II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1844 

To provide for coordination by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

of the process for reviewing certain natural gas projects under the jurisdiction of the Commission, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017 

Mr. INHOFE (for himself and Mr. KING) introduced the following bill; which 

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

Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for coordination by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of the process for reviewing certain 

natural gas projects under the jurisdiction of the Commission, 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 ‘‘Coordinating Inter5 agency Review of Natural Gas Infrastructure Act of 

6 2017’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FERC PROCESS COORDINATION. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ means any 

2 Federal, State, or other governmental entity with 

3 authority to implement an agency action. 

4 (2) AGENCY ACTION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘agency ac6 tion’’ means any action required to be carried 

7 out by an agency under Federal law with re8 spect to a project. 

9 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘agency ac10 tion’’ includes the provision, and any deter11 mination relating to the provision, of any per12 mit, special use authorization, certification, 

13 opinion, consultation, or approval required 

14 under Federal law with respect to an applica15 tion for— 

16 (i) authorization under section 3(e) of 

17 the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b(e)); 

18 or 

19 (ii) a certificate of public convenience 

20 and necessity under section 7 of that Act 

21 (15 U.S.C. 717f). 

22 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

23 means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 

24 (4) FEDERAL AUTHORIZATION.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Federal au2 thorization’’ means any authorization required 

3 under Federal law with respect to an applica4 tion for— 

5 (i) authorization under section 3(e) of 

6 the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b(e)); 

7 or 

8 (ii) a certificate of public convenience 

9 and necessity under section 7 of that Act 

10 (15 U.S.C. 717f). 

11 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Federal au12 thorization’’ includes any permit, special use 

13 authorization, certification, opinion, consulta14 tion, or approval required under Federal law 

15 with respect to an application described in sub16 paragraph (A). 

17 (5) LEAD AGENCY.—The term ‘‘lead agency’’ 

18 means the Commission. 

19 (6) NEPA REVIEW.—The term ‘‘NEPA review’’ 

20 means an environmental impact statement or similar 

21 analysis required under the National Environmental 

22 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

23 (7) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means a 

24 natural gas project subject to the jurisdiction of the 


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1 Commission that requires one or more Federal au2 thorizations. 

3 (8) READY FOR PROCESSING.—The term 

4 ‘‘ready for processing’’, with respect to an applica5 tion for Federal authorization, means that the appli6 cation is sufficiently complete for the purpose of 

7 commencing a review of the application for any 

8 agency action. 

9 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF AGENCIES IN PROJECT

10 NEPA REVIEWS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out any NEPA 

12 review of a project, the lead agency shall— 

13 (A) to the maximum extent practicable and 

14 in accordance with the authority of the lead 

15 agency under section 15 of the Natural Gas Act 

16 (15 U.S.C. 717n), facilitate the expeditious res17 olution of the NEPA review; and 

18 (B) ensure that the NEPA review is com19 pleted in accordance with— 

20 (i) this section; and 

21 (ii) applicable Federal law. 

22 (2) DESIGNATION OF PARTICIPATING AGEN23 CIES.— 

24 (A) INVITATIONS AND REQUESTS.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—As early as prac2 ticable in the NEPA review process for a 

3 project, the lead agency shall— 

4 (I) identify any other agencies 

5 with jurisdiction over any Federal au6 thorizations that may be related to 

7 the NEPA review; and 

8 (II) invite such agencies to be9 come participating agencies. 

10 (ii) DEADLINE.—An invitation under 

11 clause (i)(II) shall establish a deadline for 

12 a response to the invitation, to be sub13 mitted to the lead agency, which may be 

14 extended by the lead agency for good 

15 cause. 

16 (iii) REQUESTS.—Any agency with ju17 risdiction over a Federal authorization re18 lating to the NEPA review process for a 

19 project may submit a request to become a 

20 participating agency, regardless of whether 

21 the lead agency invited the agency to be22 come a participating agency under clause 

23 (i), subject to the condition that such a re24 quest shall be timely submitted. 


