Judge halts Keystone pipeline
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Montana halted the progress of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline Thursday over concerns the Trump administration did not properly consider its impact on climate change and on vulnerable animal species on the brink of extinction.
President Donald Trump called the action a “disgrace” and a “political decision” in comments to reporters before departing for his trip to Europe.
The action marks a setback for what had become a signature energy achievement for Trump, who has touted his speedy approval of the pipeline almost immediately upon taking office in January 2017.
That speedy approval of a cross-border permit by the State Department, however, did not meet the standards of the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act, according to U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris. The judge found the environmental reviews were deficient in their analysis of the project’s effect on greenhouse gas emissions and endangered species, among other areas.
“The Department’s 2017 conclusory analysis that climaterelated impacts from Keystone subsequently would prove inconsequential and its corresponding reliance on this conclusion as a centerpiece of its policy change required the Department to provide a reasoned explanation,” Morris wrote in his decision. “The Department instead simply discarded prior factual findings related to climate change to support its course reversal.”
The action also marks the latest court intervention blocking the construction of pipeline infrastructure after environmental groups filed lawsuits alleging the federal agencies approving permits failed to properly analyze their effect on climate change and the surrounding environment.
“The Trump administration tried to force this dirty pipeline project on the American people, but they can’t ignore the threats it would pose to our clean water, our climate, and our communities,” Doug Hayes, the Sierra Club’s senior attorney, said in a statement.
It remains unclear whether the administration will appeal the decision, but it is expected to do so. A comment was not immediately available from the State Department, through which the final approval was granted.