I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3124 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to allow the Columbia Gas Trans-
mission Corporation to increase the diameter of a natural gas pipeline 
located in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 29, 2005 
Mr. SHERWOOD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Resources 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to allow the Co-
lumbia Gas Transmission Corporation to increase the 
diameter of a natural gas pipeline located in the Dela-
ware Water Gap National Recreation Area. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Delaware Water Gap 
National Recreation Area Natural Gas Pipeline Enlarge-
ment Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act:
(1) CORPORATION.—The term ‘‘Corporation’’ 
means the Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation. 
(2) PIPELINE.—The term ‘‘pipeline’’ means 
that portion of the pipeline of the Corporation num-
bered 1278 that is— 
(A) located in the Recreation Area; and 
(B) situated on 2 tracts designated by the 
Corporation as ROW No. 16405 and No. 
16413. 
(3) RECREATION AREA.—The term ‘‘Recreation 
Area’’ means the Delaware Water Gap National 
Recreation Area in the Commonwealth of Pennsyl-
vania. 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(5) SUPERINTENDENT.—The term ‘‘Super-
intendent’’ means the Superintendent of the Recre-
ation Area. 
SEC. 3. EASEMENT FOR EXPANDED NATURAL GAS PIPE-
LINE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into an 
agreement with the Corporation to grant to the Corpora-
tion, for no consideration, an easement to enlarge the di-
ameter of the pipeline from 14 inches to not more than 
20 inches.
(b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The easement au-
thorized under subsection (a) shall— 
(1) be consistent with— 
(A) the recreational values of the Recre-
ation Area; and 
(B) protection of the resources of the 
Recreation Area; 
(2) include provisions for the protection of re-
sources in the Recreation Area that ensure that only 
the minimum and necessary amount of disturbance, 
as determined by the Secretary, shall occur during 
the construction or maintenance of the enlarged 
pipeline; 
(3) be consistent with the laws (including regu-
lations) and policies applicable to units of the Na-
tional Park System; and 
(4) be subject to any other terms and condi-
tions that the Secretary determines to be necessary; 
(c) PERMITS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Superintendent may 
issue a permit to the Corporation for the use of the 
Recreation Area in accordance with subsection (b) 
for the temporary construction and staging areas re-
quired for the construction of the enlarged pipeline.
(2) PRIOR TO ISSUANCE.—The easement au-
thorized under subsection (a) and the permit author-
ized under paragraph (1) shall require that before 
the Superintendent issues a permit for any clearing 
or construction, the Corporation shall— 
(A) consult with the Superintendent; 
(B) identify natural and cultural resources 
of the Recreation Area that may be damaged or 
lost because of the clearing or construction; and 
(C) submit to the Superintendent for ap-
proval a restoration and mitigation plan that— 
(i) describes how the land subject to 
the easement will be maintained; and 
(ii) includes a schedule for, and de-
scription of, the specific activities to be 
carried out by the Corporation to mitigate 
the damages or losses to, or restore, the 
natural and cultural resources of the 
Recreation Area identified under subpara-
graph (B). 
(d) PIPELINE REPLACEMENT REQUIREMENTS.—The 
enlargement of the pipeline authorized under subsection 
(a) shall be considered to meet the pipeline replacement 
requirements required by the Research and Special Pro-
grams Administration of the Department of Transpor-
tation (CPF No. 1–2002–1004–H). 
(e) FERC CONSULTATION.—The Corporation shall 
comply with all other requirements for certification by the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that are nec-
essary to permit the increase in pipeline size. 
(f) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not grant any 
additional increases in the diameter of, or easements for, 
the pipeline within the boundary of the Recreation Area 
after the date of enactment of this Act. 
(g) EFFECT ON RIGHT-OF-WAY EASEMENT.—Noth-
ing in this Act increases the 50-foot right-of-way easement 
for the pipeline. 
(h) PENALTIES.—On request of the Secretary, the 
Attorney General may bring a civil action against the Cor-
poration in United States district court to recover dam-
ages and response costs under Public Law 101–337 (16 
U.S.C. 19jj et seq.) or any other applicable law if— 
(1) the Corporation— 
(A) violates a provision of— 
(i) an easement authorized under sub-
section (a); or 
(ii) a permit issued under subsection 
(c); or
(B) fails to submit or timely implement a 
restoration and mitigation plan approved under 
subsection (c)(3); and 
(2) the violation or failure destroys, results in 
the loss of, or injures any park system resource (as 
defined in section 1 of Public Law 101–337 (16 
U.S.C. 19jj)). 
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