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发帖数: 29846 | 1 Obama Putting Election Concerns Ahead of Jobs by Deferring Keystone XL
Pipeline Decision, Critics Say
By Susan Jones
November 11, 2011
Pipeline Lawsuit
On Thursday, Obama dodged a politically sensitive situation by deferring a
long-awaited decision on extending TransCanada's Keystone XL Pipeline
further into the United States.
Labor unions -- a key Obama constituency -- support the pipeline extension
because of the union jobs it would create, but environmental activists and
anti-'Big Oil' groups -- also among Obama's supporters -- strongly oppose it.
In a statement issued Thursday, Obama said he supports the State Department'
s decision to "seek additional information about the Keystone XL Pipeline
proposal."
"Because this permit decision could affect the health and safety of the
American people as well as the environment, and because a number of concerns
have been raised through a public process, we should take the time to
ensure that all questions are properly addressed and all the potential
impacts are properly understood," Obama said. "The final decision should be
guided by an open, transparent process that is informed by the best
available science and the voices of the American people."
The Obama administration was supposed to make a decision on extending the
pipeline into Nebraska by the end of this year. (Because the pipeline
crosses the international border, the State Department must sign off on it.)
TransCanada, the pipeline company, noted it has worked with the State
Department for past three years “to ensure Keystone XL would be the safest
pipeline ever built.”
The pipeline would carry oil from Canada across Montana, South Dakota,
Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma on its way to refineries on Texas' Gulf Coast.
Since 2008, TransCanada noted, there have been more than 100 open houses and
public meetings in six states. Thousands of pages of supplemental
information and responses to questions were submitted to state and federal
agencies; and the State Department received over 300,000 comments on the
project.
Moreover, a final environmental impact statement was issued for the project.
“This was by far the most exhaustive and detailed review ever conducted of
a crude oil pipeline in the United States,” TransCanada said.
"This decision is deeply disappointing and troubling," said the American
Petroleum Institute, which represents 480 oil and natural gas companies. "
Whether it will help the president retain his job is unclear, but it will
cost thousands of shovel-ready opportunities for American workers," said API
President and CEO Jack Gerard.
"There is no real issue about the environment that requires further
investigation, as the president's own State Department has recently
concluded after extensive project reviews that go back more than three years
. This is about politics and keeping a radical constituency opposed to any
and all oil and gas development in the president's camp in November 2012."
API says the pipeline project, in addition to creating thousands of jobs for
Americans, would also strengthen the U.S. energy partnership with Canada
and help reduce U.S. reliance on oil from unstable countries.
TransCanada said it now plans to hold discussions with the U.S. State
Department to "discuss the next steps" in extending the pipeline. The State
Department has decided to explore alternative routes for the pipeline, to
avoid running it over a large aquifer under the Nebraska Sandhills.
The State Department said the review could be completed in early 2013 --
right after the 2012 presidential election, in other words.
"We remain confident Keystone XL will ultimately be approved," said Russ
Girling, TransCanada's president and chief executive officer. "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."
“Keystone XL is shovel-ready,” Girling said. “TransCanada is poised to
put 20,000 Americans to work to construct the pipeline - pipe fitters,
welders, mechanics, electricians, heavy equipment operators, the list goes
on. Local businesses along the pipeline route will benefit from the 118,000
spin-off jobs Keystone XL will create through increased business for local
restaurants, hotels and suppliers.
“Five billion dollars in property taxes paid by TransCanada over the
lifetime of the project will allow counties in States along the pipeline
route to invest in new schools, roads and hospitals.
"If Keystone XL dies, Americans will still wake up the next morning and
continue to import 10 million barrels of oil from repressive nations,
without the benefit of thousands of jobs and long term energy security,"
concluded Girling. "That would be a tragedy." | o***s
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