II 

Calendar No. 81 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 23, 2013 

Received; read the first time 

JUNE 3, 2013 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 

AN ACT 

To approve the construction, operation, and maintenance of 

the Keystone XL pipeline, 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 ‘‘Northern Route Ap5 proval Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) To maintain our Nation’s competitive edge 

9 and ensure an economy built to last, the United 

10 States must have fast, reliable, resilient, and enviVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:33 Jun 03, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3.PCS H3

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1 ronmentally sound means of moving energy. In a 

2 global economy, we will compete for the world’s in3 vestments based in significant part on the quality of 

4 our infrastructure. Investing in the Nation’s infra5 structure provides immediate and long-term eco6 nomic benefits for local communities and the Nation 

7 as a whole. 

8 (2) The delivery of oil from Canada, a close ally 

9 not only in proximity but in shared values and 

10 ideals, to domestic markets is in the national inter11 est because of the need to lessen dependence upon 

12 insecure foreign sources. 

13 (3) The Keystone XL pipeline would provide 

14 both short-term and long-term employment opportu15 nities and related labor income benefits, such as gov16 ernment revenues associated with taxes. 

17 (4) The State of Nebraska has thoroughly re18 viewed and approved the proposed Keystone XL 

19 pipeline reroute, concluding that the concerns of Ne20 braskans have had a major influence on the pipeline 

21 reroute and that the reroute will have minimal envi22 ronmental impacts. 

23 (5) The Department of State and other Federal 

24 agencies have over a long period of time conducted 

25 extensive studies and analysis of the technical asVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:33 Jun 03, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3.PCS H3

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1 pects and of the environmental, social, and economic 

2 impacts of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, 

3 and— 

4 (A) the Department of State assessments 

5 found that the Keystone XL pipeline ‘‘is not 

6 likely to impact the amount of crude oil pro7 duced from the oil sands’’ and that ‘‘approval 

8 or denial of the proposed project is unlikely to 

9 have a substantial impact on the rate of devel10 opment in the oil sands’’; 

11 (B) the Department of State found that 

12 incremental life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions 

13 associated with the Keystone XL project are es14 timated in the range of 0.07 to 0.83 million 

15 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, with 

16 the upper end of this range representing twelve 

17 one-thousandths of one percent of the 6,702 

18 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emitted in 

19 the United States in 2011; and 

20 (C) after extensive evaluation of potential 

21 impacts to land and water resources along the 

22 Keystone XL pipeline’s 875 mile proposed 

23 route, the Department of State found that 

24 ‘‘The analyses of potential impacts associated 

25 with construction and normal operation of the 


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1 proposed Project suggest that there would be 

2 no significant impacts to most resources along 

3 the proposed Project route (assuming Keystone 

4 complies with all laws and required conditions 

5 and measures).’’. 

6 (6) The transportation of oil via pipeline is the 

7 safest and most economically and environmentally 

8 effective means of doing so, and— 

9 (A) transportation of oil via pipeline has a 

10 record of unmatched safety and environmental 

11 protection, and the Department of State found 

12 that ‘‘Spills associated with the proposed 

13 Project that enter the environment expected to 

14 be rare and relatively small’’, and that ‘‘there 

15 is no evidence of increased corrosion or other 

16 pipeline threat due to viscosity’’ of diluted bitu17 men oil that will be transported by the Key18 stone XL pipeline; and 

19 (B) plans to incorporate 57 project-specific 

20 special conditions related to the design, con21 struction, and operations of the Keystone XL 

22 pipeline led the Department of State to find 

23 that the pipeline will have ‘‘a degree of safety 

24 over any other typically constructed domestic oil 

25 pipeline’’. 


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1 (7) The Keystone XL is in much the same posi2 tion today as the Alaska Pipeline in 1973 prior to 

3 congressional action. Once again, the Federal regu4 latory process remains an insurmountable obstacle 

5 to a project that is likely to reduce oil imports from 

6 insecure foreign sources. 

7 SEC. 3. KEYSTONE XL PERMIT APPROVAL. 

8 Notwithstanding Executive Order No. 13337 (3 

9 U.S.C. 301 note), Executive Order No. 11423 (3 U.S.C. 

10 301 note), section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and 

11 any other Executive order or provision of law, no Presi12 dential permit shall be required for the pipeline described 

13 in the application filed on May 4, 2012, by TransCanada 

14 Keystone Pipeline, L.P. to the Department of State for 

15 the Keystone XL pipeline, as supplemented to include the 

16 Nebraska reroute evaluated in the Final Evaluation Re17 port issued by the Nebraska Department of Environ18 mental Quality in January 2013 and approved by the Ne19 braska governor. The final environmental impact state20 ment issued by the Secretary of State on August 26, 2011, 

21 coupled with the Final Evaluation Report described in the 

22 previous sentence, shall be considered to satisfy all re23 quirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

24 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and of the National His25 toric Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). 


