[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 145 (Wednesday, November 14, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H6350-H6351]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NEW YORK CITY NATURAL GAS SUPPLY ENHANCEMENT ACT
Mr. AMODEI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in
the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 2606) to authorize the Secretary
of the Interior to allow the construction and operation of natural gas
pipeline facilities in the Gateway National Recreation Area, and for
other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the Senate amendment is as follows:
Senate amendment:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``New York City Natural Gas
Supply Enhancement Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Permittee.--The term ``permittee'' means the
Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company, LLC, (Transco), its
successors or assigns.
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION FOR PERMIT.
(a) In General.--The Secretary may issue permits for
rights-of-way or other necessary authorizations to allow the
permittee to construct, operate, and maintain a natural gas
pipeline and related facilities within the Gateway National
Recreation Area in New York, as described in Federal
Regulatory Commission Docket No. PF09-8.
(b) Terms and Conditions.--A permit issued under this
section shall be--
(1) consistent with the laws and regulations generally
applicable to utility rights-of-way within units of the
National Park System; and
(2) subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary
deems appropriate.
(c) Fees.--The Secretary shall charge a fee for any permit
issued under this section. The fee shall be based on fair
market value and shall also provide for recovery of costs
incurred by the National Park Service associated with the
processing, issuance, and monitoring of the permit. The
Secretary shall retain any fees associated with the recovery
of costs.
(d) Term.--Any permit issued under this section shall be
for a term of 10 years. The permit may be renewed at the
discretion of the Secretary in accordance with this section.
SEC. 4. LEASE OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS AT FLOYD BENNETT FIELD.
(a) In General.--The Secretary may enter into a non-
competitive lease with the permittee to allow the occupancy
and use of buildings and associated property at Floyd Bennett
Field within the Gateway National Recreation Area to house
meter and regulating equipment and other equipment necessary
to the operation of the natural gas pipeline described in
section 3(a).
(b) Terms and Conditions.--A lease entered into under this
section shall--
(1) be in accordance with section 3(k) of the National Park
System General Authorities Act (16 U.S.C. 1a-2(k)), except
that the proceeds from rental payments may be used for
infrastructure needs, resource protection and restoration,
and visitor services at Gateway National Recreation Area; and
(2) provide for the restoration and maintenance of the
buildings and associated property in accordance with section
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C.
470f) and applicable regulations and programmatic agreements.
SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.
The Secretary may impose citations or fines, or suspend or
revoke any authority under a permit or lease issued in
accordance with this Act for failure to comply with, or a
violation of any term or condition of such permit or lease.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Nevada (Mr. Amodei) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nevada.
General Leave
Mr. AMODEI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
There was no objection.
Mr. AMODEI. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 2606, introduced by Congressman Michael Grimm, authorizes
construction of a lateral pipeline off the coast of New York City. The
pipeline will pass under the Gateway National Recreation Area and
deliver natural gas to residents of Brooklyn and Queens.
Under current law, the National Park Service does not have the
authority to approve the pipeline. Therefore, Congressman Grimm
introduced H.R. 2606 to allow the project to move forward, benefiting
not only New York residents but also visitors to the Gateway National
Recreation Area.
H.R. 2606 has bipartisan support and is supported by the National
Park Service. The House approved this legislation in February. It has
passed the Senate with noncontroversial amendments, and we are now
acting to send this to the President.
[[Page H6351]]
I urge adoption of H.R. 2606 and reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1230
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Mr. GRIJALVA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. GRIJALVA. We have no objection to the Senate amendments to H.R.
2606. As amended, this bill allows for the delivery of natural gas into
an underserved area while also providing a revenue stream that will
allow the National Park Service to rehabilitate important historic
structures at Gateway National Recreation Area.
We support enactment of H.R. 2606, as amended.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. AMODEI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from the
Empire State, Mr. Grimm.
Mr. GRIMM. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for all of
his work on this as well.
It is a great opportunity to speak on this bill, H.R. 2606, the New
York City Natural Gas Supply Enhancement Act, which would authorize the
Secretary of the Interior to allow the construction and operation of a
natural gas pipeline facility in the New York portion of the Gateway
National Recreation Area.
I appreciate Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member Markey's support
for the bill when it was first considered here in the House, and now as
it is considered with the Senate modifications.
Further, I wish to extend my sincerest appreciation to a good friend
and my colleague from New York, Mr. Gregory Meeks. From start to
finish, this bill has been a bipartisan effort and is an example of
what exactly we can accomplish when we work together toward a common
goal.
This project will be the first bulk natural gas transmission project
in Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Queens in more than 40 years. The 5.2
million people living in these three boroughs are demanding more and
more natural gas. Natural gas, as we all know, is reliable. It's clean,
it's domestic, and it's economical.
On September 15 of last year, New York City Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway
testified before the National Parks Subcommittee in support of the
Grimm-Meeks bill. I appreciate all of the courtesies shown to him on
that day. In this testimony, the deputy mayor stated ``energy demand in
New York City is increasing and will continue to grow.'' Therefore,
getting the Gateway project done is a major effort that includes the
private sector, the city, State, and Federal governments.
The Gateway pipeline project will generate approximately $265 million
in construction activity, create almost 300 local jobs, and bring in
about $8 million in annual local revenue for the city of New York,
providing much-needed short- and long-term boosts to our economy.
Following House passage, my colleague Congressman Crowley praised the
bill for reducing the use of two so-called dirtier fuels: No. 4 and No.
6 oil. The Senate modification of H.R. 2606 resolves concerns raised by
the National Park Service about the House bill and now has full
National Park support, as well as that of the Partnership for New York
City, the Regional Plan Association, organized labor, and Mayor
Bloomberg.
When I came to Congress, I promised my constituents in Staten Island
and in Brooklyn that I would find fiscally conservative ways to create
jobs and get our country moving again. Mr. Speaker, this bill does just
that. Not only will it create a unique public-private partnership to
revitalize Floyd Bennett Field, but it also creates well-paying jobs
and it increases the supply of inexpensive natural gas, and does it all
at absolutely no cost to the taxpayer, even bringing revenue to the
Treasury.
So, Mr. Speaker, I thank you again for the opportunity to speak in
support of this bill. I urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak in support of my
bill, H.R. 2606, the New York City Natural Gas Supply Enhancement Act
which would authorize the Secretary of Interior to allow the
construction and operation of natural gas pipeline facilities in the
New York portion of the Gateway National Recreation Area.
I appreciate Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member Markey's support
for the bill by when it was first considered by the House and now as we
consider the Senate modification.
Further, I wish to extend my sincerest appreciation to my friend and
colleague from New York, Mr. Meeks. From start to finish this bill has
been a bipartisan effort and an example of what we can accomplish when
we work together towards a common goal.
This project will be the first bulk natural gas transmission project
in Brooklyn, Staten Island and Queens in more than 40 years. The 5.2
million people living in these three boroughs are demanding more and
more natural gas. Natural gas, as we all know, is reliable, clean,
domestic and economical.
On September 15 of last year, New York City Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway
testified before the National Parks Subcommittee in support of the
Grimm-Meeks bill and I appreciate all the courtesy shown him on that
day.
In his testimony Deputy Mayor Holloway stated the ``energy demand in
New York City is increasing and will continue to grow'' and getting the
Gateway project done ``is a major effort that includes the private
sector, and the City, State, and Federal governments.''
The Gateway pipeline project will generate approximately $265 million
in construction activity, almost 300 local construction jobs, about $8
million in annual local property taxes for New York City, providing a
much-needed short-term and long-term boost to our economy.
Following House passage, my colleague Congressman Crowley praised the
bill for reducing the use of ``two dirtier fuels: number four and
number six oil.''
The Senate modification of H.R. 2606 resolves concerns raised by NPS
about the House bill and has full NPS support as well as that of the
Partnership for New York City, the Regional Plan Association, organized
labor, and Mayor Bloomberg.
When I came to Congress I promised my constituents on Staten Island
and Brooklyn that I would find fiscally conservative ways to create
jobs and get our country moving again. Mr. Speaker, this bill does just
that. Not only will it create a unique public-private partnership to
revitalize Floyd Bennett Field, but it also creates good paying jobs,
increases our supply of inexpensive natural gas, and does it all at no
cost to the taxpayer and even brings revenue into the Treasury.
Mr. Speaker, thank you again for the opportunity to speak in support
of the New York City Natural Gas Supply Enhancement Act. I urge my
colleagues to support this bill and ask that my written statement be
included in the Record.
Mr. AMODEI. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Amodei) that the House suspend the rules and
concur in the Senate amendment to the bill, H.R. 2606.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the Senate amendment was concurred in.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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