Committee hears Keystone Pipeline debate

A House Energy and Commerce Committee (HECC) hearing concerning the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline proposal is keeping the issue – and the hopes of The American Legion that the pipeline will be built – alive.

American Legion Legislative Deputy Director Dean Stoline attended the Jan. 25 session and reported that arguments presented at the hearing, American Jobs Now: A Legislative Hearing on the North American Energy Access Act, fell along familiar lines. Proponents expressed opposition to President Obama’s recent denial of permission to build the pipeline from the “oil sands” of Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Opponents, on the other hand, said they continue to side with Obama.

In explaining the background of the issue, Stoline said, “TransCanada submitted its Keystone XL Pipeline application to the State Department in September 2008. In order to speed a decision on the application, Congress, in the recently considered Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011, included a provision directing the president to approve the pipeline project within 60 days unless the president determined that it was not in the national interest. On Jan. 18, the U.S. State Department, which is in charge of the approval process, issued a recommendation to the president that, indeed, the pipeline did not serve the national interest. President Obama agreed with the findings and rejected the application.”

Opponents of the proposed pipeline are concerned about the possible environmental impact of nation-spanning construction and are urging more study before approval. They say that rushing to build the pipeline may cause regrettable and irreparable harm.

Proponents of the project, on the other hand, echo The American Legion’s recently expressed position that blocking the Keystone project is not in the best interest of job creation and national security.

Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., introduced the North American Energy Access Act (H.R. 3548) last December and sits on the HECC. “This isn’t over,” he said. “We’re working towards restarting this project.”

In his bill, Terry proposes to transfer pipeline application approval authority from the State Department to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), while allowing for a route modification to be performed by the state of Nebraska.

Under Terry’s proposed legislation, FERC would then have 30 days to decide whether or not to grant the pipeline construction permit and 30 days to rule on the Nebraska re-routing plan. The bill mandates that the permit would be automatically approved if the FERC did not take action within those time periods.

In hearing testimony, State Department Assistant Secretary Kerry-Ann Jones said the proposed legislation’s narrow time constraints and automatic mandates prevent an informed decision on the project. She said the bill also appears to override foreign policy and national security considerations because it cuts the rightful agency, the State Department, out of a decision involving a cross-border (Canada-U.S.) permit.

Jeff C. Wright, FERC’s director of the office of energy projects, echoed those concerns, calling the proposed legislation “unclear” while essentially forcing an approval of the project.