II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2651 

To amend the Federal Power Act to establish a procedure for the siting 

of certain interstate electric transmission facilities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 5, 2021 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. HEINRICH, and Mr. HICKENLOOPER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Power Act to establish a procedure 

for the siting of certain interstate electric transmission 

facilities, 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 ‘‘Streamlining Inter5 state Transmission of Electricity Act’’ or the ‘‘SITE Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SITING OF CERTAIN INTERSTATE ELECTRIC TRANS7 MISSION FACILITIES. 

8 Part II of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824 et 

9 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 224. SITING OF CERTAIN INTERSTATE ELECTRIC 

2 TRANSMISSION FACILITIES. 

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) AFFECTED LANDOWNER.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘affected 

6 landowner’ includes each owner of a property 

7 interest in land or other property described in 

8 subparagraph (B), including— 

9 ‘‘(i) the Federal Government; 

10 ‘‘(ii) a State or local government; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) each owner noted in the most 

12 recent county or city tax record as receiv13 ing the relevant tax notice with respect to 

14 that interest. 

15 ‘‘(B) LAND AND OTHER PROPERTY DE16 SCRIBED.—The land or other property referred 

17 to in subparagraph (A) is any land or other 

18 property— 

19 ‘‘(i) that is or will be crossed by the 

20 energy transmission facility proposed to be 

21 constructed or modified under the applica22 ble certificate of public convenience and 

23 necessity; 

24 ‘‘(ii) that is or will be used as a facil25 ity site with respect to the energy trans26 mission facility proposed to be constructed 


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1 or modified under the applicable certificate 

2 of public convenience and necessity; 

3 ‘‘(iii) that abuts any boundary of an 

4 existing right-of-way or other facility site 

5 that— 

6 ‘‘(I) is owned by an electric util7 ity; and 

8 ‘‘(II) is located not more than 

9 500 feet from the energy transmission 

10 facility to be constructed or modified 

11 under the applicable certificate of 

12 public convenience and necessity; 

13 ‘‘(iv) that abuts the boundary of a 

14 proposed facility site for the energy trans15 mission facility to be constructed or modi16 fied under the applicable certificate of pub17 lic convenience and necessity; 

18 ‘‘(v) that is crossed by, or abuts any 

19 boundary of, an existing or proposed right20 of-way that— 

21 ‘‘(I) will be used for the energy 

22 transmission facility to be constructed 

23 or modified under the applicable cer24 tificate of public convenience and ne25 cessity; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) is located not more than 

2 500 feet from the proposed location of 

3 that energy transmission facility; or 

4 ‘‘(vi) on which a residence is located 

5 not more than 500 feet from the boundary 

6 of any right-of-way for that energy trans7 mission facility. 

8 ‘‘(2) ALTERNATING CURRENT TRANSMISSION

9 FACILITY.—The term ‘alternating current trans10 mission facility’ means a transmission facility that 

11 uses alternating current for the bulk transmission of 

12 electric energy. 

13 ‘‘(3) ENERGY TRANSMISSION FACILITY.—The 

14 term ‘energy transmission facility’ means, as appli15 cable— 

16 ‘‘(A) an alternating current transmission 

17 facility; or 

18 ‘‘(B) a high-voltage, direct current trans19 mission facility. 

20 ‘‘(4) FACILITY SITE.—The term ‘facility site’ 

21 includes— 

22 ‘‘(A) a right-of-way; 

23 ‘‘(B) an access road; 

24 ‘‘(C) a contractor yard; and 

25 ‘‘(D) any temporary workspace. 


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1 ‘‘(5) HIGH-VOLTAGE, DIRECT CURRENT TRANS2 MISSION FACILITY.—The term ‘high-voltage, direct 

3 current transmission facility’ means a transmission 

4 facility that uses direct current for the bulk trans5 mission of electric energy. 

