Bill > S2112

This bill, titled the Natural Gas Gathering Enhancement Act, aims to streamline the approval process for natural gas pipelines and gathering lines on federal and Indian lands. It acknowledges the significant economic benefits of natural gas production in the U.S., including job creation, reduced trade deficits, and revitalized manufacturing, but also notes that valuable natural gas is lost due to insufficient infrastructure, particularly on federal and Indian lands. To address this, the bill amends existing laws to allow the Secretary of the Interior to approve natural gas pipelines and establishes specific deadlines for issuing permits for natural gas gathering lines, which are defined as pipelines and associated compression units used to transport natural gas from oil wells. Notably, certain gathering lines servicing oil wells on federal or Indian land will be considered "categorically excluded" under the National Environmental Policy Act, meaning they will undergo a simplified environmental review, provided they are within an area where gas transportation has already been analyzed and are located near existing disturbed areas. The bill also mandates a study and regular reports on efforts to expedite these permits and sets a 30-day deadline for permits for gathering lines servicing oil wells that meet specific criteria, and a 60-day deadline for all other gathering lines.