Promoting Energy Infrastructure and Economic Growth, 15495-15499 [2019-07656]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 72 (Monday, April 15, 2019)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 15495-15499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-07656]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 84 , No. 72 / Monday, April 15, 2019 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 15495]]


                Executive Order 13868 of April 10, 2019

                
Promoting Energy Infrastructure and Economic 
                Growth

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Purpose. The United States is blessed with 
                plentiful energy resources, including abundant supplies 
                of coal, oil, and natural gas. Producers in America 
                have demonstrated a remarkable ability to harness 
                innovation and to cost-effectively unlock new energy 
                supplies, making our country a dominant energy force. 
                In fact, last year the United States surpassed 
                production records set nearly 5 decades ago and is in 
                all likelihood now the largest producer of crude oil in 
                the world. We are also the world's leading producer of 
                natural gas, and we became a net exporter in 2017 for 
                the first time since 1957. The United States will 
                continue to be the undisputed global leader in crude 
                oil and natural gas production for the foreseeable 
                future.

                These robust energy supplies present the United States 
                with tremendous economic opportunities. To fully 
                realize this economic potential, however, the United 
                States needs infrastructure capable of safely and 
                efficiently transporting these plentiful resources to 
                end users. Without it, energy costs will rise and the 
                national energy market will be stifled; job growth will 
                be hampered; and the manufacturing and geopolitical 
                advantages of the United States will erode. To enable 
                the timely construction of the infrastructure needed to 
                move our energy resources through domestic and 
                international commerce, the Federal Government must 
                promote efficient permitting processes and reduce 
                regulatory uncertainties that currently make energy 
                infrastructure projects expensive and that discourage 
                new investment. Enhancing our Nation's energy 
                infrastructure, including facilities for the 
                transmission, distribution, storage, and processing of 
                energy resources, will ensure that our Nation's vast 
                reserves of these resources can reach vital markets. 
                Doing so will also help families and businesses in 
                States with energy constraints to access affordable and 
                reliable domestic energy resources. By promoting the 
                development of new energy infrastructure, the United 
                States will make energy more affordable, while 
                safeguarding the environment and advancing our Nation's 
                economic and geopolitical advantages.

                Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States 
                to promote private investment in the Nation's energy 
                infrastructure through:

                    (a) efficient permitting processes and procedures 
                that employ a single point of accountability, avoid 
                duplicative and redundant studies and reviews, and 
                establish clear and reasonable timetables;
                    (b) regulations that reflect best practices and 
                best-available technologies;
                    (c) timely action on infrastructure projects that 
                advance America's interests and ability to participate 
                in global energy markets;
                    (d) increased regulatory certainty regarding the 
                development of new energy infrastructure;
                    (e) effective stewardship of America's natural 
                resources; and
                    (f) support for American ingenuity, the free 
                market, and capitalism.

                Sec. 3. Water Quality Certifications. Section 401 of 
                the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1341) provides that 
                States and authorized tribes have a direct role in 
                Federal permitting and licensing processes to ensure 
                that activities

[[Page 15496]]

                subject to Federal permitting requirements comply with 
                established water quality requirements. Outdated 
                Federal guidance and regulations regarding section 401 
                of the Clean Water Act, however, are causing confusion 
                and uncertainty and are hindering the development of 
                energy infrastructure.

                    (a) The Administrator of the Environmental 
                Protection Agency (EPA) shall consult with States, 
                tribes, and relevant executive departments and agencies 
                (agencies) in reviewing section 401 of the Clean Water 
                Act and EPA's related regulations and guidance to 
                determine whether any provisions thereof should be 
                clarified to be consistent with the policies described 
                in section 2 of this order. This review shall include 
                examination of the existing interim guidance entitled, 
                ``Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality 
                Certification: A Water Quality Protection Tool for 
                States and Tribes'' (Section 401 Interim Guidance). 
                This review shall also take into account federalism 
                considerations underlying section 401 of the Clean 
                Water Act and shall focus on:

(i) the need to promote timely Federal-State cooperation and collaboration;

(ii) the appropriate scope of water quality reviews;

(iii) types of conditions that may be appropriate to include in a 
certification;

(iv) expectations for reasonable review times for various types of 
certification requests; and

(v) the nature and scope of information States and authorized tribes may 
need in order to substantively act on a certification request within a 
prescribed period of time.

