FLASHBACK
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Industry sources: State Department will reject Keystone pipeline reroute
Published January 18, 2012 | FoxNews.com
The State Department has decided to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, industry sources tell Fox News, suggesting that the department will say 60 days is inadequate time to do the required environmental impact assessment on the path of the coveted pipeline. One source said the announcement could come as early as Wednesday.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in her afternoon briefing that she had nothing to share. "As of 30 seconds before I walked in, it was my understanding that a decision had not yet been made," she said.
But White House Press Secretary Jay Carney would not say whether a decision had been made or not. "I'm not going to get ahead of the administration," Carney said, adding that he may have more information later in the day.
While not confirming that a decision has been made, Carney blamed Republicans for putting "in jeopardy" the entire process. Republicans added a provision into the short-term payroll tax cut extension last year that compelled the Obama administration to make a decision on the pipeline in two months.
"In a purely partisan effort to score a political point, Republicans in Congress insisted on inserting an extraneous provision within a bill that had nothing to do with pipelines," Carney said, adding that the "arbitrary deadline" made an adequate review "virtually impossible."
For three years, the State Department has been reviewing the initial proposal to run a pipeline from Canada down to Texas through a sensitive Nebraska aquifer -- authority it has because of the transnational path the route takes. The pipeline had been through several other federal, state and local approvals, but the department backed away from signing off on the plan last year after environmentalists complained.
Industry workers and Republicans contend the project would create thousands of jobs, and Canada's prime minister has warned if the U.S. can't get on board, the North American nation will look to team with China.
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Keystone Pipeline Delay Sparks Outrage on Capitol Hill
By John Parkinson, ABC NEWS
House Speaker John Boehner this morning pressed President Obama to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline, as the president is expected to block a permit to proceed on the pipeline — possibly as soon as this afternoon.
The speaker said the project would “create 100,000 new jobs,” and he warned that further delay on a decision about whether to go forward on the project could result in losing out to China.
“The Keystone Pipeline has been through three years and it’s passed every approval process as required by the law. Even the president’s own State Department has indicated that this thing ought to move forward,” Boehner said. “The Canadians are in conversations with the Chinese, and if we don’t build this pipeline to bring that Canadian oil and pick up the North Dakota oil and deliver it to our refineries in the Gulf Coast, that oil is gonna get shipped out to the Pacific Ocean and will be sold to the Chinese.”
“This is not good for our country,” he continued. “The president wants to put this off until it’s convenient for him to make a decision. That means after the next election. The fact is the American people are asking the question right now: Where are the jobs? The president’s got an opportunity to create 100,000 new jobs almost immediately. The president should say yes.”
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American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard Reacts to Keystone Decision: “Mr. President, What Are You Thinking?”
Jack Gerard, President and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, had the following to say on the rejection of the Keystone Pipeline in a phone interview with Fox News Radio White House Correspondent Mike Majchrowitz.
“This is a clear abdication of leadership on the part of the President. How can you say that you are for jobs and reject the largest shovel ready job in America. Mr. President, what are you thinking?
It makes the United States more vulnerable to rely on outside sources for our energy. Unfortunately, Prime Minister Harper of Canada just this week said because of the volatile indecisiveness on the part of this President, that they feel they are being held hostage and they will take their energy elsewhere specifically to Asia and China.
Canada is our number one trading partner in energy, we receive more crude oil from Canada than any other nation in the world. The development of the Keystone XL pipeline would allow us to double the amount of import from Canada making us more energy secure at home and less reliant on volatile parts of the world.” Read more at the Fox News Insider
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Statement from TransCanada:
January 18, 2012
TransCanada Will Re-Apply for a Keystone XL Permit
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - Jan. 18, 2012) - TransCanada Corporation (TSX:TRP) (NYSE:TRP) (TransCanada) announced today it has received the U.S. Department of State's decision that the Presidential Permit for Keystone XL has been denied.
"This outcome is one of the scenarios we anticipated. While we are disappointed, TransCanada remains fully committed to the construction of Keystone XL. Plans are already underway on a number of fronts to largely maintain the construction schedule of the project," said Russ Girling, TransCanada's president and chief executive officer. "We will re-apply for a Presidential Permit and expect a new application would be processed in an expedited manner to allow for an in-service date of late 2014."
TransCanada expects that consideration of a renewed application will make use of the exhaustive record compiled over the past three plus years.
"Until this pipeline is constructed, the U.S. will continue to import millions of barrels of conflict oil from the Middle East and Venezuela and other foreign countries who do not share democratic values Canadians and Americans are privileged to have," added Girling. "Thousands of jobs continue to hang in the balance if this project does not go forward. This project is too important to the U.S. economy, the Canadian economy and the national interest of the United States for it not to proceed."
TransCanada will continue to work collaboratively with Nebraska's Department of Environmental Quality on determining the safest route for Keystone XL that avoids the Sandhills. This process is expected to be complete in September or October of this year.
TransCanada has committed to a project labour agreement with the Laborers International Union of North America, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO, the International Union of Operating Engineers and the Pipeline Contractors Association. Any delay in approval of construction prevents this work from going to thousands of hard-working trades people.
TransCanada's investment of billions of private dollars would create thousands more jobs in the U.S. manufacturing sector. The company has contracts with over 50 suppliers across the U.S.. Manufacturing locations for Keystone XL equipment include: Texas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Indiana, Georgia, Maryland, New York, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Arkansas, Kansas, California and Pennsylvania. The benefits these companies and the people of their states continue to be delayed and the negative impacts will be felt.
Girling adds TransCanada continues to believe in Keystone XL due to the overwhelming support the project has received from American and Canadian producers and U.S. refiners who signed 17 to 18 year contracts to ship over 800,000 barrels of oil per day to meet the needs of American consumers.
With more than 60 years experience, TransCanada is a leader in the responsible development and reliable operation of North American energy infrastructure including natural gas and oil pipelines, power generation and gas storage facilities. TransCanada's network of wholly owned natural gas pipelines extends more than 57,000 kilometres (35,500 miles), tapping into virtually all major gas supply basins in North America. TransCanada is one of the continent's largest providers of gas storage and related services with approximately 380 billion cubic feet of storage capacity. A growing independent power producer, TransCanada owns or has interests in over 10,800 megawatts of power generation in Canada and the United States. TransCanada is developing one of North America's largest oil delivery systems. TransCanada's common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol TRP. For more information visit:
www.transcanada.com and follow us on Twitter @TransCanada.
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 18, 2012
Statement by the President on the Keystone XL Pipeline
Earlier today, I received the Secretary of State’s recommendation on the pending application for the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. As the State Department made clear last month, the rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by Congressional Republicans prevented a full assessment of the pipeline’s impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment. As a result, the Secretary of State has recommended that the application be denied. And after reviewing the State Department’s report, I agree.
This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline that prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people. I’m disappointed that Republicans in Congress forced this decision, but it does not change my Administration’s commitment to American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on oil. Under my Administration, domestic oil and natural gas production is up, while imports of foreign oil are down. In the months ahead, we will continue to look for new ways to partner with the oil and gas industry to increase our energy security –including the potential development of an oil pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma to the Gulf of Mexico – even as we set higher efficiency standards for cars and trucks and invest in alternatives like biofuels and natural gas. And we will do so in a way that benefits American workers and businesses without risking the health and safety of the American people and the environment.
AP File
