80–956 

113TH CONGRESS REPT. 113–61 " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session Part 2 

NORTHERN ROUTE APPROVAL ACT 

MAY 17, 2013.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, from the Committee on Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

together with 

DISSENTING VIEWS 

[To accompany H.R. 3] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 3) to approve the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Keystone XL pipeline, and for other purposes, having 

considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment 

and recommend that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 3 is to approve the construction, operation, 

and maintenance of the Keystone XL pipeline. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

On September 19, 2008, Canada-based TransCanada Corporation 

submitted an application with the U.S. Department of State for a 

Presidential Permit for its Keystone XL pipeline project to cross the 

U.S. Canada border and run to the Gulf of Mexico. 

When complete, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates this 

project will transport up to 830,000 barrels of oil per day from the 

oil sands area of Alberta, Canada. It will also accept U.S. crude 

from the Bakken area of North Dakota. This amount represents 

nearly half of what the U.S. currently imports from the Middle 

East. 


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The Department of State draft supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) (March 1, 2013) estimates the project would 

create approximately 42,100 direct and indirect jobs over the construction period, with 3,900 jobs directly involved with project construction. 

H.R. 3 will ensure the Keystone pipeline project moves forward 

by removing the requirement for a Presidential Permit and deeming the final EIS from August 2011 to satisfy all NEPA and National Historic Preservation Act requirements. It deems an incidental take permit to have been issued for the American burying 

beetle and deems a permit under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to 

have been issued. It further deems a right-of-way and temporary 

use permit to have been issued by the Bureau of Land Management for affected public lands. It further gives exclusive judicial review jurisdiction to the District of Columbia Circuit Court and sets 

a 60 day timeline to issue challenges. H.R. 3 will ensure that the 

pipeline is built, enhance America’s energy security and create tens 

of thousands of jobs. Congress should move quickly to pass this legislation. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 3 was introduced on March 15, 2013, by Congressman Lee 

Terry (R–NE). The bill was referred primarily to the Committee on 

Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce and Natural Resources. Within the 

Committee on Natural Resources, the bill was referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. On April 16, 2013, 

the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a hearing 

on the bill. On April 24, 2013, the Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Energy and 

Mineral Resources was discharged by unanimous consent. Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa (D–HI) offered an amendment designated .005 to the bill. The amendment was not adopted by a bipartisan roll call vote of 15 to 21, as follows: 


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Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter (D–NH) offered an amendment designated .001 to the bill. The amendment was not adopted 

by a bipartisan roll call vote of 17 to 23, as follows: 


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Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter (D–NH) offered an amendment designated .004 to the bill. The amendment was not adopted 

by a bipartisan roll call vote of 17 to 24, as follows: 


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Congressman Rush Holt (D–NJ) offered an amendment designated .002 to the bill. The amendment was not adopted by a roll 

call vote of 18 to 23, as follows: 


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Congressman Rush Holt (D–NJ) offered an amendment designated .003 to the bill. The amendment was not adopted by a bipartisan roll call vote of 16 to 25, as follows: 


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No further amendments were offered and the bill was then 

adopted and ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by a bipartisan roll call vote of 24 to 17, as follows: 


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SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title 

This section provides the short title for the legislation, the 

‘‘Northern Route Approval Act.’’ 

Section 2. Findings 

This section offers seven separate Congressional findings regarding the need for energy infrastructure, the national security benefits of Canadian oil imports, the employment and economic benefits 

from the Keystone XL pipeline, the review and approval by the 

State of Nebraska of the Keystone XL pipeline, the length and 

breadth of the Federal review process, the safety and environmental benefits of transporting oil via pipeline, and the resemblance to the action that was needed to approve the Trans-Alaska 

Pipeline in 1973. 

Section 3. Keystone XL permit approval 

Section 3 removes the requirement for a Presidential Permit for 

the Keystone XL pipeline described in the application filed by 

TransCanada on May 4, 2012, and that was amended to include 

the new route approved by the Nebraska Governor. It deems the 

final EIS issued on August 26, 2011, and the Final Evaluation Report issued by the State of Nebraska to satisfy all requirements of 

NEPA and the National Historic Preservation Act. 

Section 4. Judicial review 

This section vests, except for review by the Supreme Court, the 

U.S. Court of Appeal for the District of Columbia Circuit with sole 

jurisdiction over specifically listed legal challenges regarding the 

Keystone XL pipeline. These are limited to the review of any final 

decisions by Federal agencies regarding the project, questions of 

Constitutionality, and the adequacy of any analysis. Any claims 

must be brought within 60 days of a decision giving rise to a claim. 

Any action brought under this section shall receive expedited consideration. 

Section 5. American burying beetle 

Section 5 deems an incidental take permit to have been issued 

under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act for the American 

burying beetle for the construction, operation and maintenance of 

the Keystone XL pipeline. 

Section 6. Right-of-Way and temporary use permit 

This section deems a right-of-way and temporary use permit to 

have been issued according to terms set forth in an application 

filed with the Bureau of Land Management under section 28 of the 

Mineral Leasing Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act. 

Section 7. Permits for activities in navigable waters 

Section 7 states that no later than 90 days after an application 

is filed, the Secretary of the Army shall issue all permits necessary 

for the construction, operation and maintenance of the Keystone 

XL pipeline under section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution ConVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:42 May 18, 2013 Jkt 080956 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR061P2.XXX HR061P2

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trol Act and section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriations 

Act of 1899. The application shall be based on the administrative 

record which shall be considered complete. The Secretary is given 

the authority to waive any procedural requirements and if the Secretary has not issued the permits in 90 days then the permits are 

deemed to have been issued. The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency may not prohibit or restrict any activities 

in this section. 

