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NATION & WORLD


State Department delays oil pipeline from Canada


By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press


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administration said Nov. 10 it is delay- ing a decision on a massive oil pipe- line until it can study new potential routes that avoid environmentally sensitive areas of Nebraska, a move that likely puts off fi nal action on the pipeline until after the 2012 election. The announcement by the State De-


WASHINGTON — The Obama


an ecological disaster in case of a spill. Thousands of protesters gathered


across from the White House on Nov. 6 to oppose the pipeline, and celebri- ties including “Seinfeld” actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus have made videos urg- ing to reject the pipeline. The State Department has authority over the project because it crosses a U.S. border. Environmental activist Bill McK-


partment means Calgary-based Trans- Canada Corp. will have to fi gure out a way to move the proposed Keystone XL pipeline around the Nebraska Sandhills region and Ogallala aquifer, which sup- plies water to eight states. The State De- partment said it will require an environ- mental review of the new section, which is expected to be completed in early 2013. President Barack Obama said the 1,700-mile pipeline could affect the health and safety of the American people as well as the environment. “We should take the time to ensure that all questions are properly addressed and all the potential impacts are properly understood,” Obama said in a statement.


The Keystone XL pipeline would carry as much as 700,000 barrels of oil a day.


prove the $7 billion pipeline “should be guided by an open, transparent process that is informed by the best available science and the voices of the American people,” Obama said. TransCanada Corp. is seeking to build a 36-inch pipeline to carry oil de- rived from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refi neries on the Texas Gulf Coast. The pipeline would travel through Mon- tana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma before reaching Texas. The heavily contested project has be-


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come a political trap for Obama, who risks angering environmental supporters if he approves the pipeline and could face criticism from labor and business groups for thwarting job creation if he rejects it. Some liberal donors have threatened to


for environmental groups, which say it would bring “dirty oil” that requires huge amounts of energy to extract. They also worry that the pipeline could cause


The decision on whether to ap-


ibben, who led protests against the pipeline and was arrested in a dem- onstration earlier this year, said on Twitter that the protests had an ef- fect on the Obama administration. “A done deal has come spec- tacularly undone!”


carry as much as 700,000 barrels of oil a day, doubling the capacity of an existing pipeline operated by TransCanada in the upper Midwest. Supporters say the pipe- line to Texas could signifi cantly reduce U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern oil while providing thousands of jobs. TransCanada said in a statement it was disappointed in the delay but confi dent that the project ultimately will be approved. The company has previously said a delay could cost millions of dollars and keep thou- sands of people of from getting jobs. Russ Girling,


president and CEO, called the pipe- line


could create as many 20,000 jobs. “If Keystone XL dies, Americans


will still wake up the next morning and continue to import 10 million barrels of oil from repressive nations, with- out the benefi t of thousands of jobs and long-term energy security,” he said. The American Petroleum Insti-


tute, the oil industry’s chief lobbying group, said the decision put election- year politics above creation of thou- sands of jobs. “Whether it will help the president retain his job is unclear, but it will cost thousands of shovel-ready opportunities for


ers,” said API president Jack Gerard. House Speaker John Boehner,


R-Ohio, used similar language, say- ing Obama had sacrifi ced thousands of jobs


cut off contributions to Obama’s re-elec- tion campaign if he approves the pipeline. The project has become a focal point


eral base. It’s a failure of leadership.” Canadian Prime Minister Ste- through a spokes-


phen Harper,


man, said he also was disappointed. “As we have consistently said, the pipeline will create thousands of jobs and billions in economic growth on both sides of the border,” Harper said. Still, Harper said he is hopeful that the project will eventually be approved.


“solely to appease his lib- American work- “shovel-ready,” adding that it TransCanada’s The Keystone XL pipeline would


he wrote.


Associated Press


Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman laughs as he holds a statement from the U.S. State Department at a news conference Nov. 10, when the department announced a delay in the TransCanada project.


the State Department decision was due largely to pressure from Nebraskans. Heineman called a special session of the Nebraska Legislature to address pipeline concerns, including a pos- sible rerouting of the pipeline around the Sandhills, a region that includes a high concentration of wetlands and the Ogallala aquifer, which provides water crucial to huge swaths of U.S. cropland. Heineman, a Republican, called the


State Department decision “an excep- tional moment for Nebraskans” and a sign their voices have been heard. The decision to reroute the proj-


ect comes as the State Department’s inspector general has begun a review of the administration’s handling of the pipeline request. That examina- tion follows complaints from Demo- cratic lawmakers about possible con- fl icts of interest in the review process. The inspector general will look at whether the State Department and others involved in the proj- ect followed federal regulations. Sen.


who requested the inspector gen- eral’s review, welcomed the delay. “I strongly believe that the more the


Bernard Sanders, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman said


I-Vt.,


American people learn about this proj- ect, the more they will understand that it would be disastrous for our environment and for our economy,” Sanders said.


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