I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3879 

To provide for streamlining the process of Federal approval for construction 

or expansion of petroleum refineries, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2012 

Mr. SENSENBRENNER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee 

on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for streamlining the process of Federal approval 

for construction or expansion of petroleum refineries, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 TITLE I—REFINERY 

4 STREAMLINED PERMITTING 

5 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Refinery Streamlined 

7 Permitting Act of 2012’’. 


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1 SEC. 102. REVIEW PROCESS STREAMLINING. 

2 (a) ASSISTANCE TO STATES.—The Secretary of En3 ergy shall offer to States assistance to enable the States 

4 to assign responsibilities delegated to the States, under 

5 Federal laws relating to the construction or expansion of 

6 a petroleum refining facility, in a coordinated and expedi7 tious manner. 

8 (b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—All Fed9 eral agencies, and all State agencies to which responsibil10 ities are delegated under Federal law, responsible for ap11 proving a permit or other Federal authorization for the 

12 construction or expansion of a petroleum refining facility 

13 shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with re14 spect to that facility, or proposed facility, that clearly de15 fines all actions required to be taken for Federal permit 

16 review and approval. The memorandum of understanding 

17 shall identify areas where Federal and State agencies can 

18 exercise discretion, and where multiple levels of review on 

19 permitting decisions can be coordinated, to enable a more 

20 expeditious review process. 

21 (c) APPROVAL DEADLINE.—Notwithstanding any 

22 other provision of law, a Federal agency, and a State 

23 agency to which responsibilities are delegated under Fed24 eral law, shall take final action to approve or disapprove 

25 an application under Federal law for the construction or 

26 expansion of a petroleum refining facility not later than 


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1 1 year after receipt of a complete application for such ap2 proval. 

3 (d) PRIORITY PROJECTS.—A Federal agency, and a 

4 State agency to which responsibilities are delegated under 

5 Federal law, shall give high priority to expediting an appli6 cation under Federal law for the construction or expansion 

7 of a petroleum refining facility that would— 

8 (1) allow for production of cleaner burning fuel; 

9 (2) result in increased refining capacity; or 

10 (3) result in a reduction in a refinery’s pollu11 tion output. 

12 SEC. 103. STATEMENT OF ENERGY EFFECTS. 

13 (a) PREPARATION.— 

14 (1) REQUIREMENT.—An agency shall prepare 

15 and submit a Statement of Energy Effects to the 

16 Administrator of the Office of Information and Reg17 ulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 

18 for each proposed significant energy action. 

19 (2) CONTENTS.—A Statement of Energy Ef20 fects shall consist of a detailed statement by the 

21 agency responsible for the significant energy action 

22 relating to— 

23 (A) any adverse effects on energy supply, 

24 distribution, or use (including a shortfall in 

25 supply, price increases, and increased use of 


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1 foreign supplies) should the proposal be imple2 mented; and 

3 (B) reasonable alternatives to the action 

4 with adverse energy effects, and the expected 

5 effects of such alternatives on energy supply, 

6 distribution, and use. 

7 (3) GUIDANCE AND CONSULTATION.—The Ad8 ministrator of the Office of Information and Regu9 latory Affairs shall provide guidance to the agencies 

10 on the implementation of this section and shall con11 sult with other agencies as appropriate in the imple12 mentation of this section. 

13 (b) PUBLICATION.—Agencies shall publish their 

14 Statements of Energy Effects, or a summary thereof, in 

15 each related Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and in any 

16 resulting Final Rule. 

17 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

18 (1) the term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given 

19 that term in section 3502(1) of title 44, United 

20 States Code, except that the term does not include 

21 an independent regulatory agency, as defined in 

22 paragraph (5) of that section; and 

23 (2) the term ‘‘significant energy action’’ means 

24 any action by an agency that is expected to lead to 

25 promulgation of a final rule or regulation and that— 


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1 (A) is likely to have a significant adverse 

2 effect on the supply, distribution, or use of en3 ergy; or 

4 (B) is designated by the Administrator of 

5 the Office of Information and Regulatory Af6 fairs as a significant energy action. 

7 TITLE II—REFINING CAPACITY 

8 ON CLOSED MILITARY IN9 STALLATIONS 

10 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

11 For purposes of this title— 

12 (1) the term ‘‘base closure law’’ means the De13 fense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 

14 (part A of title XXIX of Public Law 101–510; 10 

15 U.S.C. 2687 note) and title II of the Defense Au16 thorization Amendments and Base Closure and Re17 alignment Act (Public Law 100–526; 10 U.S.C. 

