National Energy Security Corridors Act

Summary: National Energy Security Corridors Act  (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Mineral Leasing Act to allow natural gas pipeline rights-of-way through all federally owned lands, including lands in the National Park System, except lands held in trust for an Indian or Indian tribe and lands on the outer Continental Shelf. The Department of the Interior must: (1) identify and designate suitable federal lands as National Energy Security Corridors for construction, operation, and maintenance of natural gas transmission facilities; and (2) incorporate such Corridors into the relevant agency land use and resource management plans.  Additionally, Interior shall: (1) take into account certain considerations when evaluating federal land for designation as a National Energy Security Corridor, and (2) establish specified procedures to expedite and approve applications for rights-of-way for natural gas pipelines across National Energy Security Corridors. The governor of a state may request Corridors to be designated on federal land within that state.  For purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 neither the designation of a Corridor, nor the incorporation of a Corridor into agency plans, shall be treated as a major federal action subject to environmental impact evaluation. All applications for rights-of-way for natural gas transmission facilities across the designated Corridors shall be subject to specified environmental protections. (Sec. 3) Interior shall notify certain congressional committees whenever an agency or Interior official fails to comply with federal authorization schedules established under the Natural Gas Act.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Energy Security Corridors 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL ENERGY SECURITY CORRIDORS ON FEDERAL 
              LANDS.

    (a) In General.--Section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 
185) is amended as follows:
            (1) In subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``(b)(1) For the purposes of this 
                section `Federal lands' means'' and inserting the 
                following:
    ``(b)(1) For the purposes of this section `Federal lands'--
            ``(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), means'';
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph 
                (1) and inserting ``; and'' and by adding at the end of 
                paragraph (1) the following:
            ``(B) for purposes of granting an application for a natural 
        gas pipeline right-of-way, means all lands owned by the United 
        States except--
                    ``(i) such lands held in trust for an Indian or 
                Indian tribe; and
                    ``(ii) lands on the Outer Continental Shelf.''.
            (2) By redesignating subsection (b), as so amended, as 
        subsection (z), and transferring such subsection to appear 
        after subsection (y) of that section.
            (3) By inserting after subsection (a) the following:
    ``(b) National Energy Security Corridors.--
            ``(1) Designation.--In addition to other authorities under 
        this section, the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) identify and designate suitable Federal lands 
                as National Energy Security Corridors (in this 
                subsection referred to as a `Corridor'), which shall be 
                used for construction, operation, and maintenance of 
                natural gas transmission facilities; and
                    ``(B) incorporate such Corridors upon designation 
                into the relevant agency land use and resource 
                management plans or equivalent plans.
            ``(2) Considerations.--In evaluating Federal lands for 
        designation as a National Energy Security Corridor, the 
        Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) employ the principle of multiple use to 
                ensure route decisions balance national energy security 
                needs with existing land use principles;
                    ``(B) seek input from other Federal counterparts, 
                State, local, and tribal governments, and affected 
                utility and pipeline industries to determine the best 
                suitable, most cost-effective, and commercially viable 
                acreage for natural gas transmission facilities;
                    ``(C) focus on transmission routes that improve 
                domestic energy security through increasing 
                reliability, relieving congestion, reducing natural gas 
                prices, and meeting growing demand for natural gas; and
                    ``(D) take into account technological innovations 
                that reduce the need for surface disturbance.
            ``(3) Procedures.--The Secretary shall establish procedures 
        to expedite and approve applications for rights-of-way for 
        natural gas pipelines across National Energy Security 
        Corridors, that--
                    ``(A) ensure a transparent process for review of 
                applications for rights-of-way on such corridors;
                    ``(B) require an approval time of not more than 1 
                year after the date of receipt of an application for a 
                right-of-way; and
                    ``(C) require, upon receipt of such an application, 
                notice to the applicant of a predictable timeline for 
                consideration of the application, that clearly 
                delineates important milestones in the process of such 
                consideration.
            ``(4) State input.--
                    ``(A) Requests authorized.--The Governor of a State 
                may submit requests to the Secretary of the Interior to 
                designate Corridors on Federal land in that State.
                    ``(B) Consideration of requests.--After receiving 
                such a request, the Secretary shall respond in writing, 
                within 30 days--
                            ``(i) acknowledging receipt of the request; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) setting forth a timeline in which 
                        the Secretary shall grant, deny, or modify such 
                        request and state the reasons for doing so.
            ``(5) Spatial distribution of corridors.--In implementing 
        this subsection, the Secretary shall coordinate with other 
        Federal Departments to--
                    ``(A) minimize the proliferation of duplicative 
                natural gas pipeline rights-of-way on Federal lands 
                where feasible;
                    ``(B) ensure Corridors can connect effectively 
                across Federal lands; and
                    ``(C) utilize input from utility and pipeline 
                industries submitting applications for rights-of-way to 
                site corridors in economically feasible areas that 
                reduce impacts, to the extent practicable, on local 
                communities.
            ``(6) Not a major federal action.--Designation of a 
        Corridor under this subsection, and incorporation of Corridors 
        into agency plans under paragraph (1)(B), shall not be treated 
        as a major Federal action for purpose of section 102 of the 
        National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332).
            ``(7) No limit on number or length of corridors.--Nothing 
        in this subsection limits the number or physical dimensions of 
        Corridors that the Secretary may designate under this 
        subsection.
            ``(8) Other authority not affected.--Nothing in this 
        subsection affects the authority of the Secretary to issue 
        rights-of-way on Federal land that is not located in a Corridor 
        designated under this subsection.
            ``(9) NEPA clarification.--All applications for rights-of-
        way for natural gas transmission facilities across Corridors 
        designated under this subsection shall be subject to the 
        environmental protections outlined in subsection (h).''.
    (b) Applications Received Before Designation of Corridors.--Any 
application for a right-of-way under section 28 of the Mineral Leasing 
Act (30 U.S.C. 185) that is received by the Secretary of the Interior 
before designation of National Energy Security Corridors under the 
amendment made by subsection (a) of this section shall be reviewed and 
acted upon independently by the Secretary without regard to the process 
for such designation.
    (c) Deadline.--Within 2 years after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall designate at least 10 
National Energy Security Corridors under the amendment made by 
subsection (a) in contiguous States referred to in section 368(b) of 
the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15926(b)).

SEC. 3. NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.

    The Secretary of the Interior shall promptly notify the Committee 
on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate of each instance in which 
any agency or official of the Department of the Interior fails to 
comply with any schedule established under section 15(c) of the Natural 
Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717n(c)).