II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4502 

To amend the Natural Gas Act to bolster fairness and transparency in 

the consideration of interstate natural gas pipeline permits, to provide 

for greater public input opportunities in the natural gas pipeline permitting process, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 6, 2020 

Mr. KAINE (for himself and Mr. WARNER) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend the Natural Gas Act to bolster fairness and transparency in the consideration of interstate natural gas 

pipeline permits, to provide for greater public input opportunities in the natural gas pipeline permitting process, 

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 ‘‘Pipeline Fairness, 

5 Transparency, and Responsible Development Act of 

6 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NOTICE TO AFFECTED LANDOWNERS. 

2 (a) INITIAL NOTICE.—Section 7(d) of the Natural 

3 Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717f(d)) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking the subsection designation and 

5 all that follows through ‘‘Application for certificates’’ 

6 and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATE OF PUBLIC

8 CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

10 an application for a certificate’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION.—An application for a 

14 certificate of public convenience and necessity 

15 under paragraph (1) shall include— 

16 ‘‘(i) the name and address of each in17 terested party on whom the applicant is re18 quired to serve notice of the application 

19 under that paragraph; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) a copy of the notice proposed to 

21 be served on each interested party under 

22 that paragraph. 

23 ‘‘(B) NOTICE.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A notice served on 

25 an interested party under paragraph (1) 

26 shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(I) a description of the pro2 ceeding before the Commission relat3 ing to the application for a certificate 

4 of public convenience and necessity; 

5 ‘‘(II) complete instructions on 

6 how the interested party can move to 

7 intervene in the proceeding described 

8 in the notice, including instructions on 

9 how to intervene— 

10 ‘‘(aa) electronically; and 

11 ‘‘(bb) through a paper filing; 

12 ‘‘(III) a clear statement of the 

13 contents required to be included in a 

14 motion to intervene in the proceeding 

15 described in the notice; 

16 ‘‘(IV) the deadline for the inter17 ested party to move to intervene in 

18 the proceeding described in the notice; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(V) a section, separated from 

21 the remaining text of the notice and 

22 clearly displayed in bold print, inform23 ing the interested party that— 

24 ‘‘(aa) in order to preserve 

25 the right to seek judicial review 


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1 of a decision by the Commission 

2 relating to the certificate of pub3 lic convenience and necessity, the 

4 interested party must intervene 

5 in the proceeding described in the 

6 notice; and 

7 ‘‘(bb) intervention in the 

8 proceeding described in the notice 

9 is the only way to preserve the 

10 right to judicial review described 

11 in item (aa). 

12 ‘‘(ii) REVIEW.—The Commission 

13 shall— 

14 ‘‘(I) review each notice submitted 

15 to the Commission under subpara16 graph (A)(ii) to determine whether 

17 the notice meets the requirements de18 scribed in clause (i); and 

19 ‘‘(II) approve the notice only if 

20 the notice meets those requirements. 

21 ‘‘(iii) SERVICE.— 

22 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—An applicant 

23 may not serve notice on an interested 

24 party under paragraph (1) unless the 


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1 notice has been approved by the Com2 mission under clause (ii). 

3 ‘‘(II) DEADLINE.—A notice 

4 under paragraph (1) shall be served 

5 on an interested party not less than 

6 60 days before the last day on which 

7 the interested party may intervene in 

8 the proceeding described in the notice. 

9 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMA10 TION RELATING TO INTERESTED PARTIES.—On 

11 request of any person, the Commission shall 

12 disclose the names and addresses submitted to 

13 the Commission under subparagraph (A)(i), 

14 subject to such reasonable terms and conditions 

15 as the Commission determines to be appro16 priate.’’. 

17 (b) SUBSEQUENT NOTICE.—Section 7(e) of the Nat18 ural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717f(e)) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking the subsection designation and 

20 all that follows through ‘‘of this section,’’ in the first 

21 sentence and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(e) ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATE.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except in the cases gov24 erned by the provisos in subparagraphs (A) and (B) 


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1 of subsection (c)(1), and subject to paragraphs (2) 

2 through (4),’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), by 

4 striking ‘‘necessity; otherwise’’ in the first sentence 

5 and all that follows through ‘‘The Commission’’ in 

6 the second sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘ne7 cessity. 

8 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—The Commission shall 

9 deny any application for which the Commission has 

10 not made the findings described in paragraph (1). 

11 ‘‘(3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Commis12 sion’’; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(4) NOTICE OF ISSUANCE.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On issuance of a cer16 tificate of public convenience and necessity by 

17 the Commission, the applicant requesting the 

18 certificate shall provide to each interested party 

19 on whom the applicant served notice of the ap20 plication under subsection (d) a notice of the 

21 issuance of the certificate. 

