For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 30, 2004
Executive Order
Issuance of Permits with Respect to Certain Energy-Related Facilities and Land Transportation Crossings on the International Boundaries of the United States
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of
title 3, United States Code, and in order to amend Executive Order
11423 of August 16, 1968, as amended, and to further the policy of my
Administration as stated in Executive Order 13212 of May 18, 2001, as
amended, to expedite reviews of permits as necessary to accelerate the
completion of energy production and transmission projects, and to
provide a systematic method for evaluating and permitting the
construction and maintenance of certain border crossings for land
transportation, including motor and rail vehicles, that do not require
construction or maintenance of facilities connecting the United States
with a foreign country, while maintaining safety, public health, and
environmental protections, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. (a) Except with respect to facilities covered by
Executive Order 10485 of September 3, 1953, and Executive Order 10530
of May 10, 1954, the Secretary of State is hereby designated and
empowered to receive all applications for Presidential permits, as
referred to in Executive Order 11423, as amended, for the construction,
connection, operation, or maintenance, at the borders of the United
States, of facilities for the exportation or importation of petroleum,
petroleum products, coal, or other fuels to or from a foreign country.
(b) Upon receipt of a completed application pursuant to paragraph
(a) of this section, the Secretary of State shall:
(i) Request additional information needed from the applicant, as
appropriate, before referring the application to other agencies
pursuant to paragraph (b)(ii) of this section;
(ii) Refer the application and pertinent information to, and
request
the views of, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the
Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary
of Transportation, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of
Homeland
Security, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,
or the heads of the departments or agencies in which the relevant
authorities or responsibilities of the foregoing are subsequently
conferred or transferred, and, for applications concerning the
border
with Mexico, the United States Commissioner of the International
Boundary and Water Commission; and
(iii) Refer the application and pertinent information to, and
request the views of, such other Federal Government department and
agency heads as the Secretary of State deems appropriate.
(c) All Federal Government officials consulted by the Secretary of
State pursuant to paragraph (b)(ii) or (b)(iii) of this section shall
provide their views and render such assistance as may be requested,
consistent with their authority, in a timely manner, but not to exceed
90 days from the date of the request.
(d) Should any of the Federal Government officials consulted
pursuant to paragraph (b)(ii) or (b)(iii) of this section request from
the Department of State additional infor-mation that is necessary for
them to provide their views or to render such assistance as may be
required, the time elapsed between the date of that request for
additional information and the date such additional information is
received shall not be counted in calculating the time period prescribed
in paragraph (c) of this section.
(e) The Secretary of State may also consult with such State,
tribal, and local government officials and foreign governments, as the
Secretary deems appropriate, with respect to each application. The
Secretary shall solicit responses in a timely manner, not to exceed 90
days from the date of the request.
(f) Upon receiving the views and assistance requested pursuant to
paragraphs (b) and (e) of this section, the Secretary of State shall
consider, in light of any statutory or other requirements or other
considerations, whether or not additional information is needed in
order to evaluate the application and, as appropriate, request such
information from the applicant.
(g) After consideration of the views and assistance obtained
pursuant to paragraphs (b) and, as appropriate, (e) and (f) of this
section and any public comments submitted pursuant to section 3(a) of
this order, if the Secretary of State finds that issuance of a permit
to the applicant would serve the national interest, the Secretary shall
prepare a permit, in such form and with such terms and conditions as
the national interest may in the Secretary's judgment require, and
shall notify the officials required to be consulted under paragraph
(b)(ii) of this section of the proposed determination that a permit be
issued.
(h) After consideration of the views obtained pursuant to
paragraphs (b) and, as appropriate, (e) and (f) of this section and any
public comments provided pursuant to section 3(a) of this order, if the
Secretary of State finds that issuance of a permit to the applicant
would not serve the national interest, the Secretary shall notify the
officials required to be consulted under paragraph (b)(ii) of this
section of the proposed determination that the application be denied.
(i) The Secretary of State shall issue or deny the permit in
accordance with the proposed determination unless, within 15 days after
notification pursuant to paragraphs (g) or (h) of this section, an
official required to be consulted under paragraph (b)(ii) of this
section shall notify the Secretary of State that he or she disagrees
with the Secretary's proposed determination and requests the Secretary
to refer the application to the President. In the event of such a
request, the Secretary of State shall consult with any such requesting
official and, if necessary, shall refer the application, together with
statements of the views of any official involved, to the President for
consideration and a final decision.
Sec. 2. (a) Section 1(a) of Executive Order 11423, as amended, is
amended to read as follows: "Except with respect to facilities covered
by Executive Order Nos. 10485 and 10530, and by section 1(a) of the
Executive Order of April 30, 2004, entitled "Issuance of Permits with
Respect to Certain Energy-Related Facilities and Land Transportation
Crossings on the International Boundaries of the United States" (the
order of April 30, 2004), the Secretary of State is hereby designated
and empowered to receive all applications for Presidential permits for
the construction, connection, operation, or maintenance, at the borders
of the United States, of:
(i) pipelines, conveyor belts, and similar facilities for the
exportation or importation of all products, except those specified
in
section 1(a) of the order of April 30, 2004, to or from a foreign
country;
(ii) facilities for the exportation or importation of water or
sewage to or from a foreign country;
(iii) facilities for the transportation of persons or things, or
both, to or from a foreign country;
(iv) bridges, to the extent that congressional authorization is
not
required;
(v) similar facilities above or below ground; and
(vi) border crossings for land transportation, including motor and
rail vehicles, to or from a foreign country, whether or not in
conjunction with the facilities identified in (iii) above.
(b) Section 1(b) of Executive Order 11423, as amended, is amended
by deleting the text "(a)(iii), (iv), or (v)" and by inserting the text
"(a)(iii), (iv), (v), or (vi)" in lieu thereof.
Sec. 3. (a) The Secretary of State may provide for the
publication in the Federal Register of notice of receipt of
applications, for the receipt of public comments on appli-cations, and
for notices related to the issuance or denial of applications.
(b) The Secretary of State is authorized to issue such further
rules and regulations, and to prescribe such further procedures,
including, but not limited to, those relating to the International
Boundary and Water Commission, as may from time to time be deemed
necessary or desirable for the exercise of the authority conferred by
this order.
Sec. 4. All permits heretofore issued with respect to facilities
described in section 2(a) of this order pursuant to Executive Order
11423, as amended, and in force at the time of issuance of this order,
and all permits issued hereunder, shall remain in effect in accordance
with their terms unless and until modified, amended, suspended, or
revoked by the appropriate authority.
Sec. 5. Nothing contained in this order shall be construed to
affect the authority of any department or agency of the United States
Government, or to supersede or replace the requirements established
under any other provision of law, or to relieve a person from any
requirement to obtain authoriza-tion from any other department or
agency of the United States Government in compliance with applicable
laws and regulations subject to the jurisdiction of that department or
agency.
Sec. 6. This order is not intended to, and does not, create any
right, benefit, or trust responsibility, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States,
its departments, agencies, instrumen-tali-ties, or entities, its
officers or employees, or any other person.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
April 30, 2004.
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