President Barack Obama is expected to make a final decision in the next few months about whether to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, a project that would stretch more than 1,000 miles between Alberta and Oklahoma and transport crude from Canada’s oil sands into the United States. Keystone is opposed by environmentalists in both the U.S. and Canada, but the Canadian government is eager to make the pipeline happen. The man leading that effort is Canada’s Federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver. He was in New York this week drumming up support for the plan and Oliver talked with TPM about why he doesn’t think anyone has anything to fear from Keystone in spite of a recent, dramatic pipeline spill in Arkansas.Oliver, a member of Canada’s ruling Conservative Party, said he’s optimistic the pipeline will be approved by the State Department. A recent poll showed 66 percent of Americans support the plan and a majority in both the House and Senate back the pipeline. One concern opponents have is that the pipeline would travel through the Nebraska’s fragile Sand Hills region. In January, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman (R) dropped his opposition to Keystone XL after a route change.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=89773