22 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—Each notice under 

23 subparagraph (A) shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) complete instructions on how the 

2 recipient of the notice may apply for a re3 hearing before the Commission; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a clear statement of the contents 

5 required to be included in an application 

6 for a rehearing before the Commission; 

7 ‘‘(iii) the deadline for the recipient to 

8 file that application; 

9 ‘‘(iv) the time period for seeking judi10 cial review of a decision of the Commission 

11 on an application for rehearing; 

12 ‘‘(v) a statement informing the recipi13 ent that judicial review will not be avail14 able with respect to a decision of the Com15 mission on any issue for which the recipi16 ent has not sought rehearing before the 

17 Commission; and 

18 ‘‘(vi) a clear reference to— 

19 ‘‘(I) subsections (a) and (b) of 

20 section 19; and 

21 ‘‘(II) any rules issued under 

22 those subsections relating to the time 

23 or manner of seeking— 

24 ‘‘(aa) a rehearing before the 

25 Commission; or 


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1 ‘‘(bb) judicial review of a de2 cision of the Commission under 

3 this section, including any deci4 sion on a rehearing. 

5 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF NOTICE.—A court may 

6 not grant a petition for eminent domain under 

7 subsection (h) with respect to any property cov8 ered by the applicable certificate of public con9 venience and necessity issued under this sub10 section unless the holder of the certificate has 

11 provided notice under this paragraph to each 

12 interested party described in subparagraph 

13 (A).’’. 

14 SEC. 3. CONDITIONED CERTIFICATES. 

15 Section 7(e) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 

16 717f(e)) (as amended by section 2(b)) is amended by add17 ing at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(5) RESTRICTIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) EMINENT DOMAIN.— 

20 ‘‘(i) COMMENCEMENT OF ACTION.—A 

21 holder of a certificate of public convenience 

22 and necessity may not commence an action 

23 under subsection (h) until the earliest date 

24 on which all timely applications for rehear25 ing under section 19(a)— 


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1 ‘‘(I) have received a ruling on the 

2 merits by the Commission under that 

3 section; or 

4 ‘‘(II) have been deemed denied 

5 under paragraph (3)(B)(i) of that sec6 tion. 

7 ‘‘(ii) RULING ON PETITION.—A court 

8 may not grant a petition for eminent do9 main under subsection (h) with respect to 

10 any property covered by the applicable cer11 tificate of public convenience and necessity 

12 if the holder of that certificate has not re13 ceived all required certifications, authoriza14 tions, approvals, permits, or other permis15 sions from Federal or State agencies nec16 essary— 

17 ‘‘(I) to begin construction; and 

18 ‘‘(II) to complete the entire 

19 project for which the certificate was 

20 issued. 

21 ‘‘(B) CONSTRUCTION.—The holder of a 

22 certificate of public convenience and necessity 

23 may not begin construction under that certifi24 cate until the later of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the earliest date on which the 

2 holder has received all required certifi3 cations, authorizations, approvals, permits, 

4 or other permissions described in subpara5 graph (A)(ii); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the earliest date on which all 

7 timely applications for rehearing under 

8 section 19(a)— 

9 ‘‘(I) have received a ruling on the 

10 merits by the Commission under that 

11 section; or 

12 ‘‘(II) have been deemed denied 

13 under paragraph (3)(B)(i) of that sec14 tion.’’. 

15 SEC. 4. EMINENT DOMAIN. 

16 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—With respect to the 

17 construction and operation of natural gas pipelines, it is 

18 the policy of the United States to protect the rights of 

19 citizens of the United States to their private property, in20 cluding by limiting the taking of private property by the 

21 Federal Government to situations in which the taking is 

22 for public use, with just compensation, and required by 

23 the public convenience and necessity, and not merely to 

24 advance the economic interests of private parties that 

25 would be given ownership or use of the property taken. 


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1 (b) JUST COMPENSATION.—Section 7(h) of the Nat2 ural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717f(h)) is amended— 

3 (1) by striking the subsection designation and 

4 all that follows through ‘‘When any holder’’ in the 

5 first sentence and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(h) EMINENT DOMAIN.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—When any holder’’; 

8 (2) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), in the 

9 second sentence— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘The practice’’ and insert11 ing the following: 

12 ‘‘(2) PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara14 graph (B), the practice’’; 

15 (3) in paragraph (2)(A) (as so designated), by 

16 striking ‘‘situated: Provided, That the’’ and insert17 ing the following ‘‘situated. 

