WASHINGTON, D.C. — Construction on the long-disputed Keystone XL oil pipeline has been halted as U.S. President Joe Biden revoked its permit.
Biden’s Day One plan included revoking a presidential permit for the pipeline that was granted by former President Donald Trump in March 2019.
The 1,700-mile pipeline was planned to carry roughly 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.
The Canadian company says the project has been suspended and over 1,000 jobs will be eliminated in the coming weeks.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that “we are disappointed but acknowledge the president’s decision to fulfil his election campaign promise on Keystone XL.”
The revoking of the permit was part of one of the executive orders that Biden signed on his first day in office. The order is titled “protecting public health and the environment and restoring science to tackle the climate crisis."
In the order, the administration cited a 2015 review by the state department that determined that approving the pipeline would not serve the U.S. national interest and would undermine U.S. climate leadership by undercutting the nation’s credibility in the fight against climate change.
“That analysis, in addition to concluding that the significance of the proposed pipeline for our energy security and economy is limited, stressed that the United States must prioritize the development of a clean energy economy, which will in turn create good jobs,” the order says.
The administration concluded that leaving the pipeline permit in place wouldn’t be consistent with its economic and climate imperatives.
The Nebraska Republican Party issued the following statement in response:
The Nebraska Republican Party has condemned the Biden Administration’s decision to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline. “This administration has started on entirely the wrong foot by canceling a project that would have provided Nebraskans with good jobs and guaranteed our country’s energy independence,” said Nebraska Republican Party Executive Director Ryan Hamilton.
“We join the United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters in condemning this job-killing decision that prioritizes fringe activists instead of working Americans and consumers.”
The NEGOP also condemned the callous celebration by noted fringe activist and Chairwoman of the Nebraska Democrat Party Jane Kleeb. On learning that the project, which would have provided tens of thousands of jobs, reduced the cost of gas as a consumer product and reduced America’s dependence on foreign energy sources, was canceled, Kleeb told the Lincoln Journal Star: “she couldn’t stop laughing [negop.us20.list-manage.com].”
“The livelihood of Nebraskans and our nation’s energy independence are not a joke. Kleeb is totally out of touch with every day Americans, including the majority in her own party” he concluded.
Mark McManus, General President of the United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters [negop.us20.list-manage.com]: “In revoking this permit, the Biden Administration has chosen to listen to the voices of fringe activists instead of union members and the American consumer on Day 1. Let me be very clear: When built with union labor by the men and women of the United Association, pipelines like Keystone XL remain the safest and most efficient modes of energy transportation in the world. Sadly, the Biden Administration has now put thousands of union workers out of work. For the average American family, it means energy costs will go up and communities will no longer see the local investments that come with pipeline construction”
Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts also commented:
“Keystone XL is a critical part of putting together an all-of-the-above strategy for North American energy independence,” said Gov. Ricketts. “Failure to construct the pipeline would mean more dependence on overseas energy sources as well as fewer jobs and less property tax relief for Nebraskans. This is a project that would greatly benefit not just Nebraska but also our whole country, and it is our hope that TC Energy presses forward.”
