Promoting Cross-border Energy Infrastructure Act
Bill: H.R.575 | Sponsor: Rep. Mullin, Markwayne (R-OK)
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Promoting Cross-border Energy Infrastructure 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, operating, or maintaining a border-crossing facility for the import or export of oil, natural gas, or electricity across an international border. 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, operated, or maintained 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.

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 ``Promoting Cross-border Energy 
Infrastructure Act''.

SEC. 2. STRENGTHENING NORTH AMERICAN ENERGY SECURITY.

    (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, operate, or 
        maintain 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 120 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, 
                operation, or maintenance 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) two years after the date of enactment 
                        of this Act, if such a permit has not been 
                        issued by such date of enactment.
            (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 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.
    (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 202(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) required under Executive Order No. 13337 (3 U.S.C. 301 
note), Executive Order No. 11423 (3 U.S.C. 301 note), section 301 of 
title 3, United States Code, Executive Order No. 12038, Executive Order 
No. 10485, or any other Executive order shall be necessary 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 Existing Projects.--No certificate of crossing 
under subsection (a), or permit described in subsection (d), shall be 
required for a modification to--
            (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 Date; 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) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``border-crossing facility'' means the portion 
        of an oil or natural gas pipeline or electric transmission 
        facility that is located at an international boundary of the 
        United States;
            (2) the term ``modification'' includes a reversal of flow 
        direction, change in ownership, change in flow volume, addition 
        or removal of an interconnection, or an adjustment to maintain 
        flow (such as a reduction or increase in the number of pump or 
        compressor stations);
            (3) the term ``natural gas'' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 2 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717a);
            (4) the term ``oil'' means petroleum or a petroleum 
        product;
            (5) 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); and
            (6) 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).
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