18 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The’’; and 

19 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(3) JUST COMPENSATION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF LOST CONSERVATION

22 VALUE.—In this paragraph, the term ‘lost con23 servation value’ means— 

24 ‘‘(i) the value of any use of land for 

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1 tion 1.170A–14(d) of title 26, Code of 

2 Federal Regulations (or a successor regula3 tion)) that is interrupted or prevented by 

4 the exercise of the right of eminent domain 

5 under paragraph (1); 

6 ‘‘(ii) any decrease in the value of land 

7 due to the interruption or prevention of a 

8 use described in clause (i); and 

9 ‘‘(iii) any lost benefit or decrease in 

10 the value of a benefit due to the interrup11 tion or prevention of a use described in 

12 clause (i). 

13 ‘‘(B) LAND SUBJECT TO A CONSERVATION

14 EASEMENT.—In determining the just compensa15 tion for property acquired by the exercise of the 

16 right of eminent domain under paragraph (1), 

17 in the case of land subject to a conservation 

18 easement, the court with jurisdiction over the 

19 proceeding shall consider the lost conservation 

20 value of that land.’’. 

21 SEC. 5. APPRAISALS, OFFERS OF COMPENSATION, AND POS22 SESSION. 

23 Section 7(h) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 

24 717f(h)) (as amended by section 4(b)) is amended by add25 ing at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(4) APPRAISALS AND OFFERS OF COMPENSA2 TION.— 

3 ‘‘(A) APPRAISALS.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The holder of a 

5 certificate of public convenience and neces6 sity shall have the property covered by the 

7 certificate appraised in accordance with 

8 generally accepted appraisal standards. 

9 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT.—The owner of 

10 the applicable property (or a designated 

11 representative of the owner) shall be given 

12 the opportunity to accompany the ap13 praiser during any inspection of the prop14 erty that is part of an appraisal under 

15 clause (i). 

16 ‘‘(iii) TIMING.—An appraisal under 

17 clause (i) shall be carried out before the 

18 holder of the certificate of public conven19 ience and necessity makes an offer of com20 pensation to the owner of the applicable 

21 property. 

22 ‘‘(B) OFFERS OF COMPENSATION.—Any 

23 offer of compensation made to an owner of 

24 property that is covered by a certificate of pub25 lic convenience and necessity— 


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1 ‘‘(i) shall be made in writing; 

2 ‘‘(ii) may not be for an amount less 

3 than the fair market value of the property, 

4 as determined by an appraisal carried out 

5 under subparagraph (A); and 

6 ‘‘(iii) shall include damages to any 

7 property of the owner that is adjacent to 

8 the property covered by the certificate. 

9 ‘‘(5) JUDICIAL REVIEW OF EMINENT DOMAIN

10 PETITION.—No court shall have jurisdiction to re11 view a petition for eminent domain under this sub12 section unless— 

13 ‘‘(A) an appraisal has been carried out in 

14 accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph 

15 (4); and 

16 ‘‘(B) the holder of the certificate of public 

17 convenience and necessity has made an offer of 

18 compensation to the owner of the applicable 

19 property in accordance with subparagraph (B) 

20 of that paragraph. 

21 ‘‘(6) RIGHT OF POSSESSION.—An owner of 

22 property covered by a certificate of public conven23 ience and necessity shall not be required to sur24 render possession of the property unless the holder 

25 of the certificate— 


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1 ‘‘(A) has paid to the owner the agreed pur2 chase price; or 

3 ‘‘(B) has deposited with the applicable 

4 court the amount of the award of compensation 

5 in the condemnation proceeding for the prop6 erty.’’. 

7 SEC. 6. PROCESS COORDINATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL 

8 REVIEW. 

9 Section 15 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717n) 

10 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(g) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW FOR INTERSTATE

12 NATURAL GAS PIPELINES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

14 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL AUTHORIZATION.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Federal 

16 authorization’ means any authorization re17 quired under Federal law with respect to 

18 an application for a certificate of public 

19 convenience and necessity under section 7. 

20 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘Federal 

21 authorization’ includes any permits, special 

22 use authorizations, certifications, opinions, 

23 or other approvals as may be required 

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1 cation for a certificate of public conven2 ience and necessity under section 7. 

3 ‘‘(B) PROJECT.—The term ‘project’ means 

4 a project for the construction or extension of fa5 cilities for the transportation in interstate com6 merce of natural gas that requires Federal au7 thorization. 

8 ‘‘(2) PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

9 STATEMENTS.—In considering an application for 

10 Federal authorization for a project in a State, if, 

11 during the 1-year period beginning on the date on 

12 which the application is filed, an application for Fed13 eral authorization for a separate project is filed, and 

14 that project is located in the same State and within 

15 100 miles of the first project, the Commission shall 

16 consider both projects to be 1 project for purposes 

17 of complying with the National Environmental Pol18 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

19 ‘‘(3) SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

20 STATEMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Commission de22 termines that comments submitted in response 

23 to a draft environmental impact statement pre24 pared with respect to an application for Federal 

25 authorization raise issues that exceed the initial 


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1 scope of the draft environmental impact state2 ment, a supplemental environmental impact 

3 statement shall be prepared for the project. 

4 ‘‘(B) MITIGATION PLANS.—If a draft envi5 ronmental impact statement prepared with re6 spect to an application for Federal authoriza7 tion does not include information about mitiga8 tion plans for adverse impacts that cannot rea9 sonably be avoided, a supplemental environ10 mental impact statement shall be prepared that 

11 includes that information. 

12 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC MEETING REQUIREMENTS.—In 

13 complying with the National Environmental Policy 

14 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect 

15 to an application for Federal authorization, the 

16 Commission shall ensure that any public meeting 

17 shall be held— 

18 ‘‘(A) in each county or equivalent subdivi19 sion in which the project will be located; and 

20 ‘‘(B) during each period of public comment 

21 preceding, if applicable, publication of— 

22 ‘‘(i) a draft environmental impact 

23 statement; 

24 ‘‘(ii) a final environmental impact 

25 statement; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) any supplemental environmental 

2 impact statement.’’. 

3 SEC. 7. IMPACTS ON CRITICAL NATURAL RESOURCES. 

4 Subsection (g) of section 15 of the Natural Gas Act 

5 (15 U.S.C. 717n) (as added by section 6) is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(5) NATIONAL SCENIC TRAILS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In preparing an envi9 ronmental impact statement with respect to an 

10 application for Federal authorization for a 

11 project, any evaluation of the visual impacts of 

12 the project on a national scenic trail designated 

13 by the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 

14 1241 et seq.) in the environmental impact 

15 statement shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) consider the cumulative visual im17 pacts of any similar proposed project— 

18 ‘‘(I) for which an application for 

19 Federal authorization is in the pre-fil20 ing or filing stage; and 

21 ‘‘(II) that impacts the same na22 tional scenic trail within 100 miles of 

23 the first project; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) include visual impact simulations 

25 depicting leaf-on and leaf-off views at each 


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1 location where major visual impacts occur, 

2 as identified, authenticated, and justified 

3 during the period of public comment pre4 ceding the publication of a draft environ5 mental impact statement by the head of 

6 the Federal agency or independent agency 

7 administering the land at the applicable lo8 cation. 

9 ‘‘(B) NATIONAL FOREST MANAGEMENT

10 PLANS.—No amendment to a National Forest 

11 management plan under the Forest and Range12 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 

13 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.) shall be consid14 ered if the result of the amendment represents 

15 net degradation to the resources of a national 

16 scenic trail designated by the National Trails 

17 System Act (16 U.S.C. 1241 et seq.).’’. 

18 SEC. 8. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

19 Section 19(a) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 

20 717r(a)) is amended— 

21 (1) in the sixth sentence, by striking ‘‘Until the 

22 record’’ and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(5) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.—Until the 

24 record’’; 


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1 (2) in the fifth sentence, by striking ‘‘No pro2 ceeding’’ and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION REQUIRED FOR JUDICIAL

4 REVIEW.—No proceeding’’; 

5 (3) by striking the fourth sentence and insert6 ing the following: 

7 ‘‘(B) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO TIMELY

8 RULE ON THE MERITS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Commission 

10 has not ruled on the merits of an applica11 tion for rehearing under this subsection by 

12 the date that is 45 days after the date on 

13 which the application is filed with the 

14 Commission, the application shall be 

15 deemed denied on that date. 

16 ‘‘(ii) ORDERS GRANTING REHEARING

17 FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION.—For pur18 poses of clause (i), an order granting an 

19 application for rehearing solely for the pur20 pose of further considering the issues 

21 raised in the application shall not be con22 sidered to be a ruling on the merits of the 

23 application. 

24 ‘‘(iii) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—An applica25 tion that is deemed denied under clause (i) 


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1 may be reviewed by a court of appeals of 

2 the United States in accordance with sub3 section (b).’’; 

4 (4) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘Upon 

5 such application’’ and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(3) DECISION ON APPLICATION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On an application for 

8 rehearing under this subsection,’’; 

9 (5) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘The ap10 plication’’ and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—An application’’; and 

12 (6) by striking the subsection designation and 

13 all that follows through ‘‘Any person’’ in the first 

14 sentence and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION FOR REHEARING.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person’’. 

Æ 


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