II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 684 

To amend the Natural Gas Act to provide additional requirements for the 

siting, construction, or operation of liquefied natural gas import facilities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 17, 2005 

Mr. REED introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Natural Gas Act to provide additional requirements for the siting, construction, or operation of liquefied natural gas import facilities. 

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 Safety and Security Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SITING OF LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS IMPORT FA7 CILITIES. 

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

9 is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(d)(1) Before issuing an order authorizing an appli2 cant to site, construct, expand, or operate a liquefied nat3 ural gas import facility, the Commission shall require the 

4 applicant, in cooperation with the Commandant of the 

5 Coast Guard and State and local agencies that provide for 

6 the safety and security of the liquefied natural gas import 

7 facility and any vessels that serve the facility, to develop 

8 a cost-sharing plan. 

9 ‘‘(2) A cost-sharing plan developed under paragraph 

10 (1) shall include a description of any direct cost reim11 bursements that the applicant agrees to provide to any 

12 State and local agencies with responsibility for security 

13 and safety— 

14 ‘‘(A) at the liquefied natural gas import facility; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) in proximity to vessels that serve the facil17 ity. 

18 ‘‘(e)(1) In this subsection, the term ‘region’ means 

19 a census region designated by the Bureau of the Census 

20 as of the date of enactment of this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(2) Not later than 90 days after the date of enact22 ment of this subsection and annually thereafter, the Com23 mission shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) review all applications for the siting, con25 struction, expansion, or operation of a liquefied nat-
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1 ural gas import facility in a region that are pending 

2 with the Commission; 

3 ‘‘(B) consult with States in the region to iden4 tify remote sites for the development of potential liq5 uefied natural gas import facilities in the region; and 

6 ‘‘(C) in collaboration with the Commandant of 

7 the Coast Guard, review— 

8 ‘‘(i) any offshore liquefied natural gas 

9 projects proposed for a region; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) other potential offshore sites for the 

11 development of liquefied natural gas. 

12 ‘‘(3) Based on the reviews and consultations under 

13 paragraph (1), the Commission shall determine— 

14 ‘‘(A) whether liquefied natural gas import facili15 ties are needed in a region; and 

16 ‘‘(B) if the Commission determines under sub17 paragraph (A) that liquefied natural gas import fa18 cilities are needed for a region, the number of lique19 fied natural gas import facilities that are needed for 

20 the region. 

21 ‘‘(4) The Commission shall cooperate with the Com22 mandant of the Coast Guard and States to ensure that— 

23 ‘‘(A) the Commission approves only the number 

24 of liquefied natural gas import facilities that are 
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1 needed for a region, as determined under paragraph 

2 (3)(B); and 

3 ‘‘(B) any liquefied natural gas import facilities 

4 approved under subparagraph (A) are sited in loca5 tions that provide maximum safety and security to 

6 the public. 

7 ‘‘(f)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

8 the Commission shall not issue a final environmental im9 pact statement or similar analysis required under the Na10 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 

11 et seq.) with respect to a proposed liquefied natural gas 

12 facility before the date on which— 

13 ‘‘(A) the applicant completes— 

14 ‘‘(i) a security assessment for the proposed 

15 facility; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) a security plan for the proposed facil17 ity; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the Commandant of the Coast Guard com19 pletes an incident action plan that identifies the re20 sources needed to support appropriate air, land, and 

21 sea security measures during the transit and offload 

22 of a liquefied natural gas vessel. 

23 ‘‘(2) The Commission shall incorporate into the final 

24 environmental impact statement or similar analysis the 

25 non-security sensitive components of the incident action 
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1 plan and all other safety and security resource require2 ments identified by the Commandant of the Coast Guard 

3 for a proposed liquefied natural gas import facility. 

4 ‘‘(g)(1) For purposes of reviewing and approving or 

5 disapproving an application to site, construct, or operate 

6 a liquefied natural gas import facility, the Commission 

7 shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) consult with the State in which the facility 

9 is proposed to be located; and 

10 ‘‘(B) comply with all applicable Federal laws, 

11 including— 

12 ‘‘(i) the National Historic Preservation Act 

13 (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.); 

14 ‘‘(ii) the Coastal Zone Management Act of 

15 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.); 

16 ‘‘(iii) sections 401 and 402(b) of the Fed17 eral Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

18 1341, 1342(b)); and 

19 ‘‘(iv) sections 107, 111(c), and 116 of the 

20 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401, 7411(c), 7416). 

21 ‘‘(2) Nothing in this section precludes or denies the 

22 right of any State to review an application to site, con23 struct, or operate a liquefied natural gas import facility 

24 under— 
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1 ‘‘(A) the National Historic Preservation Act (16 

2 U.S.C. 470 et seq.); 

3 ‘‘(B) the Coastal Zone Management Act of 

4 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.); 

5 ‘‘(C) sections 401 and 402(b) of the Federal 

6 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1341, 

7 1342(b)); and 

8 ‘‘(D) sections 107, 111(c), and 116 of the 

9 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401, 7411(c), 7416). 

10 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 

11 Commission shall have no authority to preempt a State 

12 permitting determination with respect to a liquefied nat13 ural gas import facility that is made under Federal or 

14 State law.’’. 

15 SEC. 3. STANDARDS FOR LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS PIPE16 LINE FACILITIES. 

17 Section 60103 of title 49, United States Code, is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), and 

20 (g) as subsections (f), (g), and (h), respectively; and 

21 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(e) REMOTE SITING STANDARDS.—Not later than 

24 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec25 retary shall promulgate regulations establishing standards 
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1 to promote the remote siting of liquefied natural gas pipe2 line facilities.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. THERMAL AND VAPOR DISPERSION EXCLUSION 

4 ZONES. 

5 As soon as practicable after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall 

7 issue regulations establishing thermal and vapor disper8 sion exclusion zone requirements for vessels transporting 

9 liquefied natural gas that are based on sections 193.2057 

10 and 193.2059 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

11 any successor regulations). 

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