Environmental groups are celebrating the State Department’s decision to ignore a request to delay the Keystone XL pipeline approval process that could have punted the decision to the next president.
Pipeline builder TransCanada on Monday asked the State Department to delay the review of its application for the Keystone XL until the Nebraska Public Service Commission completes its review of the proposed route. However, many environmental groups saw the request as an attempt to run out the clock on the Obama administration until the next president takes office in 2017.
On Wednesday, a State Department spokesman said the agency was rejecting that request.
Sierra Club Director Michael Brune said that’s the right call.
“We applaud Secretary John Kerry for rejecting TransCanada’s blatant attempt to run out the clock on the Obama administration in hopes of getting approval for the Keystone XL pipeline from a subsequent administration that might not rely on climate science,” Brune said. “The future of the Keystone XL pipeline should be decided, as President Obama has previously stated, by its effect on our climate, not politics.”
Keystone XL is a 1,187-mile proposed pipeline running from the Alberta, Canada, tar sands down to refineries on the Gulf Coast.
It’s widely expected that President Obama will reject TransCanada’s application to build the pipeline before his tenure ends. The application has been under review by the State Department for more than seven years.
The length of the process shows that no delay was necessary, said Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president of government affairs with the League of Conservation Voters.
“We couldn’t agree more with the State Department’s decision,” Sittenfeld said. “After such a long review process this was a ridiculous ploy from TransCanada. We’re confident that President Obama will build on his climate leadership once again by swiftly rejecting this dirty pipeline.”
TransCanada spokesman Mark Cooper said the company respected the State Department’s decision and will continue to work to show the State Department that Keystone XL is in American best interests.
He pointed to the fact that five reports and thousands of pages reviewed by the State Department during the application process have pointed to favorable economic news for the U.S. if the pipeline is approved.
“As the State Department clearly concluded, pipelines are the safest and least greenhouse gas-intensive means of transporting needed oil that is turned into products we need for our everyday lives,” Cooper said. “Every test, every hurdle has been satisfied. If the decision on a presidential permit for Keystone XL is based on its merits and on science over symbolism it will be approved.”
The decision by the State Department gives further motivation for environmentalists to work against the Keystone XL pipeline, said 350.org communications director Jamie Henn.
Henn said activists in Ottawa will begin four days of sit-ins at new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office to demand an end to development of his country’s tar sands. Trudeau supports the Keystone XL pipeline but to a lesser degree than predecessor Stephen Harper.
“Real climate leadership means keeping fossil fuels in the ground,” Cooper said. “It’s time politicians in North America start walking the talk on climate.”