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1 SEC. 4. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

2 (a) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION.—Except for review by 

3 the Supreme Court on writ of certiorari, the United States 

4 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit shall 

5 have original and exclusive jurisdiction to determine— 

6 (1) the validity of any final order or action (in7 cluding a failure to act) of any Federal agency or of8 ficer with respect to issuance of a permit relating to 

9 the construction or maintenance of the Keystone XL 

10 pipeline, including any final order or action deemed 

11 to be taken, made, granted, or issued; 

12 (2) the constitutionality of any provision of this 

13 Act, or any decision or action taken, made, granted, 

14 or issued, or deemed to be taken, made, granted, or 

15 issued under this Act; or 

16 (3) the adequacy of any environmental impact 

17 statement prepared under the National Environ18 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 

19 or of any analysis under any other Act, with respect 

20 to any action taken, made, granted, or issued, or 

21 deemed to be taken, made, granted, or issued under 

22 this Act. 

23 (b) DEADLINE FOR FILING CLAIM.—A claim arising 

24 under this Act may be brought not later than 60 days 

25 after the date of the decision or action giving rise to the 

26 claim. 


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1 (c) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—The United 

2 States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Cir3 cuit shall set any action brought under subsection (a) for 

4 expedited consideration, taking into account the national 

5 interest of enhancing national energy security by providing 

6 access to the significant oil reserves in Canada that are 

7 needed to meet the demand for oil. 

8 SEC. 5. AMERICAN BURYING BEETLE. 

9 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 

10 (1) environmental reviews performed for the 

11 Keystone XL pipeline project satisfy the require12 ments of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 

13 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)) in its entirety; and 

14 (2) for purposes of that Act, the Keystone XL 

15 pipeline project will not jeopardize the continued ex16 istence of the American burying beetle or destroy or 

17 adversely modify American burying beetle critical 

18 habitat. 

19 (b) BIOLOGICAL OPINION.—The Secretary of the In20 terior is deemed to have issued a written statement setting 

21 forth the Secretary’s opinion containing such findings 

22 under section 7(b)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act 

23 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(b)(1)(A)) and any taking of the 

24 American burying beetle that is incidental to the construc25 tion or operation and maintenance of the Keystone XL 


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1 pipeline as it may be ultimately defined in its entirety, 

2 shall not be considered a prohibited taking of such species 

3 under such Act. 

4 SEC. 6. RIGHT-OF-WAY AND TEMPORARY USE PERMIT. 

5 The Secretary of the Interior is deemed to have 

6 granted or issued a grant of right-of-way and temporary 

7 use permit under section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act 

8 (30 U.S.C. 185) and the Federal Land Policy and Man9 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), as set forth 

10 in the application tendered to the Bureau of Land Man11 agement for the Keystone XL pipeline. 

12 SEC. 7. PERMITS FOR ACTIVITIES IN NAVIGABLE WATERS. 

13 (a) ISSUANCE OF PERMITS.—The Secretary of the 

14 Army, not later than 90 days after receipt of an applica15 tion therefor, shall issue all permits under section 404 of 

16 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) 

17 and section 10 of the Act of March 3, 1899 (33 U.S.C. 

18 403; commonly known as the Rivers and Harbors Appro19 priations Act of 1899), necessary for the construction, op20 eration, and maintenance of the pipeline described in the 

21 May 4, 2012, application referred to in section 3, as sup22 plemented by the Nebraska reroute. The application shall 

23 be based on the administrative record for the pipeline as 

24 of the date of enactment of this Act, which shall be consid25 ered complete. 


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1 (b) WAIVER OF PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.—The 

2 Secretary may waive any procedural requirement of law 

3 or regulation that the Secretary considers desirable to 

4 waive in order to accomplish the purposes of this section. 

5 (c) ISSUANCE IN ABSENCE OF ACTION BY THE SEC6 RETARY.—If the Secretary has not issued a permit de7 scribed in subsection (a) on or before the last day of the 

8 90-day period referred to in subsection (a), the permit 

9 shall be deemed issued under section 404 of the Federal 

10 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) or section 

11 10 of the Act of March 3, 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403), as appro12 priate, on the day following such last day. 

13 (d) LIMITATION.—The Administrator of the Environ14 mental Protection Agency may not prohibit or restrict an 

15 activity or use of an area that is authorized under this 

16 section. 

17 SEC. 8. MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY ACT PERMIT. 

18 The Secretary of the Interior is deemed to have 

19 issued a special purpose permit under the Migratory Bird 

20 Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.), as described in the 

21 application filed with the United States Fish and Wildlife 

22 Service for the Keystone XL pipeline on January 11, 

23 2013. 


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1 SEC. 9. OIL SPILL RESPONSE PLAN DISCLOSURE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any pipeline owner or operator 

3 required under Federal law to develop an oil spill response 

4 plan for the Keystone XL pipeline shall make such plan 

5 available to the Governor of each State in which such pipe6 line operates to assist with emergency response prepared7 ness. 

8 (b) UPDATES.—A pipeline owner or operator required 

9 to make available to a Governor a plan under subsection 

10 (a) shall make available to such Governor any update of 

11 such plan not later than 7 days after the date on which 

12 such update is made. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 22, 2013. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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Calendar No. 81 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3 

AN ACT 

To approve the construction, operation, and mainother purposes. tenance of the Keystone XL pipeline, and for 

JUNE 3, 2013 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 


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