IB 
Union Calendar No. 217 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2295 
[Report No. 114–285] 
To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to require the Secretary of the Interior 
to identify and designate National Energy Security Corridors for the 
construction of natural gas pipelines on Federal land, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 13, 2015 
Mr. MACARTHUR (for himself and Mr. RICHMOND) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
OCTOBER 6, 2015 
Additional sponsors: Mrs. LUMMIS, Mr. TURNER, Mr. FARENTHOLD, Mr. 
MCKINLEY, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mr. KELLY of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. PERRY, Mr. 
WESTERMAN, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, and Mr. ROTHFUS 
OCTOBER 6, 2015 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 13, 2015] 
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A BILL 
To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to require the Secretary 
of the Interior to identify and designate National Energy 
Security Corridors for the construction of natural gas 
pipelines on Federal land, and for other purposes. 
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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 ‘‘National Energy Secu-
rity Corridors Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL ENERGY SECURITY 
CORRIDORS ON FEDERAL LANDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 28 of the Mineral Leasing 
Act (30 U.S.C. 185) is amended as follows: 
(1) In subsection (b)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘(b)(1) For the purposes of 
this section ‘Federal lands’ means’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(b)(1) For the purposes of this section ‘Federal 
lands’— 
‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
means’’; 
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (1) and inserting ‘‘; and’’ and by 
adding at the end of paragraph (1) the following: 
‘‘(B) for purposes of granting an application for 
a natural gas pipeline right-of-way, means all lands 
owned by the United States except— 
‘‘(i) such lands held in trust for an Indian 
or Indian tribe; and 
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‘‘(ii) lands on the Outer Continental 
Shelf.’’. 
(2) By redesignating subsection (b), as so 
amended, as subsection (z), and transferring such sub-
section to appear after subsection (y) of that section. 
(3) By inserting after subsection (a) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(b) NATIONAL ENERGY SECURITY CORRIDORS.— 
‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—In addition to other au-
thorities under this section, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) identify and designate suitable Federal 
lands as National Energy Security Corridors (in 
this subsection referred to as a ‘Corridor’), which 
shall be used for construction, operation, and 
maintenance of natural gas transmission facili-
ties; and 
‘‘(B) incorporate such Corridors upon des-
ignation into the relevant agency land use and 
resource management plans or equivalent plans. 
‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In evaluating Federal 
lands for designation as a National Energy Security 
Corridor, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) employ the principle of multiple use to 
ensure route decisions balance national energy 
security needs with existing land use principles; 
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‘‘(B) seek input from other Federal counter-
parts, State, local, and tribal governments, and 
affected utility and pipeline industries to deter-
mine the best suitable, most cost-effective, and 
commercially viable acreage for natural gas 
transmission facilities; 
‘‘(C) focus on transmission routes that im-
prove domestic energy security through increas-
ing reliability, relieving congestion, reducing 
natural gas prices, and meeting growing demand 
for natural gas; and 
‘‘(D) take into account technological inno-
vations that reduce the need for surface disturb-
ance. 
‘‘(3) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish procedures to expedite and approve applications 
for rights-of-way for natural gas pipelines across Na-
tional Energy Security Corridors, that— 
‘‘(A) ensure a transparent process for re-
view of applications for rights-of-way on such 
corridors; 
‘‘(B) require an approval time of not more 
than 1 year after the date of receipt of an appli-
cation for a right-of-way; and 
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‘‘(C) require, upon receipt of such an appli-
cation, notice to the applicant of a predictable 
timeline for consideration of the application, 
that clearly delineates important milestones in 
the process of such consideration. 
‘‘(4) STATE INPUT.— 
‘‘(A) REQUESTS
AUTHORIZED.—The Gov-
ernor of a State may submit requests to the Sec-
retary of the Interior to designate Corridors on 
Federal land in that State. 
‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION OF REQUESTS.—After 
receiving such a request, the Secretary shall re-
spond in writing, within 30 days— 
‘‘(i) acknowledging receipt of the re-
quest; and 
‘‘(ii) setting forth a timeline in which 
the Secretary shall grant, deny, or modify 
such request and state the reasons for doing 
so. 
‘‘(5) SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF CORRIDORS.—In 
implementing this subsection, the Secretary shall co-
ordinate with other Federal Departments to— 
‘‘(A) minimize the proliferation of duplica-
tive natural gas pipeline rights-of-way on Fed-
eral lands where feasible; 
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‘‘(B) ensure Corridors can connect effec-
tively across Federal lands; and 
‘‘(C) utilize input from utility and pipeline 
industries submitting applications for rights-of- 
way to site corridors in economically feasible 
areas that reduce impacts, to the extent prac-
ticable, on local communities. 
‘‘(6) NOT A MAJOR FEDERAL ACTION.—Designa-
tion of a Corridor under this subsection, and incorpo-
ration of Corridors into agency plans under para-
graph (1)(B), shall not be treated as a major Federal 
action for purpose of section 102 of the National En-
vironmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332). 
‘‘(7) NO LIMIT ON NUMBER OR LENGTH OF COR-
RIDORS.—Nothing in this subsection limits the num-
ber or physical dimensions of Corridors that the Sec-
retary may designate under this subsection. 
‘‘(8) OTHER AUTHORITY NOT AFFECTED.—Noth-
ing in this subsection affects the authority of the Sec-
retary to issue rights-of-way on Federal land that is 
not located in a Corridor designated under this sub-
section. 
‘‘(9) NEPA CLARIFICATION.—All applications 
for rights-of-way for natural gas transmission facili-
ties across Corridors designated under this subsection 
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shall be subject to the environmental protections out-
lined in subsection (h).’’. 
(b) APPLICATIONS RECEIVED BEFORE DESIGNATION 
OF CORRIDORS.—Any application for a right-of-way under 
section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 185) that 
is received by the Secretary of the Interior before designa-
tion of National Energy Security Corridors under the 
amendment made by subsection (a) of this section shall be 
reviewed and acted upon independently by the Secretary 
without regard to the process for such designation. 
(c) DEADLINE.—Within 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall 
designate at least 10 National Energy Security Corridors 
under the amendment made by subsection (a) in contiguous 
States referred to in section 368(b) of the Energy Policy 
Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15926(b)). 
SEC. 3. NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT. 
The Secretary of the Interior shall promptly notify the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Represent-
atives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
of the Senate of each instance in which any agency or offi-
cial of the Department of the Interior fails to comply with 
any schedule established under section 15(c) of the Natural 
Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717n(c)). 
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Union Calendar No. 217 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 2295 
[Report No. 114–285] 
A BILL 
To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to require the 
Secretary of the Interior to identify and des-
ignate National Energy Security Corridors for 
the construction of natural gas pipelines on Fed-
eral land, and for other purposes. 
OCTOBER 6, 2015 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:47 Oct 07, 2015
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