Keystone Pipeline Hits Permit Snag Over Environmental Concerns
(CN) – The long-disputed Keystone XL oil pipeline, intended to create over a thousand miles of pipeline between Nebraska and Canada, has once again found its progress halted after a federal judge pulled a crucial permit for the project on Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Brian Morris from the District of Montana ruled that a river crossing permit for the pipeline was issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers without first properly considering the kind of influence the pipeline would have on the local environment.
The judge said that the Army Corps of Engineers had a legal responsibility to evaluate how the pipeline would specifically affect locally endangered species, such as the pallid sturgeon river fish, and it was in this regard where the corps did not fully satisfy their responsibilities.
Wednesday’s ruling comes after environmental advocates Northern Plains Resource Council, Center for Biological Diversity and other groups challenged the permit’s legality last year.
https://www.courthousenews.com/keystone-pipeline-hits-permit-snag-over-environmental-concerns/
