In response to the stalled construction of the northern leg of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) recently introduced a bipartisan bill that would eliminate the need for presidential permits in future transnational energy projects.
While the southern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline began pumping oil on Wednesday, the interstate portion of the project, known as the Gulf Coast Project, remains in regulatory limbo.
The review process for the presidential permit of the Keystone XL pipeline has spanned five years and includes more than 15,000 pages of documents.
The North American Energy Infrastructure Act introduced by Upton and Rep. Gene Gree (D-Texas) would bring the approval process for cross-border pipelines inline with the process for approving interstate pipelines, such as the southern leg of the Keystone XL.
“…Many new infrastructure projects, including oil and gas pipelines and electric transmission lines, will be needed to transport this growing energy abundance, including projects that cross our northern or southern borders,” Upton said. “But these projects, along with the jobs and economic growth they will help generate, may be sitting on the sidelines for years due to the precedent and uncertainty set with the Keystone XL pipeline.”
Construction of the Gulf Coast Project resulted in $2.3 billion in private-sector investment and more than 11 million hours of labor completed by approximately 5,000 American workers, according to TransCanada.