Daines Fights to Prevent Political Delays on Future Energy Projects

Press Release

Representative Steve Daines today joined the House in passing bipartisan energy reform legislation to remove politically-motivated delays and regulatory uncertainty from future energy infrastructure projects that cross the Canadian or Mexican border.

The North American Energy Infrastructure Act (H.R. 3301) establishes a more uniform and transparent process for the construction and operation of oil or gas pipelines and electric transmission facilities for energy import or export across our nation's borders. This bill would promote North American energy independence and prevent future job-creating projects from undergoing endless delays in approval, like what has been seen with the Keystone XL pipeline.

"Montana's energy sector is one of the few bright spots in our economy, yet politics and bureaucracy continue to get in the way of job-creating energy projects like the Keystone XL pipeline," Daines said. "The North American Energy Infrastructure Act not only modernizes the regulatory process while removing duplicative barriers and political interference to energy infrastructure development--it ensures the American people are never forced to wait in perpetuity for future job-creating energy projects to be approved."

Under H.R. 3301, requests for approval of cross-border oil pipelines must be submitted to Secretary of Commerce, natural gas pipeline requests must be submitted to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and electric transmission requests must be submitted to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. Within 120 days of being submitted, the requests must be approved unless it is found not to be in the national security interests of the U.S.

The bill eliminates the Presidential Permit requirement for construction or modification of oil and natural gas pipelines and electric transmission facilities that cross the national boundary of the U.S., but all other Federal statutes, including environmental laws and permits, continue to apply to a project for which approval of construction or operation is sought under this process.

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