TITLE 43 - US CODE - CHAPTER 38 - CRUDE OIL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS

43 USC 2001 - Findings

The Congress finds and declares that

(1) a serious crude oil supply shortage may soon exist in portions of the United States;

(2) a large surplus of crude oil on the west coast of the United States is projected;

(3) any substantial curtailment of Canadian crude oil exports to the United States could create a severe crude oil shortage in the northern tier States;

(4) pending the authorization and completion of west-to-east crude oil delivery systems, Alaskan crude oil in excess of west coast needs will be transshipped through the Panama Canal at a high transportation cost;

(5) national security and regional supply requirements may be such that west-to-east crude delivery systems serving both the northern tier States and inland States, consistent with the requirements of section 410 of the Act approved November 16, 1973 (87 Stat. 594), commonly known as the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act, are needed;

(6) expeditious Federal and State decisions for west-to-east crude oil delivery systems are of the utmost priority; and

(7) resolution of the west coast crude oil surplus and the need for crude oil in northern tier States and inland States require the assignment and coordination of overall responsibility within the executive branch to permit expedited action on all necessary environmental assessments and decisions on permit applications concerning delivery systems.

43 USC 2002 - Statement of purposes

The purposes of this chapter are

(1) to provide a means for

(A) selecting delivery systems to transport Alaskan and other crude oil to northern tier States and inland States, and

(B) resolving both the west coast crude oil surplus and the crude oil supply problems in the northern tier States;

(2) to provide an expedited procedure for acting on applications for all Federal permits, licenses, and approvals required for the construction and operation or any transportation system approved under this chapter and the Long Beach-Midland project; and

(3) to assure that Federal decisions with respect to crude oil transportation systems are coordinated with State decisions to the maximum extent practicable.

43 USC 2003 - Definitions

As used in this chapter

(1) The term northern tier States means the States of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

(2) The term inland States means those States in the United States other than northern tier States and the States of California, Alaska, and Hawaii.

(3) The term crude oil transportation system means a crude oil delivery system (including the location of such system) for transporting Alaskan and other crude oil to northern tier States and inland States, but such term does not include the Long Beach-Midland project.

(4) The term Long Beach-Midland project means the crude oil delivery system which was the subject of, and is generally described in, the Final Environmental Impact Statement, Crude Oil Transportation System: Valdez, Alaska, to Midland, Texas (as proposed by Sohio Transportation Company), the availability of which was announced by the Department of the Interior in the Federal Register on June 1, 1977 (42 Fed. Reg. 28008).

(5) The term Federal agency means an Executive agency, as defined in section 105 of title 5.

43 USC 2004 - Applications for approval of proposed crude oil transportation systems

The following applications for construction and operation of a crude oil transportation system submitted to the Secretary of the Interior by an applicant are eligible for consideration under this chapter:

(1) Applications received by the Secretary before the 30th day after November 9, 1978.

(2) Applications received by the Secretary during the 60-day period beginning on the 30th day after November 9, 1978, if the Secretary determines that consideration and review of the proposal contained in such application is in the national interest and that such consideration and review could be completed within the time limits established under this chapter.

An application under this section may be accepted by the Secretary only if it contains a general description of the route of the proposed system and identification of the applicant and any other person who, at the time of filing, has a financial or other interest in the system or is a party to an agreement under which such person would acquire a financial or other interest in the system.

43 USC 2005 - Review schedule

(a) Establishment
The Secretary of the Interior, after consultation with the heads of appropriate Federal agencies, shall establish an expedited schedule for conducting reviews and making recommendations concerning crude oil transportation systems proposed in applications filed under section 2004 of this title and for obtaining information necessary for environmental impact statements required under section 4332 of title 42 with respect to such proposed systems.

(b) Additional information

(1) On his own initiative or at the request of the head of any Federal agency covered by the review schedule established under subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall require that an applicant provide such additional information as may be necessary to conduct the review of the applicants proposal. Such information may include

(A) specific details of the route (and alternative routes) and identification of Federal lands affected by any such route;

(B) information necessary for environmental impact statements; and

(2) If, within a reasonable time, an applicant does not

(A) provide information required under this subsection, or

(B) comply with any requirement of section 1734 of this title,

the Secretary of the Interior may declare the application ineligible for consideration under this chapter. After making such a declaration, the Secretary of the Interior shall notify the applicant and the President of such ineligibility.