18 2687 note); 

19 (2) the term ‘‘closed military installation’’ 

20 means a military installation closed or approved for 

21 closure pursuant to a base closure law; 

22 (3) the term ‘‘designated refinery’’ means a re23 finery designated under section 202(a); 

24 (4) the term ‘‘Federal refinery authorization’’— 


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1 (A) means any authorization required 

2 under Federal law, whether administered by a 

3 Federal or State administrative agency or offi4 cial, with respect to siting, construction, expan5 sion, or operation of a refinery; and 

6 (B) includes any permits, special use au7 thorizations, certifications, opinions, or other 

8 approvals required under Federal law with re9 spect to siting, construction, expansion, or oper10 ation of a refinery; 

11 (5) the term ‘‘refinery’’ means— 

12 (A) a facility designed and operated to re13 ceive, load, unload, store, transport, process, 

14 and refine crude oil by any chemical or physical 

15 process, including distillation, fluid catalytic 

16 cracking, hydrocracking, coking, alkylation, 

17 etherification, polymerization, catalytic reform18 ing, isomerization, hydrotreating, blending, and 

19 any combination thereof, in order to produce 

20 gasoline or other fuel; or 

21 (B) a facility designed and operated to re22 ceive, load, unload, store, transport, process, 

23 and refine coal by any chemical or physical 

24 process, including liquefaction, in order to 


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1 produce gasoline, diesel, or other liquid fuel as 

2 its primary output; 

3 (6) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

4 of Energy; and 

5 (7) the term ‘‘State’’ means a State, the Dis6 trict of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 

7 Rico, and any other territory or possession of the 

8 United States. 

9 SEC. 202. STATE PARTICIPATION AND PRESIDENTIAL DES10 IGNATION. 

11 (a) DESIGNATION REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 

12 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Presi13 dent shall designate no less than 3 closed military installa14 tions, or portions thereof, subject to subsection (c)(2), that 

15 are appropriate for the purposes of siting a refinery. 

16 (b) ANALYSIS OF REFINERY SITES.—In considering 

17 any site for possible designation under subsection (a), the 

18 President shall conduct an analysis of— 

19 (1) the availability of crude oil supplies to the 

20 site, including supplies from domestic production of 

21 shale oil and tar sands and other strategic uncon22 ventional fuels; 

23 (2) the distribution of the Nation’s refined pe24 troleum product demand; 


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1 (3) whether such site is in close proximity to 

2 substantial pipeline infrastructure, including both 

3 crude oil and refined petroleum product pipelines, 

4 and potential infrastructure feasibility; 

5 (4) the need to diversify the geographical loca6 tion of the domestic refining capacity; 

7 (5) the effect that increased refined petroleum 

8 products from a refinery on that site may have on 

9 the price and supply of gasoline to consumers; 

10 (6) the impact of locating a refinery on the site 

11 on the readiness and operations of the Armed 

12 Forces; and 

13 (7) such other factors as the President con14 siders appropriate. 

15 (c) SALE OR DISPOSAL.— 

16 (1) DESIGNATION.—Except as provided in 

17 paragraph (2), until the expiration of 2 years after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Gov19 ernment shall not sell or otherwise dispose of the 

20 military installations designated pursuant to sub21 section (a). 

22 (2) GOVERNOR’S OBJECTION.—No site may be 

23 used for a refinery under this title if, not later than 

24 60 days after designation of the site under sub25 section (a), the Governor of the State in which the 


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1 site is located transmits to the President an objec2 tion to the designation, unless, not later than 60 

3 days after the President receives such objection, the 

4 Congress has by law overridden the objection. 

5 (d) REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY.—With respect to 

6 a closed military installation, or portion thereof, des7 ignated by the President as a potentially suitable refinery 

8 site pursuant to subsection (a)— 

9 (1) the redevelopment authority for the installa10 tion, in preparing or revising the redevelopment plan 

11 for the installation, shall consider the feasibility and 

12 practicability of siting a refinery on the installation; 

13 and 

14 (2) the Secretary of Defense, in managing and 

15 disposing of real property at the installation pursu16 ant to the base closure law applicable to the installa17 tion, shall give substantial deference to the rec18 ommendations of the redevelopment authority, as 

19 contained in the redevelopment plan for the installa20 tion, regarding the siting of a refinery on the instal21 lation. 

22 SEC. 203. PROCESS COORDINATION AND RULES OF PROCE23 DURE. 

24 (a) DESIGNATION AS LEAD AGENCY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Energy 

2 shall act as the lead agency for the purposes of co3 ordinating all applicable Federal refinery authoriza4 tions and related environmental reviews with respect 

5 to a designated refinery. 

6 (2) OTHER AGENCIES.—Each Federal and 

7 State agency or official required to provide a Fed8 eral refinery authorization shall cooperate with the 

9 Secretary and comply with the deadlines established 

10 by the Secretary. 

11 (b) SCHEDULE.— 

12 (1) SECRETARY’S AUTHORITY TO SET SCHED13 ULE.—The Secretary shall establish a schedule for 

14 all Federal refinery authorizations with respect to a 

15 designated refinery. In establishing the schedule, the 

16 Secretary shall— 

17 (A) ensure expeditious completion of all 

18 such proceedings; and 

19 (B) accommodate the applicable schedules 

20 established by Federal law for such proceedings. 

21 (2) FAILURE TO MEET SCHEDULE.—If a Fed22 eral or State administrative agency or official does 

23 not complete a proceeding for an approval that is re24 quired for a Federal refinery authorization in ac25 cordance with the schedule established by the SecVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:49 Feb 02, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3879.IH H3879

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1 retary under this subsection, the applicant may pur2 sue remedies under subsection (d). 

3 (c) CONSOLIDATED RECORD.—The Secretary shall, 

4 with the cooperation of Federal and State administrative 

5 agencies and officials, maintain a complete consolidated 

6 record of all decisions made or actions taken by the Sec7 retary or by a Federal administrative agency or officer (or 

8 State administrative agency or officer acting under dele9 gated Federal authority) with respect to any Federal re10 finery authorization. Such record shall be the record for 

11 judicial review under subsection (d) of decisions made or 

12 actions taken by Federal and State administrative agen13 cies and officials, except that, if the Court determines that 

14 the record does not contain sufficient information, the 

15 Court may remand the proceeding to the Secretary for fur16 ther development of the consolidated record. 

17 (d) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The United States Court of 

19 Appeals for the District of Columbia shall have 

20 original and exclusive jurisdiction over any civil ac21 tion for the review of— 

22 (A) an order or action, related to a Federal 

23 refinery authorization, by a Federal or State 

24 administrative agency or official; and 


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1 (B) an alleged failure to act by a Federal 

2 or State administrative agency or official acting 

3 pursuant to a Federal refinery authorization. 

4 The failure of an agency or official to act on a Fed5 eral refinery authorization in accordance with the 

6 Secretary’s schedule established pursuant to sub7 section (b) shall be considered inconsistent with Fed8 eral law for the purposes of paragraph (2) of this 

9 subsection. 

10 (2) COURT ACTION.—If the Court finds that an 

11 order or action described in paragraph (1)(A) is in12 consistent with the Federal law governing such Fed13 eral refinery authorization, or that a failure to act 

14 as described in paragraph (1)(B) has occurred, and 

15 the order, action, or failure to act would prevent the 

16 siting, construction, expansion, or operation of the 

17 designated refinery, the Court shall remand the pro18 ceeding to the agency or official to take appropriate 

19 action consistent with the order of the Court. If the 

20 Court remands the order, action, or failure to act to 

21 the Federal or State administrative agency or offi22 cial, the Court shall set a reasonable schedule and 

23 deadline for the agency or official to act on remand. 

24 (3) SECRETARY’S ACTION.—For any civil action 

25 brought under this subsection, the Secretary shall 


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1 promptly file with the Court the consolidated record 

2 compiled by the Secretary pursuant to subsection 

3 (c). 

4 (4) EXPEDITED REVIEW.—The Court shall set 

5 any civil action brought under this subsection for ex6 pedited consideration. 

7 (5) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In any action chal8 lenging a Federal refinery authorization that has 

9 been granted, reasonable attorney’s fees and other 

10 expenses of litigation shall be awarded to the pre11 vailing party. This paragraph shall not apply to any 

12 action seeking remedies for denial of a Federal refin13 ery authorization or failure to act on an application 

14 for a Federal refinery authorization. 

Æ 


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