U.S. to conduct additional Keystone XL
pipeline review
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[December 01, 2018]
(Reuters) - The U.S. State
Department will conduct another environmental review of TransCanada
Corp's long-pending Keystone XL oil pipeline, a U.S. official said on
Friday, a move that could lead to additional delays of the project.
The so-called supplemental environmental impact statement was ordered by
Judge Brian Morris of the U.S. District Court in Montana in his ruling
on Nov. 8 that blocked construction of the pipeline planned to bring
heavy crude from Canada's oil sands to the United States.
Morris said in his ruling that previous environmental analysis of
Keystone XL fell short of a "hard look" at the cumulative effects of
greenhouse gas emissions and the impact on Native American land
resources.
The $8 billion pipeline, which is supported by Canadian oil interests
and U.S. refiners, but opposed by landowners and environmentalists, has
been pending for a decade.
President Donald Trump announced a permit for the project soon after he
took office. Former President Barack Obama nixed the pipeline, saying it
would do little to help U.S. consumers and would add greenhouse gases.
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TransCanada spokesman Terry Cunha said that the State Department's
announcement of an additional review was expected after the judge's
ruling.
Earlier this week, TransCanada asked Morris, the District Court judge,
to allow it to resume some U.S.-based pre-construction activities
blocked by the initial ruling.
Morris' decision on Thursday gave the Calgary, Alberta-based company
permission to resume some activity on the pipeline project, including
project development work and stakeholder meetings.
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![](../images/120118pics/news_g13.jpg)
A depot used to store pipes for Transcanada Corp's planned Keystone
XL oil pipeline is seen in Gascoyne, North Dakota, January 25, 2017.
REUTERS/Terray Sylvester
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It is not allowed to resume physical field work like moving pipe and
equipment, preparing work camp sites or undertaking road upgrades at
this time, Cunha said. Morris is set to rule on that work after Dec.
5.
"It is too soon to say what the injunction will mean to the timeline
of the Keystone XL pipeline but we remain confident the project will
be built," Cunha said.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner in Washington and Julie Gordon in
Vancouver; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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