US Congress Senate Bill 33 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 12-6)
Status: Introduced on January 6 2015 - 25% progression, died in chamber
Action: 2015-01-29 - Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-9.
Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [PDF]

LNG Permitting Certainty and Transparency Act Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE), 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 (LNG) export facilities, to issue a decision on an application for authorization to export natural gas within 45 days after the later of: (1) the conclusion of the review to site, construct, expand, or operate the LNG facilities required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA); or (2) the date of enactment of this Act. Deems a NEPA review to be concluded when the lead agency: (1) publishes an Environmental Impact Statement if the project requires one; (2) publishes a Finding of No Significant Impact if the project needs an Environmental Assessment; or (3) determines that an application is eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to NEPA regulations. (A "categorical exclusion" under NEPA 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.) Confers upon either the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit or the circuit in which the export facility will be located original and exclusive jurisdiction over any civil action for the review of: (1) a DOE order regarding the application; or (2) DOE failure to issue a final decision on the application. Requires the Court, if it finds in a civil action that DOE has failed to issue a final decision on an application, to order DOE to issue a decision within 30 days. Requires the Court to set any civil action brought under this Act on the docket, for expedited consideration, as soon as practical after the filing date of the initial pleading. Amends the Natural Gas Act to direct the Secretary, in the case of any LNG export authorization, to require the applicant to report to DOE, according to specified timelines, the names of the one or more countries of destination to which the exported LNG is delivered.

LNG Permitting Certainty and Transparency Act

Sen. John Barrasso [R-WY]	Sen. Martin Heinrich [D-NM]	Sen. Cory Gardner [R-CO]	Sen. Heidi Heitkamp [D-ND]
Sen. John Hoeven [R-ND]	Sen. Tim Kaine [D-VA]	Sen. Shelley Capito [R-WV]	Sen. Michael Bennet [D-CO]
Sen. Pat Toomey [R-PA]	Sen. Tom Udall [D-NM]	Sen. Rob Portman [R-OH]	Sen. Mark Warner [D-VA]
Sen. Steve Daines [R-MT]	Sen. John Cornyn [R-TX]	Sen. Jeff Flake [R-AZ]	Sen. Bill Cassidy [R-LA]
Sen. David Vitter [R-LA]	Sen. Dean Heller [R-NV]

Date	Chamber	Action
2015-01-29	Senate	Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-9.
2015-01-06	Senate	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

HB89 (Related) 2015-01-09 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Power.
SB2012 (Related) 2016-09-08 - Conference held.
HB3682 (Related) 2016-09-30 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Research and Technology.

Type	Source
Summary	https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/33/all-info
Text	https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/s33/BILLS-114s33is.pdf