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1 (B) DESIGNATION.—The lead agency shall 

2 designate as a participating agency— 

3 (i) each agency invited under subpara4 graph (A)(i)(II), unless the invited agency 

5 informs the lead agency, in writing, by the 

6 deadline specified in the invitation, that 

7 the invited agency— 

8 (I) has no jurisdiction or author9 ity with respect to the applicable 

10 project; 

11 (II) has no expertise or informa12 tion relevant to the NEPA review of 

13 the project; or 

14 (III) does not intend to submit 

15 comments for the record in the NEPA 

16 review; and 

17 (ii) each agency that submits a re18 quest under subparagraph (A)(iii) to be19 come a participating agency. 

20 (C) CONSULTATION BY LEAD AGENCY.—As 

21 soon as practicable after commencing a NEPA 

22 review of a project, the lead agency shall coordi23 nate with the participating agencies to ensure 

24 that the information developed during the 

25 NEPA review is also usable by the participating 


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1 agencies in carrying out the obligations of the 

2 participating agencies with respect to each Fed3 eral authorization for the project. 

4 (3) RESPONSIBILITIES OF PARTICIPATING

5 AGENCIES.— 

6 (A) EFFECT OF DESIGNATION.—Designa7 tion as a participating agency for a project 

8 under paragraph (2)(B) does not indicate that 

9 the participating agency— 

10 (i) supports a proposed Federal au11 thorization for the project; or 

12 (ii) has any jurisdiction over, or spe13 cial expertise with respect to evaluation of, 

14 the Federal authorization for the project. 

15 (B) EFFECT OF NONDESIGNATION.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—The lead agency 

17 shall not, with respect to an agency that is 

18 not designated as a participating agency 

19 for a project under paragraph (2)(B) with 

20 respect to an application for one or more 

21 Federal authorizations— 

22 (I) take into consideration any 

23 agency action, comments, or other in24 formation submitted by the agency; or 


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1 (II) include any such comments 

2 or other information in the record of 

3 the NEPA review. 

4 (ii) SUPPLEMENTAL NEPA REVIEW

5 REQUESTS.—An agency that is not des6 ignated a participating agency for a project 

7 under paragraph (2)(B) may not request 

8 or develop a supplemental NEPA review of 

9 the project, unless the agency— 

10 (I) demonstrates that such a re11 view is necessary for the agency to 

12 carry out an obligation of the agency 

13 with respect to a Federal authoriza14 tion for the project; and 

15 (II) requires information that 

16 could not have been obtained during 

17 the NEPA review carried out by the 

18 lead agency for the project. 

19 (c) CONCURRENT AGENCY ACTION REVIEWS.— 

20 (1) APPLICATIONS.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with the 

22 schedule established by the lead agency under 

23 section 15(c) of the Natural Gas Act (15 

24 U.S.C. 717n(c)), each agency conducting any 


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1 agency action for a Federal authorization for a 

2 project shall— 

3 (i) not later than 45 days after the 

4 date on which the application is received 

5 by the agency, provide to the applicant a 

6 notice describing whether the application is 

7 ready for processing; and 

8 (ii) if the agency determines that an 

9 application is not ready for processing, in10 clude in the notice described in clause (i) 

11 a comprehensive description of the infor12 mation required to be submitted for the 

13 application to be ready for processing. 

14 (B) REVISED APPLICATIONS.—If an appli15 cant submits a revised application for Federal 

16 authorization for a project after receiving a no17 tification under subparagraph (A) that the ini18 tial application was not ready for processing, 

19 the agency receiving the revised application 

20 shall, not later than 30 days after the date on 

21 which the revised application is received— 

22 (i) determine whether the revised ap23 plication— 

24 (I) provided all information in25 cluded in the comprehensive descripVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:11 Sep 26, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1844.IS S1844

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1 tion described in subparagraph 

2 (A)(ii); and 

3 (II) is ready for processing; and 

4 (ii) if the agency determines that the 

5 revised application is not ready for proc6 essing, provide to the applicant a notice 

7 describing the information included in the 

8 comprehensive description under subpara9 graph (A)(ii) that the applicant did not in10 clude in the revised application. 

11 (C) SUPPLEMENTATION.—An agency con12 sidering an aspect of an application for a Fed13 eral authorization may require the applicant to 

14 supplement the application with such additional 

15 information as the agency determines to be nec16 essary to complete the review of the application, 

17 regardless of whether the agency has deter18 mined under subparagraph (A) or (B) that an 

19 application is ready for processing. 

