits for rights-of-way, 
temporary easements, or other necessary authorizations to allow a 
permittee to construct, operate, maintain, expand, or modify a natural 
gas, oil, or petroleum products pipeline and related facilities on 
eligible Federal lands.
    (b) Terms and Conditions.--A permit issued under this section shall 
be consistent with the laws and regulations generally applicable to 
utility rights-of-way within the respective eligible Federal land and 
subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary deems 
appropriate.
    (c) Fees.--
            (1) Permit fee.--The Secretary shall charge and retain a 
        fee for any permit issued under this section. The fee shall be 
        calculated to provide for recovery of costs incurred by the 
        United States associated with processing, issuing, and 
        monitoring the permit.
            (2) Annual fee.--The Secretary shall charge an annual fee 
        related to each permit which requires payment, in advance, of 
        the fair market rental value of permitted use as determined by 
        the Secretary.
    (d) Term.--
            (1) Initial term.--The Secretary shall determine the 
        initial fixed term for a permit issued under this section, 
        taking into consideration the following:
                    (A) The cost of planning, approval, construction, 
                operation, and maintenance of the pipeline and its 
                related facility (in terms of time and money).
                    (B) The useful life of the pipeline and its related 
                facility.
                    (C) The public or economic purpose served by the 
                pipeline and its related facility.
            (2) Renewals.--The Secretary shall renew any right-of-way 
        issued under this section, in accordance with the provisions of 
        this section, if the pipeline and its related facility is in 
        commercial operation and operated and maintained in accordance 
        with this section and the permit issued under this section for 
        that pipeline and its related facility.
    (e) Enforcement.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may impose citations or 
        fines or suspend or revoke any authority under a permit issued 
        under this section for failure to comply with or for violation 
        of any term or condition of the permit.
            (2) Suspension or termination of the right-of-way.--
        Abandonment of a permit or deliberate noncompliance with any 
        provision of this section or of a permit issued under this 
        section may be grounds for suspension or termination of the 
        permit if the Secretary determines that such grounds exist and 
        that suspension or termination is justified after the permittee 
        has been given--
                    (A) due notice;
                    (B) a reasonable opportunity to remedy the 
                abandonment or noncompliance; and
                    (C) an appropriate administrative proceeding 
                pursuant to section 554 of title 5, United States Code.
            (3) Misuse or nonuse of permit.--Deliberate failure to use 
        a permit for the purpose for which it was granted or renewed 
        for any continuous two-year period shall constitute a 
        rebuttable presumption of abandonment of the permit. Where the 
        failure to use the permit is due to circumstances not within 
        the permittee's control, the Secretary is not required to 
        commence proceedings to suspend or terminate the permit.
            (4) Judicial review.--Not later than 90 days after a final 
        decision by the Secretary under this subsection, a permittee 
        may file a suit to challenge that decision in the United States 
        court of appeals for the circuit in which the Federal land 
        which is the subject of the permit is located. Such court shall 
        have jurisdiction to hear and determine any suit brought as 
        provided in this subsection.
    (f) Modifications.--The Secretary may modify a permit issued under 
this section if the modification is agreed upon by the permittee and 
complies with this section. Any action taken by the Secretary pursuant 
to this subsection shall not be considered a major Federal action 
requiring a detailed statement under section 102(2)(C) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).
    (g) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            (1) Eligible federal lands.--The term ``eligible Federal 
        lands'' means--
                    (A) Federal lands under the administrative 
                jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior, except--
                            (i) lands held in trust for a federal 
                        recognized Indian tribe or a member of a 
                        federally recognized Indian tribe; and
                            (ii) lands on the Outer Continental Shelf; 
                        and
                    (B) National Forest System lands.
            (2) Facility.--The term ``facility''--
                    (A) includes such things as buildings, pipelines, 
                and auxiliary or appurtenant facilities related to the 
                construction, operation, and maintenance of the 
                pipeline; and
                    (B) does not include wells, drills, or drilling 
                platforms.
            (3) Permittee.--The term ``permittee'' means the owner of a 
        natural gas, oil, or petroleum products pipeline and the 
        owner's successors or assigns.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate 
        in regard the Secretary with administrative jurisdiction over 
        the Federal lands involved.