6 ‘‘(6) TRIBAL LAND.—The term ‘Tribal land’ 

7 has the meaning given the term ‘Indian land’ in sec8 tion 2601 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (25 

9 U.S.C. 3501). 

10 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATE OF PUBLIC CONVENIENCE AND

11 NECESSITY.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of an applica13 tion under subsection (c)(1) relating to an energy 

14 transmission facility described in paragraph (2), the 

15 Commission, after making the finding described in 

16 paragraph (3) with respect to that energy trans17 mission facility, shall issue to any person, by publi18 cation in the Federal Register, a certificate of public 

19 convenience and necessity for the construction, 

20 modification, operation, or abandonment of that en21 ergy transmission facility, subject to such reasonable 

22 terms and conditions as the Commission determines 

23 to be appropriate. 

24 ‘‘(2) ENERGY TRANSMISSION FACILITY DE25 SCRIBED.—An energy transmission facility referred 


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1 to in paragraph (1) is an energy transmission facil2 ity that— 

3 ‘‘(A) traverses or, on construction or modi4 fication in accordance with a certificate of pub5 lic convenience and necessity issued under that 

6 paragraph, will traverse not fewer than 2 

7 States; and 

8 ‘‘(B) is not less than 1,000 megawatts or 

9 1,000 megavolt-amperes in power capacity. 

10 ‘‘(3) FINDING DESCRIBED.—The finding re11 ferred to in paragraph (1) is a finding that— 

12 ‘‘(A) the applicant for a certificate of pub13 lic convenience and necessity is able and will14 ing— 

15 ‘‘(i) to carry out the activities and 

16 perform the services proposed in the appli17 cation in a manner determined to be ap18 propriate by the Commission; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) to achieve compliance with the 

20 applicable requirements of— 

21 ‘‘(I) this part; and 

22 ‘‘(II) any rules and regulations 

23 promulgated by the Commission pur24 suant to this part; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the energy transmission facility to be 

2 constructed, modified, or operated under the 

3 certificate of public convenience and necessity 

4 will— 

5 ‘‘(i) traverse not fewer than 2 States; 

6 ‘‘(ii) be used for the transmission of 

7 electric energy in interstate commerce; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) have a power capacity of not less 

9 than 1,000 megawatts or 1,000 megavolt10 amperes; and 

11 ‘‘(C) operation of the energy transmission 

12 facility as proposed in the application— 

13 ‘‘(i) will— 

14 ‘‘(I) enable the use of renewable 

15 energy; 

16 ‘‘(II) reduce congestion; or 

17 ‘‘(III) improve the reliability of 

18 the transmission system; 

19 ‘‘(ii) will maximize, to the extent rea20 sonable and economical, the use of— 

21 ‘‘(I) existing facility sites; and 

22 ‘‘(II) the transmission capabili23 ties of existing energy transmission 

24 facilities; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) will, to the extent practicable, 

2 minimize the use of eminent domain. 

3 ‘‘(4) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 270 days 

4 after the date of enactment of this section, the Com5 mission shall issue rules specifying— 

6 ‘‘(A) a pre-filing process during which a 

7 person described in subsection (c)(1) and the 

8 Commission shall consult with— 

9 ‘‘(i) the appropriate State agencies, 

10 State public utility commissions, and State 

11 energy offices in each State the proposed 

12 project traverses; 

13 ‘‘(ii) appropriate Federal agencies; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(iii) each Indian Tribe that may be 

16 affected by the proposed project; 

17 ‘‘(B) the form of, and information to be 

18 contained in, an application submitted under 

19 subsection (c)(1); 

20 ‘‘(C) requirements for determining whether 

21 the applicable energy transmission facility will 

22 be constructed or modified— 

23 ‘‘(i) to traverse not fewer than 2 

24 States; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) to be used for the transmission 

2 of electric energy in interstate commerce; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(iii) to have a power capacity of not 

5 less than 1,000 megawatts or 1,000 mega6 volt-amperes; 

7 ‘‘(D) criteria for determining the reason8 able and economical use of— 

9 ‘‘(i) existing rights-of-way; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the transmission capabilities of 

11 existing towers or structures; 

12 ‘‘(E) the manner in which an application 

13 submitted under subsection (c)(1) and any pro14 posal for the construction or modification of an 

15 energy transmission facility shall be considered, 

16 which, to the extent practicable, shall be con17 sistent with State statutory and regulatory poli18 cies concerning generation and retail sales of 

19 electricity in the States in which the electric en20 ergy transmitted by the energy transmission fa21 cility will be generated or sold; and 

22 ‘‘(F) the manner in which the Commission 

23 will consider the needs of communities that will 

24 be impacted directly by the proposed energy 

25 transmission facility, including how any impacts 


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1 of the proposed energy transmission facility 

2 could be mitigated or offset. 

