Keystone XL pipeline faces new uncertainties
BY CARL MEYERObama says decision is his to make; may stray past initial end-of-year deadline, while Nebraska opens new front
A fresh crop of potential new obstacles have popped up in front of a proposed $7-billion pipeline that would carry oil sands crude from Alberta to Texas, but Canada’s ambassador to the United States is holding firm in his belief in the project.
“The process is proceeding as it should, and jobs, energy security are strong arguments for the project,” Gary Doer told reporters at the Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa on Nov. 2.
“I believe if it’s on merit, it’ll proceed,” he said.
Mr. Doer was in town to give a short speech introducing Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, who was speaking at an innovation summit hosted by Canada 2020 and the American Embassy.
He was referring to the latest twists in the ongoing saga of the Keystone XL pipeline. On Nov. 1, Nebraska opened a special session of its legislature dealing with the issue, and State Senator Annette Dubas proposed to give the state more say over deciding where the pipeline route would go.
At issue is the pipeline’s planned crossing of the Nebraska Sand Hills and overtop the Ogallala aquifer, which feeds water sources in several states in the Midwest. Nebraska’s Republican governor, Dave Heineman, urged US President Barack Obama on Aug. 31 to deny the federal permit for the pipeline on the grounds that it was a threat to the water source.
However TransCanada Corp., the owners of the pipeline, say it is too late to move it and has submitted legal briefs challenging the authority of the state on the matter. If Nebraska passes legislation on the pipeline, there is a possibility it could ultimately end up in the courts.
US Ambassador David Jacobson, who appeared alongside Mr. Doer while he made comments to the press, wouldn’t stray down that path.
“There is a very complicated legal issue. There have been apparently different opinions that people in Nebraska have gotten. I am not going to opine on the constitutionality of a piece of legislation that hasn’t been passed yet,” he said.
Mr. Doer did note, however, that in an earlier cross-border pipeline case of the $3.3-billion Alberta Clipper—which runs from Hardisty, Alberta to Superior, Wisconsin and received US approval in 2009—the courts came down on the side of the president.
“On the Clipper case, of course, there was court cases dealing with the decision of the president and the secretary of state, and it was delegated by the president, and the courts upheld the authority on international infrastructure for pipelines to be with the president and delegated to the State Department,” he said.
The pipeline passed the State Department’s final environmental impact statement on Aug. 26 and is expected to be decided on by the end of 2011. But it continues to face uncertainty in the United States.
The same day Nebraska opened its session, United States President Barack Obama waded in on the issue, saying he would be the ultimate one responsible for deciding whether to approve the pipeline; the State Department had previously said it would decide.
“I'll be measuring these recommendations when they come to me,” he said.
He also noted it could be “several months” before he receives a recommendation from the department, which may suggest that the December 2011 deadline is too soon.
Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, reinforced this comment at a Nov. 2 press briefing, saying that “it’s his administration…I can assure you this determination will reflect the president’s views.”
Mr. Doer also mentioned energy issues when he introduced Mr. Snyder. He briefly discussed US firms working on automobile energy efficiency in Michigan before promoting other firms’ efforts to reduce emissions from the Alberta oil sands.
“We have tremendous innovation from…1,000 companies in the United States in reducing emissions in the oil sands in Canada, it’s now about 39 per cent per barrel,” he said, referring to the position by the government of Alberta that greenhouse gas emissions per barrel of oil sands crude have been reduced by 39 per cent on average between 1990 and 2008.
cmeyer@embassymag.ca
http://embassymag.ca/dailyupdate/printpage/keystone_xl_pipeline_faces_new_uncertainties_11-02-2011