Presidential Permit: Authorizing Bakken Pipeline Company LP to Operate and Maintain Existing Pipeline Facilities at Burke County, North Dakota, at the International Boundary Between the United States and Canada
The President issued a Presidential Permit authorizing Bakken Pipeline Company LP, a subsidiary of the Canadian corporation Enbridge Inc., to operate and maintain its existing pipeline Border facilities located near Portal, North Dakota, for the purpose of transporting crude oil and petroleum products between the United States and Canada.
This new permit supersedes a previous permit issued in 1996 and outlines nine specific conditions, including continuous compliance with all applicable Federal, State, and local laws, mandatory United States government inspection rights, requirements for facility removal upon permit termination, and a clause allowing the President to take temporary possession of the facilities for national security reasons.
Arguments For
Streamlining Cross-Border Commerce: Grants official Presidential authority for the continued, orderly transfer of crude oil and petroleum products across the border, supporting established trade relationships with Canada.
Current Operation Legitimacy: Supersedes and replaces a prior 1996 Presidential permit, formalizing the legal status of the existing Border facilities.
Flexibility in Operation: Allows the permittee to adjust average daily throughput capacity and the directional flow of products without requiring a new amendment, provided facility changes are not substantial.
Ensuring Safety and Compliance: Mandates that the Border facilities remain subject to all applicable Federal, State, and local laws, including direct oversight by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).
Arguments Against
Executive Precedent: Establishes an administrative precedent for executive action concerning cross-border energy infrastructure permitting, potentially circumventing standard legislative or regulatory processes.
National Security Concerns: Article 4 grants the President unilateral authority to seize possession, management, or control of the private facilities at any time due to national security concerns, creating long-term operational uncertainty for the private entity.
Environmental Liability Transfer: While the company is required to indemnify the U.S. against liability, the existence of the pipeline near an international border always poses a risk of environmental contamination that the federal government might eventually have to manage.
Lack of Judicial Review: Article 9 explicitly states the permit creates no substantive or procedural rights enforceable at law against the United States, limiting recourse for affected parties or the permittee.
Presidential Actions
By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America (the “President”), I hereby grant this Presidential permit, subject to the conditions herein set forth to Bakken Pipeline Company LP. (the “permittee”). The permittee is a limited partnership organized under the laws of the State of Delaware and is a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc., a corporation organized under the laws of Canada. Permission is hereby granted to the permittee to operate and maintain pipeline Border facilities, as described herein, at the international border of the United States and Canada near Portal, North Dakota, for the transport between the United States and Canada of crude oil and petroleum products of every description, refined or unrefined (inclusive of, but not limited to, naphtha, liquefied petroleum gas, jet fuel, gasoline, kerosene, and diesel), but not including natural gas subject to section 3 of the Natural Gas Act, as amended (15 U.S.C. 717b).
This permit supersedes and revokes the Presidential permit issued previously, dated April 8, 1996.
This permit does not affect the applicability of any otherwise-relevant laws and regulations. As confirmed in Article 2 of this permit, the Border facilities shall remain subject to all such laws and regulations.
The term “Facilities” as used in this permit means the portion in the United States of the international pipeline project associated with the permittee’s January 16, 2026, application for an amendment to its existing permit, and any land, structures, installations, or equipment appurtenant thereto.
The term “Border facilities” as used in this permit means those parts of the Facilities consisting of a 12-inch diameter pipeline in existence at the time of this permit extending from the international border between the United States and Canada near Portal, North Dakota, to and including the first mainline shut-off valve or pumping station in the United States located approximately 0.5 miles from the international border, and any land, structures, installations, or equipment appurtenant thereto.
This permit is subject to the following conditions:
Article 1. The Border facilities herein described, and all aspects of their operation, shall be subject to all the conditions, provisions, and requirements of this permit and any subsequent Presidential amendment to it. The permittee shall make no substantial change in the Border facilities, in the location of the Border facilities, or in the operation authorized by this permit unless the President has approved the change in an amendment to this permit or in a new permit. Such substantial changes do not include, and the permittee may make, changes to the average daily throughput capacity of the Border facilities to any volume of products that is achievable through the Border facilities, and to the directional flow of any such products.
Article 2. The standards for, and the manner of, operation and maintenance of the Border facilities shall be subject to inspection by the representatives of appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies. Officers and employees of such agencies who are duly authorized and performing their official duties shall be granted free and unrestricted access to the Border facilities by the permittee. The Border facilities, including the operation and maintenance of the Border facilities, shall be subject to all applicable laws and regulations, including pipeline safety laws and regulations issued or administered by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The permittee shall obtain requisite permits from relevant State and local governmental entities, and relevant Federal agencies.