3 ‘‘(5) PUBLIC NOTICE, COMMENT, AND OPPOR4 TUNITY FOR A HEARING ON CERTAIN DRAFT DOCU5 MENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

7 provide not less than 90 days for public com8 ment on any initial scoping document or draft 

9 environmental impact statement prepared for 

10 an energy transmission facility with respect to 

11 which an application for a certificate of public 

12 convenience and necessity has been submitted 

13 under subsection (c)(1). 

14 ‘‘(B) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR

15 HEARING.—The Commission shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) publish in the Federal Register a 

17 notice of the filing of each draft scoping 

18 document or draft environmental impact 

19 statement described in clause (i); and 

20 ‘‘(ii) provide to the individuals and en21 tities described in paragraph (6)(B) notice 

22 and reasonable opportunity for the presen23 tation of any views and recommendations 

24 with respect to the initial scoping docuVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:59 Aug 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2651.IS S2651

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1 ment or draft environmental impact state2 ment. 

3 ‘‘(C) TRIBAL CONSENT.—With respect to 

4 an Indian Tribe that may be affected by a po5 tential project, the Commission— 

6 ‘‘(i) shall provide notice to the appro7 priate Tribal officials and an opportunity 

8 of public comment in accordance with sub9 paragraph (A); and 

10 ‘‘(ii) shall not approve a scoping docu11 ment or draft environmental impact state12 ment unless consent has been obtained 

13 from the proper Tribal officials in a man14 ner consistent with the requirements of 

15 section 2 of the Act of February 5, 1948 

16 (62 Stat. 18, chapter 45; 25 U.S.C. 324). 

17 ‘‘(6) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR A HEAR18 ING ON APPLICATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any proceeding be20 fore the Commission to consider an application 

21 for a certificate of public convenience and ne22 cessity under this section, the Commission 

23 shall— 

24 ‘‘(i) publish a notice of the application 

25 in the Federal Register; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) provide to the individuals and en2 tities described in subparagraph (B) a no3 tice and reasonable opportunity for the 

4 presentation of any views and rec5 ommendations with respect to the need for, 

6 and impact of, the construction or modi7 fication of the energy transmission facility 

8 proposed to be constructed or modified 

9 under the certificate. 

10 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES DE11 SCRIBED.—The individuals and entities referred 

12 to in subparagraph (A) are— 

13 ‘‘(i) an agency, selected by the Gov14 ernor (or equivalent official) of the applica15 ble State, of each State in which the en16 ergy transmission facility proposed to be 

17 constructed or modified under the applica18 ble certificate of public convenience and 

19 necessity is or will be located; 

20 ‘‘(ii) each affected landowner; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) as determined by the Commis22 sion— 

23 ‘‘(I) each affected Federal agen24 cy; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) each Indian Tribe that may 

2 be affected by the proposed construc3 tion or modification. 

4 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION.—The Commission may 

5 not— 

6 ‘‘(i) require an applicant for a certifi7 cate of public convenience and necessity 

8 under this section to provide any notice re9 quired under this section; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) enter into a contract to provide 

11 any notice required under this section 

12 with— 

13 ‘‘(I) the applicant for the applica14 ble certificate of public convenience 

15 and necessity; or 

16 ‘‘(II) any other person that has a 

17 financial interest in the project pro18 posed in the application for that cer19 tificate. 

20 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person desiring a certifi22 cate of public convenience and necessity under this 

23 section shall submit to the Commission an applica24 tion at such time, in such manner, and containing 

25 such information as the Commission may require. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—An application submitted 

2 to the Commission under paragraph (1) shall include 

3 all information necessary for the Commission to 

4 make the finding described in subsection (b)(3). 

5 ‘‘(d) NOTICE TO AFFECTED LANDOWNERS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall pro7 vide written notice of an application submitted under 

8 subsection (c)(1) to all affected landowners in ac9 cordance with this subsection. 

10 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Any notice provided to 

11 an affected landowner under paragraph (1) shall in12 clude the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) The following statement in 14-point 

14 bold typeface: 

15 ‘‘ ‘The [name of applicant] has proposed build16 ing power lines that will cross your property, 

17 and may also require building transmission tow18 ers on your property. If the Federal Energy 

19 Regulatory Commission approves [applicant]’s 

20 proposed project, then [applicant] may have the 

21 right to build transmission towers on, and 

22 power lines over, your property, or use your 

23 property to construct the proposed project, sub24 ject to paying you just compensation for the 

25 loss of your property. 


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1 ‘‘ ‘If you want to raise objections to this, or oth2 erwise comment on this project, you can do so 

3 by submitting written comments to the Federal 

4 Energy Regulatory Commission Docket No. 

5 [lll]. You can do this electronically or by 

6 mail. To do so electronically [to be inserted by 

7 the Commission]. To do so by mail [to be in8 serted by the Commission].’. 

9 ‘‘(B) A description of the proposed project, 

10 including— 

11 ‘‘(i) the location of the proposed 

12 project (including a general location map); 

13 ‘‘(ii) the purpose of the proposed 

14 project; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) the timing of the proposed 

16 project. 

17 ‘‘(C) The name of, and the location in the 

18 docket of the Commission at which may be 

19 found, each submission by the applicant to the 

20 Commission relating to the proposed project. 

21 ‘‘(D) A general description of what the ap22 plicant will need from the landowner if the pro23 posed project is approved, including the activi24 ties the applicant may undertake and the faciliVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:59 Aug 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2651.IS S2651

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1 ties that the applicant may seek to construct on 

2 the property of the landowner. 

3 ‘‘(E) A description of how the landowner 

4 may contact the applicant, including— 

5 ‘‘(i) a website; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) a local or toll-free telephone 

7 number and the name of a specific person 

8 to contact who is knowledgeable about the 

9 proposed project. 

10 ‘‘(F) A description of how the landowner 

11 may contact the Commission, including— 

12 ‘‘(i) a website; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) a local or toll-free telephone 

14 number and the name of a specific person 

15 to contact who is knowledgeable about the 

16 proposed project. 

17 ‘‘(G) A summary of the rights that the 

18 landowner has— 

19 ‘‘(i) before the Commission; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) in other proceedings under— 

21 ‘‘(I) the Federal Rules of Civil 

22 Procedure; and 

23 ‘‘(II) the eminent domain rules of 

24 the relevant State. 


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1 ‘‘(H) Any other information that the Com2 mission determines to be appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(3) OBLIGATION OF APPLICANT.—An appli4 cant for a certificate of public convenience and ne5 cessity under this section shall submit to the Com6 mission, together with the application for the certifi7 cate, the name and address of each affected land8 owner. 

9 ‘‘(e) REGULATORY JURISDICTION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graph (2), the Commission shall have exclusive juris12 diction over, and no State shall regulate any aspect 

13 of, the siting or permitting of an energy trans14 mission facility constructed, modified, or operated 

15 under a certificate of public convenience and neces16 sity issued under this section. 

17 ‘‘(2) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section 

18 affects the rights of States under— 

19 ‘‘(A) the Coastal Zone Management Act of 

20 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.); 

21 ‘‘(B) the Federal Water Pollution Control 

22 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); 

23 ‘‘(C) the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et 

24 seq.); or 


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1 ‘‘(D) division A of subtitle III of title 54, 

2 United States Code (formerly known as the 

3 ‘National Historic Preservation Act’). 

4 ‘‘(f) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person aggrieved by 

6 an order issued by the Commission under this sec7 tion may obtain review of the order in— 

8 ‘‘(A) the court of appeals of the United 

9 States for any judicial circuit in which the en10 ergy transmission facility to be constructed or 

11 modified under the applicable certificate of pub12 lic convenience and necessity is or will be lo13 cated; or 

14 ‘‘(B) the United States Court of Appeals 

15 for the District of Columbia Circuit. 

16 ‘‘(2) PETITION FOR REVIEW.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person may obtain 

18 review under paragraph (1) by filing in the ap19 plicable court a written petition praying that 

20 the order of the Commission be modified or set 

21 aside in whole or in part. 

22 ‘‘(B) TIMING.—A petition under subpara23 graph (A) shall be filed by not later than 60 

24 days after the date on which the applicable 


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1 order of the Commission is published in the 

2 Federal Register. 

3 ‘‘(3) PERSON AGGRIEVED.—Notwithstanding 

4 any other provision of this Act, a person aggrieved 

5 by an order of the Commission issued under this 

6 section need not— 

7 ‘‘(A) have been a party to the proceedings 

8 before the Commission in which that order was 

9 issued in order to obtain judicial review of the 

10 order under this subsection; or 

11 ‘‘(B) have requested rehearing before the 

12 Commission prior to seeking judicial review. 

13 ‘‘(g) RIGHT OF EMINENT DOMAIN FOR ENERGY

14 TRANSMISSION FACILITIES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The holder of a certificate 

16 of public convenience and necessity may acquire 

17 through the exercise of the right of eminent domain 

18 in a court described in paragraph (2) any right-of19 way, land, or other property that is necessary to 

20 construct, modify, operate, or maintain an energy 

21 transmission facility in accordance with that certifi22 cate if the holder— 

23 ‘‘(A) cannot acquire the necessary right-of24 way, land, or other property by contract; 


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1 ‘‘(B) is unable to agree with the owner of 

2 the right-of-way, land, or other property with 

3 respect to the compensation to be paid for that 

4 right-of-way, land, or other property; or 

5 ‘‘(C) cannot clear defective title with re6 spect to the right-of-way, land, or other prop7 erty. 

8 ‘‘(2) COURT DESCRIBED.—A court referred to 

9 in paragraph (1) is— 

10 ‘‘(A) the district court of the United States 

11 for the district in which the applicable land or 

12 other property is located; or 

13 ‘‘(B) the appropriate State court. 

14 ‘‘(3) NOTICE OF DECISION TO ISSUE CERTIFI15 CATE.—The holder of a certificate of public conven16 ience and necessity may not exercise the right of 

17 eminent domain under this subsection with respect 

18 to any property covered by the certificate unless the 

19 Commission has first, in addition to publishing the 

20 notice of certificate of public convenience and neces21 sity in the Federal Register, provided all affected 

22 landowners with notice of— 

23 ‘‘(A) the decision of the Commission to 

24 grant the certificate; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the procedures for obtaining judicial 

2 review of that decision under subsection (f), in3 cluding a description of the time period for 

4 seeking judicial review under that subsection. 

5 ‘‘(h) CONDEMNATION PROCEDURES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) APPRAISALS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A holder of, or appli8 cant for, a certificate of public convenience and 

9 necessity shall have any property that the hold10 er or applicant seeks to acquire through the ex11 ercise of the right of eminent domain under 

12 subsection (g) appraised in accordance with 

13 generally accepted appraisal standards by an 

14 appraiser selected by the owner of the property, 

15 subject to subparagraph (D). 

16 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(i) COSTS.—The applicable holder of, 

18 or applicant for, a certificate of public con19 venience and necessity shall pay for each 

20 appraisal carried out under subparagraph 

21 (A). 

22 ‘‘(ii) INSPECTIONS.—The owner of the 

23 applicable property (or a designated rep24 resentative of the owner) shall be given the 

25 opportunity to accompany the appraiser 


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1 during any inspection of the property that 

2 is part of an appraisal under subparagraph 

3 (A). 

4 ‘‘(C) TIMING.—An appraisal under sub5 paragraph (A) shall be carried out before the 

6 holder of, or applicant for, the certificate of 

7 public convenience and necessity— 

8 ‘‘(i) makes an offer of just compensa9 tion under paragraph (2); or 

10 ‘‘(ii) commences an action or pro11 ceeding to exercise the right of eminent do12 main under subsection (g). 

13 ‘‘(D) SELECTION OF APPRAISER.—If the 

14 owner of the applicable property does not select 

15 an appraiser under subparagraph (A) by the 

16 date that is 60 days after the date on which the 

17 holder of, or applicant for, the applicable certifi18 cate of public convenience and necessity re19 quests that the owner do so, the holder or ap20 plicant shall have the right to select the ap21 praiser. 

