Background:  The State Department has announced its intent to prepare an SEIS for the Keystone XL Pipeline.  The 1,179-mile Keystone XL Pipeline Project was effectively halted by the Obama administration in December 2015 after the State Department denied TransCanada Keystone Pipeline LP’s (TransCanada) request for a Presidential Permit to construct pipeline facilities on the U.S./Canadian border.  On January 24, 2017, however, President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum that invited TransCanada to resubmit its application and directed the Secretary of State to “receive the application and take all actions necessary and appropriate to facilitate [the project’s] expeditious review.”  On April 4, 2017, the State Department approved the Presidential Permit upon a determination that doing so “would serve the national interest.”  Subsequently, on November 20, 2017, the Nebraska Public Service Commission approved the Mainline Alternative Route for the Keystone XL Pipeline in Nebraska.  The State Department announced an Environmental Assessment of the Mainline Alternative Route on July 30, 2018, and a draft SEIS for the Mainline Alternative Route on September 24, 2018.  On November 8, 2018, the Federal District Court for the District of Montana ordered the State Department to supplement the analysis in the 2014 SEIS for the Keystone XL Pipeline relating to greenhouse gas emissions, oil spills, cultural resources, and market analysis.  In response to this ruling, the State Department has announced its intent to prepare this SEIS.

 

Dates:

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