20 (2) CONCURRENT REVIEWS.—Each agency car21 rying out an agency action for a Federal authoriza22 tion (other than a NEPA review) shall— 

23 (A) unless doing so would impair the abil24 ity of the agency to conduct an analysis that 

25 could not otherwise be developed during the 


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1 NEPA review carried out by the lead agency for 

2 the project, to the maximum extent authorized 

3 by law, conduct the agency action— 

4 (i) concurrently and in conjunction 

5 with the NEPA review; and 

6 (ii) in accordance with the applicable 

7 schedule established by the lead agency; 

8 (B) submit to the lead agency progress re9 ports not less frequently than once every 90 

10 days; and 

11 (C) formulate and implement a plan for 

12 administrative, policy, and procedural mecha13 nisms to enable the agency to ensure completion 

14 of the agency action for the Federal authoriza15 tion in accordance with an applicable schedule 

16 established by the Commission under section 

17 15(c)(1) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 

18 717n(c)(1)). 

19 (d) MODIFICATIONS TO, AND FAILURES TO MEET, 

20 DEADLINES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which an 

22 agency (including the lead agency) modifies or fails 

23 to meet a deadline required with respect to an agen24 cy action for a Federal authorization for a project 

25 under the applicable schedule established by the 


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1 Commission under section 15(c)(1) of the Natural 

2 Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717n(c)(1)), the head of the 

3 agency (including, in the case of a failure by a State 

4 agency, the head of the appropriate Federal agency) 

5 shall, by not later than 15 days after the applicable 

6 deadline, provide a notice of the modification or fail7 ure to— 

8 (A) the appropriate committees of Con9 gress; 

10 (B) the lead agency (if applicable); 

11 (C) the Director of the Office of Manage12 ment and Budget; and 

13 (D) the developer of the project. 

14 (2) INCLUSION.—A notice under paragraph (1) 

15 shall include an implementation plan to ensure com16 pletion of the relevant agency action for the Federal 

17 authorization. 

18 (3) REQUIREMENT OF COMMISSION.—The Com19 mission shall provide to each affected agency a no20 tice describing any change in a schedule established 

21 for a project under section 15(c)(1) of the Natural 

22 Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717n(c)(1)). 

23 (e) ADVANCED SURVEYS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which an 

25 agency action for a Federal authorization requires 


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1 the applicant to submit any environmental data for 

2 purposes of filing or submitting an application, the 

3 agency shall consider any such data gathered by aer4 ial or other remote means. 

5 (2) CONDITIONAL APPROVAL.—An agency may 

6 grant a conditional approval for Federal authoriza7 tion, subject to the condition that any data described 

8 in paragraph (1) shall be verified by a subsequent, 

9 onsite inspection. 

10 (f) ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, AND EFFI11 CIENCY.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to an applica13 tion for Federal authorization that requires more 

14 than 1 Federal authorization, the Commission, in 

15 consultation with each agency conducting an agency 

16 action for a Federal authorization, shall monitor and 

17 record information relating to the agency actions re18 quired to complete the Federal authorizations, in19 cluding— 

20 (A) any applicable schedule established by 

21 the Commission under section 15(c)(1) of the 

22 Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717n(c)(1)); 

23 (B)(i) a list of all agency actions required 

24 by each applicable agency to obtain a final deci25 sion regarding the Federal authorization; 


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1 (ii) the expected completion date for each 

2 such agency action; and 

3 (iii) a point of contact at each agency re4 sponsible for each such agency action; and 

5 (C) in any case in which an agency action 

6 is pending as of the deadline applicable to the 

7 agency action under the schedule described in 

8 subparagraph (A), a brief explanation of the 

9 reasons for the delay. 

10 (2) PUBLICATION.—The Commission shall pub11 lish on the website of the Commission the informa12 tion recorded under paragraph (1), except to the ex13 tent that the information is otherwise made publicly 

14 available on a permitting-related dashboard or equiv15 alent website. 

16 (g) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section— 

17 (1) supersedes, amends, or modifies any provi18 sion of— 

19 (A) the National Environmental Policy Act 

20 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); or 

21 (B) any other Federal law; or 

22 (2) affects the responsibility of any Federal of23 ficer or employee to comply with or enforce such a 

24 provision. 

Æ 


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