Official: U.S. to approve Keystone XL pipeline
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will approve the Keystone XL pipeline Friday, senior U.S. officials said, after the State Department delivers a recommendation to start construction on a long-delayed project that has served as a flash point in the debate about climate change.
Two senior officials said Tom Shannon, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, would make a recommendation Friday that the pipeline serves U.S. national interests. The White House would then formally announce final approval, said the officials, who weren’t authorized to comment publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity.
The 1,700-mile pipeline, as envisioned, would carry oil from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to Houston-area refineries, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. Environmental groups object to the pipeline’s route and argue it would encourage the use of dirty energy that contributes to climate change.
And President Barack Obama rejected the pipeline in 2015 after a negative recommendation from then-Secretary of State John Kerry.
The Trump administration had given officials until next Monday to complete a review of the pipeline. The recommendation has represented the last significant hold-up as President Donald Trump has been a vocal supporter of Keystone, saying it will create U.S. jobs.
In rejecting the pipeline, the Obama administration had argued it would undercut U.S. efforts to clinch a global climate change deal that was reached weeks later in Paris. Kerry’s recommendation against the permit came after lengthy State Department reviews, and it was unclear what justification the agency might now use to explain the change of position.