                    (b) Upon completion of the consultation and review 
                process described in subsection (a) of this section, 
                but no later than 60 days after the date of this order, 
                the Administrator of the EPA shall:

(i) as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, issue new guidance 
to States and authorized tribes to supersede the Section 401 Interim 
Guidance to clarify, at minimum, the items set forth in subsection (a) of 
this section; and

(ii) issue guidance to agencies, consistent with the policies outlined in 
section 2 of this order, to address the items set forth in subsection (a) 
of this section.

                    (c) Upon completion of the consultation and review 
                process described in subsection (a) of this section, 
                but no later than 120 days after the date of this 
                order, the Administrator of the EPA shall review EPA's 
                regulations implementing section 401 of the Clean Water 
                Act for consistency with the policies set forth in 
                section 2 of this order and shall publish for notice 
                and comment proposed rules revising such regulations, 
                as appropriate and consistent with law. The 
                Administrator of the EPA shall finalize such rules no 
                later than 13 months after the date of this order.
                    (d) Upon completion of the processes described in 
                subsection (b) of this section, the Administrator of 
                the EPA shall lead an interagency review, in 
                coordination with the head of each agency that issues 
                permits or licenses subject to the certification 
                requirements of section 401 of the Clean Water Act (401 
                Implementing Agencies), of existing Federal guidance 
                and regulations for consistency with EPA guidance and 
                rulemaking. Within 90 days of completion of the 
                processes described in subsection (b) of this section, 
                the heads of the 401 Implementing Agencies shall update 
                their respective agencies' guidance. Within 90 days of 
                completion of the processes described in subsection (c) 
                of this section, if necessary, the heads of each 401 
                Implementing Agency shall initiate a rulemaking to 
                ensure their respective agencies' regulations are 
                consistent with the rulemaking described in subsection 
                (c) of this section and with the policies set forth in 
                section 2 of this order.

                Sec. 4. Safety Regulations. (a) The Department of 
                Transportation's safety regulations for Liquefied 
                Natural Gas (LNG) facilities, found in 49 CFR part 193 
                (Part 193), apply uniformly to small-scale peakshaving, 
                satellite, temporary, and mobile facilities, as well as 
                to large-scale import and export terminals. Driven by 
                abundant supplies of domestic natural gas, new LNG

[[Page 15497]]

                export terminals are in various stages of development, 
                and these modern, large-scale liquefaction facilities 
                bear little resemblance to the small peakshaving 
                facilities common during the original drafting of Part 
                193 nearly 40 years ago. To achieve the policies set 
                forth in subsection 2(b) of this order, the Secretary 
                of Transportation shall initiate a rulemaking to update 
                Part 193 and shall finalize such rulemaking no later 
                than 13 months after the date of this order. In 
                developing the proposed regulations, the Secretary of 
                Transportation shall use risk-based standards to the 
                maximum extent practicable.

                    (b) In the United States, LNG may be transported by 
                truck and, with approval by the Federal Railroad 
                Administration, by rail in United Nations portable 
                tanks, but Department of Transportation regulations do 
                not authorize LNG transport in rail tank cars. The 
                Secretary of Transportation shall propose for notice 
                and comment a rule, no later than 100 days after the 
                date of this order, that would treat LNG the same as 
                other cryogenic liquids and permit LNG to be 
                transported in approved rail tank cars. The Secretary 
                shall finalize such rulemaking no later than 13 months 
                after the date of this order.

                Sec. 5. Environment, Social, and Governance Issues; 
                Proxy Firms; and Financing Energy Projects Through the 
                United States Capital Markets. (a) The majority of 
                financing in the United States is conducted through its 
                capital markets. The United States capital markets are 
                the deepest and most liquid in the world. They benefit 
                from decades of sound regulation grounded in disclosure 
                of information that, under an objective standard, is 
                material to investors and owners seeking to make sound 
                investment decisions or to understand current and 
                projected business. As the Supreme Court held in TSC 
                Industries, Inc. v. Northway, Inc., 426 U.S. 438, 449 
                (1976), information is ``material'' if ``there is a 
                substantial likelihood that a reasonable shareholder 
                would consider it important.'' Furthermore, the United 
                States capital markets have thrived under the principle 
                that companies owe a fiduciary duty to their 
                shareholders to strive to maximize shareholder return, 
                consistent with the long-term growth of a company.

