Thousands Call for Approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline
CEA Delivers More Than 62,000 Public Comments Supporting the Project
WASHINGTON, DC – In a strong display of broad public support for the Keystone XL pipeline, Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) announced it had delivered more than 62,000 public comments in favor of the project. Notably, all of the comments, which CEA delivered over the weekend, were from people living in the six states through which the proposed pipeline will travel: Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
The comments were sent to the U.S. Department of State, through which the Keystone XL project must gain approval before construction can begin, as part of a massive outpouring of public support nationwide.
After delivering the comments, Michael Whatley, executive vice president of CEA, released the following statement:
“Approving the Keystone XL pipeline is one of the most important actions the Administration can take to address high gasoline and diesel prices and to ensure stable energy supplies for years to come. But since the project was first announced in 2008, approval for Keystone XL has unfortunately undergone repeated delays. The over 62,000 comments that CEA delivered, as well as the tens of thousands of additional comments supporting Keystone XL, all send a clear message: American consumers neither want nor deserve any additional delays, and now is the time to approve this project that is so vital to North American energy security.”
The proposed pipeline would be 1,700 miles long and would connect oil production in Montana, the Dakotas, and the Canadian province of Alberta to refineries in Port Arthur, TX. At its peak the pipeline will deliver 700,000 barrels of oil per day and has the potential to end the United States’ dependence on Middle Eastern oil, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
The pipeline received approval from Canada’s National Energy Board in 2010, but the project also requires a Presidential Permit from the U.S. Department of State. In March 2011, the State Department announced the project would undergo additional review, also known as a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS). After releasing a draft of the SEIS in April, the State Department by law had to allow 45 days for public comments.