Keystone XL Review Extended, Delaying Final Decision Until After 2014 Elections

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Reutersย andย Politicoย brokeย a major story today thatย TransCanada‘s northern leg of theย Keystone XLย tar sandsย pipeline will not be decided on until after the 2014 mid-termย elections.

โ€œThe U.S. State Department willโ€ฆextend the government comment period on the Keystone XL pipeline, likely postponing a final decision on the controversial project until after the November 4 midterm elections,โ€ย Reuters explained.

Secretary of State John Kerry and President Barack Obama have final say over whether the pipeline will be built because it crosses the U.S.-Canadaย border.

Reporters learned of the decision after a call between high-level congressional staff and State Departmentย officials.ย 

โ€œThe justification is the need to wait on continued litigation over a Nebraska court decision earlier this year, which threw part of the projectโ€™s route in doubt, two sources said today after a call between the State Department and congressional staff,โ€ย reported Politico.

In the end, the decision came down to politics, according to Politico, though there are no shortage of climate change and ecological concerns for the prospectiveย pipeline.

โ€œA delay past November would spare Obama a politically difficult decision on whether to approve the pipeline, angering his green base and environmentally minded campaign donors โ€” or reject it, endangering pro-pipeline Democrats,โ€ย they reported.

Proponents and Opponentsย Respond

Twitter has been abuzz since rumors of the announcement started swirling and many prominent individuals with a stake in the fight have already chimedย in.

โ€œKeystone XL delay further proof that State Department has bungled this process and has no business overseeing environmental reviews,โ€ย tweetedย Friends of the Earth Senior Campaignerย Ross Hammond.

Bill McKibbenย โ€”ย whose organizationย 350.orgย led the civil disobedienceย Tar Sands Actionย in summer 2011 that put the Keystone XL andย tar sandsย on the map for many โ€” alsoย responded.ย 

โ€œIt’s as if our leaders simply don’t understand that climate change is happening in real timeโ€“that it would require strong, fast action to do anything about it. While we’re at it, the State Department should also request that physics delay heat-trapping operations for a while, and that the El Nino scheduled for later this spring be pushed back to after the midterms. One point is clear: without a broad and brave movement, DC would have permitted this dumb pipeline in 2011. So on we go.โ€

Elijah Zarlin, CREDO‘s senior campaign manager, said: โ€œIt is deeply disappointing that Secretary Kerry and President Obama canโ€™t yet muster the courage to stand up to the oil industry and reject Keystone XL. Still, this is yet another defeat for TransCanada, tar sands developers like the Koch Brothers, and oil-soaked politicians.ย 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.ย No delays will diminish our commitment to stopping Keystone XL.โ€

On the other side, Fox News referred to the decision as a โ€œFriday News Dumpโ€ and theย Koch Brothers-funded American Energy Allianceย (AEA)ย tweeted, โ€œMost had never even heard of @justinbieber back when @TransCanada applied for #KeystoneXL permits,โ€ alluding to the fact Keystone XL has now been up for debate for fiveย years.ย 

Industry-fundedย Energy in Depthย spokesmanย Steve Everlyย echoed AEA.ย 

โ€œIt took the U.S. less than 4 years to win two theaters in World War II,โ€ย stated Everly. โ€œIt’s been five years and we can’t approve a metalย pipe.โ€

One thing’s for certain: the prospective pipeline will likely become a major politico โ€œhot potatoโ€ in the months leading up to the November 2014ย elections.ย 

Photo Credit:ย Rena Schildย |ย Shutterstock

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Steve Horn is the owner of the consultancy Horn Communications & Research Services, which provides public relations, content writing, and investigative research work products to a wide range of nonprofit and for-profit clients across the world. He is an investigative reporter on the climate beat for over a decade and former Research Fellow for DeSmog.

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