TransCanada less likely to complete project if more environmental reviews needed
From the Washington Times
Nebraska regulators set out this week to finally approve the long-awaited Keystone XL oil pipeline. Instead, specialists say, they may have killed it.
The Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC) voted 3-2 Monday to approve a route for the $8 billion Canada-to-Texas pipeline through the state, but not the route that TransCanada, the owner and operator of the project, had wanted.
The new path was approved with little debate or study. The State Department, which reviews pipelines that cross international boundaries, reportedly is examining whether it must conduct a new environmental review, a process that could take years and would come at considerable expense to American taxpayers.
With TransCanada noncommittal on whether it’s even interested in using the PSC’s permit, analysts say Nebraska regulators have made it far less likely the project ever gets completed and turned what was supposed to be the final chapter in the Keystone review process into a possible death blow.
“I am just bewildered by the PSC decision. I think the commission wanted to have their cake and eat it, too,” said Brigham McCown, former administrator of the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
“The current route has been studied by the federal government for eight years, produced over 800,000 pages of Obama administration [review] documents I think these guys lost sight of the big picture and got caught up in minutiae and did not have the political courage to do what’s right and instead tried to split the baby,” Mr. McCown said. “In doing so, they’ve guaranteed another two- to three-year legal battle and probably have raised the cost of the project another $1 billion or $2 billion for no reason whatsoever.”
