Keystone XL rebooted; State Dept.downplays concerns over damage
Gary Park for Petroleum News
As one door closes another one opens, then it too closes and we’re back to the first door.
Confused?
Who wouldn’t be in the mad-cap circus that poses as the Canadian pipeline business?
With the Trans Mountain expansion plans spluttering, despite having the Canadian government as its outright owner, TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline is suddenly moving closer to its construction phase in 2019, despite legal barriers confronting the company.
Preliminary work has begun on the XL route in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana and South Dakota, while Nebraska remains an obstacle.
Hopes for the decade-long plan to ship 830,000 barrels per day from the Alberta oil sands to Steele City, Nebraska, where it would connect with the existing Keystone system got a fresh boost when a U.S. State Department review ordered by a federal judge concluded the chances of environmental damage from a leak in XL would quickly be mitigated.
But TransCanada said in court documents it will not start construction in Nebraska until after mid-2019, while environmental groups say they’ll continue to fight the project.
“The Trump administration sees no problem with building Keystone XL - in other news, the grass is still green and the sky is still blue,” said Kelly Martin, a campaign director for the Sierra Club.
Updated report The updated, 338-page report from the State Department said the US$8 billion, 800-mile line would have “negligible to moderate” environmental impact under its normal operations, while plans to continuously monitor and automatic shut-off valves would help pipeline officials quickly identify a leak or rupture.
The report also said TransCanada will have a response plan that should mitigate damage if it was implemented quickly by remediating contaminated soil before a hazardous release reached groundwater depth.
In court documents from a Montana lawsuit, TransCanada said it believed all pending lawsuits will be resolved before system-wide construction starts.
A company spokesman said work will start later this year on preparing workforce camps and camp modules.
- GARY PARK
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