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118th Congress } { Rept. 118-420
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { Part 1
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RIGHT-OF-WAY APPLICATION TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT
_______
March 12, 2024.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Westerman, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 6011]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
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, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and
recommends that the bill as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
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.
PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION
The purpose of H.R. 6011 is 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.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Title 5 of the Federal Land Policy Management Act\1\
authorizes the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Agriculture to grant rights-of-way (ROW) on federal lands for
several activities that cause land disturbance. Additionally,
the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920\2\ allows the respective
Secretaries to issue ROW for oil, natural gas, and refined
product pipelines over federal lands. Both statutes include
application requirements, but neither includes timelines for
the agencies to respond to applicants to let them know whether
their application is complete or deficient. This has created a
bottleneck in the permitting process for different kinds of
energy projects that need a ROW to move forward.
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\1\43 U.S.C. Sec. 1761 et seq.
\2\30 U.S.C. Sec. 185.
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The ``Right of Way Application Transparency and
Accountability Act'' would require agencies to notify
applicants if their right-of-way application is complete or
deficient within 90 days. If the application is deficient, the
agencies would be required to specify what information is
missing and required for the application to be deemed complete.
This will allow complete applications to move forward while
providing certainty to those with incomplete applications so
that they can fix and resubmit their applications.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 6011 was introduced on October 20, 2023, by Rep. David
G. Valadao (R-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources. The bill was also referred to the Committee
on Agriculture. On October 25, 2023, the Subcommittee on Energy
and Mineral Resources held a hearing on the bill. On December
6, 2023, the Committee on Natural Resources met to consider the
bill. Representative Pete Stauber (R-MN) offered an Amendment
in the Nature of a Substitute designated Stauber__036 ANS. The
amendment was adopted by unanimous consent. H.R. 6011, as
amended, was ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by unanimous consent.
HEARINGS
For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of House rule XIII, the
following hearing was used to develop or consider this measure:
hearing by the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
held on October 25, 2023.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 designates the bill as the ``Right-Of-Way
Application Transparency and Accountability Act'' or the
``ROWATA Act.''
Section 2. Determination regarding rights-of-way
Section 2 requires the respective Secretary to notify the
right-of-way applicant within 90 days as to whether the
application is complete or is missing information. If the
respective Secretary claims that information is missing, they
must specify what information is required for the application
to be complete.
Section 2 also includes a definition of ``right-of-way,''
which includes rights-of-way issued under section 501 of the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act or section 28 of the
Mineral Leasing Act. There is also a definition of ``Secretary
concerned,'' which includes the Secretary of the Interior for
public lands and the Secretary of Agriculture for National
Forest System lands.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT
1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act.
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 6011 would direct the Departments of Agriculture and
the Interior to notify applicants for rights-of-way on federal
land whether their application is complete or missing
information within 90 days of submission.
Under current law, there is no required timeframe for the
agencies to notify those applicants about whether their
application is complete or deficient. However, according to the
agencies, they both aim to make such notifications within 60
days of an application's submission.
Because H.R. 6011 would largely codify the agencies'
current timelines, CBO estimates that any administrative costs
to implement the bill would total less than $500,000 over the
2024-2029 period. Any spending would be subject to availability
of appropriated funds.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Kelly Durand.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Director of Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is 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.
EARMARK STATEMENT
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT STATEMENT
According to the Congressional Budget Office, H.R. 6011
contains no unfunded mandates as defined in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act.
EXISTING PROGRAMS
Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any
directed rule makings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the
U.S. Constitution.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
As ordered reported by the Committee on Natural Resources,
H.R. 6011 makes no changes in existing law.
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