Title: Pipeline Fairness and Transparency Act
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Pipeline Fairness and Transparency Act
This bill amends the Natural Gas Act to address eminent domain, environmental review for interstate natural gas pipeline projects, and the environmental impacts of natural gas pipeline projects on national scenic trails. This includes requiring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to hold public meetings in each county (or equivalent subdivision) in which a project will be located.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1314 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1314

 To amend the Natural Gas Act to bolster fairness and transparency in 
   consideration of interstate natural gas pipelines, to provide for 
      greater public input opportunities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 7, 2017

 Mr. Kaine (for himself and Mr. Warner) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Natural Gas Act to bolster fairness and transparency in 
   consideration of interstate natural gas pipelines, to provide for 
      greater public input opportunities, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pipeline Fairness and Transparency 
Act''.

SEC. 2. EMINENT DOMAIN.

    (a) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States to 
protect the rights of citizens of the United States to their private 
property, including by limiting the taking of private property by the 
Federal Government to situations in which the taking is for public use, 
with just compensation, and to benefit the general public, and not 
merely to advance the economic interests of private parties that would 
be given ownership or use of the property taken.
    (b) Just Compensation.--Section 7(h) of the Natural Gas Act (15 
U.S.C. 717f(h)) is amended--
            (1) by striking the subsection designation and all that 
        follows through ``When any holder'' and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(h) Eminent Domain.--
            ``(1) In general.--When any holder'';
            (2) in the second sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``The practice'' and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(2) Practice and procedure.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the 
                practice'';
                    (B) by striking ``is situated:'' and inserting ``is 
                situated.''; and
                    (C) by striking ``Provided, That the'' and 
                inserting the following:
                    ``(B) Limitation.--The''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Just compensation.--In determining the just 
        compensation for property acquired by the exercise of the right 
        of eminent domain under paragraph (1), in the case of land 
        subject to a conservation easement, the court with jurisdiction 
        over the proceeding shall consider the lost conservation value 
        of that land.''.

SEC. 3. PROCESS COORDINATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.

    Section 15 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717n) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Environmental Review for Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Federal authorization.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The term `Federal 
                        authorization' means any authorization required 
                        under Federal law with respect to an 
                        application for a certificate of public 
                        convenience and necessity under section 7.
                            ``(ii) Inclusions.--The term `Federal 
                        authorization' includes any permits, special 
                        use authorizations, certifications, opinions, 
                        or other approvals as may be required under 
                        Federal law with respect to an application for 
                        a certificate of public convenience and 
                        necessity under section 7.
                    ``(B) Project.--The term `project' means a project 
                for the construction or extension of facilities for the 
                transportation in interstate commerce of natural gas 
                that requires Federal authorization.
            ``(2) Programmatic environmental impact statements.--In 
        considering an application for Federal authorization for a 
        project in a State, if, during the 1-year period beginning on 
        the date on which the application is filed, an application for 
        Federal authorization for a separate project is filed, and that 
        project is located in the same State and within 100 miles of 
        the first project, the Commission shall consider both projects 
        to be 1 project for purposes of complying with the National 
        Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
            ``(3) Supplemental environmental impact statements.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If the Commission determines 
                that comments submitted in response to a draft 
                environmental impact statement prepared with respect to 
                an application for Federal authorization raise issues 
                that exceed the initial scope of the draft 
                environmental impact statement, a supplemental 
                environmental impact statement shall be prepared for 
                the project.
                    ``(B) Mitigation plans.--If a draft environmental 
                impact statement prepared with respect to an 
                application for Federal authorization does not include 
                information about mitigation plans for adverse impacts 
                that cannot reasonably be avoided, a supplemental 
                environmental impact statement shall be prepared that 
                includes that information.
            ``(4) Public meeting requirements.--In complying with the 
        National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
        seq.) with respect to an application for Federal authorization, 
        the Commission shall ensure that any public meeting shall be 
        held--
                    ``(A) in each county or equivalent subdivision in 
                which the project will be located; and
                    ``(B) during each period of public comment 
                preceding, if applicable, publication of--
                            ``(i) a draft environmental impact 
                        statement;
                            ``(ii) a final environmental impact 
                        statement; and
                            ``(iii) any supplemental environmental 
                        impact statement.''.

SEC. 4. IMPACTS ON CRITICAL NATURAL RESOURCES.

    Subsection (g) of section 15 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 
717n) (as added by section 3) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(5) National scenic trails.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In preparing an environmental 
                impact statement with respect to an application for 
                Federal authorization for a project, any evaluation of 
                the visual impacts of the project on a national scenic 
                trail designated by the National Trails System Act (16 
                U.S.C. 1241 et seq.) in the environmental impact 
                statement shall--
                            ``(i) consider the cumulative visual 
                        impacts of any similar proposed project--
                                    ``(I) for which an application for 
                                Federal authorization is in the pre-
                                filing or filing stage; and
                                    ``(II) that impacts the same 
                                national scenic trail within 100 miles 
                                of the first project; and
                            ``(ii) include visual impact simulations 
                        depicting leaf-on and leaf-off views at each 
                        location where major visual impacts occur, as 
                        identified, authenticated, and justified during 
                        the period of public comment preceding the 
                        publication of a draft environmental impact 
                        statement by the head of the Federal agency or 
                        independent agency administering the land at 
                        the applicable location.
                    ``(B) National forest management plans.--No 
                amendment to a National Forest management plan under 
                the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning 
                Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.) shall be 
                considered if the result of the amendment represents 
                net degradation to the resources of a national scenic 
                trail designated by the National Trails System Act (16 
                U.S.C. 1241 et seq.).''.
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