Section 8. Migratory Bird Treaty Act permit 

This section deems a special purpose permit under the Migratory 

Bird Treaty described in an application filed with the U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service to have been issued. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of 

the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) of that rule provides 

that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 

3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 

section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office: 

H.R. 3—Northern Route Approval Act 

H.R. 3 would specify various procedures pertaining to federal review and permitting of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which 

would be constructed by a private company to carry crude oil from 

Alberta, Canada, to destinations on the U.S. Gulf Coast. In particular, the bill would exempt the proposed project, which would 

cross international borders, from the existing requirement to obtain 

a Presidential permit. In addition, H.R. 3 would deem various actions by federal agencies involved with permitting decisions related 

to the proposed pipeline to be satisfied and certain federal permits 

to be granted. 

CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3 would have no significant impact on the federal budget. Based on information from affected agencies, CBO estimates that the proposed changes to administrative procedures would not significantly affect federal 

spending for such activities relative to current law. The bill would 

not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

H.R. 3 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 

as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 


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On May 1, 2013, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 3 as 

ordered reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on April 17, 2013. The two versions of the legislation are 

identical, and the CBO cost estimates are the same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required by 

clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, 

this bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or 

tax expenditures. CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3 would 

have no significant impact on the federal budget. 

3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to approve the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Keystone XL pipeline. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined under clause 9(e), 

9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5

Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that this 

bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any specific 

rule-making proceedings. 

Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not establish or 

reauthorize a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was not included in 

any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 

pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111–139 or identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act (Public Law 95–220, 

as amended by Public Law 98–169) as relating to other programs. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing law. 


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DISSENTING VIEWS 

We oppose H.R. 3 because it would have the United States bear 

all of the environmental risk of transporting dirty tar sands oil 

without ensuring that American consumers or our energy security 

realize any of the benefits. The Keystone XL pipeline would end in 

Port Arthur, Texas and other designated foreign free trade zones 

where it could be exported without having to pay excise taxes. The 

president of TransCanada, the company proposing to build the Keystone XL pipeline, has refused to commit that the fuel produced 

from tar sands oil transported through the Keystone pipeline will 

actually stay in the United States to benefit our consumers. The 

Majority’s legislation would do nothing to prevent the oil and refined fuels from the Keystone XL pipeline from simply being re-exported out of America. 

This legislation would completely ignore the lessons from recent 

pipeline spills. In April of 2013, a pipeline owned by ExxonMobil 

carrying heavy crude oil from the tar sands region of Canada ruptured in the town of Mayflower, Arkansas, spilling thousands of 

barrels of oil into marsh areas and populated neighborhoods. Yet 

the Majority’s legislation would waive critical environmental laws 

such as the Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) National Historic Preservation Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. 

The Majority’s legislation would also do nothing to close a loophole that currently allows oil companies importing tar sands oil to 

avoid paying into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which is used 

to respond to and clean up oil spills. Because of a misguided ruling 

by the IRS that tar sands oil is, in fact, not oil for purposes of paying into the Trust Fund, this dirty oil currently gets a free ride 

through U.S. pipelines. The Government Accountability Office has 

already warned Congress that the Trust Fund is at risk of running 

out of money because of expensive cleanup efforts for major spills 

such as BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster and the Enbridge pipeline 

spill in Michigan in 2010. The Obama Administration has proposed 

to close this tar sands tax loophole in its 2014 budget request. 

The route of the proposed pipeline would cross through Indian 

Country near and potentially over, culturally significant areas to 

Tribal nations. It would also pass through or near burial grounds 

and other sacred places that are not held in trust by the federal 

government but exist in traditional and historic Tribal territories 

that have clear and ongoing Tribal interests. The National Congress of American Indians, the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization in the country, has voiced concerns over these issues. 

The Majority rejected an amendment from Energy and Mineral 

Resources Subcommittee Ranking Member Holt that would have 

ensured that all the oil and refined fuels from the Keystone XL 


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pipeline actually stay in the United States and not be exported. 

The Majority also rejected an amendment from Representative Holt 

that would have closed the tax loophole that currently lets oil companies importing tar sands to avoid paying into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. The Majority voted down an amendment from Representative Shea-Porter that would have ensured that H.R. 3 could 

not take effect until the Secretary of Transportation completed a 

review of safety regulations to ensure they are sufficient to cover 

pipelines transporting tar sands oil. The Majority also rejected an 

amendment from Ms. Shea-Porter that would have required the 

company operating the Keystone XL pipeline to disclose all of its 

political contributions, following the Citizens United decision by 

the U.S. Supreme Court. Representative Hanabusa, Ranking Member of the Indian and Alaska Native Affairs subcommittee, offered 

an amendment that was unanimously voted down by Committee 

Republicans that would have ensured that cultural and sacred sites 

of Native American tribes are protected to the fullest extent possible during construction and operation of the Keystone XL pipeline. 

This legislation represents a complete disregard of the impacts 

tar sands oil can have on our climate, our environment and our 

economy. Rather than ensuring that we have the proper protections 

in place for our environment, before we ship this dirty oil across 

this country, this bill forces us in the complete opposite direction; 

all while doing nothing to ensure that Keystone oil would enhance 

our energy security. 

EDWARD J. MARKEY. RUSH D. HOLT. 

Æ 


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