(1) Pursuant to the schedule established under subsection (a) of this section, heads of Federal agencies covered by such schedule shall conduct a review of a proposed crude oil transportation system eligible for consideration under this chapter and shall submit their recommendations concerning such systems (and the basis for such recommendations) to the Secretary of the Interior for submission to the President. After receipt of such recommendations and before their submission to the President, the Secretary of the Interior shall provide an opportunity for comments in accordance with paragraph (2). The Secretary of the Interior shall forward such comments to the President with the recommendations

(A) in the case of applications filed under section 2004 (1) of this title, on or before December 1, 1978, and

(B) in the case of applications filed under section 2004 (2) of this title, on or before the 60th day after December 1, 1978.

(2)

(A) After receipt of recommendations under paragraph (1) the Secretary of the Interior shall provide appropriate means by which the Governor and any other official of any State and any official of any political subdivision of a State, may submit written comments concerning proposed crude oil transportation systems eligible for consideration under this chapter.

(B) After receipt of recommendations referred to in subparagraph (A), the Secretary of the Interior shall make such comments and recommendations available to the public and provide an opportunity for submission of written comments.

(d) Review by Federal Trade Commission; effect on the antitrust laws

(1) Promptly after he receives an application for a proposed crude oil transportation system eligible for consideration under this chapter, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to the Federal Trade Commission a copy of such application and such other information as the Commission may reasonably require. The Commission may prepare and submit to the President a report on the impact of implementation of such application upon competition and restraint of trade and on whether such implementation would be inconsistent with the antitrust laws. Such report shall be made available to the public. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent the President from making his decision under section 2007 (a) of this title in the absence of such report.

(2) Nothing in this chapter shall bar the Attorney General or any other appropriate officer or agent of the United States from challenging any anticompetitive act or practice related to the ownership, construction, or operation of any crude oil transportation system approved under this chapter. The approval of any such system under this chapter shall not be deemed to convey to any person immunity from civil or criminal liability or to create defenses to actions under the antitrust laws and shall not modify or abridge any private right of action under such laws.

(e) Filing and review of permits, rights-of-way applications, etc., not affected
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the acceptance and review by any Federal agency of any application for any Federal permit, right-of-way, or other authorizations under other provisions of law for a crude oil transportation system eligible for consideration under this chapter; except that any determination with respect to such an application may be made only in accordance with the provisions of section 2009 (a) of this title.

43 USC 2006 - Environmental impact statements

(a) Preparation of environmental impact statements
Any Federal agency required under section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) to issue an environmental impact statement concerning a proposed crude oil transportation system eligible for consideration under this chapter shall, in preparing such statement, utilize, to the maximum extent practicable and consistent with such Act [42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.], appropriate data, analyses, conclusions, findings, and decisions regarding environmental impacts developed or made by any other Federal or State agency.

(b) Filing of environmental impact statements
On or before December 1, 1978, all environmental impact statements concerning proposed crude oil transportation systems eligible for consideration under this chapter and required under section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 [42 U.S.C. 4332] shall be completed, made available for public review and comment, revised to the extent appropriate in light of such comment, and submitted to the President and the Council on Environmental Quality; except that in the case of any environmental impact statement concerning any crude oil transportation system which is eligible for consideration and which was filed under section 2004 (2) of this title, such actions may be taken not later than 60 days after December 1, 1978.

(c) Report of Council on Environmental Quality
Promptly after receiving an environmental impact statement referred to in subsection (b) of this section for a crude oil transportation system, the Council on Environmental Quality shall submit to the President a report on the Councils opinion concerning such statement and concerning other matters related to the environmental impact of such system.