                    (b) To advance the principles of objective 
                materiality and fiduciary duty, and to achieve the 
                policies set forth in subsections 2(c), (d), and (f) of 
                this order, the Secretary of Labor shall, within 180 
                days of the date of this order, complete a review of 
                available data filed with the Department of Labor by 
                retirement plans subject to the Employee Retirement 
                Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) in order to 
                identify whether there are discernible trends with 
                respect to such plans' investments in the energy 
                sector. Within 180 days of the date of this order, the 
                Secretary shall provide an update to the Assistant to 
                the President for Economic Policy on any discernable 
                trends in energy investments by such plans. The 
                Secretary of Labor shall also, within 180 days of the 
                date of this order, complete a review of existing 
                Department of Labor guidance on the fiduciary 
                responsibilities for proxy voting to determine whether 
                any such guidance should be rescinded, replaced, or 
                modified to ensure consistency with current law and 
                policies that promote long-term growth and maximize 
                return on ERISA plan assets.

                Sec. 6. Rights-of-Way Renewals or Reauthorizations. The 
                Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 
                Agriculture, and the Secretary of Commerce approve 
                rights-of-way for energy infrastructure through lands 
                owned by or within the jurisdiction or control of the 
                United States. Energy infrastructure rights-of-way 
                grants, leases, permits, and agreements routinely 
                include sunset provisions. Operating facilities in 
                expired rights-of-way creates legal and operational 
                uncertainties for owners and operators of energy 
                infrastructure. To achieve the policies set forth in 
                section 2 of this order, the Secretaries of the 
                Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce shall:

                    (a) develop a master agreement for energy 
                infrastructure rights-of-way renewals or 
                reauthorizations; and
                    (b) within 1 year of the date of this order, 
                initiate renewal or reauthorization processes for all 
                expired energy rights-of-way grants, leases, permits, 
                and

[[Page 15498]]

                agreements, as determined to be appropriate by the 
                applicable Secretary and to the extent permitted by 
                law.

                Sec. 7. Reports on the Barriers to a National Energy 
                Market. (a) Within 180 days of the date of this order, 
                the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with 
                the Secretary of Energy, shall submit a report to the 
                President, through the Assistant to the President for 
                Economic Policy, regarding the economic and other 
                effects caused by the inability to transport sufficient 
                quantities of natural gas and other domestic energy 
                resources to the States in New England and, as the 
                Secretary of Transportation deems appropriate, to 
                States in other regions of the Nation. This report 
                shall assess whether, and to what extent, State, local, 
                tribal, or territorial actions have contributed to such 
                effects.

                    (b) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the 
                Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary 
                of Transportation, shall submit a report to the 
                President, through the Assistant to the President for 
                Economic Policy, regarding the economic and other 
                effects caused by limitations on the export of coal, 
                oil, natural gas, and other domestic energy resources 
                through the west coast of the United States. This 
                report shall assess whether, and to what extent, State, 
                local, tribal, or territorial actions have contributed 
                to such effects.

                Sec. 8. Report on Intergovernmental Assistance. State 
                and local governments play a vital role in supporting 
                energy infrastructure development through various 
                transportation, housing, and workforce initiatives, and 
                through other policies and expenditures. The Federal 
                Government is, in many cases, well positioned to 
                provide intergovernmental assistance to State and local 
                governments. To achieve the policies set forth in 
                section 2 of this order, the heads of agencies shall 
                review existing authorities related to the 
                transportation and development of domestically produced 
                energy resources and, within 30 days of the date of 
                this order, report to the Director of the Office of 
                Management and Budget and the Assistant to the 
                President for Economic Policy on how those authorities 
                can be most efficiently and effectively used to advance 
                the policies set forth in this order.

                Sec. 9. Report on Economic Growth of the Appalachian 
                Region. Within 180 days of the date of this order, the 
                Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the heads of 
                other agencies, as appropriate, shall submit a report 
                to the President, through the Assistant to the 
                President for Economic Policy, describing 
                opportunities, through the Federal Government or 
                otherwise, to promote economic growth of the 
                Appalachian region, including growth of petrochemical 
                and other industries. This report also shall assess 
                methods for diversifying the Appalachian economy and 
                promoting workforce development.

[[Page 15499]]

                Sec. 10. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.
                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    April 10, 2019.

[FR Doc. 2019-07656
 4-12-19; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F9-P