Article 3. Upon the termination, revocation, or surrender of this permit, unless otherwise decided by the President, the permittee, at its own expense, shall remove the Border facilities within such time as the President may specify. If the permittee fails to comply with an order to remove, or to take such other appropriate action with respect to, the Border facilities, the President may direct an appropriate official or agency to take possession of the Border facilities — or to remove the Border facilities or take other action — at the expense of the permittee. The permittee shall have no claim for damages caused by any such possession, removal, or other action.
Article 4. When, in the judgment of the President, ensuring the national security of the United States requires entering upon and taking possession of any of the Border facilities or parts thereof, and retaining possession, management, or control thereof for such a length of time as the President may deem necessary, the United States shall have the right to do so, provided that the President or his designee has given due notice to the permittee. The United States shall also have the right thereafter to restore possession and control to the permittee. In the event that the United States exercises the rights described in this article, it shall pay to the permittee just and fair compensation for the use of such Border facilities, upon the basis of a reasonable profit in normal conditions, and shall bear the cost of restoring the Border facilities to their previous condition, less the reasonable value of any improvements that may have been made by the United States.
Article 5. Any transfer of ownership or control of the Border facilities, or any part thereof, or any changes to the name of the permittee, shall be immediately communicated in writing to the President or his designee, and shall include information identifying any transferee. Notwithstanding any such transfers or changes, this permit shall remain in force subject to all of its conditions, permissions, and requirements, and any amendments thereto.
Article 6. (1) The permittee is responsible for acquiring any right-of-way grants or easements, permits, and other authorizations as may become necessary or appropriate.
(2) The permittee shall hold harmless and indemnify the United States from any claimed or adjudged liability arising out of operation or maintenance of the Border facilities, including environmental contamination from the release, threatened release, or discharge of hazardous substances or hazardous waste.
(3) To ensure the safe operation of the Border facilities, the permittee shall maintain them and every part of them in a condition of good repair and in compliance with applicable law.
Article 7. The permittee shall file with the President or his designee, and with appropriate agencies, such sworn statements or reports with respect to the Border facilities, or the permittee’s activities and operations in connection therewith, as are now, or may hereafter, be required under any law or regulation of the United States Government or its agencies. These reporting obligations do not alter the intent that this permit be operative as a directive issued by the President alone.
Article 8. Upon request, the permittee shall provide appropriate information to the President or his designee with regard to the Border facilities. Such requests could include, for example, information concerning current conditions or anticipated changes in ownership or control, operation, or maintenance of the Border facilities.
Article 9. This permit 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.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fiftieth.
DONALD J. TRUMP
The post Presidential Permit: Authorizing Bakken Pipeline Company LP to Operate and Maintain Existing Pipeline Facilities at Burke County, North Dakota, at the International Boundary Between the United States and Canada appeared first on The White House.
The document contains boilerplate HTML structure from the White House website, indicating this is a Presidential Action page, specifically for 'Presidential Actions,' which includes navigation links for various types of actions like Executive Orders and Proclamations.
The introductory paragraph grants the Presidential permit, under the authority vested in the President, to Bakken Pipeline Company LP to operate existing pipeline Border facilities near Portal, North Dakota.
The permit allows the transport of crude oil and refined/unrefined petroleum products across the U.S.-Canada border, explicitly excluding natural gas.
This new permit formally supersedes and revokes a previous Presidential permit issued on April 8, 1996.
It clarifies that the permit does not negate any other applicable laws or regulations regarding the Border facilities.
The document then defines two key terms: "Facilities" refers to the U.S. portion of the proposed pipeline expansion from the January 16, 2026, application. "Border facilities" specifically denotes the existing 12-inch diameter pipeline section, extending about half a mile into the U.S. from the international border with Canada near Portal, North Dakota, up to the first mainline shut-off valve or pumping station.
The remainder of the document itemizes nine conditions under which the permit is granted, covering operational control, regulatory oversight, facility removal, national security provisions, ownership transfer, indemnification, and reporting requirements.