22 ‘‘(2) OFFERS OF JUST COMPENSATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any offer of just com24 pensation made to an affected landowner of 


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1 property that is covered by a certificate of pub2 lic convenience and necessity— 

3 ‘‘(i) shall be made in writing; 

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

5 than the fair market value of the property, 

6 as determined by an appraisal carried out 

7 under paragraph (1); and 

8 ‘‘(iii) shall include compensation for— 

9 ‘‘(I) any lost income from the 

10 property; and 

11 ‘‘(II) any damages to any other 

12 property of the owner. 

13 ‘‘(B) TIMING.—The holder of, or applicant 

14 for, a certificate of public convenience and ne15 cessity may not make an offer of just com16 pensation to an affected landowner until the 

17 date that is 30 days after the date on which the 

18 Commission provides a notice to the affected 

19 landowner under subsection (g)(3). 

20 ‘‘(3) JURISDICTIONAL LIMITATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) MINIMUM JURISDICTIONAL

22 AMOUNT.—A district court of the United States 

23 shall only have jurisdiction of an action or pro24 ceeding to exercise the right of eminent domain 

25 under subsection (g) if the amount claimed by 


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1 the owner of the property to be condemned ex2 ceeds $3,000. 

3 ‘‘(B) STATE OWNERSHIP INTERESTS.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro5 vided in clause (ii), a district court of the 

6 United States shall have no jurisdiction to 

7 condemn any interest owned by a State. 

8 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding 

9 clause (i), a district court of the United 

10 States shall have jurisdiction— 

11 ‘‘(I) to condemn any existing util12 ity or transportation easement or 

13 right-of-way that— 

14 ‘‘(aa) is on State property; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(bb) is on private property 

17 and is owned by a State; and 

18 ‘‘(II) to condemn any real prop19 erty conveyed to a State for the pur20 pose of obstructing the construction, 

21 modification, or operation of an en22 ergy transmission facility in accord23 ance with a certificate of public con24 venience and necessity issued under 

25 this section. 


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1 ‘‘(C) TRIBAL LAND.—A district court of 

2 the United States shall have no jurisdiction to 

3 condemn any interest in Tribal land. 

4 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON CONDEMNATION.—In any 

5 action or proceeding to exercise the right of eminent 

6 domain under subsection (g), a court— 

7 ‘‘(A) may condemn an interest in property 

8 only to the extent necessary for the specific fa9 cilities described in the applicable certificate of 

10 public convenience and necessity; and 

11 ‘‘(B) may not— 

12 ‘‘(i) condemn any other interest; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) condemn an interest for any pur14 pose not described in that certificate. 

15 ‘‘(5) RIGHT OF POSSESSION.—With respect to 

16 any action or proceeding to exercise the right of emi17 nent domain under subsection (g), an owner of prop18 erty covered by the applicable certificate of public 

19 convenience and necessity shall not be required to 

20 surrender possession of that property unless the 

21 holder of the certificate— 

22 ‘‘(A) has paid to the owner the award of 

23 compensation in the action or proceeding; or 

24 ‘‘(B) has deposited the amount of that 

25 award with the court. 


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1 ‘‘(6) LITIGATION COSTS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A holder of a certifi3 cate of public convenience and necessity that 

4 commences an action or proceeding to exercise 

5 the right of eminent domain under subsection 

6 (g) shall be liable to the owner of any property 

7 condemned in that proceeding for the costs de8 scribed in subparagraph (B) if the amount 

9 awarded to that owner for the property con10 demned is more than 125 percent of the 

11 amount offered to the owner by the holder be12 fore the commencement of that action or pro13 ceeding. 

14 ‘‘(B) COSTS DESCRIBED.—The costs re15 ferred to in subparagraph (A) are litigation 

16 costs incurred for the action or proceeding de17 scribed in that subparagraph by the owner of 

18 the property condemned, including— 

19 ‘‘(i) reasonable attorney fees; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) expert witness fees and costs. 

21 ‘‘(i) ENFORCEMENT OF CONDITIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An affected landowner the 

23 property of which has been acquired by eminent do24 main under subsection (g) shall have the right— 


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•S 2651 IS

1 ‘‘(A) to enforce any condition in the appli2 cable certificate of public convenience and ne3 cessity; and 

4 ‘‘(B) to seek damages for a violation of 

5 any condition described in subparagraph (A). 

