[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 17 (Thursday, January 28, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S387-S388]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3124. Mr. HEINRICH submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 2953 proposed by Ms. Murkowski to the bill S. 2012, to
provide for the modernization of the energy policy of the United
States, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table;
as follows:
At the end of subtitle D of title II, add the following:
SEC. 23___. SITING OF INTERSTATE ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION
FACILITIES.
Section 216 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824p) is
amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 216. SITING OF INTERSTATE ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION
FACILITIES.
``(a) Policy.--It is the policy of the United States that
the national interstate transmission system should be guided
by the goal of maximizing the net benefits of the electricity
system, taking into consideration--
``(1) support for the development of new, cleaner power
generation capacity, including renewable energy generation
located distant from load centers;
``(2) opportunities for reduced emissions from regional
power production;
``(3) transmission needs driven by public policy
requirements established by State or Federal laws (including
regulations);
``(4) cost savings resulting from--
``(A) reduced transmission congestion;
``(B) enhanced opportunities for intraregional and
interregional electricity trades;
``(C) reduced line losses;
``(D) generation resource-sharing; and
``(E) enhanced fuel diversity;
``(5) reliability benefits, including satisfying
reliability standards and guidelines for resource adequacy
and system security;
``(6) diversification of risk relating to events affecting
fuel supply or generating resources in a particular region;
``(7) the enhancement of competition in electricity markets
and mitigation of market power;
``(8) the ability to collocate facilities on existing
rights-of-way;
``(9) competing land use priorities, including land
protected under Federal or State law;
``(10) the requirements of section 217(b)(4); and
``(11) the contribution of demand side management
(including energy efficiency and demand response), energy
storage, distributed generation resources, and smart grid
investments.
``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) High-priority regional transmission project.--The
term `high-priority regional transmission project' means an
overhead, submarine, or underground transmission facility,
including conductors or cables, towers, manhole duct systems,
reactors, capacitors, circuit breakers, static VAR
compensators, static synchronous compensators, power
converters, transformers, synchronous condensers, braking
resistors, and any ancillary facilities and equipment
necessary for the proper operation of the facility, that is
selected in a regional transmission plan for the purposes of
cost allocation under Order Number 1000 of the Commission (or
any successor order), including an interregional project
selected under that plan.
``(2) Indian land.--The term `Indian land' means land--
``(A) the title to which is held by the United States in
trust for an Indian tribe or individual Indian; or
``(B) that is held by an Indian tribe or individual Indian
subject to a restriction by the United States against
alienation or encumbrance.
``(3) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian tribe' means any
Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or
community, including any Alaska Native village or regional or
village corporation (as defined in or established pursuant to
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et
seq.), which is recognized as eligible for the special
programs and services provided by the United States to
Indians because of their status as Indians.
``(c) Siting.--
``(1) Purposes.--The purpose of this subsection is to
ensure that high-priority regional transmission projects are
in the public interest and advance the policy established
under subsection (a).
``(2) State review of project siting.--
``(A) In general.--No developer of a high-priority regional
transmission project may seek a certificate for construction
under subsection (d) unless the developer first seeks
authorization to construct the high-priority regional
transmission project under applicable State law concerning
authorization and routing of transmission facilities.
``(B) Federal authority.--The Commission may authorize, in
accordance with subsection (d), construction of a high-
priority regional transmission project that the Commission
finds to be required by the present or future public
convenience and necessity and in accordance with this section
if--
``(i) a State--
``(I) fails to approve construction and authorize routing
of a high-priority regional transmission project not later
than 1 year after the date the applicant submits a completed
application for authorization to the State;
``(II) rejects or denies the application for a high-
priority regional transmission project;
``(III) authorizes the high-priority regional transmission
project subject to conditions that unreasonably interfere
with the development of a high-priority regional transmission
project contrary to the purposes of this section; or
``(IV) does not have authority to approve the siting of the
high-priority regional transmission project; or
[[Page S388]]
``(ii) the developer seeking a certificate for construction
under subsection (d) does not qualify to apply for State
authorization to construct a high-priority regional
transmission project because the developer does not serve
end-users in the State.
``(d) Construction.--
``(1) Application for certificate.--
``(A) In general.--An applicant for a high-priority
regional transmission project may apply to the Commission for
a certificate of public convenience and necessity with
respect to construction of the high-priority regional
transmission project only under a circumstance described in
subsection (c)(2)(B).
``(B) Form.--The application for a certificate shall be
made in writing in such form and containing such information
as the Commission may by regulation require.
``(C) Hearing.--On receipt of an application under this
paragraph, the Commission--
``(i) shall provide public notice and opportunity for
hearing; and
``(ii) may approve (with or without conditions) or
disapprove the application, in accordance with paragraph (2).
``(D) Administration.--
``(i) In general.--The Commission shall act as the lead
agency for purposes of coordinating all applicable Federal
authorizations and related environmental reviews for a high-
priority regional transmission project under this section.
``(ii) Coordination.--To the maximum extent practicable,
the Commission shall--
``(I) coordinate the Federal authorization and related
environmental review process with any Indian tribe,
multistate entity, or State agency responsible for conducting
any separate permitting or environmental review of a high-
priority regional transmission project; and
``(II) ensure timely and efficient review and permit
decisions.
``(iii) Timeline.--The Commission, in consultation with the
applicable agencies described in clause (ii)(I) and
consistent with applicable law, shall establish a coordinated
project plan with milestones for all Federal authorizations
described in clause (i).
``(2) Grant of certificate.--
``(A) In general.--A certificate shall be issued to a
qualified applicant for a certificate authorizing the whole
or partial operation, construction, acquisition, or
modification covered by the application, if the Commission
determines that the proposed operation, construction,
acquisition, or modification, to the extent authorized by the
certificate, is required by the present or future public
convenience and necessity.
``(B) Terms and conditions.--The Commission shall have the
power to attach to the issuance of a certificate under this
paragraph and to the exercise of the rights granted under the
certificate such reasonable terms and conditions as the
public convenience and necessity may require.
``(C) Record of state proceeding.--Any party, including the
State, to a State proceeding in which an application for a
high-priority regional transmission project was rejected or
denied may file with the Commission for its consideration any
portion of the record of the State proceeding.
``(D) Public convenience and necessity.--In making a
determination with respect to public convenience and
necessity, the Commission shall consider whether the
facilities covered by an application are included in an
Interconnection-wide transmission grid plan for a high-
priority regional transmission project.
``(3) Right of eminent domain.--If any holder of a
certificate issued under paragraph (2) cannot acquire by
contract, or is unable to agree with the owner of property on
the compensation to be paid for, the necessary right-of-way
to construct, operate, and maintain the high-priority
regional transmission project to which the certificate
relates, and the necessary land or other property necessary
to the proper operation of the high-priority regional
transmission project, the holder may acquire the right-of-way
by the exercise of the right of eminent domain in--
``(A) the United States district court for the district in
which the property is located; or
``(B) a State court.
``(4) Federal, state and tribal recommendations.--In
granting a certificate under paragraph (2), the Commission
shall--
``(A) seek from Federal resource agencies, State regulatory
agencies, and affected Indian tribes recommended mitigation
measures, based on habitat protection, environmental
considerations, or cultural site protection; and
``(B)(i) incorporate those identified mitigation measures
as conditions to the certificate; or
``(ii) if the Commission determines that a recommended
mitigation measure is inconsistent with the purposes of this
section or with other applicable provisions of law, is
infeasible or not cost-effective, or for any other reason--
``(I) consult with the Federal resource agency, State
regulatory agency, and affected Indian tribe to seek to
resolve the issue;
``(II) incorporate as conditions to the certificate such
recommended mitigation measures as are determined to be
appropriate by the Commission, based on those consultations
and the record before the Commission; and
``(III) if, after consultation, the Commission does not
adopt in whole or in part a recommendation of an agency or
affected Indian tribe, publish a statement of a finding that
the adoption of the recommendation is infeasible, not cost-
effective, or otherwise inconsistent with this section or
other applicable provisions of law.
``(5) State or local authorizations.--An applicant
receiving a certificate under this subsection with respect to
construction or modification of a high-priority regional
transmission project in a State shall not be required to
obtain a separate siting authorization from the State or any
local authority within the State.
``(6) Rights-of-way over indian land.--Notwithstanding
paragraph (3), in the case of siting, construction,
operation, and maintenance of a transmission facility to be
located on or over Indian land, a certificate holder under
this section shall comply with the requirements of Federal
law for obtaining rights-of-way on or over Indian land.
``(e) Relationship to Other Laws.--
``(1) In general.--Except as specifically provided in this
section, nothing in this section affects any requirement of
an environmental or historic preservation law of the United
States, including--
``(A) the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);
``(B) the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.); or
``(C) the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470
et seq.).
``(2) State law.--Nothing in this section precludes any
person from constructing or modifying any transmission
facility in accordance with State law.
``(f) Applicability.--
``(1) Project developers.--Nothing in this section
precludes the development, subject to applicable regulatory
requirements, of transmission projects that are not selected
in a regional transmission plan.
``(2) Exclusions.--This section does not apply in the State
of Alaska or Hawaii or to the Electric Reliability Council of
Texas.''.
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