Thursday, 27 October 2011

Lawmakers ask Obama to delay Keystone decision (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Fourteen U.S. lawmakers called on President Barack Obama to delay a decision on the Canada-to-Texas Keystone oil sands pipeline while Obama was interrupted in Denver on Wednesday by a protester opposing TransCanada Corp's project.

Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who is one of the most liberal members of the Senate, and 13 Democratic lawmakers asked for a delay until the State Department investigates alleged conflicts of interest over the project.

During an event with young people in Denver, an activist interrupted Obama's remarks, urging him to reject the project.

"We're looking at it right now, all right?" Obama replied. "No decision's been made and I know your deep concern about it, so we will address it."

Protesters held up a banner reading "Stop the Keystone Pipeline Project." They were asked to leave.

The 14 lawmakers asked the State Department's inspector general in a letter to investigate whether alleged conflicts of interest have tainted the process for reviewing the pipeline.

The lawmakers expressed concern that Cardno Entrix, a company the State Department hired to conduct environmental impact statements on the Keystone XL line, has financial ties to TransCanada.

"Given the significant economic, environmental, and public health implications of the proposed pipeline, we believe that it is critical that the State Department conduct thorough, unbiased reviews of the project," the lawmakers wrote to State Department Deputy Inspector General Harold Geisel.

TransCanada has said it has never had a direct relationship with Cardno Entrix.

Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Sheldon Whitehouse also signed the Sanders letter, along with 11 Democratic members of the House of Representatives.

Their letter came a day after a U.S. official told Reuters that the State Department may miss a year-end target to approve the pipeline, risking a further delay to the most important new crude oil conduit in decades.

Liberals and environmentalists have been pushing the Obama administration to reject it. Three environmental groups sued the U.S. government on Tuesday, challenging claims in a State Department report that the pipeline poses little risk to endangered species because spills on the line were unlikely.

Supporters say the pipeline would create thousands of jobs and provide a secure source of energy imports from a close ally.

The pipeline is also a regional issue. Nebraska's Senators Mike Johanns, a Republican, and Ben Nelson, a Democrat, have called for a rerouting of the line as it would cross the ecologically-rich Sand Hills region and a major aquifer in their state. But Senator Max Baucus of Montana, a Democrat, has supported the pipeline for the jobs it would bring.

Pipeline approval has been pending since 2008. The project could face many legal and regulatory hurdles that could delay it.

The State Department did not immediately return a request for comment on the letter from the lawmakers.

A person answering the telephone at Cardno Entrix's Seattle office said the State Department has forbidden anyone at the company from commenting on the issue and referred queries to department officials.

Some 1,200 opponents of the pipeline were arrested in front of the White House this summer, and more protests are expected there on November 6.

(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason in Denver and Jeffrey Jones in Calgary; Editing by Will Dunham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111026/pl_nm/us_usa_pipeline

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