House Energy Committee Votes To Expedite Pipeline Permits
On July 9, 2013, the House Energy and Committee voted in favor of legislation that would expedite the process of obtaining federal approval of natural gas pipeline projects. The bill, H.R. 1900, would establish deadlines for the issuance of any federal permits, licenses, or approvals for such projects and would deem those requests granted by default if an agency fails to act within that time.
On July 16, 2013, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 405-2 in favor of extending a deadline that restricts the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) ability to reference consensus industry standards in its regulations and guidance documents. The restriction, enacted in the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 (PL 112-90), the most recent reauthorization of the federal pipeline safety laws, states that as of January 3, 2013, an industry standard cannot be incorporated by reference into a new pipeline safety standard or guidance document unless it is available to the public, free of charge, on an internet website. The House bill, H.R. 2576, would extend the effective date of that provision for two more years to provide PHMSA and the industry standards organizations additional time to achieve compliance.