[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 684 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 684

To amend the Natural Gas Act to provide additional requirements for the 
  siting, construction, or operation of liquefied natural gas import 
                              facilities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 17, 2005

   Mr. Reed introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Natural Gas Act to provide additional requirements for the 
  siting, construction, or operation of liquefied natural gas import 
                              facilities.

    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 ``Liquefied Natural Gas Safety and 
Security Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. SITING OF LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS IMPORT FACILITIES.

    Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(d)(1) Before issuing an order authorizing an applicant to site, 
construct, expand, or operate a liquefied natural gas import facility, 
the Commission shall require the applicant, in cooperation with the 
Commandant of the Coast Guard and State and local agencies that provide 
for the safety and security of the liquefied natural gas import 
facility and any vessels that serve the facility, to develop a cost-
sharing plan.
    ``(2) A cost-sharing plan developed under paragraph (1) shall 
include a description of any direct cost reimbursements that the 
applicant agrees to provide to any State and local agencies with 
responsibility for security and safety--
            ``(A) at the liquefied natural gas import facility; and
            ``(B) in proximity to vessels that serve the facility.
    ``(e)(1) In this subsection, the term `region' means a census 
region designated by the Bureau of the Census as of the date of 
enactment of this subsection.
    ``(2) Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this 
subsection and annually thereafter, the Commission shall--
            ``(A) review all applications for the siting, construction, 
        expansion, or operation of a liquefied natural gas import 
        facility in a region that are pending with the Commission;
            ``(B) consult with States in the region to identify remote 
        sites for the development of potential liquefied natural gas 
        import facilities in the region; and
            ``(C) in collaboration with the Commandant of the Coast 
        Guard, review--
                    ``(i) any offshore liquefied natural gas projects 
                proposed for a region; and
                    ``(ii) other potential offshore sites for the 
                development of liquefied natural gas.
    ``(3) Based on the reviews and consultations under paragraph (1), 
the Commission shall determine--
            ``(A) whether liquefied natural gas import facilities are 
        needed in a region; and
            ``(B) if the Commission determines under subparagraph (A) 
        that liquefied natural gas import facilities are needed for a 
        region, the number of liquefied natural gas import facilities 
        that are needed for the region.
    ``(4) The Commission shall cooperate with the Commandant of the 
Coast Guard and States to ensure that--
            ``(A) the Commission approves only the number of liquefied 
        natural gas import facilities that are needed for a region, as 
        determined under paragraph (3)(B); and
            ``(B) any liquefied natural gas import facilities approved 
        under subparagraph (A) are sited in locations that provide 
        maximum safety and security to the public.
    ``(f)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Commission 
shall not issue a final environmental impact statement or similar 
analysis required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect to a proposed liquefied natural 
gas facility before the date on which--
            ``(A) the applicant completes--
                    ``(i) a security assessment for the proposed 
                facility; and
                    ``(ii) a security plan for the proposed facility; 
                and
            ``(B) the Commandant of the Coast Guard completes an 
        incident action plan that identifies the resources needed to 
        support appropriate air, land, and sea security measures during 
        the transit and offload of a liquefied natural gas vessel.
    ``(2) The Commission shall incorporate into the final environmental 
impact statement or similar analysis the non-security sensitive 
components of the incident action plan and all other safety and 
security resource requirements identified by the Commandant of the 
Coast Guard for a proposed liquefied natural gas import facility.
    ``(g)(1) For purposes of reviewing and approving or disapproving an 
application to site, construct, or operate a liquefied natural gas 
import facility, the Commission shall--
            ``(A) consult with the State in which the facility is 
        proposed to be located; and
            ``(B) comply with all applicable Federal laws, including--
                    ``(i) the National Historic Preservation Act (16 
                U.S.C. 470 et seq.);
                    ``(ii) the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 
                U.S.C. 1451 et seq.);
                    ``(iii) sections 401 and 402(b) of the Federal 
                Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1341, 1342(b)); 
                and
                    ``(iv) sections 107, 111(c), and 116 of the Clean 
                Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401, 7411(c), 7416).
    ``(2) Nothing in this section precludes or denies the right of any 
State to review an application to site, construct, or operate a 
liquefied natural gas import facility under--
            ``(A) the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 
        et seq.);
            ``(B) the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 
        1451 et seq.);
            ``(C) sections 401 and 402(b) of the Federal Water 
        Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1341, 1342(b)); and
            ``(D) sections 107, 111(c), and 116 of the Clean Air Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 7401, 7411(c), 7416).
    ``(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Commission 
shall have no authority to preempt a State permitting determination 
with respect to a liquefied natural gas import facility that is made 
under Federal or State law.''.

SEC. 3. STANDARDS FOR LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS PIPELINE FACILITIES.

    Section 60103 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), and (g) as 
        subsections (f), (g), and (h), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
    ``(e) Remote Siting Standards.--Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate 
regulations establishing standards to promote the remote siting of 
liquefied natural gas pipeline facilities.''.

SEC. 4. THERMAL AND VAPOR DISPERSION EXCLUSION ZONES.

    As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Commandant of the Coast Guard shall issue regulations establishing 
thermal and vapor dispersion exclusion zone requirements for vessels 
transporting liquefied natural gas that are based on sections 193.2057 
and 193.2059 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor 
regulations).
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