Obama stop keystone pipeline

[Thanas]

At least for the time being. Link.

On the State Department’s recommendation, President Obama rejected TransCanada’s plans to extend the Keystone XL pipeline on Wednesday. In a move that many have called controversial, the State Department said the company could apply again with a route that avoids the “sensitive terrain” around Sand Hills, Nebraska.

The extension of the Keystone pipeline would carry oil and natural gas from the oil-rich sands in Alberta, Canada, all the way to the Gulf Coast in Texas.

But the State Department suggested the project be scrapped. From the press release:

Today, the Department of State recommended to President Obama that the presidential permit for the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline be denied and, that at this time, the TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline be determined not to serve the national interest. The President concurred with the Department’s recommendation, which was predicated on the fact that the Department does not have sufficient time to obtain the information necessary to assess whether the project, in its current state, is in the national interest.

The Obama Administration decided against allowing the pipeline to go forward given a short time-frame to determine whether the planned route fit its requirements, according to the release. Nebraska environmentalists have argued the pipeline could pollute aquifers in the area and render water undrinkable.

Well done.