US Environmental Groups Sue To Block Temporary Permit For Keystone XL Pipeline

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th July, 2020) A coalition of environmental groups filed a lawsuit in the state of Montana to block a temporary permit issued by the Trump administration that allows for further construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, a court document revealed on Tuesday.

"The [US Bureau of Land Management] has now acted. It granted a right-of-way and temporary use permit for Keystone XL pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) on January 22, 2020, allowing the pipeline to cross approximately 44 miles of Federal land in Montana administered by the Bureau. That action is unlawful," the court document said.

The lawsuit was filed by the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, Bold Alliance, Friends of the Earth, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.

The environmental groups argue that the issuance of a right-of-way, temporary use permit is based on the inadequate environmental reviews conducted for the pipeline and any further construction of the Keystone XL pipeline must be halted, the court document said.

Last week, the US Supreme Court rejected a request from the Trump administration and from the project developer TC Energy to dismiss a lower court ruling blocking further construction of the Keystone XL pipeline because of a violation related to a water-crossing permit.

Keystone is an oil pipeline system that moves Alberta crude oil from the Canadian town of Hardisty to refineries and tank farms in the US states of Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas. The first three phases of the system are currently operational, however, the construction of the fourth phase, better known as Keystone XL, which is planned to transport oil to Nebraska, has caused a major uproar on both sides of the border.

The Keystone XL pipeline consists of 1,209 miles of new 36-inch-diameter pipeline, 327 miles of pipeline in Canada and 882 miles in the United States from the Saskatchewan border through Montana and South Dakota to a terminal in Steele City, Nebraska.