[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 60 (Tuesday, April 9, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H2150-H2152]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RIGHT-OF-WAY APPLICATION TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

  Ms. HAGEMAN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6011) to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Secretary of Agriculture to notify applicants of the completion status 
of right-of-way applications under section 501 of the Federal Land 
Policy and Management Act of 1976 and section 28 of the Mineral Leasing 
Act, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6011

       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 ``Right-Of-Way Application 
     Transparency and Accountability Act'' or the ``ROWATA Act''.

     SEC. 2. DETERMINATION REGARDING RIGHTS-OF-WAY.

       (a) Notice.--Not later than 90 days after the Secretary 
     concerned receives an application to grant a right-of-way, 
     the Secretary concerned shall--
       (1) notify the applicant as to whether the application is 
     complete; or
       (2) notify the applicant that information is missing and 
     specify any information that is required to be submitted for 
     the application to be complete.
       (b) Definitions.--In this Act:
       (1) Right-of-way.--The term ``right-of-way'' means--
       (A) a right-of-way issued, granted, or renewed under 
     section 501 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
     1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761); or
       (B) a right-of-way granted under section 28 of the Mineral 
     Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 185).
       (2) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned'' 
     means--
       (A) with respect to public lands, the Secretary of the 
     Interior; and
       (B) with respect to National Forest System lands, the 
     Secretary of Agriculture.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Wyoming (Ms. Hageman) and the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger 
Fernandez) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Wyoming.


                             General Leave

  Ms. HAGEMAN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include extraneous material on H.R. 6011, as amended, the bill now 
under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Wyoming?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. HAGEMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6011, the Right-of-Way 
Application Transparency and Accountability Act.
  H.R. 6011, introduced by Congressman Valadao, would expedite right-
of-way applications on Federal lands for energy projects by requiring 
agencies to notify applicants within 90 days if the right-of-way 
application is complete or deficient.
  The Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service would both 
be required to meet this deadline and specify the information needed 
for applicants that are deemed deficient.
  The Federal Land Policy Management Act, or FLPMA, authorizes the 
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to grant 
rights-of-way on Federal lands for several activities that cause land 
disturbance. The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 allows the respective 
Secretaries to issue rights-of-way for oil, natural gas, and refined 
product pipelines over Federal lands.
  While both statutes include application requirements, neither 
includes timelines for the agencies to respond to applicants to tell 
them whether their applications are complete or deficient.
  The lack of a timeline has created a bottleneck in the permitting 
process for energy projects that need a right-of-way to proceed, which 
is why this bill is needed.
  During the Committee on Natural Resources' hearing on this bill, the 
American Clean Power Association testified in support of it and pointed 
out that the permitting system on Federal lands is overly burdensome 
and actively curtails investment.
  Specifically, their testimony stated that ``delays are largely due to 
procedural inefficiencies in processing permits and have ripple effects 
throughout the economy, throwing off project timelines, domestic supply 
chains, and the indirect jobs and economic activity that would 
otherwise occur. Without further permitting reform, the United States 
may not be able to meet our growing energy demand.''

[[Page H2151]]

  They also noted that the current average timeline for a project to 
obtain a right-of-way is often over 5 years, mainly due to the delays 
between filing an application and beginning the environmental review 
process.
  That lag time, an unnecessary delay, is exactly what H.R. 6011 
addresses.
  This bill will also help expedite the process for rights-of-way for 
oil and gas gathering lines on Federal lands, which would help increase 
production while reducing emissions.
  While this commonsense legislation is not a panacea for permitting on 
Federal lands, it does provide a meaningful step forward by allowing 
complete applications for energy projects to move forward and provide 
certainty to those with incomplete applications so that they can fix 
and resubmit those applications.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in support of H.R. 
6011, and I reserve the balance of my time.
                                         House of Representatives,


                                     Committee on Agriculture,

                                    Washington, DC, March 7, 2024.
     Hon. Bruce Westerman,
     Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: This letter confirms our mutual 
     understanding regarding H.R. 6011, the ``Right-Of-Way 
     Application Transparency and Accountability Act''. Thank you 
     for collaborating with the Committee on Agriculture on the 
     matters within our jurisdiction.
       The Committee on Agriculture will forego any further 
     consideration of this bill. However, by foregoing 
     consideration at this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction 
     over any subject matter contained in this or similar 
     legislation. The Committee on Agriculture also reserves the 
     right to seek appointment of an appropriate number of 
     conferees should it become necessary and ask that you support 
     such a request.
       We would appreciate a response to this letter confirming 
     this understanding with respect to H.R. 6011 and request a 
     copy of our letters on this matter be published in the 
     Congressional Record during Floor consideration.
           Sincerely,
                                            Glenn ``GT'' Thompson,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                               Committee on Natural Resources,

                                    Washington, DC, March 7, 2024.
     Hon. Glenn ``GT'' Thompson,
     Chairman, Committee on Agriculture,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: I write regarding H.R. 6011, the 
     ``Right-Of-Way Application Transparency and Accountability 
     Act,'' which was ordered reported by the Committee on Natural 
     Resources on December 6, 2023.
       I recognize that the bill contains provisions that fall 
     within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Agriculture and 
     appreciate your willingness to forgo any further 
     consideration of this bill. I acknowledge that the Committee 
     on Agriculture will not formally consider H.R. 6011 and agree 
     that the inaction of your Committee with respect to the bill 
     does not waive any jurisdiction over the subject matter 
     contained therein.
       I am pleased to support your request to name members of the 
     Committee on Agriculture to any conference committee to 
     consider such provisions. I will ensure that our exchange of 
     letters is included in the Congressional Record during floor 
     consideration of the bill. I appreciate your cooperation 
     regarding this legislation.
           Sincerely,

                                              Bruce Westerman,

                                                         Chairman,
                                   Committee on Natural Resources.
  Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6011, the Right-of-Way 
Application Transparency and Accountability Act.
  There is a rapidly growing demand for renewable energy across the 
country, and our Federal public lands have significant potential to 
support that growth. In fact, we are well on our way to developing 25 
gigawatts of clean energy on public lands by 2025, the goal set in the 
Energy Act of 2020.
  Right now, the Bureau of Land Management is processing 74 utility-
scale onshore clean energy projects, including solar, wind, geothermal, 
and transmission lines, all of which are vital to the clean energy 
transition.
  In order for solar, wind, and transmission to use our public lands, 
however, these renewable projects are required to secure a right-of-way 
any time a project will use or disturb public lands.
  Also, the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction 
Act have tremendous amount of potential on our public lands, as well as 
on Tribal lands. However, for example, when a Tribe, such as the Navajo 
Nation in my district, needs to repair a bridge, they must also secure 
a right-of-way. This can be an incredibly cumbersome process, 
especially when dealing with the checkerboard pattern of many Tribal 
areas that intersect with BLM land, Forest Service land, private land, 
allottee land, and land held in trust.
  This legislation would, however, require that the Secretary of the 
Interior, with regard to Bureau lands, and the Secretary of 
Agriculture, with regard to National Forest System lands, to notify a 
right-of-way applicant within 90 days of applying as to whether the 
application is complete, or if it is not, to specify what information 
is missing.
  I am grateful to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for 
working with committee Democrats on compromise language to create these 
timelines while ensuring that they are workable for applicants and for 
our Federal agencies.
  These clear requirements set out in this legislation will support the 
efficient and responsible deployment of clean energy on public lands. 
They will allow us to build those bridges, highways, and so much more 
that we authorized in the bipartisan infrastructure law.
  I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on 
commonsense reforms to enhance clean energy deployment on public lands.
  Madam Speaker, I urge support for this bill, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. HAGEMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Valadao).
  Mr. VALADAO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to 
support my bill, the Right-of-Way Application and Transparency 
Accountability Act.
  The bill makes a commonsense reform to our broken Federal permitting 
process. Right now, there is no required timeline for Federal agencies 
to respond to right-of-way applications of projects on Federal lands. 
That means hundreds of these applications are just stuck in permitting 
purgatory instead of moving forward.
  The time spent waiting for answers on these applications is a 
significant and preventable bottleneck. This wasted time is hindering 
domestic energy production, rural development, new roads, and so much 
more.
  My bill would fix this by requiring Federal agencies to notify right-
of-way applicants if their application is complete within 90 days of 
receiving it.
  Notifying applicants about their status of their right-of-way 
application in a timely manner is a very basic step that will make the 
permitting process more efficient and transparent.
  We cannot continue to let permitting red tape kill these 
infrastructure projects. We must reform the Federal permitting process 
so we can better utilize our domestic energy resources, expand rural 
broadband, build roads, and ultimately create more jobs here at home.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense bill, 
and I thank the chairwomen for their support.
  Ms. HAGEMAN. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I am 
prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time to close.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this bill. I do recognize the 
important work that Representative Valadao has done working on this 
bill, and I appreciate the fact that he pointed out this bill would 
help with job creation.
  As I noted earlier, the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the 
Inflation Reduction Act, these bills that we passed in the 117th 
Congress, brought resources into our communities to build what we need 
for America's future.
  Repairing those roads that cross our rural areas are so essential for 
districts and States like Montana and New Mexico and across the West. I 
am very appreciative of this bill, and I urge support of this 
legislation.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. HAGEMAN. Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague from California, 
Mr. Valadao, for working across the aisle on this bipartisan, all-of-
the-above energy bill.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6011, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.

[[Page H2152]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Hageman) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 6011, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. HAGEMAN. Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________