(a) Application procedure. (1) Applications for pipelines and related facilities under this section are to be filed in accordance with § 29.15 with the following exception: When the right-of-way or proposed facility will occupy Federal land under the control of more than one Federal agency or more than one bureau or office of the Department of the Interior, a single application must be filed with the appropriate State Director of the Bureau of Land Management in accordance with regulations in 43 CFR part 2800.

(2) Any portion of the facility occupying land of the National Wildlife Refuge System is subject to the provisions of the regulations in this part.

(b) Right-of-way permits. Right-of-way permits issued under this section are subject to the special requirements of section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.). Gathering lines and associated structures used solely in the production of oil and gas under valid leases on the lands administered by the Service are excepted from the provisions of this section.

(1) Pipeline safety. Right-of-way permits issued under this section will include requirements that will protect the safety of workers and protect the public from sudden ruptures and slow degradation of the pipeline. An applicant must agree to design, construct, and operate all proposed facilities in accordance with the provisions of 49 CFR part 192 or 195 and in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) and any future amendments to that act.

(2) Environmental protection. An application for a right-of-way must contain environmental information required by § 29.16(c)(4). The applicant must also provide a plan of construction, operation, and rehabilitation of the proposed facilities. In addition to terms and conditions imposed under § 29.20, the Regional Director will impose any stipulations required to ensure:

(i) Restoration, revegetation, and curtailment of erosion of the surface;

(ii) That activities in connection with the right-of-way or permit will not violate applicable air- and water-quality standards in related facilities siting standards established by law;

(iii) Control or prevention of damage to the environment, including damage to fish and wildlife habitat, public or private property, and public health and safety; and

(iv) Protection of the interests of individuals living in the general area of the right-of-way who rely on the fish, wildlife, and biotic resources of the area for subsistence purposes.

(c) Disclosure. Applicants that are a partnership, corporation, association, or other business entity must disclose the identity of all participants. Such disclosure will include where applicable:

(1) The name and address of each partner;

(2) The name and address of each shareholder owning 3 percent or more of the shares, together with the number and percentage of any class of voting shares that the shareholder is authorized for voting purposes; and

(3) The name and address of each affiliate of the entity, together with, in the case of an affiliate controlled by the entity, the number of shares and the percentage of any class of voting stock of that affiliate owned, directly or indirectly, by that entity, and in the case of an affiliate that controls the entity, the number of shares and the percentage of any class of voting stock of the entity owned, directly or indirectly, by the affiliate.

(d) Technical and financial capability. The Regional Director may require a financial statement and will issue or renew a right-of-way permit under this section only when satisfied that the applicant has the technical and financial capability to construct, operate, maintain, and terminate the facility.

(e) Reimbursement of costs. (1) In accordance with § 29.18, the holder of a right-of-way permit must reimburse the Service for the cost incurred in monitoring the construction, operation, maintenance, and termination of any pipeline or related facilities as determined by the Regional Director.

(2) Payments received by the Service to reimburse the United States for the costs incurred in monitoring the construction, operation, maintenance, and termination of any pipeline or related facilities will be deposited into the United States Treasury until such time that any provision of law allows these payments to supplement the Service's appropriation.

(f) Public hearing. The Regional Director will give notice to Federal, State, and local government agencies and the public of the opportunity to comment on right-of-way applications under this section. A notice will be published in the Federal Register, and a public hearing may be held where appropriate.

(g) Bonding. Where appropriate, the Regional Director will require the holder of a right-of-way permit to furnish a bond or other satisfactory financial assurance to secure all or any of the obligations imposed by the terms and conditions of the right-of-way permit or by any rule or regulation, not to exceed the period of construction plus 1 year or a longer period if necessary for the pipeline to stabilize or for any reclamation or restoration requirements to be met.

(h) Suspension of right-of-way. If the project manager determines that an immediate temporary suspension of activities within a right-of-way permit area is necessary to protect public health and safety or the environment, the project manager may issue an emergency suspension order to abate such activities prior to an administrative proceeding. The Regional Director must make a determination and notify the permit holder in writing within 15 days from the date of suspension as to whether the suspension should continue and list actions needed to terminate the suspension. The suspension will remain in effect for only so long as an emergency condition continues.

(i) Joint use of rights-of-way. Each right-of-way permit will reserve to the Regional Director the right to issue additional right-of-way permits for compatible uses on or adjacent to permitted rights-of-way areas after giving notice to the permit holder and an opportunity to comment.

(j) Common carriers. Pipelines and related facilities used for the transportation of oil, natural gas, synthetic liquid, or gaseous fuels, or any refined product made from these substances will be constructed, operated, and maintained as common carriers.

(1) The owners or operators of pipelines subject to the regulations in this subpart will accept, convey, transport, or purchase without discrimination all oil or gas delivered to the pipeline without regard to whether such oil or gas was produced on Federal or non-Federal lands.

(2) In the case of oil or gas produced from Federal lands or from the resources on the Federal lands in the vicinity of the pipelines, the Secretary may, after a full hearing following due notice to the interested parties and a proper finding of facts, determine the proportionate amounts to be accepted, conveyed, transported, or purchased.

(3) The common carrier provisions of this section will not apply to any natural gas pipeline operated by any person subject to regulation under the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. ch. 15B, sec. 717 et seq.) or by any public utility subject to regulation by a State or municipal regulatory agency having jurisdiction to regulate the rates and charges for the sale of natural gas to consumers within the State or municipality.

(4) The owners or operators of pipelines will purchase, without discrimination, any natural gas produced in the vicinity of the pipeline that is offered for sale unless that natural gas is subject to State regulatory or conservation laws governing its purchase by owners or operators of pipelines.

(k) Required information. The Regional Director will require, prior to issuing or renewing a right-of-way permit, that the applicant submit and disclose all plans, contracts, agreements, or other information or material that the Regional Director deems necessary to determine whether to issue or renew the right-of-way permit or the terms and conditions that should be included in the permit. That information may include, but is not limited to:

(1) Conditions for and agreements among owners or operators regarding the addition of pumping facilities, looping, or otherwise increasing the pipeline or terminal's throughput capacity in response to actual or anticipated increases in demand;

(2) Conditions for adding or abandoning intake, offtake, or storage points or facilities; and

(3) Minimum shipment or purchase tenders.

(l) State standards. The Regional Director will take into consideration, and to the extent practical comply with, applicable State standards for right-of-way construction, operation, and maintenance, taking into account any additional standards necessary to protect refuge resources.

(m) Congressional notification. The Secretary will promptly notify the Committee on Natural Resources of the United States House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate upon receipt of an application for a right-of-way for pipeline 24 inches or more in diameter, and no right-of-way permit for such a pipeline will be issued until a notice of intention to permit the right-of-way, together with the Secretary's detailed findings as to the terms and conditions the Secretary proposes to impose, has been submitted to those committees.