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ceeding to select, from sites that the Secretary has pre-
viously studied, sites necessary to enable acquisition by the 
Secretary of the full authorized volume of the Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve. 
SEC. 304. SUSPENSION OF STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RE-
SERVE DELIVERIES. 
The Secretary of Energy shall suspend deliveries of 
royalty-in-kind oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve 
until the price of oil falls below $40 per barrel for 2 con-
secutive weeks on the New York Mercantile Exchange. 
Subtitle B—Production Incentives 
SEC. 320. LIQUEFACTION OR GASIFICATION NATURAL GAS 
TERMINALS. 
(a) SCOPE OF NATURAL GAS ACT.—Section 1(b) of 
the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717(b)) is amended by 
inserting ‘‘and to the importation or exportation of natural 
gas in foreign commerce and to persons engaged in such 
importation or exportation,’’ after ‘‘such transportation or 
sale,’’. 
(b) DEFINITION.—Section 2 of the Natural Gas Act 
(15 U.S.C. 717a) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(11) ‘Liquefaction or gasification natural gas 
terminal’ includes all facilities located onshore or in 
State waters that are used to receive, unload, load,
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store, transport, gasify, liquefy, or process natural 
gas that is imported to the United States from a 
foreign country, exported to a foreign country from 
the United States, or transported in interstate com-
merce by waterborne tanker, but does not include—
‘‘(A) waterborne tankers used to deliver 
natural gas to or from any such facility; or 
‘‘(B) any pipeline or storage facility sub-
ject to the jurisdiction of the Commission under 
section 7.’’. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION FOR CONSTRUCTION, EXPAN-
SION, OR OPERATION
OF LIQUEFACTION
OR GASIFI-
CATION NATURAL GAS TERMINALS.—(1) The title for sec-
tion 3 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b) is amend-
ed by inserting ‘‘; LIQUEFACTION OR GASIFICATION NAT-
URAL GAS TERMINALS’’ after ‘‘EXPORTATION OR IMPORTA-
TION OF NATURAL GAS’’. 
(2) Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 
717b) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION FOR CONSTRUCTION, EXPAN-
SION, OR OPERATION
OF LIQUEFACTION
OR GASIFI-
CATION NATURAL GAS TERMINALS.—
‘‘(1) 
COMMISSION
AUTHORIZATION
RE-
QUIRED.—No person shall construct, expand, or op-
erate a liquefaction or gasification natural gas ter-
124
minal without an order from the Commission au-
thorizing such person to do so. 
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION PROCEDURES.—
‘‘(A) NOTICE
AND
HEARING.—Upon the 
filing of any application to construct, expand, 
or operate a liquefaction or gasification natural 
gas terminal, the Commission shall—
‘‘(i) set the matter for hearing; 
‘‘(ii) give reasonable notice of the 
hearing to all interested persons, including 
the State commission of the State in which 
the liquefaction or gasification natural gas 
terminal is located; 
‘‘(iii) decide the matter in accordance 
with this subsection; and 
‘‘(iv) issue or deny the appropriate 
order accordingly. 
‘‘(B) DESIGNATION AS LEAD AGENCY.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 
shall act as the lead agency for the pur-
poses of coordinating all applicable Federal 
authorizations and for the purposes of 
complying with the National Environ-
mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
125
4312 et seq.) for a liquefaction or gasifi-
cation natural gas terminal. 
‘‘(ii) OTHER
AGENCIES.—Each Fed-
eral agency considering an aspect of the 
construction, expansion, or operation of a 
liquefaction or gasification natural gas ter-
minal shall cooperate with the Commission 
and comply with the deadlines established 
by the Commission. 
‘‘(C) SCHEDULE.—
‘‘(i) COMMISSION AUTHORITY TO SET 
SCHEDULE.—The Commission shall estab-
lish a schedule for all Federal and State 
administrative proceedings required under 
authority of Federal law to construct, ex-
pand, or operate a liquefaction or gasifi-
cation natural gas terminal. In establishing 
the schedule, the Commission shall—
‘‘(I) ensure expeditious comple-
tion of all such proceedings; and 
‘‘(II) accommodate the applicable 
schedules established by Federal law 
for such proceedings. 
‘‘(ii) FAILURE TO MEET SCHEDULE.—
If a Federal or State administrative agency