North American Energy Act

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. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the North American Energy Act 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. (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 (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 (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) 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) (2) Conforming amendments (A) State regulations Section 202(f) of the Federal Power Act ( 16 U.S.C. 824a(f) 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) the Commission has conducted hearings and made the findings required under section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act 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 (2) Border-crossing facility The term border-crossing facility (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 regional entity 16 U.S.C. 824o (4) Independent System Operator; Regional Transmission Organization The terms Independent System Operator Regional Transmission Organization 16 U.S.C. 796 (5) Modification The term modification (6) Natural gas The term natural gas 15 U.S.C. 717a (7) Oil The term oil

Summary: North American Energy Act This bill establishes a new process for approving the construction and operation of energy infrastructure across an international border of the United States and replaces the existing process established under specified executive orders. Specifically, this bill requires a person to obtain a certificate of crossing before constructing, connecting, or operating a border-crossing facility for the import or export of oil, natural gas, or electricity across a U.S. border between Canada or Mexico. A certificate must be obtained from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a facility consisting of oil or natural gas pipelines or the Department of Energy (DOE) for an electric transmission facility. As a condition of issuing a certificate, DOE must require that an electric transmission facility be constructed, connected, or operated consistent with specified policies and standards. FERC and DOE must meet a deadline for issuing a certificate as set forth by this bill. The bill also requires FERC to meet a deadline for approving applications to import or export natural gas to or from Canada or Mexico. Any entity aggrieved by a final agency action taken under the new process established by the bill may obtain judicial review of the action.