[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1529 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1529

    To amend the Federal Power Act to provide for Federal and State 
 coordination of permitting for electric transmission facilities, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 6, 2005

 Mr. Shadegg introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Federal Power Act to provide for Federal and State 
 coordination of permitting for electric transmission facilities, 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. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that:
            (1) Protection of the environmental and ecological 
        qualities of Federal lands are important concerns for all 
        people.
            (2) Reviewing the environmental impact of proposed 
        transmission facilities is a vital task which must be conducted 
        in a thorough and comprehensive manner.
            (3) A thorough and comprehensive review of these effects 
        can be conducted in a timely manner without sacrificing the 
        quality of the review.
            (4) There is currently no requirement that Federal agencies 
        complete environmental reviews for proposed transmission 
        facilities in a timely manner.
            (5) The length of time for completion of these reviews 
        varies widely, with agencies taking as long as ten years to 
        complete these reviews.
            (6) There are cases of Federal agencies conducting 
        environmental reviews in a subsequent, rather than concurrent, 
        manner and failing to coordinate their reviews with State 
        authorities and other Federal agencies.
            (7) The electricity transmission grid must be expanded to 
        ensure reliable supplies of electricity.
            (8) The Federal Government currently owns approximately 29 
        percent of the land area of the United States including 90 
        percent of Nevada, 70 percent of Arizona, and similarly large 
        percentages of other Western States.
            (9) Because of the large Federal land holdings in the West, 
        transmission facilities must often be built on Federal lands.
            (10) Appointment of a lead agency to coordinate the 
        environmental reviews of Federal agencies will lead to more 
        thorough, comprehensive and timely reviews.

SEC. 2. CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.

    The Constitutional authority on which this act rests are the powers 
of Congress to make all needful rules and regulations respecting the 
territory or other property belonging to the United States as 
enumerated in article IV, section 3 and to make all laws which shall be 
necessary and proper as enumerated in article I, section 8 of the 
United States Constitution.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL AND STATE COORDINATION OF PERMITTING FOR TRANSMISSION 
              FACILITIES.

    (a) Lead Agency.--If an applicant, or prospective applicant, for 
Federal authorization related to an electricity transmission or 
distribution facility so requests, the Department of Energy (DOE) shall 
act as the lead agency for purposes of coordinating all applicable 
Federal authorization and related environmental review of the facility. 
The term ``Federal authorization'' shall mean any authorization 
required under Federal law in order to site a transmission or 
distribution facility, including but not limited to such permits, 
special use authorizations, certifications, opinions, or other 
approvals as may be required, whether issued by a Federal or a State 
agency. To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of Energy 
shall coordinate this Federal authorization and review process with any 
Indian tribes, multi-State entities, and State agencies that are 
responsible for conducting any separate permitting and environmental 
reviews of the facility, to ensure timely and efficient review and 
permit decisions.
    (b) Authority to Set Deadlines.--As lead agency, the Department of 
Energy, in consultation with other Federal and, as appropriate, with 
Indian tribes, multi-State entities, and State agencies that are 
willing to coordinate their own separate permitting and environmental 
reviews with the Federal authorization and environmental reviews, shall 
establish prompt and binding intermediate milestones and ultimate 
deadlines for the review of and Federal authorization decisions 
relating to the proposed facility. Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, the Secretary of Energy shall ensure that once an application 
has been submitted with such data as the Secretary deems necessary, all 
permit decisions and related environmental reviews under all applicable 
Federal laws shall be completed within 1 year. The Secretary of Energy 
also shall provide a speedy pre-application mechanism for prospective 
applicants to confer with the agencies involved to have each such 
agency determine and communicate to the prospective applicant within 60 
days of when the prospective applicant submits a request for such 
information concerning--
            (1) the likelihood of approval for a potential facility; 
        and
            (2) key issues of concern to the agencies and public.
    (c) Consolidated Environmental Review and Record of Decision.--The 
Secretary of Energy shall prepare a single environmental review 
document, which shall be used as the basis for all decisions on the 
proposed project under Federal law. The document may be an 
environmental assessment or environmental impact statement under the 
National Environmental Policy Act if warranted, or such other form of 
analysis as may be warranted. DOE and other agencies shall streamline 
the review and permitting of transmission and distribution facilities 
within corridors designated under section 503 of the Federal Land 
Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C. section 1763) by fully taking into 
account prior analyses and decisions as to the corridors.
    (d) Appeals.--In the event that any agency has denied a Federal 
authorization required for a transmission or distribution facility, or 
has failed to act by the deadline established by the Secretary pursuant 
to this section for deciding whether to issue the authorization, the 
applicant or any State in which the facility would be located may file 
an appeal with the Secretary of Energy, which shall review the denial 
or take action on the pending application. Based on the overall record 
and in consultation with the affected agency, the Secretary may then 
either issue the necessary authorization with or without appropriate 
conditions, or may deny the application. The Secretary shall issue its 
decision within 90 days of the filing of the appeal.
    (e) Conforming Regulations and Memoranda of Agreement.--Not later 
than 18 months after the date of enactment of this section, the 
Secretary of Energy shall issue any regulations necessary to implement 
the foregoing provisions. Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Secretary and the heads of all relevant 
Federal departments and non-departmental agencies shall, and interested 
Indian tribes, multi-State entities, and State agencies may, enter into 
Memoranda of Agreement to ensure the timely and coordinated review and 
permitting of electricity transmission and distribution facilities. The 
head of each Federal department or non-departmental agency with 
approval authority shall designate a senior responsible official and 
dedicate sufficient other staff and resources to ensure that the DOE 
regulations and any Memoranda are fully implemented.
    (f) Miscellaneous.--Each Federal authorization for an electricity 
transmission or distribution facility shall be issued for a duration, 
as determined by the Secretary of Energy, commensurate with the 
anticipated use of the facility and with appropriate authority to 
manage the right-of-way for reliability and environmental protection. 
Further, when such authorizations expire, they shall be reviewed for 
renewal taking fully into account reliance on such electricity 
infrastructure, recognizing its importance for public health, safety 
and economic welfare and as a legitimate use of Federal lands.
    (g) Maintaining and Enhancing the Transmission Infrastructure.--In 
exercising the responsibilities under this section, the Secretary of 
Energy shall consult regularly with the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (FERC) and FERC-approved Regional Transmission Organizations 
and Independent System Operators on changes to the national grid that 
will improve reliability, relieve congestion, and enhance the 
capability of the grid to deliver electricity.
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