HOUSTON, TX– Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) applauds TransCanada’s re-submission of its presidential permit application for the Keystone XL pipeline. The action is a critical step for a project that is integral in securing reliable energy supplies for the benefit of the U.S. economy, consumers and our nation’s energy security, while providing thousands of jobs for hard-working Americans.
The final application includes the already reviewed route in Montana, South Dakota, and Oklahoma. TransCanada will add the alternative route identified in Nebraska once negotiations have finalized in the coming weeks.
Even before the pipeline was re-routed, TransCanada agreed to adopt 57 special conditions that will make the pipeline one of the safest in our nation’s history. This resulted in previous reviews by the State Department indicating the project would have a minimal environmental impact and “would have a degree of safety over any other typically constructed domestic oil pipeline system under current code.”
For these reasons, CEA encourages the Obama Administration to approve the project as expeditiously as possible and stands ready to provide full support as the project enters the final stages of the approval process.
CEA Executive Vice President Michael Whatley offered the following in regards to the projects presidential permit re-submission:
“The vital role that this pipeline plays by carrying 700,000 barrels of discounted oil into the U.S. refineries and U.S. markets will have on gasoline prices is why we’re working as hard as we can to support the project.
“The bottom line is that the advancement of this project is important to everyday Americans. From farmers, to families, to our nation’s businesses, all Americans will benefit from a reliable and affordable source of oil from one of our nation’s most loyal allies.
“It is imperative for the benefit of the majority of Americans that this project move forward, even if it upsets special interests along the way. Unfortunately for these interests, our nation is not in the luxurious position of being able to cherry-pick our energy sources. As the president stated, we need an ‘all of the above’ approach and we need it now.”
