Keystone pipeline controversy returns to dog Obama

by Hayley Peterson - Staff Writer
May 5th, 2012 at 6:00pm
Washington Examiner:

A truck travels along highway 14, several miles north of Neligh, Neb., Thursday, April 19, 2012, near the proposed new route for the Keystone XL pipeline. After it's original route through the Nebraska sand hills was blocked, Calgary-based TransCanada submitted to Nebraska environmental officials on Wednesday it's preferred alternative route that runs north of Neligh. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

President Obama is back at the center of the controversy surrounding the Keystone XL oil pipeline with labor leaders pushing a new route for the pipeline, which environmental activists adamantly oppose.

Obama rejected the proposed northern half of the pipeline in January, citing environmental concerns it would contaminate a drinking water source in Nebraska.

The issue is resurfacing because TransCanada, the company that wants to build the $5.3 billion project linking Canada to Steele City, Neb., has proposed a new route for the disputed leg of the pipeline.

Labor unions and manufacturing companies are hailing the new proposal and lobbying Obama to approve it, but environmentalists say their concerns remain.

"The Keystone project will deliver 20,000 manufacturing and construction jobs -- with an additional 118,000 indirect jobs -- to an economy that badly needs them," said Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers. "Second chances don't come around very often, and manufacturers are urging the president to do the right thing and approve the Keystone XL pipeline."

Timmons said Obama buckled under political pressure in January when he rejected the pipeline.

"The president said no to a clear opportunity to create jobs and improve energy security," he said.

Proponents say the pipeline would deliver a glut of crude oil from Canada to refineries in Texas and help push down the price of gas. But environmental groups say the new route is unacceptable and that the pipeline could still contaminate drinking water in Nebraska.

"There is no amount of jobs that can replace the clean water that our state relies on for the main economic driver, which is agriculture," said Jane Kleeb, executive director of BOLD Nebraska, a group opposing the pipeline.

Another group, Friends of the Earth, said costly oil spills remain a concern.

"It's time to stop beating around the bush: TransCanada's behavior, and that of the federal agencies overseeing the review process for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, has been nothing short of criminal," said Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth. "TransCanada's 'new' route for the northern leg of the pipeline still crosses the sensitive Sandhills and the Ogallala, threatening our heartland with costly spills."

Nebraska officials say their review of the alternative route will likely take nine months, and the U.S. State Department can't move forward with TransCanda's proposal until Nebraska's review concludes. That means it's likely there will be no decision on the pipeline before Election Day. But that won't stop Republicans from making it a campaign issue.

"We'll build it, if I have to build it myself," said presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney.