Electric Transmission Infrastructure Permitting Improvement Act

[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1217 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1217

 To establish an Interagency Rapid Response Team for Transmission, to 
    establish an Office of Transmission Ombudsperson, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 6, 2015

 Ms. Murkowski introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish an Interagency Rapid Response Team for Transmission, to 
    establish an Office of Transmission Ombudsperson, and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 ``Electric Transmission Infrastructure 
Permitting Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY RAPID RESPONSE TEAM FOR TRANSMISSION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established an interagency rapid 
response team, to be known as the ``Interagency Rapid Response Team for 
Transmission'' (referred to in this section as the ``Team''), to 
expedite and improve the permitting process for electric transmission 
infrastructure on Federal land and non-Federal land.
    (b) Mission.--The mission of the Team shall be--
            (1) to improve the timeliness and efficiency of electric 
        transmission infrastructure permitting; and
            (2) to facilitate the performance of maintenance and 
        upgrades to electric transmission lines on Federal land and 
        non-Federal land.
    (c) Membership.--The Team shall be comprised of representatives 
of--
            (1) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission;
            (2) the Department of Energy;
            (3) the Department of the Interior;
            (4) the Department of Defense;
            (5) the Department of Agriculture;
            (6) the Council on Environmental Quality;
            (7) the Department of Commerce;
            (8) the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; and
            (9) the Environmental Protection Agency.
    (d) Duties.--The Team shall--
            (1) facilitate coordination and unified environmental 
        documentation among electric transmission infrastructure 
        project applicants, Federal agencies, States, and Indian tribes 
        involved in the siting and permitting process;
            (2) establish clear timelines for the review and 
        coordination of electric transmission infrastructure projects 
        by the applicable agencies;
            (3) ensure that each electric transmission infrastructure 
        project is posted on the Federal permitting transmission 
        tracking system known as ``e-Trans'', including information on 
        the status and anticipated completion date of each project; and
            (4) regularly notify all participating members of the Team 
        involved in any specific permit of--
                    (A) any outstanding agency action that is required 
                with respect to the permit; and
                    (B) any approval or required comment that has 
                exceeded statutory or agency timelines for completion, 
                including an identification of any Federal agency, 
                department, or field office that has not met the 
                applicable timeline.
    (e) Annual Reports.--Annually, the Team shall submit to the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a 
report that describes the average completion time for specific 
categories of regionally and nationally significant transmission 
projects, based on information obtained from the applicable Federal 
agencies.
    (f) Use of Data by OMB.--Using data provided by the Team, the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall prioritize 
inclusion of individual electric transmission infrastructure projects 
in the permit performance dashboard.

SEC. 3. TRANSMISSION OMBUDSPERSON.

    (a) Establishment.--To enhance and ensure the reliability of the 
electric grid, there is established within the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission the position of Transmission Ombudsperson 
(referred to in this section as the ``Ombudsperson''), to provide a 
unified point of contact for--
            (1) resolving interagency or intra-agency issues or delays 
        with respect to electric transmission infrastructure permits; 
        and
            (2) receiving and resolving complaints from parties with 
        outstanding or in-process applications relating to electric 
        transmission infrastructure.
    (b) Duties.--The Ombudsperson shall--
            (1) establish a process for--
                    (A) facilitating the permitting process for 
                performance of maintenance and upgrades to electric 
                transmission lines on Federal land and non-Federal 
                land, with a special emphasis on facilitating access 
                for immediate maintenance, repair, and vegetation 
                management needs;
                    (B) resolving complaints filed with the 
                Ombudsperson with respect to in-process electric 
                transmission infrastructure permits; and
                    (C) issuing recommended resolutions to address the 
                complaints filed with the Ombudsperson; and
            (2) hear, compile, and share any complaints filed with 
        Ombudsperson relating to in-process electric transmission 
        infrastructure permits.

SEC. 4. RIGHTS-OF-WAY FOR ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS.

    Section 507 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
(43 U.S.C. 1767) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Rights-of-Way for Electric Transmission Systems.--
            ``(1) In general.--In a case in which a right-of-way has 
        been reserved for the use of any Federal agency or department 
        for an electric transmission system, the Secretary shall not 
        take any of the actions described in paragraph (2) unless the 
        head of the applicable Federal agency or department proposes to 
        change the use of the right-of-way to support a function other 
        than an electric transmission system.
            ``(2) Covered actions.--An action referred to in paragraph 
        (1) is an action--
                    ``(A) requiring a new grant, permit, or renewal of 
                the grant or permit relating to the right-of-way;
                    ``(B) requiring any other authorization or 
                instrument relating to the right-of-way; or
                    ``(C) imposing new terms or conditions relating to 
                the right-of-way or the use of the right-of-way, 
                including any proposed changes to or additions of 
                equipment, structures, or other electric transmission 
                system facilities or appurtenances.''.
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