JOSH LEDERMAN, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he’s rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline because he does not believe it serves the national interest.
Obama says the pipeline has played an overinflated role in political discourse.
Obama is speaking at the White House after meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry.
The decision caps a seven-year saga that became a flashpoint in Obama’s presidency. Killing the pipeline allows Obama to claim aggressive action on the environment.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A decision by President Barack Obama to reject the Keystone X-L pipeline isn’t likely to end the debate over the project.
Backers of the pipeline are expected to challenge the decision in court. And Republicans who control Congress may try to override the president.
The project could also get a fresh look in 2017 if a Republican wins the White House and invites TransCanada to re-apply.
Another open question is whether TransCanada will try to recoup the more-than $2 billion it says it has already spent on the project’s development. Earlier in the year, the company left the door open to suing the U.S. government under the North American Free Trade Agreement.
TransCanada first applied for Keystone permits in September of 2008, shortly before Obama was elected.
As envisioned, Keystone would snake from Canada’s tar sands through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska — and then connect with existing pipelines to carry more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day to specialized refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.
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JOSH LEDERMAN, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration has rejected Canadian energy giant TransCanada’s application to build the Keystone XL pipeline.
That’s according to three sources familiar with the decision who aren’t authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The decision caps a 7-year saga that became one of the biggest environmental flashpoints of Barack Obama’s presidency.
Killing the pipeline allows Obama to claim aggressive action on the environment. That could strengthen his hand as world leaders prepare to finalize major global climate pact next month that Obama hopes will be a crowning jewel for his legacy.
Yet it also puts the president in a direct confrontation with Republicans and energy advocates that will almost surely spill over into the 2016 presidential election.