SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Energy Infrastructure 
Improvement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. AUTHORITY FOR NATURAL GAS AND OIL PIPE-
LINES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any provision of 
the Mineral Leasing Act (cite), the Secretary may issue 
permits for rights-of-way, temporary easements, or other 
necessary authorizations to allow a permittee to construct, 
operate, maintain, expand, or modify a natural gas, oil, 
or petroleum products pipeline and related facilities on eli-
gible Federal lands. 
(b) TERMS
AND CONDITIONS.—A permit issued 
under this section shall be consistent with the laws and 
regulations generally applicable to utility rights-of-way 
within the respective eligible Federal land and subject to 
such terms and conditions as the Secretary deems appro-
priate. 
(c) FEES.— 
(1) PERMIT FEE.—The Secretary shall charge 
and retain a fee for any permit issued under this 
section. The fee shall be calculated to provide for re-
covery of costs incurred by the United States associ-
ated with processing, issuing, and monitoring the 
permit. 
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(2) ANNUAL FEE.—The Secretary shall charge 
an annual fee related to each permit which requires 
payment, in advance, of the fair market rental value 
of permitted use as determined by the Secretary. 
(d) TERM.— 
(1) INITIAL TERM.—The Secretary shall deter-
mine the initial fixed term for a permit issued under 
this section, taking into consideration the following: 
(A) The cost of planning, approval, con-
struction, operation, and maintenance of the 
pipeline and its related facility (in terms of time 
and money). 
(B) The useful life of the pipeline and its 
related facility. 
(C) The public or economic purpose served 
by the pipeline and its related facility. 
(2) RENEWALS.—The Secretary shall renew 
any right-of-way issued under this section, in accord-
ance with the provisions of this section, if the pipe-
line and its related facility is in commercial oper-
ation and operated and maintained in accordance 
with this section and the permit issued under this 
section for that pipeline and its related facility. 
(e) ENFORCEMENT.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may impose 
citations or fines or suspend or revoke any authority 
under a permit issued under this section for failure 
to comply with or for violation of any term or condi-
tion of the permit. 
(2) SUSPENSION
OR
TERMINATION
OF
THE 
RIGHT-OF-WAY.—Abandonment of a permit or delib-
erate noncompliance with any provision of this sec-
tion or of a permit issued under this section may be 
grounds for suspension or termination of the permit 
if the Secretary determines that such grounds exist 
and that suspension or termination is justified after 
the permittee has been given— 
(A) due notice; 
(B) a reasonable opportunity to remedy 
the abandonment or noncompliance; and 
(C) an appropriate administrative pro-
ceeding pursuant to section 554 of title 5, 
United States Code. 
(3) MISUSE OR NONUSE OF PERMIT.—Delib-
erate failure to use a permit for the purpose for 
which it was granted or renewed for any continuous 
two-year period shall constitute a rebuttable pre-
sumption of abandonment of the permit. Where the 
failure to use the permit is due to circumstances not 
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within the permittee’s control, the Secretary is not 
required to commence proceedings to suspend or ter-
minate the permit. 
(4) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Not later than 90 days 
after a final decision by the Secretary under this 
subsection, a permittee may file a suit to challenge 
that decision in the United States court of appeals 
for the circuit in which the Federal land which is the 
subject of the permit is located. Such court shall 
have jurisdiction to hear and determine any suit 
brought as provided in this subsection. 
(f) MODIFICATIONS.—The Secretary may modify a 
permit issued under this section if the modification is 
agreed upon by the permittee and complies with this sec-
tion. Any action taken by the Secretary pursuant to this 
subsection shall not be considered a major Federal action 
requiring a detailed statement under section 102(2)(C) of 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 
4332(2)(C)). 
(g) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
(1) ELIGIBLE FEDERAL LANDS.—The term ‘‘el-
igible Federal lands’’ means— 
(A) Federal lands under the administrative 
jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior, ex-
cept— 
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(i) lands held in trust for a federal 
recognized Indian tribe or a member of a 
federally recognized Indian tribe; and 
(ii) lands on the Outer Continental 
Shelf; and 
(B) National Forest System lands. 
(2) FACILITY.—The term ‘‘facility’’— 
(A) includes such things as buildings, pipe-
lines, and auxiliary or appurtenant facilities re-
lated to the construction, operation, and main-
tenance of the pipeline; and 
(B) does not include wells, drills, or drill-
ing platforms. 
(3) PERMITTEE.—The term ‘‘permittee’’ means 
the owner of a natural gas, oil, or petroleum prod-
ucts pipeline and the owner’s successors or assigns. 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Ag-
riculture, as appropriate in regard the Secretary 
with administrative jurisdiction over the Federal 
lands involved. 
Æ 
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