[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 88 (Wednesday, June 3, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S3719]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1582. Mr. BARRASSO (for himself, Mr. Cornyn, and Mr. Hoeven)
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 1463
proposed by Mr. McCain to the bill H.R. 1735, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for military activities of the
Department of Defense and for military construction, to prescribe
military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle G of title X, add the following:
SEC. 1___. ACTION ON APPLICATIONS; PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF LNG
EXPORT DESTINATIONS.
(a) Decision Deadline.--For proposals that must also obtain
authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
or the United States Maritime Administration to site,
construct, expand, or operate liquefied natural gas export
facilities, the Secretary of Energy (referred to in this
section as the ``Secretary'') shall issue a final decision on
any application for the authorization to export natural gas
under section 3(a) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b(a))
not later than 45 days after the later of--
(1) the conclusion of the review to site, construct,
expand, or operate the liquefied natural gas export
facilities required by the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); or
(2) the date of enactment of this Act.
(b) Conclusion of Review.--For purposes of subsection (a),
review required by the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall be considered concluded
when the lead agency--
(1) for a project requiring an Environmental Impact
Statement, publishes a Final Environmental Impact Statement;
(2) for a project for which an Environmental Assessment has
been prepared, publishes a Finding of No Significant Impact;
or
(3) determines that an application is eligible for a
categorical exclusion pursuant to National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) implementing
regulations.
(c) Judicial Action.--
(1) Jurisdiction.--The United States Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia Circuit or the circuit in which the
liquefied natural gas export facility will be located
pursuant to an application described in subsection (a) shall
have original and exclusive jurisdiction over any civil
action for the review of--
(A) an order issued by the Secretary with respect to such
application; or
(B) the failure of the Secretary to issue a final decision
on such application.
(2) Order to issue decision.--If the Court in a civil
action described in paragraph (1) finds that the Secretary
has failed to issue a decision on the application as required
under subsection (a), the Court shall order the Secretary to
issue the decision not later than 30 days after the Court's
order.
(3) Expedited consideration.--The Court shall set any civil
action brought under this subsection for expedited
consideration and shall set the matter on the docket as soon
as practical after the filing date of the initial pleading.
(4) Appeals.--In the case of an application described in
subsection (a) for which a petition for review has been
filed--
(A) upon motion by an applicant, the matter shall be
transferred to the United States Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit or the circuit in which a
liquefied natural gas export facility will be located
pursuant to an application described in section 3(a) of the
Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b(a)); and
(B) the provisions of this Act shall apply.
(d) Public Disclosure of Export Destinations.--Section 3 of
the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(g) Public Disclosure of LNG Export Destinations.--
``(1) In general.--In the case of any authorization to
export liquefied natural gas, the Secretary of Energy shall
require the applicant to report to the Secretary of Energy
the names of the 1 or more countries of destination to which
the exported liquefied natural gas is delivered.
``(2) Timing.--The applicant shall file the report required
under paragraph (1) not later than--
``(A) in the case of the first export, the last day of the
month following the month of the first export; and
``(B) in the case of subsequent exports, the date that is
30 days after the last day of the applicable month concerning
the activity of the previous month.
``(3) Disclosure.--The Secretary of Energy shall publish
the information reported under this subsection on the website
of the Department of Energy and otherwise make the
information available to the public.''.
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