Sponsors (2)
Introduced April 10, 2025 by John Hoeven · Last progress April 10, 2025
The bill standardizes and speeds approvals for new cross‑border energy projects and protects existing projects from retroactive change, but it centralizes approval authority, adds new procedural steps and review requirements, and could block projects that fail regional reliability/market tests—trading faster, clearer permitting for more concentrated agency control and potential new sources of delay or litigation.
Owners and operators of new cross‑border electricity facilities (utilities and energy companies) will get a clearer, time‑bound federal approval path with a 90‑day decision deadline after final NEPA action, reducing approval uncertainty and speeding project timelines.
Utilities and energy companies (and indirectly taxpayers) will see faster decisions on imports/exports of natural gas because FERC must act on complete filings within 30 days, lowering commercial uncertainty and holding regulators to a fixed schedule.
Existing cross‑border facilities and projects with pending permits (operators and nearby communities) are explicitly exempted from new rules, avoiding retroactive disruption and protecting ongoing investments and local operations.
Owners and operators of proposed cross‑border oil, gas, or electric facilities will need a new certificate before construction, adding an extra permitting step that can increase delays and costs for projects.
Utilities, state governments, and project applicants lose the option of presidential permits (the bill prohibits presidential permit requirements), concentrating approval authority in agencies and reducing an alternative federal review route and oversight.
Applicants and government agencies will face new federal notice/rulemaking requirements and a defined judicial‑review timeline, increasing administrative burden and litigation risk that could slow projects and raise legal costs.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires a federal "certificate of crossing"—issued by FERC for oil/gas and DOE for electricity—within 90 days after final NEPA action before building or operating cross-border energy facilities.
Requires people or companies to get a new federal "certificate of crossing" before building, connecting, or operating oil pipelines, natural gas pipelines, or electric transmission facilities at a U.S. land border. The bill names which federal officials/agencies must act, ties the certificate to completion of NEPA review, and requires a decision within 90 days after the final NEPA action unless issuing the certificate would harm the U.S. public interest. Designates the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to handle oil and natural gas pipeline certificates and the Department of Energy to handle electricity transmission certificates, sets definitions for covered facilities and modifications, and creates exceptions for existing facilities and certain pending or permitted projects.