WASHINGTON –- The Obama administration is delaying a decision on the
Keystone XL pipeline to gain clarity on the pipeline's proposed route
through Nebraska and allow more time for comment from other government
agencies.
In February, a state district court in Nebraska invalidated the route that had been
proposed through the state.
The State Department told representatives from congressional offices on
Friday that they are extending the time period for agency comment until
there is more certainty on the route.
There were supposed to be 14 days left in the agency comment period -- a 90-day period that started with the
release of the final environmental analysis at the end of January.
Given the continued uncertainty about the route, State said it will
give agencies at least those additional 14 days once there is a decision
on the Nebraska route.
The State Department said it is is
reviewing the 2.5 million public comments that it has received. The
extension announced Friday applies only to agency comments, however.
In
a call with reporters Friday, a senior State Department official
speaking on background said that, because the route through Nebraska may
change, "the prudent decision was to allow additional time."
The department, the official said, "felt that it is important to have
additional information and a better understanding of what that route
might be, because it could have implications for the environmental,
cultural and socioeconomic impacts that are being evaluated by the
agencies."
The official noted that the route is "central to the environmental
analysis of the project." If Nebraska decides to significantly change
the approved route, that may require additional analysis and comment. If
there is not a significant change, however, the official said, "there
would not be a need for another public comment period around that
route."
The official emphasized that the agency is continuing its evaluation of
other aspects of the pipeline decision, despite the delay on the
Nebraska route. "We are moving ahead very diligently with all other
aspects of the review that are necessary for the national interest
determination," said the official.
The announcement likely means
that there will not be a decision on whether to approve or deny the
pipeline until after the November 2014 elections. Nebraska is
appealing the district court decision, which
threw out a state law
that gave decision-making power on the pipeline route to the governor,
and would have allowed TransCanada to declare eminent domain over land
in the proposed path. Anti-Keystone activists in Nebraska say there
likely won't be a state Supreme Court decision on the issue until
January 2015 or so.
Anti-Keystone activists praised State's move
to delay the decision. "The basic fact that Nebraska has no legal route
is reason to delay any decision until our state can analyze a route
using a process that follows our state constitution," said Jane Kleeb,
director of Bold Nebraska, a state-based group that has opposed the
pipeline. "This delay is yet more proof this project is not permit-able
and not in our national interest."
Several pro-Keystone Democratic
senators blasted the delay in statements on Friday. "Today’s decision
by the Administration amounts to nothing short of an indefinite delay of
the Keystone Pipeline," said Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), chairwoman of
the Energy Committee. "This decision is irresponsible, unnecessary and
unacceptable."
The office of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen
Harper also criticized the delay. "We are disappointed that politics
continue to delay a decision on Keystone XL," Jason MacDonald, Harper's
director of communications, said in a statement. "This project will
create tens of thousands of jobs on both sides of the border, will
enhance the energy security of North America, has strong public support,
and the U.S. State Department has, on multiple occasions, acknowledged
it will be environmentally sound."
This story has been updated
to include details from a State Department call with reporters, a
statement from Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and details on the
Nebraska district court's decision.
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