States sue Biden in bid to revive Keystone XL pipeline
Canada US Oil Pipeline
BILLINGS, Montana: Attorneys general from 21 states on Wednesday (Mar 17) sued to to overturn President Joe Biden’s cancellation of the contentious Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada.
Led by Ken Paxton of Texas and Austin Knudsen of Montana, the states said Biden had overstepped his authority when he revoked the permit for the Keystone pipeline on his first day in office.
Because the line would run through multiple US states, Congress should have the final say over whether it's built, according to the lawsuit filed in US District Court in Texas.
Construction on the 1,930km pipeline began last year when former President Donald Trump revived the long-delayed project after it had stalled under the Obama administration.
It would move up to 830,000 barrels (35 million gallons) of crude daily from the oil sand fields of western Canada to Steele City, Nebraska, where it would connect to other pipelines that feed oil refineries on the US Gulf Coast.
Biden cancelled its permit over longstanding concerns that burning oil sands crude would make climate change worse.
Some moderate Democratic lawmakers also have urged Biden to reverse his decision, including Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana.
