CEAC-2020-11-November

Judge Denies Tribes’ Bid to Halt
Keystone Oil Pipeline Work
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge has denied a request
by Native American tribes to halt construction of the Keystone
XL oil pipeline from Canada over worries about potential
spills and damage to cultural sites. Work started this
spring on the long-stalled pipeline that would carry oil sands
crude from Hardisty, Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska.
The Assiniboine and Gros Ventre tribes of the Fort Belknap
Indian Community in Montana and Rosebud Sioux Tribe in
South Dakota have challenged President Donald Trump’s
2019 permit for the project.
The tribes say Trump’s permit violated their rights under treaties
from the mid-1800s.
U.S. District Judge Brian Morris said in an Oct. 16 ruling that
the tribes did not show they would suffer irreparable harm
from the work that’s been done so far.
being made by the tribes. He did not make a final ruling, and
invited further arguments.
More than 1,000 people are working on the $9 billion project
including building 12 pump stations for the 1,200-mile
(1,900-kilometer) line, said Terry Cunha with TC Energy, the
Calgary-based company behind the project.
However, work on much of the pipeline itself remains stalled.
That’s because the U.S. Supreme Court in July upheld a lower
court ruling that invalidated a permit needed for the pipeline
to cross hundreds of rivers and other water bodies along
its route.
Keystone XL was first proposed in 2008 and rejected under
former President Barack Obama. It was revived by Trump as
part of the Republican’s efforts to boost fossil fuel industries.
Morris said he had “serious questions” about the legal claims
Volume 85 · Number 11 | 13