II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1217 

To establish an Interagency Rapid Response Team for Transmission, to 

establish an Office of Transmission Ombudsperson, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 6, 2015 

Ms. MURKOWSKI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish an Interagency Rapid Response Team for 

Transmission, to establish an Office of Transmission 

Ombudsperson, 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 ‘‘Electric Transmission 

5 Infrastructure Permitting Improvement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY RAPID RESPONSE TEAM FOR TRANS7 MISSION. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an inter9 agency rapid response team, to be known as the ‘‘Inter10 agency Rapid Response Team for Transmission’’ (referred 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1217 IS

1 to in this section as the ‘‘Team’’), to expedite and improve 

2 the permitting process for electric transmission infrastruc3 ture on Federal land and non-Federal land. 

4 (b) MISSION.—The mission of the Team shall be— 

5 (1) to improve the timeliness and efficiency of 

6 electric transmission infrastructure permitting; and 

7 (2) to facilitate the performance of maintenance 

8 and upgrades to electric transmission lines on Fed9 eral land and non-Federal land. 

10 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Team shall be comprised of 

11 representatives of— 

12 (1) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; 

13 (2) the Department of Energy; 

14 (3) the Department of the Interior; 

15 (4) the Department of Defense; 

16 (5) the Department of Agriculture; 

17 (6) the Council on Environmental Quality; 

18 (7) the Department of Commerce; 

19 (8) the Advisory Council on Historic Preserva20 tion; and 

21 (9) the Environmental Protection Agency. 

22 (d) DUTIES.—The Team shall— 

23 (1) facilitate coordination and unified environ24 mental documentation among electric transmission 

25 infrastructure project applicants, Federal agencies, 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1217 IS

1 States, and Indian tribes involved in the siting and 

2 permitting process; 

3 (2) establish clear timelines for the review and 

4 coordination of electric transmission infrastructure 

5 projects by the applicable agencies; 

6 (3) ensure that each electric transmission infra7 structure project is posted on the Federal permitting 

8 transmission tracking system known as ‘‘e-Trans’’, 

9 including information on the status and anticipated 

10 completion date of each project; and 

11 (4) regularly notify all participating members of 

12 the Team involved in any specific permit of— 

13 (A) any outstanding agency action that is 

14 required with respect to the permit; and 

15 (B) any approval or required comment that 

16 has exceeded statutory or agency timelines for 

17 completion, including an identification of any 

18 Federal agency, department, or field office that 

19 has not met the applicable timeline. 

20 (e) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Annually, the Team shall 

21 submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re22 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 

23 Commerce of the House of Representatives a report that 

24 describes the average completion time for specific cat25 egories of regionally and nationally significant transVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:34 May 13, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1217.IS S1217

tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1217 IS

1 mission projects, based on information obtained from the 

2 applicable Federal agencies. 

3 (f) USE OF DATA BY OMB.—Using data provided by 

4 the Team, the Director of the Office of Management and 

5 Budget shall prioritize inclusion of individual electric 

6 transmission infrastructure projects in the permit per7 formance dashboard. 

8 SEC. 3. TRANSMISSION OMBUDSPERSON. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—To enhance and ensure the 

10 reliability of the electric grid, there is established within 

11 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the position 

12 of Transmission Ombudsperson (referred to in this section 

13 as the ‘‘Ombudsperson’’), to provide a unified point of 

14 contact for— 

15 (1) resolving interagency or intra-agency issues 

16 or delays with respect to electric transmission infra17 structure permits; and 

18 (2) receiving and resolving complaints from par19 ties with outstanding or in-process applications re20 lating to electric transmission infrastructure. 

21 (b) DUTIES.—The Ombudsperson shall— 

22 (1) establish a process for— 

23 (A) facilitating the permitting process for 

24 performance of maintenance and upgrades to 

25 electric transmission lines on Federal land and 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1217 IS

1 non-Federal land, with a special emphasis on 

2 facilitating access for immediate maintenance, 

3 repair, and vegetation management needs; 

4 (B) resolving complaints filed with the 

5 Ombudsperson with respect to in-process elec6 tric transmission infrastructure permits; and 

7 (C) issuing recommended resolutions to ad8 dress the complaints filed with the 

9 Ombudsperson; and 

10 (2) hear, compile, and share any complaints 

11 filed with Ombudsperson relating to in-process elec12 tric transmission infrastructure permits. 

13 SEC. 4. RIGHTS-OF-WAY FOR ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION SYS14 TEMS. 

15 Section 507 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage16 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1767) is amended by adding 

17 at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(c) RIGHTS-OF-WAY FOR ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION

19 SYSTEMS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In a case in which a right21 of-way has been reserved for the use of any Federal 

22 agency or department for an electric transmission 

23 system, the Secretary shall not take any of the ac24 tions described in paragraph (2) unless the head of 

25 the applicable Federal agency or department proVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:34 May 13, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1217.IS S1217

tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1217 IS

1 poses to change the use of the right-of-way to sup2 port a function other than an electric transmission 

3 system. 

4 ‘‘(2) COVERED ACTIONS.—An action referred to 

5 in paragraph (1) is an action— 

6 ‘‘(A) requiring a new grant, permit, or re7 newal of the grant or permit relating to the 

8 right-of-way; 

9 ‘‘(B) requiring any other authorization or 

10 instrument relating to the right-of-way; or 

11 ‘‘(C) imposing new terms or conditions re12 lating to the right-of-way or the use of the 

13 right-of-way, including any proposed changes to 

14 or additions of equipment, structures, or other 

15 electric transmission system facilities or appur16 tenances.’’. 

Æ 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS