U.S. Department of State released Friday a draft Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement for the Keystone XL pipeline. The draft document is a second look at TransCanada’s proposal after the State of Nebraska approved a more appropriate route for the new pipeline.
State Department Refutes Opponents Claim KXL Would Harm Environment
Following one of the most thorough and pragmatic project reviews in our nation’s history it’s time to move forward with the Keystone XL PipelineHOUSTON, TX: The draft SEIS issued Friday by the State Department is the first formal step in the agency’s review of TransCanada’s permit application for the Keystone XL pipeline.
CEA Executive Vice-President, Michael Whatley, issued the following statement upon reviewing the draft environmental impact statement:
“For months project opponents have tried to convince the public that moving forward with the pipeline would sacrifice our environment to the benefit of our economy. The draft SEIS from the State Department clearly refutes this false choice.
“The document clearly shows the project will have minimal environmental impacts when TransCanada implements its proposed project Construction, Mitigation and Reclamation plan (CMRP) and refutes project opponents’ claims that the project will increase carbon emissions from oil sands development.
“We urge the U.S. State Department to finalize its review and the Administration to quickly approve the cross-border permit which will allow this critical project to move forward, create thousands of high paying jobs and provide the United States with a much-needed economic boost.”
Whatley refers to a specific section of the draft report where the U.S. State Department refutes claims from environmental groups:
Approval or denial of any one crude oil transport project, including the proposed Project, remains unlikely to significantly impact the rate of extraction in the oil sands, or the continued demand for heavy crude oil at refineries in the U.S. (Source)
