I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1616 
To authorize the approval of natural gas pipelines and establish deadlines 
and expedite permits for certain natural gas gathering lines on Federal 
land and Indian land. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 25, 2015 
Mr. CRAMER (for himself, Mr. CHAFFETZ, Mr. ZINKE, and Mr. FARENTHOLD) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To authorize the approval of natural gas pipelines and estab-
lish deadlines and expedite permits for certain natural 
gas gathering lines on Federal land and Indian land. 
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 ‘‘Natural Gas Gathering 
Enhancement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) record volumes of natural gas production in 
the United States as of the date of enactment of this 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:11 Apr 01, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1616.IH
H1616
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Act are providing enormous benefits to the United 
States, including by— 
(A) reducing the need for imports of nat-
ural gas, thereby directly reducing the trade 
deficit; 
(B) strengthening trade ties among the 
United States, Canada, and Mexico; 
(C) providing the opportunity for the 
United States to join the emerging global gas 
trade through the export of liquefied natural 
gas; 
(D) creating and supporting millions of 
new jobs across the United States; 
(E) adding billions of dollars to the gross 
domestic product of the United States every 
year; 
(F) generating additional Federal, State, 
and local government tax revenues; and 
(G) revitalizing the manufacturing sector 
by— 
(i) significantly increasing commercial 
demand for steel; and 
(ii) providing abundant and affordable 
feedstock; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:11 Apr 01, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1616.IH
H1616
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(2) natural gas is lost due to venting and flar-
ing, primarily in areas where natural gas infrastruc-
ture has not been developed quickly enough, such as 
States with large quantities of Federal land and In-
dian land; 
(3) permitting processes can hinder the develop-
ment of natural gas infrastructure, such as pipeline 
lines and gathering lines on Federal land and Indian 
land; and 
(4) additional authority for the Secretary of the 
Interior to approve natural gas pipelines and gath-
ering lines on Federal land and Indian land would— 
(A) assist in bringing gas to market that 
would otherwise be vented or flared; and 
(B) significantly increase royalties collected 
by the Secretary of the Interior and disbursed 
to Federal, State, and tribal governments and 
individual Indians. 
SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO APPROVE NATURAL GAS PIPELINES. 
Section 100902 of title 54, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(1)— 
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
(A), by striking ‘‘Under regulations’’ and in-
serting ‘‘Notwithstanding section 28 of the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:11 Apr 01, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1616.IH
H1616
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 185), under 
regulations’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(C) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 
period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(D) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) natural gas pipelines.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 
and’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(D) natural gas pipelines.’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2), in the matter pre-
ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘A right 
of way under’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as pro-
vided in paragraph (5), a right-of-way granted 
under’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:11 Apr 01, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1616.IH
H1616
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS