Right-Of-Way Application Transparency and Accountability Act
Floor Speech
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Ms. HAGEMAN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6011) to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to notify applicants of the completion status of right-of-way applications under section 501 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 6011
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 ``Right-Of-Way Application Transparency and Accountability Act'' or the ``ROWATA Act''. SEC. 2. DETERMINATION REGARDING RIGHTS-OF-WAY.
(a) Notice.--Not later than 90 days after the Secretary concerned receives an application to grant a right-of-way, the Secretary concerned shall--
(1) notify the applicant as to whether the application is complete; or
(2) notify the applicant that information is missing and specify any information that is required to be submitted for the application to be complete.
(b) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Right-of-way.--The term ``right-of-way'' means--
(A) a right-of-way issued, granted, or renewed under section 501 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761); or
(B) a right-of-way granted under section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 185).
(2) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned'' means--
(A) with respect to public lands, the Secretary of the Interior; and
(B) with respect to National Forest System lands, the Secretary of Agriculture.
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Ms. HAGEMAN. 6011, as amended, the bill now under consideration.
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Ms. HAGEMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6011, the Right-of-Way Application Transparency and Accountability Act.
H.R. 6011, introduced by Congressman Valadao, would expedite right- of-way applications on Federal lands for energy projects by requiring agencies to notify applicants within 90 days if the right-of-way application is complete or deficient.
The Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service would both be required to meet this deadline and specify the information needed for applicants that are deemed deficient.
The Federal Land Policy Management Act, or FLPMA, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to grant rights-of-way on Federal lands for several activities that cause land disturbance. The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 allows the respective Secretaries to issue rights-of-way for oil, natural gas, and refined product pipelines over Federal lands.
While both statutes include application requirements, neither includes timelines for the agencies to respond to applicants to tell them whether their applications are complete or deficient.
The lack of a timeline has created a bottleneck in the permitting process for energy projects that need a right-of-way to proceed, which is why this bill is needed.
During the Committee on Natural Resources' hearing on this bill, the American Clean Power Association testified in support of it and pointed out that the permitting system on Federal lands is overly burdensome and actively curtails investment.
Specifically, their testimony stated that ``delays are largely due to procedural inefficiencies in processing permits and have ripple effects throughout the economy, throwing off project timelines, domestic supply chains, and the indirect jobs and economic activity that would otherwise occur. Without further permitting reform, the United States may not be able to meet our growing energy demand.''
They also noted that the current average timeline for a project to obtain a right-of-way is often over 5 years, mainly due to the delays between filing an application and beginning the environmental review process.
That lag time, an unnecessary delay, is exactly what H.R. 6011 addresses.
This bill will also help expedite the process for rights-of-way for oil and gas gathering lines on Federal lands, which would help increase production while reducing emissions.
While this commonsense legislation is not a panacea for permitting on Federal lands, it does provide a meaningful step forward by allowing complete applications for energy projects to move forward and provide certainty to those with incomplete applications so that they can fix and resubmit those applications.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in support of H.R. House of Representatives, Committee on Agriculture, Washington, DC, March 7, 2024. Hon. Bruce Westerman, Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: This letter confirms our mutual understanding regarding H.R. 6011, the ``Right-Of-Way Application Transparency and Accountability Act''. Thank you for collaborating with the Committee on Agriculture on the matters within our jurisdiction.
The Committee on Agriculture will forego any further consideration of this bill. However, by foregoing consideration at this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction over any subject matter contained in this or similar legislation. The Committee on Agriculture also reserves the right to seek appointment of an appropriate number of conferees should it become necessary and ask that you support such a request.
We would appreciate a response to this letter confirming this understanding with respect to H.R. 6011 and request a copy of our letters on this matter be published in the Congressional Record during Floor consideration. Sincerely, Glenn ``GT'' Thompson, Chairman. ____ House of Representatives, Committee on Natural Resources, Washington, DC, March 7, 2024. Hon. Glenn ``GT'' Thompson, Chairman, Committee on Agriculture, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: I write regarding H.R. 6011, the ``Right-Of-Way Application Transparency and Accountability Act,'' which was ordered reported by the Committee on Natural Resources on December 6, 2023.
I recognize that the bill contains provisions that fall within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Agriculture and appreciate your willingness to forgo any further consideration of this bill. I acknowledge that the Committee on Agriculture will not formally consider H.R. 6011 and agree that the inaction of your Committee with respect to the bill does not waive any jurisdiction over the subject matter contained therein.
I am pleased to support your request to name members of the Committee on Agriculture to any conference committee to consider such provisions. I will ensure that our exchange of letters is included in the Congressional Record during floor consideration of the bill. I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation. Sincerely, Bruce Westerman, Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources.
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6011, the Right-of-Way Application Transparency and Accountability Act.
There is a rapidly growing demand for renewable energy across the country, and our Federal public lands have significant potential to support that growth. In fact, we are well on our way to developing 25 gigawatts of clean energy on public lands by 2025, the goal set in the Energy Act of 2020.
Right now, the Bureau of Land Management is processing 74 utility- scale onshore clean energy projects, including solar, wind, geothermal, and transmission lines, all of which are vital to the clean energy transition.
In order for solar, wind, and transmission to use our public lands, however, these renewable projects are required to secure a right-of-way any time a project will use or disturb public lands.
Also, the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act have tremendous amount of potential on our public lands, as well as on Tribal lands. However, for example, when a Tribe, such as the Navajo Nation in my district, needs to repair a bridge, they must also secure a right-of-way. This can be an incredibly cumbersome process, especially when dealing with the checkerboard pattern of many Tribal areas that intersect with BLM land, Forest Service land, private land, allottee land, and land held in trust.
This legislation would, however, require that the Secretary of the Interior, with regard to Bureau lands, and the Secretary of Agriculture, with regard to National Forest System lands, to notify a right-of-way applicant within 90 days of applying as to whether the application is complete, or if it is not, to specify what information is missing.
I am grateful to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for working with committee Democrats on compromise language to create these timelines while ensuring that they are workable for applicants and for our Federal agencies.
These clear requirements set out in this legislation will support the efficient and responsible deployment of clean energy on public lands. They will allow us to build those bridges, highways, and so much more that we authorized in the bipartisan infrastructure law.
I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on commonsense reforms to enhance clean energy deployment on public lands.
Madam Speaker, I urge support for this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Ms. HAGEMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Valadao).
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Ms. HAGEMAN. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time.
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this bill. I do recognize the important work that Representative Valadao has done working on this bill, and I appreciate the fact that he pointed out this bill would help with job creation.
As I noted earlier, the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Inflation Reduction Act, these bills that we passed in the 117th Congress, brought resources into our communities to build what we need for America's future.
Repairing those roads that cross our rural areas are so essential for districts and States like Montana and New Mexico and across the West. I am very appreciative of this bill, and I urge support of this legislation.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Ms. HAGEMAN. Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague from California, Mr. Valadao, for working across the aisle on this bipartisan, all-of- the-above energy bill.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6011, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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