Lawyers defend XL oil pipeline

BILLINGS, Mont. — Trump administration attorneys defended the disputed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline in federal court on Thursday against environmentalists and Native American groups that want to derail the project.

President Barack Obama rejected the 1,179-mile line proposed by Transcanada Corp. in 2015 because of its potential to exacerbate climate change.

President Donald Trump revived the project soon after taking office last year, citing its potential to create jobs and advance energy independence.

Environmentalists and Native American groups sued and asked U.S. District Judge Brian Morris to halt the project. They and others, including landowners, worry about spills that could foul groundwater and the pipeline’s impacts to their property rights.

Morris did not immediately rule following a Thursday hearing in federal court in Great Falls.

U.S. government attorneys asserted that Trump’s change in course from Obama’s focus reflected a shift in policy, not an arbitrary rejection of previous studies.

Keystone XL would cost an estimated $8 billion. It would begin in Alberta and transport up to 830,000 barrels a day of crude through Montana and South Dakota to Nebraska.

Federal approval is required because the route crosses an international border.