Presidential Permit: Authorizing Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership to Operate and Maintain Existing Pipeline Facilities at Pembina County, North Dakota, at the International Boundary Between the United States and Canada
This Presidential Permit, issued on April 15, 2026, grants Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership (a Delaware limited partnership and indirect Canadian subsidiary) the authority to operate and maintain existing pipeline Border facilities near Neche, North Dakota, for transporting crude oil and petroleum products across the U.S.-Canada border, superseding a 2017 permit, while stipulating that the facilities remain subject to rigorous federal, state, and local laws, environmental compliance, regular inspection, and presidential seizure authority for national security reasons.
Arguments For
Ensuring Energy Infrastructure Continuity: The action facilitates the continued, seamless cross-border transportation of essential crude oil and petroleum products, supporting national energy needs and existing trade agreements.
Regulatory Clarity and Supersedure: It formally replaces a previous permit from 2017, providing the current permittee (Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership) with clear, updated legal authorization for the specified border facilities.
Federal Oversight and Safety: The permit explicitly subjects the facilities to all applicable Federal, State, and local laws, including pipeline safety regulations enforced by PHMSA, ensuring ongoing regulatory compliance and maintenance.
National Security Provisions: The designated authority allows the President to take immediate possession and control of the facilities if deemed necessary for U.S. national security, ensuring government control during critical times.
Arguments Against
Perpetuation of Fossil Fuel Infrastructure: Granting a long-term permit for transporting crude oil and petroleum products entrenches reliance on fossil fuels, potentially conflicting with broader clean energy transition goals.
Environmental Liability and Risk: The pipeline carries the risk of environmental contamination from spills or releases, and while the company indemnifies the U.S., the immediate local environmental damage remains a significant concern.
Sovereignty Concerns: Allowing a Canadian-owned subsidiary operational control over critical cross-border energy infrastructure may raise concerns about foreign influence over essential domestic resources, despite federal oversight.
Potential for Uncompensated Seizure: While Article 4 outlines compensation for national security takings, the process is entirely at the President's discretion, leaving the level of compensation potentially contested.
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 Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership (the “permittee”). The permittee is a limited partnership organized under the laws of the State of Delaware and is an indirect subsidiary of Enbridge Inc., a corporation organized under the laws of Canada. Permission is hereby granted to the permittee to operate and maintain existing pipeline Border facilities, as described herein, at the international border of the United States and Canada near Neche, Pembina County, 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 issue this Presidential Permit to Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership.
This authorizes the company, which is a Delaware-based entity indirectly owned by the Canadian corporation Enbridge Inc., to operate and maintain established cross-border pipeline 'Border facilities.' These facilities, located near Neche, North Dakota, will move crude oil and various petroleum products between the U.S. and Canada.
The authorization specifically excludes natural gas regulated under a different act.
This permit supersedes and revokes the Presidential permit issued previously, dated October 13, 2017. See 82 Fed. Reg. 53553 (Nov. 16, 2017) (Notice of Issuance of a Presidential Permit to Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership).
This new permit replaces and nullifies the previous Presidential Permit granted to the same partnership, which was issued on October 13, 2017.
The notice of issuance for the previous permit was officially published in the Federal Register on November 16, 2017.
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 authorization granted here does not override or negate any other existing laws or regulations that apply to the pipeline facilities.
Article 2 further confirms that the Border facilities must continue to comply with all relevant existing 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.
The document defines 'Facilities' broadly as the U.S. segment of the international pipeline project related to the permittee's application from January 16, 2026, which 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 36-inch diameter pipeline in existence at the time of this permit’s issuance extending from the international border between the United States and Canada near Neche, Pembina County, North Dakota, to and including the first mainline shut-off valve or pumping station in the United States located approximately 3 miles from the international border, and any land, structures, installations, or equipment appurtenant thereto.
'Border facilities' is defined more narrowly as the specific section of the 36-inch pipeline already existing at the border near Neche, North Dakota.
This section extends about three miles into the U.S., ending at the first mainline shut-off valve or pumping station, including related equipment.
This permit is subject to the following conditions:
The authority granted throughout the permit is contingent upon the permittee adhering to the specific conditions detailed in the following articles.
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 states that all operations must comply with this permit and any future amendments.
The permittee cannot make significant changes to the facilities or their location or operation unless the President approves an amendment or issues a new permit.
However, changes to the maximum volume (throughput capacity) achievable by the existing facilities, or changes to the direction of product flow, are specifically permitted without requiring further approval.