6 ‘‘(2) JURISDICTION.—The district courts of the 

7 United States shall have jurisdiction over any action 

8 arising under paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(j) OTHER LANDOWNER RIGHTS AND PROTEC10 TIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) FAILURE TO TIMELY COMPLETE

12 PROJECTS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) SURRENDER OF CONDEMNED PROP14 ERTY.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An individual or 

16 entity from which an interest in property is 

17 acquired through the exercise of the right 

18 of eminent domain under subsection (g) by 

19 the holder of a certificate of public conven20 ience and necessity that is issued for the 

21 construction, modification, or operation of 

22 an energy transmission facility may de23 mand that the holder of the certificate sur24 render that interest to that individual or 

25 entity if— 


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1 ‘‘(I)(aa) the energy transmission 

2 facility is not in operation (as modi3 fied, in the case of a modification of 

4 an energy transmission facility) by the 

5 date specified in the certificate (in6 cluding any modification of the certifi7 cate by the Commission); and 

8 ‘‘(bb) there is no request for the 

9 extension of that date pending before 

10 the Commission; or 

11 ‘‘(II) subject to clause (ii), the 

12 holder of the certificate, with the ap13 proval of the Commission, abandons 

14 the portion of the energy transmission 

15 facility that is located on the applica16 ble property relating to that interest. 

17 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT.—The Commis18 sion may not approve in a certificate of 

19 public convenience and necessity issued 

20 under this section or in any subsequent 

21 proceeding the abandonment of all or any 

22 part of an energy transmission facility un23 less the Commission requires the holder of 

24 the applicable certificate of public conven25 ience and necessity to offer to each indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:59 Aug 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2651.IS S2651

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1 vidual or entity described in clause (i) the 

2 option of having the property acquired 

3 from that individual or entity as described 

4 in that clause restored to the condition 

5 that the property was in prior to the 

6 issuance of the certificate. 

7 ‘‘(B) REPAYMENT OF CONDEMNATION

8 AWARD.—If an individual or entity described in 

9 subparagraph (A)(i) demands the surrender of 

10 an interest under that subparagraph, the holder 

11 of the applicable certificate of public conven12 ience and necessity shall be entitled to repay13 ment of an amount equal to not more than 50 

14 percent of the condemnation award relating to 

15 the interest. 

16 ‘‘(C) JURISDICTION.—The district courts 

17 of the United States shall have jurisdiction over 

18 any action arising under this paragraph. 

19 ‘‘(2) MATERIAL MISREPRESENTATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) RESCISSION OF TRANSACTION.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An affected land22 owner that proves, by a preponderance of 

23 the evidence, that the affected landowner 

24 has granted a right-of-way or any other in25 terest based on a material misrepresentaVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:59 Aug 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2651.IS S2651

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1 tion made by or on behalf of an applicant 

2 for, or holder of, a certificate of public con3 venience and necessity under this section 

4 shall have the right to rescind the trans5 action. 

6 ‘‘(ii) JURISDICTION.—The district 

7 courts of the United States shall have ju8 risdiction over any action arising under 

9 clause (i). 

10 ‘‘(B) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If an applicant 

12 for, or holder of, a certificate of public con13 venience and necessity makes a material 

14 misrepresentation, or if a material mis15 representation is made on behalf of such 

16 an applicant or holder, to an affected land17 owner concerning the energy transmission 

18 facility to be constructed or modified under 

19 the certificate, the applicant or holder shall 

20 be subject to a civil penalty, to be assessed 

21 by the Commission, in an amount not to 

22 exceed $10,000 per affected landowner to 

23 which the misrepresentation was made. 

24 ‘‘(ii) PROCEDURE.—The penalty de25 scribed in clause (i) shall be assessed by 


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1 the Commission after providing notice and 

2 an opportunity for a public hearing. 

3 ‘‘(iii) REQUIREMENT.—In determining 

4 the amount of a penalty under clause (i), 

5 the Commission shall take into consider6 ation the nature and seriousness of the vio7 lation.’’. 

Æ 


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