White House Kills Keystone Pipeline

Reports suggest that TransCanada will be allowed to re-apply with a different route.

Update: So, the White House has confirmed that they have denied TransCanada's request to build the Keystone XL pipeline. From the horse's mouth (i.e., the prez):

Statement by the President on the Keystone XL Pipeline

Earlier today, I received the Secretary of State’s recommendation on the pending application for the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. As the State Department made clear last month, the rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by Congressional Republicans prevented a full assessment of the pipeline’s impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment. As a result, the Secretary of State has recommended that the application be denied. And after reviewing the State Department’s report, I agree.

This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline that prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people. I’m disappointed that Republicans in Congress forced this decision, but it does not change my Administration’s commitment to American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on oil. Under my Administration, domestic oil and natural gas production is up, while imports of foreign oil are down. In the months ahead, we will continue to look for new ways to partner with the oil and gas industry to increase our energy security –including the potential development of an oil pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma to the Gulf of Mexico – even as we set higher efficiency standards for cars and trucks and invest in alternatives like biofuels and natural gas. And we will do so in a way that benefits American workers and businesses without risking the health and safety of the American people and the environment.

Got that? Yadda yadda yadda it's the Republicans fault for forcing the review. Looks like it's back to the drawing board, oil industry.

The U.S. State Department is set to kill the proposed TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline, according to numerous reports. The pipeline would have brought crude oil from Alberta's oil sands through the U.S. to refineries along the Gulf of Mexico, but opposition from environmentalists and state politicians – notably those in Nebraska, who feared the proposed route would harm the ecologically sensitive Sandhills region – put pressure on the White House to decline TransCanada's offer. The Washington Post reports that TransCanada will be allowed to re-apply for a new pipeline, although one would imagine they'd actually take their time to figure out a route that doesn't antagonize the whole state of Nebraska. Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns is to make the announcement Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET.