II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1090 

To provide certain requirements for the siting, construction, expansion, and 

operation of liquefied natural gas import terminals, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 20, 2005 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Ms. SNOWE) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL

To provide certain requirements for the siting, construction, 

expansion, and operation of liquefied natural gas import 

terminals, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Liquefied Natural Gas 

5 Import Terminal Authorization Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS IM7 PORT TERMINALS. 

8 Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b) 

9 is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION FOR NATURAL GAS IMPORT

2 TERMINALS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person shall not site, 

4 construct, expand, or operate a liquefied natural gas 

5 import terminal within the boundaries of a State un6 less— 

7 ‘‘(A) the person submits an application to 

8 site, expand, or operate a liquefied natural gas 

9 import terminal to— 

10 ‘‘(i) the Commission; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the State agency that has siting 

12 authority under State law in the State in 

13 which the liquefied natural gas import ter14 minal is located (referred to in this sub15 section as the ‘designated State agency’); 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(B) the Commission and the designated 

18 State agency issue an order approving the ap19 plication. 

20 ‘‘(2) ISSUANCE OF ORDER.—The Commission 

21 and the designated State agency shall issue an order 

22 approving an application, in whole or part, that is 

23 submitted under paragraph (1)(A), unless, after op24 portunity for hearing, the Commission or designated 

25 State agency determines that the proposed siting, 
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1 construction, expansion, or operation is not con2 sistent with the public interest. 

3 ‘‘(3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An order issued under 

5 paragraph (2) shall be subject to any terms and 

6 conditions that the Commission or designated 

7 State agency determines are appropriate. 

8 ‘‘(B) SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro10 vided in clause (ii), an order issued under 

11 this subsection shall not be conditioned on 

12 a requirement that the liquefied natural 

13 gas import terminal offer service to per14 sons other than the applicant. 

15 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding 

16 clause (i), the Commission or designated 

17 State agency may require the applicant to 

18 establish a backup procedure for making 

19 the liquefied natural gas import terminal 

20 available to others if the applicant is un21 willing or unable to provide a steady sup22 ply to the market served by the liquefied 

23 natural gas import terminal. 

24 ‘‘(C) CONFLICTS.—If an applicant is un25 able to comply with conflicting terms and condi-
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1 tions established under subparagraph (A), the 

2 Secretary of Energy, in cooperation with the 

3 Executive Office of the President, shall mediate 

4 the conflict between the Commission or des5 ignated State agency and the applicant through 

6 a process that includes public hearings in the 

7 area affected by the proposed liquefied natural 

8 gas import terminal.’’. 

9 SEC. 3. PREEMPTION. 

10 Section 60104 of title 49, United States Code, is 

11 amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(c) PREEMPTION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State authority that has 

15 submitted a current certification under section 

16 60105(a) may adopt additional or more stringent 

17 safety standards for intrastate pipeline facilities, 

18 intrastate pipeline transportation, and liquefied nat19 ural gas pipeline facilities only if those standards are 

20 compatible with the minimum standards prescribed 

21 under this chapter. 

22 ‘‘(2) SAFETY STANDARDS.—Except in the case 

23 of liquefied natural gas pipeline facilities, a State 

24 authority may not adopt or continue in force safety 
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1 standards for interstate pipeline facilities or inter2 state pipeline transportation.’’.

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