May 19, 2015
The Honorable Tom MacArthur
506 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Cedric Richmond
240 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Reps. MacArthur and Richmond,
On behalf of the members of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), thank you for introducing H.R. 2295, the National Energy Security Corridors Act. INGAA represents interstate natural gas transmission pipeline operators in the U.S. and Canada. Our 24 members operate the vast majority of the interstate natural gas transmission network, which is the natural gas industry analog to the interstate highway system.
H.R. 2295 would allow the Department of the Interior to review and approve natural gas pipeline rights of way on lands administered by the National Park Service without first seeking project���specific authorization from Congress, as is now required by law. The Department of the Interior has had the authority to approve rights of way for electric, water and communications facilities on these lands, without prior authorization from Congress, since Theodore Roosevelt was president. The current process, which puts Congress in the role of a de facto permitting agency for an individual natural gas pipeline project, is peculiar and unnecessary. The Department of the Interior is perfectly capable of reviewing and making balanced decisions on these proposals. This is entirely consistent with the statutes authorizing other federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, to issue permits for
natural gas pipelines. Seeking a project���specific bill in Congress, which only authorizes the Department of the Interior to negotiate with a pipeline developer for a right of way and does not grant the permit itself, adds years to the process. We hope Congress will act to delegate this permitting authority to the Department of the Interior.
Thank you for introducing this common���sense measure. Please let us know if you have any
questions.
Respectfully,
Donald F. Santa
President and CEO
Related
Exploring Real-Life Challenges with Ensuring Natural Gas Availability for Power and Joint Industry Suggested Mitigation Strategies Natural Gas Council letter to Senate leadership on permitting reform
