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HR 2649 115th Congress House

Safer Pipelines Act of 2017

Official title: To require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to apply certain procedures before granting a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a propose… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to apply certain procedures before granting a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a proposed pipeline project, and for other purposes.

Introduced: May 24, 2017 Introduced by: Watson Coleman, Bonnie Democratic · New Jersey See on congress.gov
Energy Administrative remediesAir qualityAlternative and renewable resourcesClimate change and greenhouse gases
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Electric power generation and transmissionEnergy efficiency and conservationEnergy storage, supplies, demandEnvironmental assessment, monitoring, researchFederal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)Licensing and registrationsOil and gasPipelines
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This bill died when the 115th Congress ended
It never became law before the 115th Congress (2017–2018) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
May 26, 2017
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy.
May 24, 2017
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
May 24, 2017
Introduced in House
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 Latest action May 26, 2017

Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Safe and Accountable Federal Energy Review for Pipelines Act of 2017 or the Safer Pipelines Act of 2017

This bill requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), before granting a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a proposed pipeline expansion project for which a challenge has been raised, to

  • assign an administrative law judge to hold a full trial-type evidentiary hearing on the need for the expansion or conduct an evidentiary hearing after conducting limited discovery, and
  • issue a staff report publishing the findings with respect to each factor which includes the data and analyses relied upon in reaching those findings.

Additionally, FERC must (1) conduct a cumulative review of planned energy infrastructure projects in the region of the proposed expansion; (2) consider, in the case of interstate pipeline projects, the cumulative environmental impacts of other interstate or regional projects; and (3) monitor approved pipeline projects for five years to ensure that environmental mitigation steps have been implemented.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 2649: Safer Pipelines Act of 2017. 115th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-2649/
MLA
"H.R. 2649: Safer Pipelines Act of 2017." 115th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-2649/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 2649, 115th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-2649/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 2649: Safer Pipelines Act of 2017](https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-2649/)
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