§720d Federal Coordinator

Summary

An independent Office for the Alaska natural gas transportation project is set up in the executive branch. The President picks a Federal Coordinator to run the Office, and the Senate must approve the choice. The Coordinator serves until one year after the Alaska project is finished and gets paid at the level III Executive Schedule rate (5 U.S.C. 5314). The Coordinator must speed up and coordinate all federal agency work on the project and make sure agencies follow the law. Federal agencies must hurry their reviews to meet the chapter’s deadlines. Agencies may not add optional terms, change, or remove permits or approvals if the Coordinator finds those changes would significantly slow or block construction, operation, or expansion. The Coordinator cannot override the Commission’s rules, orders to expand the project, or add extra requirements beyond what the Commission or other agencies set. The Coordinator and the State must make a joint monitoring agreement like the one used for the Trans‑Alaska Pipeline. The federal government will lead monitoring on federal and private land crossings. The State will lead monitoring on state land crossings. When the Coordinator is appointed, prior federal inspector duties move to the Coordinator. Until the Coordinator takes office, the Secretary keeps those duties, or until 18 months after October 13, 2004. The Coordinator can hire staff outside normal civil‑service rules, pay them up to level III rates, hire temporary help, set fees for services, and use collected fees without extra appropriations.