43 USC 2007 - Decision of President

(a) Decision concerning approval or disapproval of proposed systems

(1) After reviewing all the information submitted to him concerning the various proposed crude oil transportation systems eligible for consideration under this chapter (including environmental impact statements, comments, reports, recommendations, and other information submitted to him at any time before he makes his decision) and after consulting the Secretaries of Energy, the Interior, and Transportation, the President shall decide which, if any, of such systems shall be approved for the purposes of section 2008 of this title (relating to procedures for waiver of law), section 2009 of this title (relating to expedited procedures for issuance of permits), section 2010 of this title (relating to negotiations with the Government of Canada), and section 2011 of this title (relating to judicial review). A decision approving a crude oil transportation system may include such modifications and alterations in such system as the President finds appropriate. The President shall issue his decision within 45 days after receiving recommendations and comments submitted to him under section 2005 (c) of this title, except that the President, for such period as he deems necessary, but not to exceed 60 days, may delay his decision and its issuance if he determines that additional time is otherwise necessary to enable him to make a decision. If the President so delays his decision, he shall promptly notify the House of Representatives and the Senate of such delay and shall submit a full explanation of the basis for such delay.

(2) Any decision made under this subsection approving a system proposed under this chapter shall include a determination that construction and operation of such system is in the national interest and shall be based upon the criteria specified in subsection (b) of this section.

(b) Criteria

(1) The criteria for making a decision under this subsection shall include findings of

(A) environmental impacts of the proposed systems and the capability of such systems to minimize environmental risks resulting from transportation of crude oil;

(B) the amount of crude oil available to northern tier States and inland States and the projected demand in those States under each of such systems;

(D) construction schedules for each of such systems and possibilities for delay in such schedules;

(E) feasibility of financing for each of such systems;

(F) capital and operating costs of each of such systems, including an analysis of the reliability of cost estimates and the risk of cost overruns;

(G) net national economic costs and benefits of each such system;

(H) the extent to which each system complies with the provisions of section 410 of the Act approved November 16, 1973 (87 Stat. 594), commonly known as the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act;

(I) the effect of each such system on international relations, including the status and time schedule for any necessary Canadian approvals and plans;

(J) impact upon competition by each system;

(K) degree of safety and efficiency of design and operation of each system;

(L) potential for interruption of deliveries of crude oil from the west coast under each such system;

(M) capacity and cost of expanding such system to transport additional volumes of crude oil in excess of initial system capacity;

(N) national security considerations under each such system;

(O) relationship of each such system to national energy policy; and

(P) such other factors as the President deems appropriate.

(2) The period of time for which such findings shall be made shall be the useful life of the crude oil transportation system involved.

(c) Publication of findings and decision
The President shall make available to the public at the time of issuance of a decision under this section a written statement setting forth findings with respect to each of the criteria specified in subsection (b) of this section and describing the nature and route of crude oil transportation systems, if any, which are approved in the decision. If the Presidents decision is to approve a system, each statement shall set forth his reasons for approving such system over other proposed systems (if any) eligible for consideration under this chapter. Such statement along with notification of such decision shall be published in the Federal Register.

43 USC 2008 - Procedures for waiver of Federal law

(a) Waiver of provisions of Federal law
The President may identify those provisions of Federal law (including any law or laws regarding the location of a crude oil transportation system but not including any provision of the antitrust laws) which, in the national interest, as determined by the President, should be waived in whole or in part to facilitate construction or operation of any such system approved under section 2007 of this title or of the Long Beach-Midland project, and he shall submit any such proposed waiver to both Houses of the Congress. The provisions so identified shall be waived with respect to actions to be taken to construct or operate such system or project only upon enactment of a joint resolution within the first period of 60 calendar days of continuous session of Congress beginning on the date of receipt by the House of Representatives and the Senate of such proposal.