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 requires that the operation and maintenance standards for the Border facilities are open to inspection by authorized federal, state, and local agency representatives, who must be granted unrestricted access.
The facilities must adhere to all applicable laws, particularly pipeline safety regulations managed by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) within the Department of Transportation.
Furthermore, the permittee is responsible for securing all necessary permits from relevant state, local, and federal authorities.
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 addresses permit closure.
If the permit ends, is revoked, or is surrendered, the permittee must remove the Border facilities at its own cost within a timeline set by the President.
If the permittee fails to remove the facilities as ordered, the President can direct a government official or agency to take possession or remove them, with all associated costs being charged back to the permittee.
In such an event, the permittee waives any right to claim damages against the U.S. government for the possession or removal actions.
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 President the authority to take temporary possession, management, or control of the Border facilities if national security requires it, provided the permittee receives advance notice. The U.S. reserves the right to return control later.
If the government exercises this right, it must provide the permittee with payment for the use of the facilities based on fair compensation and a reasonable normal profit.
The U.S. government is also responsible for restoration costs, minus the value of any improvements made by the U.S. during its possession.
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, unless subsequently terminated, revoked, or amended by the President.
Article 5 mandates that the permittee must immediately notify the President or the designee in writing of any transfer of ownership or control over the Border facilities, including identifying the new party.
Regardless of any such changes, the permit remains valid and subject to all its established conditions, permissions, and requirements unless the President formally terminates, revokes, or amends it.
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 covers several operational responsibilities.
Paragraph (1) requires the permittee to obtain all necessary rights-of-way, easements, and other authorizations.
Paragraph (2) mandates that the permittee must cover all liabilities—whether claimed or proven—resulting from operating or maintaining the facilities, including costs related to environmental contamination from hazardous substances.
Paragraph (3) requires the permittee to keep the facilities in good repair and ensure compliance with all relevant laws for safe operation.
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 required sworn statements and reports about the Border facilities and related activities to the President's designee and other relevant agencies, fulfilling any current or future U.S. Government reporting demands.
The document emphasizes that fulfilling these reporting duties does not change the fundamental nature of the permit, which remains a directive issued solely 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 information concerning current conditions or anticipated changes in ownership or control, operation, or maintenance of the Border facilities.
Article 8 obligates the permittee to furnish relevant information regarding the Border facilities to the President or the designee upon request.
This information can cover the current status of the facilities or any planned future changes concerning 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 clarifies that this permit does not grant any enforceable legal right or benefit, either procedural or substantive, to any private party, including the permittee, that could be asserted against the U.S. government, its associated entities, employees, or agents.
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
This section documents the formal execution of the permit, signed by Donald J. Trump on April 15, 2026, which corresponds to the 250th year of American Independence.
This concluding HTML snippet is website backend information, showing the title of the action and indicating that the content originally appeared on The White House website.
Related
Presidential Permit: Authorizing Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership to Operate and Maintain Three Existing Pipeline Facilities at Pembina County, North Dakota, at the International Boundary Between the United States and Canada
* A Presidential Permit was granted authorizing Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership to operate and maintain existing crude oil and petroleum product pipeline facilities in Pembina County, North Dakota, subject to numerous operational, liability, and security conditions.
Read MorePresidential Permit: Authorizing Enbridge Pipelines (Southern Lights) L.L.C. to Operate and Maintain Existing Pipeline Facilities at Pembina County, North Dakota, at the International Boundary Between the United States and Canada
* Authorized Enbridge Pipelines (Southern Lights) L.L.C. to operate and maintain existing pipeline border facilities in Pembina County, North Dakota, for crude oil and petroleum product transport, superseding the 2008 permit.
Read MorePresidential Permit: Authorizing Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership to Operate and Maintain Existing Pipeline Facilities at Pembina County, North Dakota, at the International Boundary Between the United States and Canada
* The President issued a Presidential Permit authorizing Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership to operate and maintain existing pipeline Border facilities for crude oil and petroleum product transport at the North Dakota/Canada international boundary, superseding the 1998 permit.
Read MorePresidential Permit: Authorizing Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership to Operate and Maintain Existing Pipeline Facilities at Pembina County, North Dakota, at the International Boundary Between the United States and Canada
* Granted Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership authority to operate and maintain existing pipeline border facilities in Pembina County, North Dakota, for transporting crude oil and petroleum products between the U.S. and Canada, subject to nine specific operational and regulatory conditions.
Read More