CEA Supports Alternate Keystone XL Route; Urges Approval for U.S. Economy
HOUSTON, TX: Today TransCanada announced the selection of a revised route for the Keystone XL Pipeline which bypasses the sensitive Sandhills region of Nebraska. The new route will result in the project crossing fewer miles of threatened and endangered species habitat, and fewer streams, rivers, and wetlands while completely avoiding sensitive Wellhead Protection Areas where the state’s groundwater resources are particularly shallow. These changes will further increase the resiliency of the Keystone XL pipeline which the U.S. State Department already declared ‘would have a degree of safety greater than any typically constructed domestic oil pipeline system.’
Following the announcement, Michael Whatley, Executive Vice- President of the Consumer Energy Alliance, offered the following statement:
“With these proposed changes, TransCanada has addressed the concerns that have been raised by the State of Nebraska during a lengthy, and collaborative, public input process that resulted in well over 100,000 comments supporting the project’s completion. With this new route the Keystone XL Pipeline will further avoid sensitive ecosystems, a key concern of those opposing the project’s completion.
“With these concerns addressed it makes sense to move forward with completion of the project as expeditiously as possible. After all, construction of this important pipeline will directly employ over 9,000 Americans, pump $5.3 billion into the United States economy, and provide a discounted source of crude oil that will result in lower gas prices for U.S. consumers. At the same time the project will increase U.S. energy security by increasing oil supplies from a trusted ally.”
CEA supports an “all-of-the-above” energy approach and believes the Keystone XL pipeline is a key part of such a plan as it will provide a cheaper, more stable source of oil that will benefit consumers in every sector of the United States economy.
