More than 40-months have passed since TransCanada applied to build a 1700-mile long pipeline to carry crude oil from the Canadian border to the Texas gulf shore. TransCanada the developer of Keystone XL pipeline has spent $1.9 billion to date on the project diligently complying with worlds most stringent regulatory process and ultimately winning approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The environmental due diligence across the route passed muster except for an environmentally sensitive 65-mile section of the line plotted across the Nebraska Sandhills below which rests one of the nations most treasured natural resources - the Ogallala Aquifer. The Sandhills question and more broadly - the entire pipeline project quickly became a bellwether for the environmental movement - not only in the U.S. but on the international stage.
The U.S. State Department was to have made a ruling on the Keystone XL pipeline this past November and that is the point at which President Obama capriciously decided to push the decision off until after the general election. What has followed will go down as one of the bleakest chapters in our nations history.
President Obama drew a line the sand making development of the pipeline a central political issue in the 2012 presidential election.
During a legislative stand off at the end of 2011 Republicans seized the opportunity to force the administration to make a final decision on the plan within 60 days. Last week Obama and the state department officially blocked the Keystone project thus delaying it for at least 12 to18 months. Obamas conundrum was to court either the labor unions or environmental groups. He chose the latter and in so doing he has placed the nations economic recovery in jeopardy cast a dark cloud over our energy security and deeply damaged the relationship with our most important ally.
Upon hearing of the decision Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke directly with President Obama to express his profound disappointment.
Canadas focus will turn to another pipeline project running west to the Pacific. Environmental impact hearings have begun on Canadas Northern Gateway project. U.S. environmental activists are there in full force. The familiar theme is being played out. Canadians are being challenged to weigh the prospect of environmental catastrophe on the West Coast versus the promise of oil dollars. Fear is mounting that the pipeline could break or leak or lead to a spill of oil into the Pacific Ocean.
Today the future of the Keystone XL pipeline will be debated on Capitol Hill as key officials testify about the project and pending legislation drafted to advance its approval. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is not scheduled to testify.
Jobs creation our nations energy future and the reputation of the United States as a safe place to invest capital will command attention in the coming presidential debates. President Obama has made a precarious choice.
More than 40-months have passed since TransCanada applied to build a 1700-mile long pipeline to carry crude oil from the Canadian border to the Texas gulf shore. TransCanada the developer of Keystone XL pipeline has spent $1.9 billion to date on the project diligently complying with worlds most stringent regulatory process and ultimately winning approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The environmental due diligence across the route passed muster except for an environmentally sensitive 65-mile section of the line plotted across the Nebraska Sandhills below which rests one of the nations most treasured natural resources - the Ogallala Aquifer. The Sandhills question and more broadly - the entire pipeline project quickly became a bellwether for the environmental movement - not only in the U.S. but on the international stage.
The U.S. State Department was to have made a ruling on the Keystone XL pipeline this past November and that is the point at which President Obama capriciously decided to push the decision off until after the general election. What has followed will go down as one of the bleakest chapters in our nations history.
President Obama drew a line the sand making development of the pipeline a central political issue in the 2012 presidential election.
During a legislative stand off at the end of 2011 Republicans seized the opportunity to force the administration to make a final decision on the plan within 60 days. Last week Obama and the state department officially blocked the Keystone project thus delaying it for at least 12 to18 months. Obamas conundrum was to court either the labor unions or environmental groups. He chose the latter and in so doing he has placed the nations economic recovery in jeopardy cast a dark cloud over our energy security and deeply damaged the relationship with our most important ally.
Upon hearing of the decision Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke directly with President Obama to express his profound disappointment.
Canadas focus will turn to another pipeline project running west to the Pacific. Environmental impact hearings have begun on Canadas Northern Gateway project. U.S. environmental activists are there in full force. The familiar theme is being played out. Canadians are being challenged to weigh the prospect of environmental catastrophe on the West Coast versus the promise of oil dollars. Fear is mounting that the pipeline could break or leak or lead to a spill of oil into the Pacific Ocean.
Today the future of the Keystone XL pipeline will be debated on Capitol Hill as key officials testify about the project and pending legislation drafted to advance its approval. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is not scheduled to testify.
Jobs creation our nations energy future and the reputation of the United States as a safe place to invest capital will command attention in the coming presidential debates. President Obama has made a precarious choice.
