Keystone XL Decision Likely Delayed Until 2015
International Business Times
Published Aug 12, 2014 12:23PM ET
Updated Aug 12, 2014 12:45PM ET
Keystone XL Decision Likely Delayed Until 2015
By Maria Gallucci - A final decision on the Keystone XL pipeline now seems unlikely until at least 2015, extending the bitter controversy over the Canada-to-Texas project into its seventh year. The timing for President Barack Obama's verdict largely hinges on a Nebraska Supreme Court ruling over the pipeline’s proposed path in the state, lawyers and activists told Reuters.
The state court is to hear oral arguments on Sept. 5 from landowners who oppose the proposed 300-mile route and state officials who support it. But a final ruling probably won’t be delivered until the new year. "These things typically take three to six months," Jane Kleeb of the group Bold Nebraska, which is leading the landowner opposition to the pipeline, told Reuters. "We have always thought the decision will come in January."
The Obama administration, which has the final say on the entire 1,179-mile project since it crosses an international boundary, said in April that it might await the Nebraska decision before rejecting or approving a presidential permit for the Keystone XL. If the court rules against the state, that would send the pipeline’s builder, TransCanada Corp. NYSE:TRP, and Nebraska regulators back to the drawing board, delaying construction even further.
It also means that while the Keystone XL controversy is likely to come up in several congressional campaigns, the outcome will remain in limbo past the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 5, Reuters noted.
If built, the Keystone XL would carry 830,000 barrels of oil a day from western Canada’s oil sands region down to Steele City, Nebraska, where it would connect with an existing southern leg that runs to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.
The Nebraska dispute stems from a 2012 state law that gave Republican Gov. Dave Heineman the power to approve the pipeline’s route in the state. Three landowners – Randy Thompson, Suz Straka and Susan Dunavan – challenged the law, and in February, a district court judge ruled in their favor and invalidated the route. Heineman has asked the state Supreme Court to overrule that decision.
Along with the outcome of the Nebraska case, the Obama administration is also weighing the Keystone XL’s projected climate effects. In June 2013, Obama announced that greenhouse gas emissions are a key factor in his decision, saying he would approve the project only if “it does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution.”
Get The News You Want
Earlier this week, a new analysis concluded that the proposed pipeline could have four times the global warming impact as initially assumed – a finding that garnered mixed reviews from experts. Researchers said the U.S. State Department didn’t take into account that added oil from the pipeline would lower global oil prices and drive up consumption, boosting greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
Written By: International Business Times
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.