The Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration and upheld a federal judge’s rejection of a permit, which would have allowed the construction of Keystone XL. The 1,200-mile crude oil project will be delayed further as the pipeline continues to face legal obstacles and major push back from environmentalists and green groups alike.
Keystone XL is just one of three fossil fuel projects to face delays or cancellations as of recent including the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Three dangerous pipelines delayed within 24 hours should serve as a clear warning to any companies hoping to double down on dirty fossil fuel projects,” Janet Redman, climate campaign director at Greenpeace USA said. “For more than a decade now, a powerful movement has been taking on reckless oil and gas pipelines and fighting to put Indigenous rights, a just economy, and our environment before oil company profits.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday said that the “Trump administration violated the Endangered Species Act by issuing a water-crossing permit for Keystone XL without fully assessing the damage the pipeline could inflict on wildlife along its planned route from Alberta, Canada to Nebraska,” Common Dreams reported. The highest court’s decision means pipeline owner TC Energy (formerly TransCanada) cannot begin construction on the project until 2021 at the earliest, Green Peace reported.
According to research conducted by Greenpeace in 2017 the Keystone XL pipeline could expect an estimated 59 significant spills over a 50-year lifetime if constructed. The research confirmed that between 2010 and 2019, there were 20 spills from TC Energy’s U.S. pipelines releasing 696,276 gallons (16,578 barrels) of oil and hazardous liquids into the environment.
“While the Trump administration is doing everything it can think of to gut environmental protections and bail out big oil, the Supreme Court’s decision today is an important victory for people fighting to protect their land, water, and our shared climate,” Redman said. “No oil pipeline is safe, and TransCanada’s record over the past decade does little to assuage concerns of a spill.”
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