respect to an application for authorization 
under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a 
certificate of public convenience and necessity 
under section 7 of such Act, shall— 
(i) formulate and implement a plan to 
enable the agency to comply with the 
schedule established by the Commission 
under section 15(c)(1) of such Act; 
(ii) carry out the obligations of that 
agency under applicable law concurrently, 
and in conjunction with, the project-related 
NEPA review conducted by the Commis-
sion, and in compliance with the schedule 
established by the Commission under sec-
tion 15(c)(1) of such Act, unless the agen-
cy notifies the Commission in writing that 
doing so would impair the ability of the 
agency to conduct needed analysis or oth-
erwise carry out such obligations; 
(iii) transmit to the Commission a 
statement— 
(I) acknowledging receipt of the 
schedule established by the Commis-
sion under section 15(c)(1) of the 
Natural Gas Act; and
(II) setting forth the plan formu-
lated under clause (i) of this subpara-
graph; 
(iv) not later than 30 days after the 
agency receives such application for a Fed-
eral authorization, transmit to the appli-
cant a notice— 
(I) indicating whether such appli-
cation is ready for processing; and 
(II) if such application is not 
ready for processing, that includes a 
comprehensive description of the in-
formation needed for the agency to 
determine that the application is 
ready for processing; 
(v) determine that such application 
for a Federal authorization is ready for 
processing for purposes of clause (iv) if 
such application is sufficiently complete for 
the purposes of commencing consideration, 
regardless of whether supplemental infor-
mation is necessary to enable the agency to 
complete the consideration required by law 
with respect to such application; and
(vi) not less often than once every 90 
days, transmit to the Commission a report 
describing the progress made in consid-
ering such application for a Federal au-
thorization. 
(3) FAILURE TO MEET DEADLINE.—If a Fed-
eral or State agency, including the Commission, fails 
to meet a deadline for a Federal authorization set 
forth in the schedule established by the Commission 
under section 15(c)(1) of the Natural Gas Act, not 
later than 5 days after such deadline, the head of 
the relevant Federal agency (including, in the case 
of a failure by a State agency, the Federal agency 
overseeing the delegated authority) shall notify Con-
gress and the Commission of such failure and set 
forth a recommended implementation plan to ensure 
completion of the action to which such deadline ap-
plied. 
(f) CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATIONS FOR FEDERAL 
AUTHORIZATION.— 
(1) ISSUE
IDENTIFICATION
AND
RESOLU-
TION.— 
(A) IDENTIFICATION.—Federal and State 
agencies that may consider an aspect of an ap-
plication for a Federal authorization shall iden-
tify, as early as possible, any issues of concern 
that may delay or prevent an agency from 
working with the Commission to resolve such 
issues and granting such authorization. 
(B) ISSUE RESOLUTION.—The Commission 
may forward any issue of concern identified 
under subparagraph (A) to the heads of the rel-
evant agencies (including, in the case of an 
issue of concern that is a failure by a State 
agency, the Federal agency overseeing the dele-
gated authority, if applicable) for resolution. 
(2) REMOTE SURVEYS.—If a Federal or State 
agency considering an aspect of an application for a 
Federal authorization requires the person applying 
for such authorization to submit data, the agency 
shall consider any such data gathered by aerial or 
other remote means that the person submits. The 
agency may grant a conditional approval for the 
Federal authorization based on data gathered by 
aerial or remote means, conditioned on the 
verification of such data by subsequent onsite in-
spection. 
(3) APPLICATION PROCESSING.—The Commis-
sion, and Federal and State agencies, may allow a 
person applying for a Federal authorization to fund
a third-party contractor to assist in reviewing the 
application for such authorization. 
(g) 
ACCOUNTABILITY, 
TRANSPARENCY, 
EFFI-
CIENCY.—For an application for an authorization under 
section 3 of the Natural Gas Act or a certificate of public 
convenience and necessity under section 7 of such Act that 
requires multiple Federal authorizations, the Commission, 
with input from any Federal or State agency considering 
an aspect of the application, shall track and make avail-
able to the public on the Commission’s website information 
related to the actions required to complete the Federal au-
thorizations. Such information shall include the following: 
(1) The schedule established by the Commission 
under section 15(c)(1) of the Natural Gas Act. 
(2) A list of all the actions required by each ap-
plicable agency to complete permitting, reviews, and 
other actions necessary to obtain a final decision on 
the application. 
(3) The expected completion date for each such 
action. 
(4) A point of contact at the agency responsible 
for each such action. 
(5) In the event that an action is still pending 
as of the expected date of completion, a brief expla-
nation of the reasons for the delay.