U.S. delays review of Keystone XL pipeline

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is extending indefinitely
the amount of time federal agencies have to review the Keystone XL
pipeline, the State Department said Friday, likely punting the
decision over the controversial oil pipeline past the midterm
elections.

The State Department didn’t say how much longer agencies will have to
weigh in but cited a recent decision by a Nebraska judge overturning a
state law that allowed the pipeline’s path through the state,
prompting uncertainty and an ongoing legal battle. Nebraska’s Supreme
Court isn’t expected to rule for another several months, and there
could be more legal maneuvering after that. The delay potentially
frees President Barack Obama to avoid making a final call on the
pipeline until after the November election.

“The agency consultation process is not starting over. The process is
ongoing, and the department and relevant agencies are actively
continuing their work in assessing the permit application,” the State
Department said in a statement.

Republicans were quick to blast the latest delay in a review process
that has dragged on for more than five years. Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., accused Obama of kowtowing to “radical
activists” from the environmental community, while House Speaker John
Boehner, R-Ohio, called the decision “shameful” and said there were no
credible reasons for further delay.

“This job-creating project has cleared every environmental hurdle and
overwhelmingly passed the test of public opinion, yet it’s been
blocked for more than 2,000 days,” Boehner said in a statement.

In an ironic show of bipartisanship, prominent Democrats from
energy-dependent states joined Republicans in blasting the Obama
administration for delaying the decision once again. Democratic Sen.
Mary Landrieu, who faces a difficult re-election this year in
conservative-leaning Louisiana, said Obama was signaling that a small
minority of opponents can tie up the process forever in the courts,
sacrificing 42,000 jobs and billions in economic activity in the
process.

“This decision is irresponsible, unnecessary and unacceptable,” Landrieu said.

But environmental groups fighting the pipeline hailed the delay,
arguing that it shows the State Department is taking the arguments
against the pipeline seriously.

“This is definitely great news,” said Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice
president for the League of Conservation Voters. “We are very
confident as they continue to examine the issues with the lack of
legal route in Nebraska and the terrible climate impacts, at the end
of the day the pipeline will be rejected.”

State Department officials said other U.S. agencies will be notified
of the new deadline to weigh in once the legal situation in Nebraska
becomes clearer. At the core of the delay is a concern that the legal
wrangling in Nebraska could lead to a change in the pipeline’s route
that would affect agencies’ assessments, said the officials, who
weren’t authorized to comment by name and demanded anonymity.

Officials declined Friday to say when a final decision would take
place but said the process should proceed “as expeditiously as
possible.” They added that the State Department is moving forward with
other aspects of its review that must take place before determining
whether approving the pipeline is in the U.S. national interest.

The White House has insisted that Secretary of State John Kerry is in
charge of the process, since the pipeline crosses the U.S.-Canada
border and falls under the State Department’s jurisdiction. But
President Barack Obama is widely expected to make the final call and,
in a nod to environmentalists’ concerns, has said the pipeline will be
deemed not in the U.S. interest if it contributes significantly to
increasing carbon dioxide emissions.

The White House declined to comment on the State Department’s
announcement, which came on Friday afternoon, when many Americans were
observing Good Friday and preparing for the Easter holiday. Sen. John
Thune, R-S.D., accused the administration of seizing that opportunity
to downplay news of the latest delay.

Obama and environmental groups dispute the notion that the pipeline
would create many permanent jobs or have a substantial economic
impact, but Obama has refused to say whether he will nix it. The
1,179-mile pipeline would travel through Montana and South Dakota to a
hub in Nebraska, where it would connect with existing pipelines to
carry more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day to refineries in
Texas.

The pipeline project, proposed by Canadian company TransCanada, has
become a proxy for a larger battle between environmental activists and
energy advocates over climate change and the future of American
energy.

“We are disappointed that politics continue to delay a decision on
Keystone XL,” said Jason MacDonald, a spokesman for Canadian Prime
Minister Stephen Harper.

In January, the State Department said that building the pipeline would
not significantly boost carbon emissions because the oil was likely to
find its way to market no matter what. Transporting the oil by rail or
truck would cause greater environmental problems than the pipeline,
the report said.

The State Department has jurisdiction because the pipeline would cross
the border between the U.S. and Canada.