[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 124 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 124

    To provide an environmentally sound process for the expeditious 
 consideration and approval of a high-voltage electricity transmission 
line right-of-way through the Trabuco Ranger District of the Cleveland 
National Forest in the State of California and adjacent lands under the 
 jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 2005

   Mr. Issa introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide an environmentally sound process for the expeditious 
 consideration and approval of a high-voltage electricity transmission 
line right-of-way through the Trabuco Ranger District of the Cleveland 
National Forest in the State of California and adjacent lands under the 
 jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service.

    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 ``Cleveland National Forest 
Responsible Electricity Transmission Act''.

SEC. 2. ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION LINE RIGHT-OF-WAY, CLEVELAND NATIONAL 
              FOREST AND ADJACENT PUBLIC LANDS, CALIFORNIA.

    (a) Issuance.--Subject to subsection (c), the Secretary of the 
Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall issue all necessary 
grants, easements, permits, plan amendments, and other approvals to 
allow for the siting and construction of a high-voltage electricity 
transmission line right-of-way running approximately north to south 
through the Trabuco Ranger District of the Cleveland National Forest in 
the State of California and adjacent lands under the jurisdiction of 
the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. The right-of-way 
approvals shall provide all necessary Federal authorization from the 
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture for the 
routing, construction, operation, and maintenance of a 500 KV 
transmission line capable of meeting the long-term electricity 
transmission needs of the region between the existing Valley-Serrano 
transmission line to the north and the Telega-Escondido transmission 
line to the south, and for connecting to future generating capacity 
that may be developed in the region.
    (b) Protection of Wilderness Areas.--The Secretary of the Interior 
and the Secretary of Agriculture shall not allow any portion of a 
transmission line right-of-way corridor identified in subsection (a) to 
enter any identified wilderness area in existence as of the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
    (c) Environmental and Adminstrative Review.--
            (1) Department of interior or local agency.--The Secretary 
        of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land Management, 
        shall be the lead Federal agency with overall responsibility to 
        ensure completion of required environmental and other reviews 
        of the approvals to be issued under subsection (a).
            (2) National forest system land.--For the portions of the 
        corridor on National Forest System land, the Secretary of 
        Agriculture shall complete all required environmental reviews 
        and administrative actions, in coordination with the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (3) Expeditous completion.--The reviews required for 
        issuance of the approvals under subsection (a) shall be 
        completed not later than one year after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
    (d) Time for Issuance.--The necessary grants, easements, permits, 
plan amendments, and other approvals for the transmission line right-
of-way shall be issued within 60 days after the completion of the 
environmental review under subsection (c).
    (e) Other Terms and Conditions.--The transmission line right-of-way 
shall be subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary of the 
Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture consider necessary, as a 
result of the environmental review under subsection (c), to protect the 
value of historic, cultural, and natural resources under the 
jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior or the Department of 
Agriculture.
    (f) Preference Among Proposals.--The Secretary of the Interior and 
the Secretary of Agriculture shall give a preference to any application 
or preapplication proposal for a transmission line right-of-way, as 
described in subsection (a), that was submitted before December 31, 
2002, over all other applications and proposals for the same or similar 
right-of-way submitted on or after that date.
                                 <all>