Keystone Pipeline application rejected
Jan
20
Written by:
20/01/2012 14:57
Victory for environmentalists over potentially damaging tar sands project
According to the Environment News Service, President Obama has rejected proposals by TransCanada for an extension of the Keystone pipeline - Keystone XL - which would have transported controversial Canadian tar sands oil into America.
TransCanada already owned the Keystone pipeline - which became operational in 2010. However, the rejection refers to the next phase of the project which proposed extending the pipeline to allow the transfer of the tar sands oil into America. President Obama cited the lack of time to carry out full environmental assessments for the refusal of the Presidents permit - a permit which is needed when a project crosses international borders. President Obama also cited a commitment to American jobs and reducing America's dependence on oil.
TransCanada responded that it would immediately submit a new permit application and that the company remained fully committed to the construction of Keystone XL. Environmental campaigners fear that the company will use the power of money to help get the permit approved. Previously there had been allegations that an environmental consulting firm that helped prepare an environmental impact assessment for Houston State Department on the Keystone XL project also listed TransCanada as one of its major clients.
According to campaigners the Keystone XL pipeline would have carried roughly 150 million tonnes of carbon pollution from the tar sands to the U.S. each year, the equivalent of over 26 million more cars on the road, or nearly eight billion tonnes over the life of the project. There were also fears that had the project been approved, Canada would have been locked into a reckless pace of expansions in the tar sands, polluting the local environment against the wishes of First Nations, shareholders and environmentalists.
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