Keystone XL’s Factions in Late Rush to Coax U.S. Over Pipeline

Proponents and critics of Keystone XL are unleashing a final flurry of pleas to persuade the government on the pipeline, which has become a flash point in a debate over energy development versus climate protection. The public has until the end of today to be part of the official review of whether Keystone is in the national interest. After that Secretary of State John Kerry will weigh in and President Barack Obamawill decide whether to approve or scrap the long-delayed $5.4 billion plan by TransCanada Corp. to bring fuel from Alberta’s oil sands to Gulf Coast refineries. Most of the more than 15,000 comments submitted through yesterday reiterate arguments made during five years of review. Proponents said Keystone would create jobs and boost U.S. energy security. Foes said the project would worsen climate change by promoting development of Alberta’s oil sands. “lets get-r-done NOW,” urged one commentator, identified as Robert Conrad. Another poster, identified as Linda Wurm, urged Obama to reject the line: “It is a danger to my grandchildren and your grandchildren. What we leave them should not cause them to curse our memory!” she wrote. Home towns aren’t included in the posts on a government website. If new arguments were lacking, the comments showed that Keystone generates significant interest, underscoring political risks for Obama eight months before midterm elections to determine control of the Congress. “It’s hard to see what a winning strategy might be” for the president, said Barry Rabe, a University of Michigan public policy professor who specializes in environmental policy.

Election Issue

If Obama approves Keystone, Rabe said, he risks upsetting his base of environmental supporters and major donors such as Tom Steyer, a billionaire former hedge fund manager who has waged a campaign against the pipeline for more than a year. Labor groups and lawmakers from oil states -- including Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, who faces a tough re-election race this year -- support the project. Advocates on both sides said they were prepared to submit hundreds of thousands of signatures from people who see Keystone as a threat to the climate and sensitive wildlife habitats or as an economic boom and a means to reduce reliance on foreign tyrants whose countries produce oil. “The Obama administration has all the evidence it needs to approve” Keystone, Cindy Schild, downstream operations senior manager at the American Petroleum Institute, said yesterday during a conference call with reporters.

500,000 Names

The API, a Washington-based lobbying group whose members include Exxon Mobil Corp., said it had gathered more than 500,000 signatures in support of the project. A group of pipeline foes, including Academy Award-winning supporting actor Jared Leto, sent Kerry a letter yesterday that urged him to stand against Keystone as he did against the Vietnam War as a young veteran. Some of the same people held a conference call with two of Kerry’s deputies at the State Department to reiterate the case against the project, said Betsy Taylor, who runs a consulting group in Takoma Park, Maryland, on climate strategies. Leto had a conflict and wasn’t on the call, she said. The comments posted on regulations.gov are part of a State Department review that weighs the environmental, economic and diplomatic impact of Keystone on the U.S. The department is overseeing the review because Keystone crosses an international border. Eight federal agencies have an additional 60 days to advise the State Department.

‘Intensive Evaluation’

Kerry, who has a made combatting the risks of climate change a priority as secretary, told reporters on Feb. 26 that he was starting a “very intensive evaluation” of Keystone. Obama told state governors last week that he expects to decide sometime in the next couple of months. “I urge you to reject calls for further delay, and move forward with approving the Keystone XL pipeline,” Gerald Pargac wrote in comments submitted for the State Department review. “Approving Keystone XL is a pivotal moment,” wrote Angie Bashus. “It seals the coffin for global warming and many other environmental issues.” An unidentified individual posted a series of “insider alerts” as part of the comment, pointing out possible ties that Keystone supporters had to the industry. The national-interest review process began once the State Department released an environmental study on Jan. 31 that found Keystone doesn’t present a threat to the climate on its own because the oil sands would probably be developed anyway.

Oil Prices

The study did say that oil sands production could be affected in a scenario where crude prices dropped below $75 a barrel, which would make transporting the fuel by train uneconomic. The review said such a scenario was unlikely. The Environmental Impact Statement drew more than 1.5 million submissions during its open comment period. About 99 percent of those were letters sponsored by interest groups such as the Sierra Club and the American Petroleum Institute. Most of the letters submitted for the national interest review are also likely to be form letters. While agencies have a total of 90 days to weigh in, Kerry doesn’t face a deadline in making a recommendation to Obama. The project could also be slowed by a Nebraska court ruling that invalidated a law that let Republican Governor Dave Heineman approve the pipeline’s proposed route. The judge said only the state Public Service Commission had that power. Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning said he would appeal to the State Supreme Court. Among people who posted comments were 29 members of the Nebraska unicameral legislature, a majority. “The Keystone XL pipeline is in the national interest and in Nebraska’s interest,” they wrote in a March 4 letter. Some landowners in Nebraska have vigorously opposed the pipeline, because of the damage an oil spill could cause to farms and ranches along the route and an important drinking water aquifer underneath the soil. Source :  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-07/keystone-xl-s-factions-in-late-rush-to-coax-u-s-over-pipeline.html