With the Nebraska Supreme Court’s pro-Keystone XL ruling made, the decision to construct the pipeline will soon rest on the President’s plate, Michael Whatley, executive vice president of Consumer Energy Alliance, tells Nebraska Radio Network.
The Consumer Energy Alliance is pleased the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled with state law that gave the governor the power to approve the route for the Keystone XL Oil Pipeline. Executive Vice President Michael Whatley says the issue now lies in Congress and President Obama’s hands.
Whatley says, “President Obama had said he would not move forward in the decision making process until the Nebraska legal challenge had been dispensed with. We are now going to put this back on the presidents plate. There is plenty of other activity that is going to take place from both groups like us that support Keystone as well as folks that oppose it.”
One of the opponents arguments is that President Obama will veto all congressional bills because of environmental and climate change concerns. Whatley says the Obama Administration’s environmental reviews tell the whole story there. They have said this will be the safest pipeline ever built and it is a safe way to transport product. Whatley says, “We’re not saying trust TransCanada on this. We’re not saying trust CEA on this. We are saying trust the Obama Administration when they say this is going to be the safest pipeline ever built.”
Whatley understands the challenges of landowners. He says every time there is a concern about having a project like this go through their property; you want to take those concerns seriously. He says TransCanada did a significant amount of work working with the landowners. He is confident they will continue to work with landowners in the future.
