Title: Ending Natural Gas Companies' Seizure of Land for Export Profits Act
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Ending Natural Gas Companies' Seizure of Land for Export Profits Act
This bill restricts the use of eminent domain to take private or state land for the construction of a natural gas pipeline.
Specifically, the bill prohibits the U.S. districts courts from having jurisdiction to condemn property in which a state owns any interest. Further, the bill prohibits the use of eminent domain to take private property for the construction of a pipeline that will export liquefied natural gas to a foreign country.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 655 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 655

To amend the Natural Gas Act to provide that the United States district 
courts shall not have jurisdiction to condemn property in which a State 
              holds any interest, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 10, 2021

Mr. Merkley (for himself and Mr. Wyden) 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 provide that the United States district 
courts shall not have jurisdiction to condemn property in which a State 
              holds any interest, 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 ``Ending Natural Gas Companies' 
Seizure of Land for Export Profits Act''.

SEC. 2. JURISDICTION OF UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTS OVER CERTAIN 
              EMINENT DOMAIN PROCEEDINGS.

    Section 7(h) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717f(h)) is 
amended--
            (1) in the second sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``situated: Provided, That the'' 
                and inserting the following: ``situated.
            ``(3) Jurisdiction of united states district courts.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The''; and
                    (B) by striking ``The practice'' and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(2) Practice and procedure.--The practice'';
            (2) in the first sentence, by striking ``(h) When any 
        holder'' and inserting the following:
    ``(h) Eminent Domain.--
            ``(1) In general.--When any holder''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) State property.--The United States district 
                courts shall not have jurisdiction to condemn property 
                in which a State owns any interest.''.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN FOR EXPORTS.

    Section 7(h) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717f(h)) (as amended 
by section 2) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Limitation on use of eminent domain for exports.--A 
        holder of a certificate of public convenience and necessity may 
        not exercise the right of eminent domain under this subsection 
        if the project covered by the certificate is a project to be 
        constructed substantially for the purpose of transporting 
        natural gas to an LNG terminal or to other pipelines for export 
        from the United States to a foreign country.''.
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