Title 3—The President
Ford Shale in South Texas, where production grew by more than 200 percent last year, or the Bakken formation of North Dakota and Montana, where output has increased tenfold in the last 5 years alone. In States like North Dakota, Montana, and Colorado, rising production is outpacing the capacity of pipelines to deliver the oil to refineries.
Cushing, Oklahoma, is a prime example. There, in part due to rising domestic production, more oil is flowing in than can flow out, creating a bottleneck that is dampening incentives for new production while restricting oil from reaching state-of-the-art refineries on the Gulf Coast. Moving forward on a pipeline from Cushing to Port Arthur, Texas, could create jobs, promote American energy production, and ultimately benefit consumers.
Although expanding and modernizing our Nation’s pipeline infrastructure will not lower prices right away, it is a vital part of a sustained strategy to continue to reduce our reliance on foreign oil and enhance our Nation’s energy security. Therefore, as part of my Administration’s broader efforts to improve the performance of Federal permitting and review processes, we must make pipeline infrastructure a priority, ensuring the health, safety, and security of communities and the environment while supporting projects that can contribute to economic growth and a secure energy future. In doing so, the Federal Government must work in partnership with State, local, and tribal governments, which play a central role in the siting and permitting of pipelines; and, we must protect our natural resources and address the concerns of local communities.
Section 1. Expedited Review of Pipeline Projects from Cushing to Port Arthur and Other Domestic Pipeline Infrastructure Projects. (a) To address the existing bottleneck in Cushing, as well as other current or anticipated bottlenecks, agencies shall, to the maximum extent practicable and consistent with available resources and applicable laws (including those relating to public safety, public health, and environmental protection), coordinate and expedite their reviews, consultations, and other processes as necessary to expedite decisions related to domestic pipeline infrastructure projects that would contribute to a more efficient domestic pipeline system for the transportation of crude oil, such as a pipeline from Cushing to Port Arthur. This subsection shall be implemented consistent with my Executive Order of March 22, 2012 (Improving Performance of Federal Permitting and Review of Infrastructure Projects), and applicable projects shall have their status tracked on the online Federal Infrastructure Projects Dashboard referenced therein.
(b) In expediting reviews pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, agencies shall, to the maximum extent practicable and consistent with applicable law, utilize and incorporate information from prior environmental reviews and studies conducted in connection with previous applications for similar or overlapping infrastructure projects so as to avoid duplicating effort.
Sec. 2. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget related to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
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