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State Dept’s Keystone XL Review Will Face EPA Scrutiny a Third Time

InsideClimate News: One of the biggest unknowns in the unfolding Keystone XL debate is the role the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency might play. Because the Canada-to-Nebraska oil pipeline crosses an international border, the State Department, not the EPA, will decide whether to give the project the federal permit it needs. But the EPA can weigh in during the review, and its opinion will carry new weight now that the Obama administration has vowed to make climate change a national priority. The EPA's position...

The year ahead in Keystone XL: Climate worry introduces big unknown

InsideClimate News: After years of protests and lobbying, the Obama administration is expected to decide within months on the fate of the 1,200-mile Keystone XL oil pipeline. The State Department is finalizing a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for the project, which would ship tar sands oil from Canada, through America's heartland, and to the Gulf Coast via other pipelines. The agency will use the SEIS—expected any day now—to help determine whether the project is in the "national interest," a term...

Unequal risks and benefits for citizens in six states on Keystone XL pipeline route

InsideClimate News: If the Keystone XL oil pipeline were approved today, residents in the six states along its route would not receive equal treatment from TransCanada, the company that wants to build the project. The differences are particularly striking when it comes to tax revenue and environmental protection. States with stronger regulations have won protections for their citizens, while other states sometimes focused more on meeting TransCanada's needs. In Kansas, for example, lawmakers gave TransCanada a...