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Keystone XL Ruling Blocks Streamlined Permit Process for Pipelines

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Thursday, May 14, 2020   

HELENA, Mont. -- A federal judge in Montana has blocked construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, and his ruling could give the public more say in other pipeline projects.

The massive pipeline stretching from Canada to Nebraska is relying on a fast-tracked permitting process for crossing bodies of water in order to speed up construction.

But Sierra Club senior attorney Doug Hayes says that process is meant for minor projects, not 1,200-mile-long pipelines.

"It's a streamlined approval process where there's no public notice, there's no project-level review under the National Environmental Policy Act, there's no opportunity for public participation," he points out. "It's all done behind closed doors."

This week, Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Morris clarified that small projects, such as installing broadband cable lines, can use the approval process, known as Nationwide Permit 12.

But he upheld his April 15 decision that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not adequately consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the project's impacts on endangered species.

Keystone XL owner TC Energy says the decision is blocking jobs.

Hayes says the pipeline could affect pallid sturgeon, whooping crane and other endangered species in its path.

The Corps of Engineers estimates the streamlined permit process would be used for 69,000 water crossings over a five-year period and impact about 9,000 acres of wetlands.

"What the judge ruled was that level of usage requires the Army Corps to evaluate the entire effect of the permit on listed and protected species nationwide," he states.

Hayes says this doesn't permanently block any pipeline's construction because projects can still get permitting approval under the Clean Water Act.

He says the Corps of Engineers is treating each of the Keystone XL's water crossings as a separate project -- about 700 in total -- when it needs to look at the whole pipeline.

"These massive, controversial pipeline projects that cross multiple states and hundreds of water crossings require the more transparent and robust environmental analysis under the individual Clean Water Act permitting program," he stresses.

TC Energy says it will appeal the decision.

Disclosure: Sierra Club, Montana contributes to our fund for reporting. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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