Procedure

Notwithstanding section 468(b) of title 6, the Secretary shall have the authority to issue regulations to carry out the purposes and provisions of this chapter, in accordance with the provisions of section 553 of title 5, without regard to subsection (a) thereof. Such regulations shall pertain to, but need not be limited to, application, issuance, transfer, renewal, suspension, and termination of licenses. Such regulations shall provide for full consultation and cooperation with all other interested Federal agencies and departments and with any potentially affected coastal State, and for consideration of the views of any interested members of the general public. The Secretary is further authorized, consistent with the purposes and provisions of this chapter, to amend or rescind any such regulation. The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior and the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall, as soon as practicable after January 3, 1975, prescribe regulations relating to those activities involved in site evaluation and preconstruction testing at potential deepwater port locations that may (1) adversely affect the environment; (2) interfere with authorized uses of the Outer Continental Shelf; or (3) pose a threat to human health and welfare. Such activity may thenceforth not be undertaken except in accordance with regulations prescribed pursuant to this subsection. Such regulations shall be consistent with the purposes of this chapter. Not later than 21 days after the date of receipt of an application, the Secretary shall— if the Secretary determines that such information is contained in the application, not later than 5 days after making the determination, publish in the Federal Register— if the Secretary determines that all required information is not contained in the application— Each application shall include such financial, technical, and other information as the Secretary determines to be necessary or appropriate, including— In this subsection, the term “lead agency” has the meaning given the term in section 111 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4336e). For all applications, the Maritime Administration shall be the Federal lead agency for purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). Compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) in accordance with subparagraph (A) shall fulfill the requirement of the Federal lead agency in carrying out the responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) pursuant to this chapter. A license may be issued only after public notice and public hearings in accordance with this subsection. At least one such public hearing shall be held in each adjacent coastal State. Any interested person may present relevant material at any hearing. After hearings in each adjacent coastal State are concluded if the Secretary determines that there exists one or more specific and material factual issues which may be resolved by a formal evidentiary hearing, at least one adjudicatory hearing shall be held in accordance with the provisions of section 554 of title 5 in the District of Columbia. The record developed in any such adjudicatory hearing shall be basis for the Secretary’s decision to approve or deny a license. Hearings held pursuant to this subsection shall be consolidated insofar as practicable with hearings held by other agencies. All public hearings on all applications for any designated application area shall be consolidated and shall be concluded not later than 240 days after notice of the initial application has been published pursuant to subsection (c). Each person applying for a license pursuant to this chapter shall remit to the Secretary at the time the application is filed a nonrefund­able application fee established by regulation by the Secretary. In addition to a fee under subparagraph (A), an applicant shall also reimburse the United States and the appropriate adjacent coastal State for any additional costs incurred in processing an application. In this paragraph, the term “directly related land-based facility”, with respect to a deepwater port facility, means an onshore tank farm and any pipelines connecting the tank farm to the deepwater port facility. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, and unless prohibited by law, an adjacent coastal State may fix reasonable fees for the use of a deepwater port facility, and such State and any other State in which land-based facilities directly related to a deepwater port facility are located may set reasonable fees for the use of such land-based facilities. A fee may be established pursuant to this paragraph as compensation for any economic cost attributable to the construction and operation of the applicable deepwater port and the applicable land-based facilities, which cannot be recovered under other authority of the applicable State or political subdivision thereof, including, but not limited to, ad valorem taxes, and for environmental and administrative costs attributable to the construction and operation of the applicable deepwater port and the applicable land-based facilities. The amount of a fee established under this paragraph shall not exceed the applicable economic, environmental, and administrative costs of the applicable State. A fee established under this paragraph shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary. A licensee shall pay annually in advance the fair market rental value (as determined by the Secretary of the Interior) of the subsoil and seabed of the outer Continental Shelf of the United States to be utilized by the deepwater port, including the fair market rental value of the right-of-way necessary for the pipeline segment of the port located on such subsoil and seabed. In the event more than one application is submitted for an application area, the Secretary, unless one of the proposed deepwater ports clearly best serves the national interest, shall issue a license according to the following order of priorities: In determining whether any one proposed deepwater port clearly best serves the national interest, the Secretary shall consider the following factors: In this paragraph, the term “amended license application” means a license application for a deepwater port for natural gas— To be eligible for review under this paragraph, an amended license application shall meet the following criteria: The Secretary shall develop and implement a program to promote the transportation of liquefied natural gas to and from the United States on United States flag vessels. When the Coast Guard is operating as a contributing agency in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s shoreside licensing process for a liquefied natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas terminal located on shore or within State seaward boundaries, the Coast Guard shall provide to the Commission the information described in subsection (c)(2)(K) with respect to vessels reasonably anticipated to be servicing that port. In this subsection, the term “applicable deadline”, with respect to an applicant, means the deadline or date applicable to the applicant under any of the following: If the Secretary suspends or delays an applicable deadline, the Secretary shall submit to the applicant, and publish in the Federal Register, a written statement— An applicant that receives a statement under paragraph (2) may submit to the Secretary a request for a meeting with appropriate personnel of the Department of Transportation and representatives of each cooperating Federal agency, as appropriate, determined by the Secretary to be relevant with respect to the application, including such officials as are appropriate, who shall provide technical assistance, status, process, and timeline updates and additional information as necessary. A meeting requested under clause (i) shall be held not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary receives the request under that clause. On receipt of a request under paragraph (3)(A), and not less frequently than once every 30 days thereafter until the date on which the application process is no longer suspended or delayed, the Secretary shall submit a notice of the delay, including a description of the time elapsed since the applicable deadline and the nature and circumstances of the applicable suspension or delay, to— If the Secretary suspends or delays an applicable deadline, not later than 120 days after that applicable deadline, and not less frequently than once every 120 days thereafter until the date on which the application process is no longer suspended or delayed, the Secretary (or a designee of the Secretary) shall provide a briefing regarding the time elapsed since the applicable deadline and the nature and circumstances of the applicable suspension or delay to—