[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 989 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 989
To establish a more uniform, transparent, and modern process to
authorize the construction, connection, operation, and maintenance of
international border-crossing facilities for the import and export of
oil and natural gas and the transmission of electricity.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 27, 2023
Mr. Hoeven (for himself, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Sullivan, and Mr. Budd)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a more uniform, transparent, and modern process to
authorize the construction, connection, operation, and maintenance of
international border-crossing facilities for the import and export of
oil and natural gas and the transmission of electricity.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``North American Energy Act''.
SEC. 2. APPROVAL FOR BORDER-CROSSING FACILITIES.
(a) Authorization of Certain Energy Infrastructure Projects at an
International Boundary of the United States.--
(1) Authorization.--Except as provided in paragraph (3) and
subsection (e), no person may construct, connect, or operate, a
border-crossing facility for the import or export of oil or
natural gas, or the transmission of electricity, across an
international border of the United States without obtaining a
certificate of crossing for the border-crossing facility under
this subsection.
(2) Certificate of crossing.--
(A) Requirement.--Not later than 90 days after
final action is taken, by the relevant official or
agency identified under subparagraph (B), under the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.) with respect to a border-crossing
facility for which a person requests a certificate of
crossing under this subsection, the relevant official
or agency, in consultation with appropriate Federal
agencies, shall issue a certificate of crossing for the
border-crossing facility unless the relevant official
or agency finds that the construction, connection, or
operation, of the border-crossing facility is not in
the public interest of the United States.
(B) Relevant official or agency.--The relevant
official or agency referred to in subparagraph (A) is--
(i) the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission with respect to border-crossing
facilities consisting of oil or natural gas
pipelines; and
(ii) the Secretary of Energy with respect
to border-crossing facilities consisting of
electric transmission facilities.
(C) Additional requirement for electric
transmission facilities.--In the case of a request for
a certificate of crossing for a border-crossing
facility consisting of an electric transmission
facility, the Secretary of Energy shall require, as a
condition of issuing the certificate of crossing under
subparagraph (A), that the border-crossing facility be
constructed, connected, operated, or maintained
consistent with all applicable policies and standards
of--
(i) the Electric Reliability Organization
and the applicable regional entity; and
(ii) any Regional Transmission Organization
or Independent System Operator with operational
or functional control over the border-crossing
facility.
(3) Exclusions.--This subsection shall not apply to any
construction, connection, operation, or maintenance of a
border-crossing facility for the import or export of oil or
natural gas, or the transmission of electricity--
(A) if the border-crossing facility is operating
for such import, export, or transmission as of the date
of enactment of this Act;
(B) if a permit described in subsection (d) for the
construction, connection, operation, or maintenance has
been issued; or
(C) if an application for a permit described in
subsection (d) for the construction, connection,
operation, or maintenance is pending on the date of
enactment of this Act, until the earlier of--
(i) the date on which such application is
denied; or
(ii) 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, if such a permit has not been issued
by such date.
(4) Effect of other laws.--
(A) Application to projects.--Nothing in this
subsection or subsection (e) shall affect the
application of any other Federal statute to a project
for which a certificate of crossing for a border-
crossing facility is requested under this subsection.
(B) Natural gas act.--Nothing in this subsection or
subsection (e) shall affect the requirement to obtain
approval or authorization under sections 3 and 7 of the
Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b, 717f) for the siting,
construction, or operation of any facility to import or
export natural gas.
(C) Oil pipelines.--Nothing in this subsection or
subsection (e) shall affect the authority of the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission with respect to
oil pipelines under section 60502 of title 49, United
States Code.
(D) Scope of nepa review.--Nothing in this Act, or
the amendments made by this Act, shall affect the scope
of any review required to be conducted under section
102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(42 U.S.C. 4332) with respect to a project for which a
certificate of crossing for a border-crossing facility
is requested under this subsection.
(b) Importation or Exportation of Natural Gas to Canada and
Mexico.--Section 3(c) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b(c)) is
amended by adding at the end the following: ``In the case of an
application for the importation of natural gas from, or the exportation
of natural gas to, Canada or Mexico, the Commission shall grant the
application not later than 30 days after the date on which the
Commission receives the complete application.''.