By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America (the “President”), I hereby grant this Presidential permit, subject to the conditions herein set forth to Bakken Pipeline Company LP. (the “permittee”). The permittee is a limited partnership organized under the laws of the State of Delaware and is a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc., a corporation organized under the laws of Canada. Permission is hereby granted to the permittee to operate and maintain pipeline Border facilities, as described herein, at the international border of the United States and Canada near Portal, North Dakota, for the transport between the United States and Canada of crude oil and petroleum products of every description, refined or unrefined (inclusive of, but not limited to, naphtha, liquefied petroleum gas, jet fuel, gasoline, kerosene, and diesel), but not including natural gas subject to section 3 of the Natural Gas Act, as amended (15 U.S.C. 717b).
The President invokes executive authority to grant this Presidential permit to Bakken Pipeline Company LP, which is organized in Delaware and owned by the Canadian corporation Enbridge Inc. The permit authorizes the company to operate its existing Border facilities located at the U.S.-Canada international boundary near Portal, North Dakota.
Specifically, the permit allows for the transportation of all types of non-natural gas crude oil and related petroleum products across the border.
This permit supersedes and revokes the Presidential permit issued previously, dated April 8, 1996.
This action officially replaces and cancels the previous Presidential permit concerning these facilities, which had been granted on April 8, 1996.
This permit does not affect the applicability of any otherwise-relevant laws and regulations. As confirmed in Article 2 of this permit, the Border facilities shall remain subject to all such laws and regulations.
Granting this permit does not waive or negate existing relevant laws or regulations.
Article 2 confirms that the operation and maintenance of the Border facilities must comply with all applicable legal standards.
The term “Facilities” as used in this permit means the portion in the United States of the international pipeline project associated with the permittee’s January 16, 2026, application for an amendment to its existing permit, and any land, structures, installations, or equipment appurtenant thereto.
"Facilities" is defined as the U.S. segment of the international pipeline project that was the subject of the permittee's January 16, 2026, application to amend their existing permit.
This definition includes all associated land, structures, and equipment.
The term “Border facilities” as used in this permit means those parts of the Facilities consisting of a 12-inch diameter pipeline in existence at the time of this permit extending from the international border between the United States and Canada near Portal, North Dakota, to and including the first mainline shut-off valve or pumping station in the United States located approximately 0.5 miles from the international border, and any land, structures, installations, or equipment appurtenant thereto.
"Border facilities" specifies the exact segment granted authorization for operation.
This is the existing 12-inch pipeline starting at the Canadian border near Portal, ND, and running approximately 0.5 miles into the U.S., ending at the first mainline shut-off valve or pumping station, along with related equipment.
This permit is subject to the following conditions:
The remainder of the document outlines the specific rules and requirements that the permittee must adhere to in order to maintain the authorization granted by this permit.
Article 1. The Border facilities herein described, and all aspects of their operation, shall be subject to all the conditions, provisions, and requirements of this permit and any subsequent Presidential amendment to it. The permittee shall make no substantial change in the Border facilities, in the location of the Border facilities, or in the operation authorized by this permit unless the President has approved the change in an amendment to this permit or in a new permit. Such substantial changes do not include, and the permittee may make, changes to the average daily throughput capacity of the Border facilities to any volume of products that is achievable through the Border facilities, and to the directional flow of any such products.
Article 1 subjects the Border facilities and their operation to all conditions of this permit and any future Presidential amendments.
The permittee cannot make substantial changes to the facility or its location unless approved by the President.
However, the company is permitted to alter the average daily throughput capacity to the maximum achievable volume and change the product flow direction without requiring an amendment.
Article 2. The standards for, and the manner of, operation and maintenance of the Border facilities shall be subject to inspection by the representatives of appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies. Officers and employees of such agencies who are duly authorized and performing their official duties shall be granted free and unrestricted access to the Border facilities by the permittee. The Border facilities, including the operation and maintenance of the Border facilities, shall be subject to all applicable laws and regulations, including pipeline safety laws and regulations issued or administered by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The permittee shall obtain requisite permits from relevant State and local governmental entities, and relevant Federal agencies.
Article 2 mandates that the operation and maintenance of the facilities must adhere to standards subject to inspection by federal, state, and local agency representatives, who must be granted unrestricted access.
The facilities must comply with all laws, including pipeline safety regulations enforced by the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).
The permittee must also secure all necessary permits from relevant state, local, and federal governmental bodies.
Article 3. Upon the termination, revocation, or surrender of this permit, unless otherwise decided by the President, the permittee, at its own expense, shall remove the Border facilities within such time as the President may specify. If the permittee fails to comply with an order to remove, or to take such other appropriate action with respect to, the Border facilities, the President may direct an appropriate official or agency to take possession of the Border facilities — or to remove the Border facilities or take other action — at the expense of the permittee. The permittee shall have no claim for damages caused by any such possession, removal, or other action.
