US Congress House Bill 1616 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 8-0)
Status: Introduced on March 25 2015 - 25% progression, died in committee
Action: 2015-04-08 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans.
Pending: House Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [PDF]

Natural Gas Gathering Enhancement Act Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to grant a right of way for natural gas pipelines through a unit of the National Park System for a maximum term of 30 years, and a maximum width of 50 feet. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to permit the use of rights of way for natural gas pipelines through public lands, forest, and other reservations of the United States, and specified national parks in California. Defines "gas gathering line and associated field compression unit" as: (1) a pipeline installed to transport natural gas production associated with one or more wells drilled and completed to produce oil or gas; and (2) if necessary, a compressor to raise the pressure of that transported natural gas to higher pressures suitable to enable the gas to flow into pipelines and other facilities. Excludes from such definition any pipeline or compression unit installed to transport natural gas from a processing plant to a common carrier pipeline or facility. Excludes from federal lands, for purposes of gas gathering line and associated field compression units, any unit of the National Park System, any unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System, a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, or Indian land. Deems the issuance of a sundry notice or right-of-way for a gas gathering line and associated field compression unit located on federal or Indian land and servicing an oil well to be an action categorically excluded for purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), if the line and the compression unit are: (1) within a field or unit for which an approved land use plan or an environmental document prepared pursuant to NEPA analyzed transportation of natural gas produced from one or more oil wells in that field or unit as a reasonably foreseeable activity, and (2) located adjacent to or within an existing disturbed area or an existing corridor for a right-of-way. (A "categorical exclusion" is a category of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and which have been found to have no such effect in procedures adopted by a federal agency in implementing environmental regulations and for which, therefore, neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement is required.) Applies this categorical exclusion to Indian land if the Indian tribe with jurisdiction over the land requests in writing that the exclusion apply. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to direct the Secretary to study permissible actions or proposed changes to federal law which would expedite permitting for gas gathering lines and associated field compression units located on federal land or Indian land to transport natural gas associated with oil and gas production on any land, to a processing plant or a common carrier pipeline for delivery to markets. Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to direct the appropriate agency head to issue a sundry notice or right-of-way for a gas gathering line and associated field compression unit located on federal land within 90 days after receiving the request for a line and compression unit described in this Act, unless the Secretary or agency head finds that the sundry notice or right-of-way would violate either the National Historic Preservation Act or the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

Natural Gas Gathering Enhancement Act

Sen. Kevin Cramer [R-ND]	Rep. Jason Chaffetz [R-UT]	Rep. Ryan Zinke [R-MT]	Rep. Blake Farenthold [R-TX]
Rep. Stevan Pearce [R-NM]	Rep. Paul Gosar [R-AZ]	Rep. Austin Scott [R-GA]	Sen. Cynthia Lummis [R-WY]

Date	Chamber	Action
2015-04-08	House	Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans.
2015-04-08	House	Referred to the Subcommittee on Indians, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs.
2015-04-08	House	Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.
2015-04-08	House	Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
2015-03-25	House	Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
2015-03-25	House	Introduced in House

SB411 (Same As) 2015-05-14 - Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.

Type	Source
Summary	https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/1616/all-info
Text	https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/hr1616/BILLS-114hr1616ih.pdf