Quantcast
Environmental News for a Healthier Planet and Life

State Department Indefinitely Delays Keystone XL Pipeline Decision

Brandon Baker
Apr. 18, 2014 04:25PM EST
State Department Indefinitely Delays Keystone XL Pipeline Decision

The U.S. State Department on Friday afternoon said that it is giving eight federal agencies an extension for reviewing the Keystone XL pipeline project proposal.

The department said the decision partly hinges on Nebraska Supreme Court litigation that could affect the pipeline's route. For that reason, there's no timeline on the delay.

"In addition, during this time we will review and appropriately consider the unprecedented number of new public comments, approximately 2.5 million, received during the public comment period that closed on March 7, 2014," the State Department said in a statement.

While a Nebraska judge in February sided with landowners who argued that it was unconstitutional to grant the power of eminent domain to Gov. Heineman and, in turn, TransCananda to make way for Keystone, state Attorney General Jon Bruning appealed the ruling. The Lincoln Journal Star reported that "those following the case don't expect a decision until 2015."

Still, the delay was a cause for applause from the pipeline's opponents. 

"This is a huge victory for climate champions and communities from Alberta down to Nebraska and the Gulf," All Risk, No Reward Coalition spokeswoman Rachel Wolf said. "Every day without Keystone XL is a day that we keep high-carbon tar sands in the ground. The State Department's announcement to postpone a final decision on Keystone XL pending further certainty on the Nebraska route confirms, yet again, that this project not permit-able.

 

"This export pipeline fails the climate test, fails the jobs test, and doesn't even have a legal route."

 

To Tom Steyer and NextGen Climate, the delay only emphasizes the fact that it's a horrible idea.

"First, since the pipeline would significantly increase carbon pollution, we know that it fails the climate test laid out by President Obama last year," Steyer said. "Keystone XL is the economic key to unlocking the Alberta tar sands. As Canadian oil interests have confirmed, the oil industry cannot maximize the extraction of some of the world's dirtiest oil without it.

"Second, our leaders must demand that in advance of any decision on the project, TransCanada finally come clean on whether all of the refined oil will stay in the United States. TransCanada has said the United States should support the pipeline because it would provide energy independence for the United States, but they have ducked, dodged and refused to commit to keeping the refined oil in our country."

Still, others would have preferred an outright denial of the 1,179-mile pipeline.

“It is deeply disappointing that Secretary Kerry and President Obama can’t yet muster the courage to stand up to the oil industry and reject Keystone XL," said Elijah Zarlin, CREDO's senior campaign manager. “Still, this is yet another defeat for TransCanada, tar sands developers like the Koch Brothers, and oil-soaked politicians. No doubt, the nearly 100,000 people who have pledged to risk arrest to stop Keystone XL played a key role in pushing the administration to more accurately consider the full impact of this project—which must clearly result in rejection.

"No delays will diminish our commitment to stopping Keystone XL."

——–

YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE

Judge Sides With Landowners, Strikes Down Eminent Domain Law Allowing Keystone XL

Keystone XL’s Environmental Impact an Afterthought on ‘Meet the Press’

Could We Win the Keystone XL Battle But Still Lose the Tar Sands War?

——– 

tar sands featured-home keystone xl
sea level rise
Scientists Warn 4°C World Would Unleash 'Unimaginable Amounts of Water' as Ice Shelves Collapse
Climate
Pexels

By Jessica Corbett

A new study is shedding light on just how much ice could be lost around Antarctica if the international community fails to urgently rein in planet-heating emissions, bolstering arguments for bolder climate policies.

The study, published Thursday in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, found that over a third of the area of all Antarctic ice shelves — including 67% of area on the Antarctic Peninsula — could be at risk of collapsing if global temperatures soar to 4°C above pre-industrial levels.

Read More Show Less
sea level rise climate crisis oceans science antartica
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
national monuments
A Monumental Matter at Bears Ears — Land of Sacred Power
Insights + Opinion
Valley of the Gods in the heart of Bears Ears National Monument. Mint Images / Getty Images

By Sharon Buccino

This week, Secretary Haaland chose a visit to Bears Ears National Monument as her first trip as Interior Secretary. She is spending three days in Bluff, Utah, a small town just outside the monument, listening to representatives of the five tribes who first proposed its designation to President Obama in 2015. This is the same town where former Secretary Sally Jewell spent several hours at a public hearing in July 2016 before recommending the monument's designation to President Obama.

Read More Show Less
bears ears public lands indigenous peoples indigenous rights national monuments biden administration
Trending
marine life
Marine Life Is Fleeing the Equator to Cooler Waters – This Could Trigger a Mass Extinction Event
Oceans
Pexels

By Anthony Richardson, Chhaya Chaudhary, David Schoeman, and Mark John Costello

The tropical water at the equator is renowned for having the richest diversity of marine life on Earth, with vibrant coral reefs and large aggregations of tunas, sea turtles, manta rays and whale sharks. The number of marine species naturally tapers off as you head towards the poles.

Read More Show Less
marine life oceans climate crisis climate change
whales
National Geographic Earth Day Series Provides a Rare Glimpse Into Whale Culture
Animals
"Secrets of the Whales" is a new series that will start streaming on Disney+ on Earth Day. Disney+

In celebration of Earth Day, a star-studded cast is giving fans a rare glimpse into the secret lives of some of the planet's most majestic animals: whales. In "Secrets of the Whales," a four-part documentary series by renowned National Geographic Photographer and Explorer Brian Skerry and Executive Producer James Cameron, viewers plunge deep into the lives and worlds of five different whale species.

Read More Show Less
whales marine life oceans documentaries
bird watching
9 Tips for Beginner Bird Watchers
Adventure
Spring is an excellent time to begin bird watching in earnest. Eugenio Marongiu / Cultura / Getty Images

The coronavirus has isolated many of us in our homes this year. We've been forced to slow down a little, maybe looking out our windows, becoming more in tune with the rhythms of our yards. Perhaps we've begun to notice more, like the birds hopping around in the bushes out back, wondering (maybe for the first time) what they are.

Read More Show Less
birds adventure bird watching nature wildlife