Washington Watch: Trump State Department Approves Pipeline

The Trump State Department on Friday issued a key permit for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, reversing the Obama Administration’s denial of the same request just last year.

Is anyone surprised? A new president who ran for office as a science-denier and fossil fuel enthusiast, pledging to approve oil pipelines and strip away environmental protections left and right, appointed as his Secretary of State the former CEO of the world’s largest oil company. Even though that Secretary “recused” himself personally from the decision, his State Department reversed the Obama Administration’s pro-environment decision and issued the permit.

Trump himself appeared to be surprised to learn that this wasn’t the wildly controversial pipeline’s last regulatory hurdle. Local opponents in Nebraska and elsewhere pledged to continue to fight against still-needed regulatory approvals in their states, and national opponents pledged lawsuits in opposition.

League of Conservation Voters (LCV) vice president Tiernan Sittenfeld said, “The Keystone XL tar sands pipeline was a terrible idea when it was first proposed nearly ten years ago, and it’s an even worse idea today. This dirty and dangerous export pipeline would run right through America’s heartland, threatening our water, our land, and our climate – all to pad the profits of a foreign oil company. Of course, it comes as no surprise that a State Department run by the former CEO of Exxon Mobil and an administration rife with climate deniers who have acted against public health, the environment and the clean energy economy at every turn would make such a misguided decision. This pipeline is all risk and no reward, and we will continue to fight it every step of the way.”

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