How Quickly Will Keystone XL Pipeline Win Approval in Trump Administration?

keystonemap

Given how quickly President Trump has acted on matters in his first two weeks in office, the question is raised just how quickly the Trump administration will act on TransCanada’s renewed application for a Keystone XL presidential permit.

The company applied for the permit last week following President Trump’s announcement concerning the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines.

While environmentalists contend the Keystone will be dangerous for the environment, the company noted in its second application that the U.S. State Department already concluded in the Obama administration that the pipeline “would have a degree of safety over any other typically constructed domestic oil pipeline system under current code.”

TransCanada points out that the government concluded there will be environmental gains made with the Keystone XL pipeline.

“If KXL is approved, the public will see fewer sills, fewer injuries and fewer fatalities when compared to the alternative of transporting crude by rail,” stated the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement issued in 2014.

“KXL will offset as many as 200 ocean tankers per year, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 19 million metric tons. KXL will result in lower GHG emissions; the FSEIS finds that under any alternative scenarios where the project is denied, you will see greater GHG emissions from the movement of this oil.”

The pipeline will run through only three states, Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. It will end near Steele City, Nebraska then oil will be shipped southward through existing pipelines. The pipeline will run through 27 counties in the three states.