Keystone XL | Center for Effective Government

In Major Victory, President Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline

Nov 6, 2015 by Brian Gumm

In a major victory for public health and the environment, President Obama took final action on the Keystone XL pipeline and rejected the risky project on Nov. 6. The move comes after pipeline company TransCanada tried to game the system earlier in the week by asking the Obama administration to suspend the company's permit application. The administration denied that request, which was seen as an attempt to delay a final decision on Keystone XL until after Obama was out of office.

read in full

Yellowstone River Spill Shows the Risks of Keystone to Public Health and Natural Resources

Jan 22, 2015 by Amanda Starbuck

On Jan. 17, an oil pipeline leaked an estimated 50,000 gallons of crude oil along the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana. The incident contaminated the town's municipal water system, highlighting the risk of building pipelines near water sources and elevating concerns about the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

read in full

Keystone Pipeline: Foreign Profits, American Risk

Jan 16, 2015 by Katherine McFate

Media coverage of the Keystone XL pipeline is coalescing around a single narrative. It goes like this: environmentalists oppose the pipeline because of climate change concerns, and U.S. construction companies support the pipeline because it creates jobs. Environmentalists warn that tar sands crude oil has three times the global warming potential of conventional crude. Oil industry interests shrug and say Canadian companies will continue to extract tar sands, with or without the pipeline. Pipeline opponents then counter: fewer than 50 permanent jobs will be needed to staff the pipeline, a few thousand temporary construction jobs to build it. But this rendering of the debate misses the larger picture.

read in full

State Department Report Acknowledges Climate Change Impacts of Keystone XL

On Jan. 31, the U.S. Department of State published its long-awaited Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Keystone XL pipeline, which acknowledges, for the first time, that the proposed pipeline could contribute to climate change. On Feb. 3, communities and groups across the country organized over 200 local vigils in 44 states and Washington, DC to let President Obama know the risks that the pipeline will bring. The final EIS report does not provide any recommendations on the pipeline but will be used to develop a recommendation from the State Department and in the president's final decision on the pipeline.

read in full

Keystone Pipeline Derailed – For Now

On Jan. 18, President Obama rejected the permit for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project, which was sought by Canadian firm TransCanada and Big Oil interests. The Obama administration determined that more study was needed to see whether the project was in the long-term national interest of the United States. Communities along the proposed pipeline route that are concerned about public health and safety issues welcomed the administration's decision, even as Republican lawmakers vowed to continue fighting for the project.

read in full

UPDATED: Rushing To a Full Stop: Obama Gets It Right When He Talks About the Keystone Pipeline

Jan 18, 2012 by Jessica Randall

UPDATE (2/27/2012): TransCanada announced today that it will move forward with the Keystone XL pipeline. The company now plans to apply for two separate permits: one for the construction between the U.S.-Canadian border and Steele City, Neb. (the "Keystone XL Project") and the second for the construction between Cushing, Okla., and Port Arthur, Tex. (the "Gulf Coast Project").

read in full

Regulatory Oversight and Congressional Horse Trading

Appointing Richard Cordray on Jan. 4 to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, President Obama said that he was stepping in to remedy a delay that "hurts our economy and puts people at risk." The Cordray situation is just one example of how obstructionism and other tactics have led to difficulties and delays in protecting the American people and the economy.

read in full

The Keystone Pipeline: The Mirage of Jobs

Dec 22, 2011 by Sofia Plagakis

Last week, Congressional Republicans slipped provisions into a payroll tax bill that would try to force the President to make an early decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project. Under the bill, President Obama would face a 60-day deadline to rule on the project, which has not yet received the legally required economic, environmental and safety reviews.

read in full

Senate Passes Bill to Improve Pipeline Safety and Increase Public Access to Information

On Oct. 17, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill to strengthen safety standards and increase public availability of inspection results and enforcement actions related to the nation’s 2.3 million miles of pipelines. The legislation was sparked by a series of deadly explosions in 2010 and 2011 that drew scrutiny to the safety of gas and oil pipelines.

read in full