Since the Administration denied a Presidential (border crossing) Permit to the Keystone XL Project in 2015, a number of regional, state or local objections to new pipeline construction projects have emerged around the U.S. Most of the protests have continued themes relied on by opposition to Keystone, including the claim that fossil fuels should remain in the ground in order to limit the impacts of climate change.
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Keystone
Challenging Presidential Permitting Authority
The question of whether Presidential Permit authority is constitutional and/or subject to judicial review has been and continues to be an unsettled issue. A little more than a month after the State Department’s November 2015 denial of TransCanada’s application for a Presidential Permit to construct its Keystone XL pipeline project, the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota ruled in White Earth Nation et al. v. Kerry et al. that State Department Presidential Permitting decisions are Presidential in nature and are therefore not subject to judicial review. Approximately one month later, in January 2016, TransCanada filed two separate actions to challenge the Obama administration’s rejection of its application for a Presidential Permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. The first action was filed in federal district court in Texas to challenge the denial of the Keystone Presidential Permit, and the second is a Notice of Intent to submit a claim to arbitration under Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
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Pipeline Law 2015: The Year Of Living Uncertainly
The US oil and gas industry has been transformed over the past few years by development of new shale resources. The US is now the world’s largest producer of natural gas and on track to be the world’s largest producer of oil. These changes have affected America’s energy future, as well as global markets.
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Rail Transport: A Riskier Proposition
A recent string of oil train derailments has renewed focus on rail safety and boosted support for oil pipelines as a safer mode of transportation, potentially affecting the public’s perception of pipeline projects such as the Keystone XL pipeline, whose southern leg went into service on January 22, 2014 and whose northern leg was the subject of a relatively objective final supplemental Environmental Impact Statement from the Department of State, issued on January 31, 2014.
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Government Inaction: Fate of Keystone XL Remains Political
The State Department recently released the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Keystone XL Pipeline. As a final installment to the project’s review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the FEIS assesses the potential impacts associated with the proposed pipeline and its alternatives.
Continue Reading Government Inaction: Fate of Keystone XL Remains Political
Notice of Availability of Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) on Keystone XL
TransCanada’s proposed new pipeline construction project to carry tar sands oil from Canada to the US Gulf Coast received considerable scrutiny when initially proposed. Because the new pipeline crosses an international border, it requires a Presidential Permit from the State Department, and that process in turn requires preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under…
Judge Denies Sierra Club Attempt to Stop Keystone Gulf Coast Project
On August 5, 2012, the Western District of Oklahoma denied Sierra Club’s attempt to seek a temporary injunction to stop commencement of construction of the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline project scheduled to begin August 6, 2012. In mid-July, Sierra Club challenged the Army Corps of Engineer’s (Corps) Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP 12)…
Sierra Club Sues to Block Keystone Gulf Coast Project
In a lawsuit that could have a broader impact than just halting the pipeline, the Sierra Club has brought a lawsuit against the US Army Corps of Engineers’ issuance of a NWP 12 permit to the Keystone Gulf Coast Project. The NWP 12 permit authorizes construction, maintenance and repair of linear utility lines in waters…
President Obama denies Keystone XL pipeline permit
President Obama denied the Keystone XL permit application based on a recommendation from the State Department that it did not have enough time to vet alternative pipeline routes before the February 21st approval deadline imposed by Congress in the payroll tax extension legislation. While the current Keystone XL application has been denied, the administration will…
President Obama signs payroll tax cut extension bill that includes 60 day deadline for a decision regarding the Keystone XL pipeline
On December 23, 2011, President Obama signed the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011, HR 3765, that temporarily extends the two percentage point payroll tax cut for employees, and also includes a Republican negotiated deadline for the President to either approve the Keystone XL pipeline or determine that the project is not in…