May 2015, Vol. 70, No.5
Editor's Log
Keystone’s Fate Revealed In 2016
After legislation to approve construction of the Keystone Pipeline project was vetoed immediately last winter, most thought the fabled pipeline’s saga had finally come to a close. But much of the story remains to be told.
As promised, the new Republican Congress passed a bill authorizing construction of the Keystone Pipeline. As promised, President Obama promptly vetoed the bill citing a somewhat nebulous array of reasons.
Most understood the true meaning of the President’s litany of justifications for his actions. The environmental lobby received payback for its unwavering support of Obama through two presidential campaigns.
But in reality, the Keystone war rages on. We are currently just gaining a welcome respite to the incessant rhetoric. Environmental groups still periodically tout their perceived victory and have largely moved on to their ultimate goal of destroying the Canadian Tar Sands industry. Their efforts were buoyed further recently when an east to west pipeline proposal by TransCanada stalled due to the objections of indigenous tribes whose land would have to be crossed. (However, TransCanada now is exploring a plan to pipe the oil north and then across the country – this actually may prove a more economical alternative.)
The decision to kill Keystone by President Obama has not been universally lauded by traditional support groups that are generally either in the environmentalist’s corner or left leaning in their political disposition
Unions have been strong backers of the Keystone project and criticized Obama for not thinking of the jobs that have been sacrificed by his decision. In the unions’ minds, the environmental concerns have been effectively mitigated so there was no justification for not approving the project.
Now, conservationists are upset with the Obama administration’s stance towards native fowl populations that, in the conservationists’ minds, are being sacrificed to accommodate the administration’s aggressive alternative energy agenda. For example, there is a proliferation of wind farms in the Michigan’s Upper Midwest and the Great Plains. Conservationists are upset by the Obama administration’s decision to give wind producers 30-year permits to kill eagles. Further, recent reports indicate that at least 440,000 birds are being killed by wind farms each year – and growing. Conservationists are also up in arms about new solar farms in California and the southwest that are frying fowl by the thousands. In the minds of conservations, the government’s actions are tantamount to slaughter of wildlife without mercy, without limits and apparently in the conservationist’s minds, without conscience.
In two years, there will be a leadership change in Washington. It could be largely a continuation of current direction. Like most, I’m assuming Hillary Clinton has effectively cemented her coronation as the Democratic presidential candidate. If she wins, that will probably seal the fate of Keystone and it will never be built. One will remember that because the Keystone is an international pipeline, it had to be approved by the State Department. Most of that work came under Hillary’s tenure as Secretary of State and her actions on the matter was simply a shell game for President Obama to delay, delay and add further delays to Keystone. It was a job well-done. One would have to assume that if elected, Hillary would still want to ban the pipeline.
Or, two other distinct possibilities still exist for the passage of the Keystone project. First and most obvious, is the election of a Republican president that will be more inclined to support job creation based on the merits of the project plus the fact that environmental impact studies have already approved the mitigation measures outlined for the project.
There is a second option as well. President Obama’s veto of the Keystone was upheld but by a tenuous margin. If the Republicans are able to hold onto both houses of Congress in 2016 and indeed, strengthen their numbers, it is very possible a subsequent coalition could be developed that would override any future presidential veto of a new Keystone bill.
So as for the queries I still get on a regular basis: Will Keystone ever be constructed? It’s still a watching and waiting game. We should find out in about 18 months.
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