(b) Joint resolution
The resolving clause of the joint resolution referred to in subsection (a) of this section is as follows: That the House of Representatives and Senate approve the waiver of the provisions of law () as proposed by the President, submitted to the Congress on, 19.. The first blank space therein being filled with the citation to the provisions of law proposed to be waived by the President and the second blank space therein being filled with the date on which the President submits his decision to wave^[1] such provisions of law to the House of Representatives and the Senate. Rules and procedures for consideration of any such joint resolution shall be governed by section 719f (c) and (d) of title 15, other than paragraph (2) of section 719f (d) of title 15, except that for the purposes of this subsection, the phrase a waiver of provisions of law shall be substituted in section 719f (d) of title 15 each place where the phrase an Alaska natural gas transportation system appears.

[1] So in original. Probably should be “waive”.

43 USC 2009 - Expedited procedures for issuance of permits: enforcement of rights-of-way

(a) Expedited procedures for approved systems
After issuance of a decision by the President approving any crude oil transportation system, all Federal officers and agencies shall expedite, to the maximum extent practicable, consistent with applicable provisions of law, all actions necessary to determine whether to issue, administer, or enforce rights-of-way across Federal lands and to issue Federal permits in connection with, or otherwise to authorize, construction and operation of such system. Any such action shall be consistent with applicable provisions of law. After taking any such action, such officer or agency shall publish notification of the taking of such action in the Federal Register.

(b) Expedited procedures for Long Beach-Midland project
All decisions regarding issuance of Federal permits, rights-of-way, and leases and other Federal authorizations necessary for construction and operation of the Long Beach-Midland project shall be consistent with applicable provisions of Federal law, except that such decisions shall be made within 30 days after the date this chapter becomes effective. The President may extend the date by which such decisions, under the preceding sentence, are to be made to a date not later than 90 days after the effective date of this chapter. Notification of the making of such decisions shall be published in the Federal Register. Nothing in this section affects any decision made before November 9, 1978.

(c) Law governing rights-of-way
Rights-of-way over any Federal land with respect to an approved crude oil transportation system or the Long Beach-Midland project shall be governed by the provisions of section 185 of title 30, other than subsection (w)(2) of such section.

43 USC 2010 - Negotiations with Government of Canada

With respect to any crude oil transportation system approved under section 2007 (a) of this title all or any part of which is to be located in Canada, the President of the United States is authorized and requested to enter into negotiations with the Government of Canada to determine what measures can be taken to expedite the granting of approvals by the Government of Canada for construction or operation of such system, and he is authorized and requested to explore the possibility of further exchanges of crude oil supplies between the United States and Canada.

43 USC 2011 - Judicial review

(a) Notice
The President or any other Federal officer shall cause notice to be published in the Federal Register and in newspapers of general circulation in the areas affected whenever he makes any decision described in subsection (b) of this section.

(b) Review of certain Federal actions
Any action seeking judicial review of an action or decision of the President or any other Federal officer taken or made after November 9, 1978, concerning the approval or disapproval of a crude oil transportation system or the issuance of necessary rights-of-way, permits, leases, and other authorizations for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Long Beach-Midland project or a crude oil transportation system approved under section 2007 (a) of this title may only be brought within 60 days after the date on which notification of the action or decision of such officer is published in the Federal Register, or in newspapers of general circulation in the areas affected, whichever is later.

(c) Jurisdiction of courts
An action under subsection (b) of this section shall be barred unless a petition is filed within the time specified. Any such petition shall be filed in the appropriate United States district court. A copy of such petition shall be transmitted by the clerk of such court to the Secretary. Notwithstanding the amount in controversy, such court shall have jurisdiction to determine such proceeding in accordance with the procedures hereinafter provided and to provide appropriate relief. No State or local court shall have jurisdiction of any such claim whether in a proceeding instituted before, on, or after the date this chapter becomes effective. No court shall have jurisdiction to grant any injunctive relief against the issuance of any right-of-way, permit, lease, or other authorization in connection with a crude oil transportation system approved under section 2007 (a) of this title or the Long Beach-Midland project, except as part of a final judgment entered in a case involving a claim filed pursuant to this section.

43 USC 2012 - Authorization for appropriation

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior to carry out his responsibilities under this chapter not to exceed $500,000 for the fiscal year ending on September 30, 1978, and not to exceed $1,000,000 for the fiscal year ending on September 30, 1979.