Keystone XL pipeline route would not harm
environment: State Department
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[September 22, 2018]
By Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State
Department on Friday issued an environmental assessment of a revised
route for the Keystone XL crude pipeline that concluded it would not
harm water or wildlife, clearing a hurdle for the project that has been
pending for a decade.
Even if the pipeline spilled crude oil along its revised route through
Nebraska, a top concern of environmentalists, there would likely be no
impact to groundwater, the nearly 340-page draft review said.
"Prompt cleanup response would likely be capable of remediating the
contaminated soils before the hazardous release reaches groundwater
depth," the review said.
Last month a federal judge in Montana had ordered the State Department
to conduct the review of a revised route of the project to take into
account new information relevant to a permit it issued for the pipeline
last year.
The review also said implementing the revised route would have "no
significant direct, indirect or cumulative effects on the quality of the
natural or human environments."

U.S. President Donald Trump is eager to see the building of the
pipeline, which was axed by former President Barack Obama in 2015 on
environmental concerns relating to emissions that cause climate change.
The project has galvanized environmentalists, tribal groups and ranchers
in opposition to the $8 billion 1,180 mile (1,900 km) pipeline that
would carry heavy crude from Canada's oil sands in Alberta to Steele
City, Nebraska. From there the crude would be sent to refineries and
potentially for export.
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Deer gather at a depot used to store pipes for Transcanada Corp's
planned Keystone XL oil pipeline in Gascoyne, North Dakota, January
25, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester

Canadian oil producers, who face discounts for their crude due to
transport bottlenecks, U.S. refineries and pipeline builders,
support the project.
TransCanada Corp plans to start construction in 2019, spokesman
Matthew John said.
The company's Chief Executive Russ Girling said last month that it
could make a final investment decision on the project late this year
or in early 2019, pending some regulatory approvals and court
challenges.
Robert Kwan, an RBC analyst, said the draft review was a "positive
step" for Keystone XL.
Environmentalists said the review was an example of the Trump
administration trying to push through a project that would risk
harming water resources and increase dependence on crude.
"We've held off construction of this pipeline for 10 years, and
regardless of this administration's attempts to force this dirty tar
sands pipeline on the American people, that fight will continue
until Keystone XL is stopped once and for all," said Kelly Martin,
the Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign director for Sierra Club.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner in Washington; additional reporting by
Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba)
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