Delay sought in review of Keystone pipeline

SEATTLE — TransCanada has asked the U.S. to delay reviewing the Keystone XL pipeline, which would likely defer any decision on the controversial project until after the 2016 elections.

The company made its request in a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday.

“TransCanada believes that it would be appropriate at this time for the State Department to pause in its review of the presidential permit application for Keystone XL,” the letter said.

In the past, TransCanada has objected to delays.

Spokesman Mark Cooper said TransCanada was not withdrawing its application, however. Instead, he said, “We are asking the State Department to suspend a decision . .”

The company said it was asking for the State Department “pause” while it applied to the Nebraska Public Service Commission for approval of its preferred route through the state. TransCanada expects that the commission will take seven to 12 months to decide.

Nebraska landowners in the path of the project have resisted the route, and the company has pledged not to use eminent domain to access the land.

The pipeline would carry more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day from Alberta, Canada, across the U.S. border south to Gulf Coast refineries. Because the pipeline would cross an international border, the State Department must review it. President Barack Obama had said that he would make the final decision.

Republicans have called on the administration to hurry, while environmentalists have objected that it would increase emission of greenhouse gases. Republican presidential contenders support the project, saying it would boost jobs. Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton has announced her opposition, as has her main rival for the nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

The pipeline began as a proposed piece of energy infrastructure – a shortcut that would transport more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day from the tar sands of Alberta across the U.S. border, through the upper Great Plains and south to refineries in Texas.

But Keystone XL became a symbol, a political litmus test and a line in the sand. Opponents said rejecting it would also reject the fossil-fueled past and present in favor of a renewable-energy future. Supporters said it would generate thousands of jobs and help provide national energy security at a time of international turmoil.

The price of oil has plummeted dramatically since the pipeline was proposed.

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