H. R. 6—142
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in consulta-
tion with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agri-
culture, and the Secretary of Defense with respect to lands 
under their respective jurisdictions, shall enter into a memo-
randum of understanding to coordinate all applicable Federal 
authorizations and environmental reviews relating to a pro-
posed or existing utility facility. To the maximum extent prac-
ticable under applicable law, the Secretary of Energy shall, 
to ensure timely review and permit decisions, coordinate such 
authorizations and reviews with any Indian tribes, multi-State 
entities, and State agencies that are responsible for conducting 
any separate permitting and environmental reviews of the 
affected utility facility. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The memorandum of understanding shall 
include provisions that— 
(A) establish— 
(i) a unified right-of-way application form; and 
(ii) an administrative procedure for processing 
right-of-way applications, including lines of authority, 
steps in application processing, and timeframes for 
application processing; 
(B) provide for coordination of planning relating to 
the granting of the rights-of-way; 
(C) provide for an agreement among the affected Fed-
eral agencies to prepare a single environmental review 
document to be used as the basis for all Federal authoriza-
tion decisions; and 
(D) provide for coordination of use of right-of-way stipu-
lations to achieve consistency. 
(b) NATURAL GAS PIPELINES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to permitting activities for 
interstate natural gas pipelines, the May 2002 document enti-
tled ‘‘Interagency Agreement On Early Coordination Of 
Required Environmental And Historic Preservation Reviews 
Conducted In Conjunction With The Issuance Of Authorizations 
To Construct And Operate Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines 
Certificated By The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’’ 
shall constitute compliance with subsection (a). 
(2) REPORT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, 
agencies that are signatories to the document referred to 
in paragraph (1) shall transmit to Congress a report on 
how the agencies under the jurisdiction of the Secretaries 
are incorporating and implementing the provisions of the 
document referred to in paragraph (1). 
(B) CONTENTS.—The report shall address— 
(i) efforts to implement the provisions of the docu-
ment referred to in paragraph (1); 
(ii) whether the efforts have had a streamlining 
effect; 
(iii) further improvements to the permitting 
process of the agency; and 
(iv) recommendations for inclusion of State and 
tribal governments in a coordinated permitting process.
H. R. 6—143
(c) DEFINITION OF UTILITY FACILITY.—In this section, the term 
‘‘utility facility’’ means any privately, publicly, or cooperatively 
owned line, facility, or system— 
(1) for the transportation of— 
(A) oil, natural gas, synthetic liquid fuel, or gaseous 
fuel; 
(B) any refined product produced from oil, natural 
gas, synthetic liquid fuel, or gaseous fuel; or 
(C) products in support of the production of material 
referred to in subparagraph (A) or (B); 
(2) for storage and terminal facilities in connection with 
the production of material referred to in paragraph (1); or 
(3) for the generation, transmission, and distribution of 
electric energy. 
SEC. 373. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING DEVELOPMENT OF MIN-
ERALS UNDER PADRE ISLAND NATIONAL SEASHORE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Pursuant to Public Law 87–712 (16 U.S.C. 459d et 
seq.; popularly known as the ‘‘Federal Enabling Act’’) and var-
ious deeds and actions under that Act, the United States is 
the owner of only the surface estate of certain lands constituting 
the Padre Island National Seashore. 
(2) Ownership of the oil, gas, and other minerals in the 
subsurface estate of the lands constituting the Padre Island 
National Seashore was never acquired by the United States, 
and ownership of those interests is held by the State of Texas 
and private parties. 
(3) Public Law 87–712 (16 U.S.C. 459d et seq.)— 
(A) expressly contemplated that the United States 
would recognize the ownership and future development 
of the oil, gas, and other minerals in the subsurface estate 
of the lands constituting the Padre Island National Sea-
shore by the owners and their mineral lessees; and 
(B) recognized that approval of the State of Texas 
was required to create Padre Island National Seashore. 
(4) Approval was given for the creation of Padre Island 
National Seashore by the State of Texas through Tex. Rev. 
Civ. Stat. Ann. Art. 6077(t) (Vernon 1970), which expressly 
recognized that development of the oil, gas, and other minerals 
in the subsurface of the lands constituting Padre Island 
National Seashore would be conducted with full rights of ingress 
and egress under the laws of the State of Texas. 
(b) SENSE
OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that 
with regard to Federal law, any regulation of the development 
of oil, gas, or other minerals in the subsurface of the lands consti-
tuting Padre Island National Seashore should be made as if those 
lands retained the status that the lands had on September 27, 
1962. 
SEC. 374. LIVINGSTON PARISH MINERAL RIGHTS TRANSFER. 
Section 102 of Public Law 102–562 (106 Stat. 4234) is amended 
by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(b) RESERVATION OF OIL AND GAS RIGHTS AND CONVEYANCE 
OF REMAINING MINERAL RIGHTS.—Subject to the limitations set 
forth in subsection (c), the United States hereby excepts and 
reserves from the provisions of subsection (a), all rights to oil 
and gas underlying such lands, along with the right to explore