President Barack Obama has rejected a permit that would allow the Keystone Pipeline to cross the Canadian border.
“This morning, Secretary Kerry informed me that, after extensive public outreach, and after consultation with several different agencies, the State Department has decided that the Keystone X-L Pipeline would not serve the national interests of the United States. I agree with that decision,” says Obama.
The President says the pipeline is not needed because of increased oil production due to hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” and adds gas prices are significantly lower than two years ago.
U-S Senators John Thune and Mike Rounds both say they are disappointed, but not surprised by the Administration’s move on the pipeline. Thune accuses President Obama of appeasing the left wing of his political base. Rounds says this decision affirms the actions Congress needs to take to move the project forward. TransCanada officials issued a written statement saying, "Today’s decision deals a damaging blow to jobs, the economy and the environment on both sides of the border."
South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard also says the Administration’s decision is disappointing.
“Oil will still be produced in Alberta, Canada, and shipped by rail or piped elsewhere. By halting the Keystone Pipeline the President is eliminating an opportunity for America to be more reliant on trusted North American friends and less reliant on oil producers from other places – many of whom do not respect nor share our values,” says Daugaard.
The Keystone X-L Pipeline would have entered South Dakota in the northwest corner, and run through the south central part of the state. Some landowners who opposed the pipeline see this as victory for the environment, water quality, and private property rights.
John Harter grew up ranching near Winner, South Dakota. He says TransCanada threatened the use of eminent domain to put the Keystone Pipeline across his land. Harter worried about pipeline leaks and into the Oglala Aquifer a major source of water in several states.
“It’s a well-known fact that the products that leach out of this can get into water and travel with water,” says Harter.
Harter gave support to a protest camp established near the Rosebud Reservation that aimed to block Keystone. He says the alliances made between ranchers, tribal representatives, and conservationists in opposition to KXL will continue forward.
“To protect the resources that every common day person needs to live, and that’s one of the big things that corporate America and the government got to get through their heads. Everything isn’t about money it’s about a way of life and how we make a living and what we need to sustain ourselves,” says Harter.
Tribal leaders have also expressed support for President Obama's decision to reject KXL. In a written statement William Kindle, Rosebud Sioux Tribal President calls this a monumental victory to protect grandmother earth.
State regulators are in the middle of a permitting process for the pipeline. Public Utilities Commission Chair Chris Nelson says the decision by the Obama administration doesn't change the work of the commission on this issue. He says commissioners will issue their decision on KXL by the end of the year.