Article 3 requires the permittee to remove the Border facilities at their own cost and within a timeframe specified by the President if the permit is terminated, revoked, or surrendered, unless the President decides otherwise. If the company fails to comply with the removal order, the President can seize the facilities or arrange for their removal at the company's expense, and the company gives up any right to claim damages for this action.
Article 4. When, in the judgment of the President, ensuring the national security of the United States requires entering upon and taking possession of any of the Border facilities or parts thereof, and retaining possession, management, or control thereof for such a length of time as the President may deem necessary, the United States shall have the right to do so, provided that the President or his designee has given due notice to the permittee. The United States shall also have the right thereafter to restore possession and control to the permittee. In the event that the United States exercises the rights described in this article, it shall pay to the permittee just and fair compensation for the use of such Border facilities, upon the basis of a reasonable profit in normal conditions, and shall bear the cost of restoring the Border facilities to their previous condition, less the reasonable value of any improvements that may have been made by the United States.
Article 4 grants the United States the right to take possession, management, or control of the Border facilities if the President determines it is necessary for national security, provided the permittee receives due notice. The U.S. retains the right to return control later.
If the U.S. exercises this power, it must pay the permittee compensation based on a reasonable profit under normal conditions and cover the costs of restoring the facilities to their prior condition, accounting for any improvements made by the government.
Article 5. Any transfer of ownership or control of the Border facilities, or any part thereof, or any changes to the name of the permittee, shall be immediately communicated in writing to the President or his designee, and shall include information identifying any transferee. Notwithstanding any such transfers or changes, this permit shall remain in force subject to all of its conditions, permissions, and requirements, and any amendments thereto.
Article 5 requires the permittee to immediately inform the President, in writing, of any transfer of ownership or control over the Border facilities, or any name change, including details about the transferee.
The permit remains fully effective, subject to all its existing conditions and amendments, despite any such transfers.
Article 6. (1) The permittee is responsible for acquiring any right-of-way grants or easements, permits, and other authorizations as may become necessary or appropriate.
(2) The permittee shall hold harmless and indemnify the United States from any claimed or adjudged liability arising out of operation or maintenance of the Border facilities, including environmental contamination from the release, threatened release, or discharge of hazardous substances or hazardous waste.
(3) To ensure the safe operation of the Border facilities, the permittee shall maintain them and every part of them in a condition of good repair and in compliance with applicable law.
Article 6 details three responsibilities for the permittee.
First, the company must acquire all necessary rights-of-way, easements, and other authorizations.
Second, the permittee must protect the U.S. government from and compensate it for any liability resulting from the operation or maintenance of the facilities, including liability for environmental contamination by hazardous substances.
Third, the permittee must keep the Border facilities in good repair and ensure they comply with all relevant laws.
Article 7. The permittee shall file with the President or his designee, and with appropriate agencies, such sworn statements or reports with respect to the Border facilities, or the permittee’s activities and operations in connection therewith, as are now, or may hereafter, be required under any law or regulation of the United States Government or its agencies. These reporting obligations do not alter the intent that this permit be operative as a directive issued by the President alone.
Article 7 requires the permittee to submit any sworn statements or reports requested by the President's designee or other appropriate agencies regarding the facilities or operations, as mandated by current or future federal law or regulation.
The document notes that these reporting mandates do not change the fact that the permit itself functions solely as a directive issued by the President.
Article 8. Upon request, the permittee shall provide appropriate information to the President or his designee with regard to the Border facilities. Such requests could include, for example, information concerning current conditions or anticipated changes in ownership or control, operation, or maintenance of the Border facilities.
Article 8 obligates the permittee to supply the President or the designee with relevant information about the Border facilities upon request.
Examples of requested information include details on current operational status or any expected changes in ownership, control, operation, or maintenance.
Article 9. This permit 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.
Article 9 states that this Presidential permit is not intended to create any legal rights or benefits, either substantive or procedural, that any outside party could enforce against the United States government, its agencies, employees, or any other person, either in law or in equity.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fiftieth.
DONALD J. TRUMP
The post Presidential Permit: Authorizing Bakken Pipeline Company LP to Operate and Maintain Existing Pipeline Facilities at Burke County, North Dakota, at the International Boundary Between the United States and Canada appeared first on The White House.
This concluding section formalizes the document: the permit was signed by Donald J. Trump on April 15, 2026, marking the 250th year of U.S. Independence.
The final lines include metadata pointing to the original publication source on The White House website.
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