(c) Transmission of Electric Energy to Canada and Mexico.--
(1) Repeal of requirement to secure order.--Section 202(e)
of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824a(e)) is repealed.
(2) Conforming amendments.--
(A) State regulations.--Section 202(f) of the
Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824a(f)) is amended by
striking ``insofar as such State regulation does not
conflict with the exercise of the Commission's powers
under or relating to subsection (e)''.
(B) Seasonal diversity electricity exchange.--
Section 602(b) of the Public Utility Regulatory
Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 824a-4(b)) is amended
by striking ``the Commission has conducted hearings and
made the findings required under section 202(e) of the
Federal Power Act'' and all that follows through the
period at the end and inserting ``the Secretary has
conducted hearings and finds that the proposed
transmission facilities would not impair the
sufficiency of electric supply within the United States
or would not impede or tend to impede the coordination
in the public interest of facilities subject to the
jurisdiction of the Secretary.''.
(d) No Presidential Permit Required.--No Presidential permit (or
similar permit) shall be required pursuant to any provision of law or
Executive order for the construction, connection, operation, or
maintenance of an oil or natural gas pipeline or electric transmission
facility, or any border-crossing facility thereof.
(e) Modifications to and Maintenance of Existing Projects.--No
certificate of crossing under subsection (a), or permit described in
subsection (d), shall be required for a modification to or maintenance
of--
(1) an oil or natural gas pipeline or electric transmission
facility that is operating for the import or export of oil or
natural gas or the transmission of electricity as of the date
of enactment of this Act;
(2) an oil or natural gas pipeline or electric transmission
facility for which a permit described in subsection (d) has
been issued; or
(3) a border-crossing facility for which a certificate of
crossing has previously been issued under subsection (a).
(f) Effective Dates; Rulemaking Deadlines.--
(1) Effective date.--Subsections (a) through (e) and the
amendments made by such subsections shall take effect on the
date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.
(2) Rulemaking deadlines.--Each relevant official or agency
described in subsection (a)(2)(B) shall--
(A) not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, publish in the Federal Register
notice of a proposed rulemaking to carry out the
applicable requirements of subsection (a); and
(B) not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, publish in the Federal Register
a final rule to carry out the applicable requirements
of subsection (a).
(g) Judicial Review.--Any entity aggrieved by a final agency action
taken under this section may obtain a review of such action by filing a
petition for review in the United States Court of Appeals for any
circuit wherein an applicant for authorization under this section is
located or has its principal place of business, or in the United States
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The petition must be
filed not later than 60 days after such action is taken.
(h) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate federal agencies.--The term ``appropriate
Federal agencies'' in subsection (a)(2)(A) means the Secretary
of Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of the
Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of
Transportation, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of
Homeland Security, the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, and, for applications concerning the border
with Mexico, the United States Commissioner of the
International Boundary and Water Commission.
(2) Border-crossing facility.--The term ``border-crossing
facility'' means--
(A) the portion of an oil pipeline between an
international boundary and the first mainline valve on
the United States side of an international boundary;
and
(B) the portion of a natural gas pipeline or
electric transmission facility that is located at an
international boundary of the United States.
(3) Electric reliability organization; regional entity.--
The terms ``Electric Reliability Organization'' and ``regional
entity'' have the meanings given those terms in section 215 of
the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o).
(4) Independent system operator; regional transmission
organization.--The terms ``Independent System Operator'' and
``Regional Transmission Organization'' have the meanings given
those terms in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C.
796).
(5) Modification.--The term ``modification'' includes a
reversal of flow direction, change in ownership, change in flow
volume, change in product delivered, addition or removal of an
interconnection, or an adjustment to regulate flow (such as a
reduction or increase in the number of pump or compressor
stations or valves).
(6) Natural gas.--The term ``natural gas'' has the meaning
given that term in section 2 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C.
717a).
(7) Oil.--The term ``oil'' means petroleum or a petroleum
product.
<all>