II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2280 

To amend title 40, United States Code, to establish an Appalachian regional 

energy hub initiative, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 25, 2019 

Mrs. CAPITO (for herself and Mr. MCCONNELL) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend title 40, United States Code, to establish an 

Appalachian regional energy hub initiative, 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 ‘‘Appalachian Regional 

5 Energy Hub Initiative Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. APPALACHIAN REGIONAL ENERGY HUB. 

7 (a) APPALACHIAN REGIONAL ENERGY HUB INITIA8 TIVE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 145 

2 of subtitle IV of title 40, United States Code, is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘§ 14511. Appalachian regional energy hub initiative 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Appalachian Regional Com6 mission may provide technical assistance to, make grants 

7 to, enter into contracts with, or otherwise provide amounts 

8 to individuals or entities in the Appalachian region for 

9 projects and activities— 

10 ‘‘(1) to conduct research and analysis regarding 

11 the economic impact of an ethane storage hub in the 

12 Appalachian region that supports a more-effective 

13 energy market performance due to the scale of the 

14 project, such as a project with the capacity to store 

15 and distribute more than 100,000 barrels per day of 

16 hydrocarbon feedstock with a minimum gross heat17 ing value of 1,700 Btu per standard cubic foot; 

18 ‘‘(2) with the potential to significantly con19 tribute to the economic resilience of the area in 

20 which the project is located; and 

21 ‘‘(3) that will help establish a regional energy 

22 hub in the Appalachian region for natural gas and 

23 natural gas liquids, including storage and associated 

24 pipelines. 


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1 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON AVAILABLE AMOUNTS.—Of the 

2 cost of any activity eligible for a grant under this sec3 tion— 

4 ‘‘(1) not more than 50 percent may be provided 

5 from amounts made available to carry out this sec6 tion; 

7 ‘‘(2) in the case of a project to be carried out 

8 in a county for which a distressed county designa9 tion is in effect under section 14526, not more than 

10 80 percent may be provided from amounts made 

11 available to carry out this section; and 

12 ‘‘(3) in the case of a project to be carried out 

13 in a county for which an at-risk county designation 

14 is in effect under section 14526, not more than 70 

15 percent may be provided from amounts made avail16 able to carry out this section. 

17 ‘‘(c) SOURCES OF ASSISTANCE.—Subject to sub18 section (b), a grant provided under this section may be 

19 provided from amounts made available to carry out this 

20 section, in combination with amounts made available— 

21 ‘‘(1) under any other Federal program; or 

22 ‘‘(2) from any other source. 

23 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding any provi24 sion of law limiting the Federal share under any other 

25 Federal program, amounts made available to carry out 


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1 this section may be used to increase that Federal share, 

2 as the Appalachian Regional Commission determines to be 

3 appropriate.’’. 

4 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

5 subchapter I of chapter 145 of title 40, United 

6 States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 

7 relating to section 14510 the following: 

‘‘14511. Appalachian regional energy hub initiative.’’. 

8 (b) AUTHORIZATIONS.—Section 14703 of title 40, 

9 United States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

11 subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and 

12 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(d) APPALACHIAN REGIONAL ENERGY HUB INITIA15 TIVE.—Of the amounts made available under subsection 

16 (a), $5,000,000 shall be used to carry out section 14511 

17 for each fiscal year.’’. 

Æ 


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