Border Energy Bill Kills Presidential Permits, Sets 30-Day Approval for Gas Lines to Canada/Mexico

The North American Energy Act is all about streamlining how oil, gas, and electricity cross our borders, and it makes some serious changes to the regulatory landscape. Essentially, this bill creates a new, faster lane for energy infrastructure projects while swapping out a decades-old review process for a new one.

The Presidential Permit is Dead (Almost)

Let’s start with the biggest headline: This bill completely repeals the requirement for a Presidential permit to build or operate oil pipelines, gas pipelines, or electric transmission facilities that cross the border. For years, these projects required high-level executive approval—a step that often turned into a political football, causing massive delays. Now, that high-level oversight is gone, replaced by a new system.

In its place, the bill establishes a new requirement: a “certificate of crossing.” If you want to build a new border facility—which is defined as the section of a pipeline or electric line right at the international boundary—you need this certificate. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) handles oil and gas pipelines, and the Secretary of Energy handles electric lines. They get 90 days to issue the certificate after the environmental review is complete, and they must approve it unless they specifically find it’s not in the public interest of the United States. This new system, along with all the other changes, takes effect one year after the law is enacted.

The Fast Lane for North American Trade

If you’re moving natural gas or electricity to or from Canada or Mexico, the regulatory process just got a serious speed boost. For natural gas applications filed with FERC for our two neighbors, the agency must now grant the application within 30 days of receiving the complete paperwork. That’s a lightning-fast turnaround in the world of energy permitting. For electricity, the Secretary of Energy no longer needs a Presidential order to approve transmission lines to Canada or Mexico; they just need to ensure the facilities won't harm the U.S. electricity supply.

This is a huge win for energy companies seeking regulatory certainty and speed. For consumers, the intent is that faster approvals could mean lower project costs and more reliable energy flow across the continent. However, the trade-off is that the high-level executive scrutiny previously afforded by the Presidential permit is removed, which could concern local communities or environmental groups who relied on that step to raise objections about certain large-scale projects.

What About Existing Projects and Maintenance?

The bill is clear that facilities already operating legally when the law is enacted are exempt from the new certificate requirement. Furthermore, routine maintenance and modifications—like changing ownership or adjusting the volume of flow—do not require a new certificate of crossing. This is important for operators who need flexibility to manage their assets without constantly going back to the government for permission.

However, the definition of "modification" is broad, covering changes to ownership or flow direction. While the bill exempts modifications from needing a new certificate, this broad language could still be a point of friction down the road if agencies try to interpret routine operational changes as requiring some level of new review. If you’re a mid-sized energy company undergoing a merger, you’ll want the implementing regulations to clarify exactly what level of ownership change triggers what kind of regulatory check.

Keeping the Environmental Rules in Place

For those worried that this speed-up means skipping environmental homework, the bill explicitly states that getting the new certificate does not let you skip other required approvals. Specifically, the scope of the environmental review required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) remains unchanged. So, projects still need to clear those environmental hurdles, but once they do, the final decision from FERC or the Secretary of Energy is constrained to that 90-day window.