II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3441 

To provide certain requirements for the siting, construction, expansion, and 

operation of liquefied natural gas import terminals, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 1, 2008 

Ms. SNOWE (for herself and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To provide certain requirements for the siting, construction, 

expansion, and operation of liquefied natural gas import 

terminals, 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 ‘‘Liquefied Natural Gas 

5 Import Terminal Authorization Act’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS IM2 PORT TERMINALS. 

3 Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b) 

4 is amended by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION FOR NATURAL GAS IMPORT

7 TERMINALS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person shall not site, 

9 construct, expand, or operate a liquefied natural gas 

10 import terminal within the boundaries of a State un11 less— 

12 ‘‘(A) the person submits an application to 

13 site, expand, or operate a liquefied natural gas 

14 import terminal to— 

15 ‘‘(i) the Commission; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the State agency that has siting 

17 authority under State law in the State in 

18 which the liquefied natural gas import ter19 minal is located (referred to in this sub20 section as the ‘designated State agency’); 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(B) the Commission and the designated 

23 State agency issue an order approving the ap24 plication. 

25 ‘‘(2) ISSUANCE OF ORDER.—The Commission 

26 and the designated State agency shall issue an order 

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1 approving an application, in whole or part, that is 

2 submitted under paragraph (1)(A), unless, after op3 portunity for hearing, the Commission or designated 

4 State agency determines that the proposed siting, 

5 construction, expansion, or operation is not con6 sistent with the public interest. 

7 ‘‘(3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An order issued under 

9 paragraph (2) shall be subject to any terms and 

10 conditions that the Commission or designated 

11 State agency determines are appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(B) SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro14 vided in clause (ii), an order issued under 

15 this subsection shall not be conditioned on 

16 a requirement that the liquefied natural 

17 gas import terminal offer service to per18 sons other than the applicant. 

19 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding 

20 clause (i), the Commission or designated 

21 State agency may require the applicant to 

22 establish a backup procedure for making 

23 the liquefied natural gas import terminal 

24 available to others if the applicant is un25 willing or unable to provide a steady supmstockstill on PROD1PC62 with BILLS

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1 ply to the market served by the liquefied 

2 natural gas import terminal. 

3 ‘‘(C) CONFLICTS.—If an applicant is un4 able to comply with conflicting terms and condi5 tions established under subparagraph (A), the 

6 Secretary of Energy, in cooperation with the 

7 Executive Office of the President, shall mediate 

8 the conflict between the Commission or des9 ignated State agency and the applicant through 

10 a process that includes public hearings in the 

11 area affected by the proposed liquefied natural 

12 gas import terminal.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. PREEMPTION. 

14 Section 60104 of title 49, United States Code, is 

15 amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(c) PREEMPTION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State authority that has 

19 submitted a current certification under section 

20 60105(a) may adopt additional or more stringent 

21 safety standards for intrastate pipeline facilities, 

22 intrastate pipeline transportation, and liquefied nat23 ural gas pipeline facilities only if those standards are 

24 compatible with the minimum standards prescribed 

25 under this chapter. 

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1 ‘‘(2) SAFETY STANDARDS.—Except in the case 

2 of liquefied natural gas pipeline facilities, a State 

3 authority may not adopt or continue in force safety 

4 standards for interstate pipeline facilities or inter5 state pipeline transportation.’’. 

Æ 

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