{~_~} Раиса
2014-04-20 01:46:40 UTC
Obama was never a fan of Harper. For good reason. And now that Harper
is wanting a Keystone approval to get him into the good books of his oil
company friends in Alberta - BEFORE he loses the next election - Obama
is telling him to back off. Won't it be a great 'pay back' from Obama
to Harper to announce the NON-approval of the Keystone pipeline just
before the Canadian federal election? (ー_ー)!!
____________________________________________
The Canadian Press - April 18, 2014
Keystone XL pipeline decision not expected this year, following new delay
WASHINGTON - The Canadian government demanded an answer immediately on
the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline. It has now received a reply from
the United States government that amounts to: Maybe next year.
The project is now paralyzed for an indefinite period, with the U.S.
administration Friday announcing another delay in a process already
beset by political and legal challenges.
The announcement made it clear that Canadian pipeline backers will not
get the answer they wanted in time for the summer construction season,
pushing completion of the project until 2015 — at best.
The State Department said it needs more time to prepare its
recommendation to the president because the pipeline route is mired in
uncertainty. A legal dispute is underway in Nebraska over the route and
it is unlikely to be resolved before next year.
Eight federal agencies were informed Friday that they will be granted
additional time to weigh into the process, while details of the route
are still being clarified.
Administration officials denied claims the decision was motivated by
politics. That accusation was levelled explicitly by its Republican
opponents at home, and in language that was only marginally more
diplomatic by the Harper government in Ottawa.
The Obama administration insisted the delay was about analyzing the
right pipeline route — and not at all about flinging a political hot
potato beyond November's congressional elections.
"That pipeline route is central to the environmental analysis," a State
Department official told reporters Friday.
"We are prudently recognizing that the facts agencies need to assess and
analyze could change... We have decided that the prudent thing is to
allow more time."
The southern leg of the Alberta-to-Texas pipeline is already completed,
but the northern stretch that crosses the Canada-U.S. border requires a
presidential permit. With that process delayed for years, rail shipments
of Alberta crude have skyrocketed, threatening a broader trickle-down
effect throughout the transportation system and on Canada's
resource-based economy.
Speculation had been rampant about whether the Obama administration
might try to punt the politically sensitive decision until after this
year's midterms. That's because even if the project has solid support
from the general public, it has sharply divided Barack Obama's
Democratic party.
On one side, there are big-money environmentalist donors. On the other
side, red-state conservative Democrats risk losing their seats and
leaving the Republicans with control of both congressional chambers.
The Harper government appears unconvinced the decision was apolitical.
<<====== [sound of whining from Ottawa]
"We are disappointed that politics continue to delay a decision on
Keystone XL," Harper spokesman Jason MacDonald said in a statement.
"This project will create tens of thousands of jobs on both sides of the
border, will enhance the energy security of North America, has strong
public support, and the U.S. State Department has, on multiple
occasions, acknowledged it will be environmentally sound."
In an attempt to push the process along, Foreign Affairs Minister John
Baird had spent several days in Washington recently pleading for a
decision soon, arguing that it would be unfair to keep construction
workers and the industry hanging as the building season approached.
Even President Barack Obama had been hinting that a final decision was
imminent. State governors who attended a meeting with him in late
February said he'd promised a decision in a couple of months.
The president told them this despite the fact that the pipeline route
had already been tossed into disarray by a Feb. 19 Nebraska court ruling
that said the state government broke the law in its attempt to
unilaterally dictate a route. The court found the pipeline-friendly
state government had violated the Nebraska constitution in bypassing an
arm's length infrastructure regulator.
The case won't be resolved until early 2015, at best, predicts a lawyer
at the centre of the dispute.
Dave Domina, who is representing holdout Nebraska landowners, laid out
the timeline this way: the district court has 90 days to transfer the
documents related to its Feb. 19 decision to the state Supreme Court;
the state government then has 30 days to submit a brief; Domina says he
then has 30 days to submit his brief; the case then goes on the calendar
for oral arguments and probably won't be heard until after the summer.
Oral arguments are next and finally, Domina says, the court will prepare
its verdict. In his career, he says he's seen state court decisions take
anywhere from six weeks to 19 months.
"A decision generally takes a couple of months, for a simple case,"
Domina said in an interview. "But a case involving the constitutional
validity of a statute is not a garden-variety case."
Domina, who happens to be running as a Democrat for a U.S. Senate seat
in the November midterms, also took a shot at the pipeline company. He
said TransCanada is paying now for its strong-arm approach to landowners
over the last few years.
"TransCanada has tried time and time again, in Nebraska, to use
shortcuts and end-runs... Franly, it tried to do the same thing in the
Nebraska legislature," he said.
"And what it has proven, once again, is haste makes waste."
There could be other problems for the project, activists say. Jane
Kleeb, who helped lead the anti-pipeline fight in Nebraska, said South
Dakota's permit expires on June 20 — which means the company might have
to go through a new application process there, too.
TransCanada Corp. expressed incredulity over Friday's news.
"We are extremely disappointed and frustrated," said company president
Russ Girling. "American men and women will miss out on another
construction season where they could have worked to build Keystone XL
and provided for their families. We feel for them."
Keystone will inevitably be used by Republicans as a hammer in the
November elections. For years, they've been citing the pipeline delay as
proof the Democrats are harmful to the economy.
"With tens of thousands of American jobs on the line and our allies in
Eastern Europe looking for energy leadership from America, it's clear
there is little this administration isn't willing to sacrifice for
politics," House Speaker John Boehner said Friday.
"For no reason other than the president's refusal to stand up to the
extreme left, good-paying jobs and North American energy remain out of
reach."
Expect a similar reaction from Democrats running in conservative states.
Mary Landrieu, a pro-pipeline Democrat at risk of losing her Louisiana
Senate seat, distanced herself from the administration.
is wanting a Keystone approval to get him into the good books of his oil
company friends in Alberta - BEFORE he loses the next election - Obama
is telling him to back off. Won't it be a great 'pay back' from Obama
to Harper to announce the NON-approval of the Keystone pipeline just
before the Canadian federal election? (ー_ー)!!
____________________________________________
The Canadian Press - April 18, 2014
Keystone XL pipeline decision not expected this year, following new delay
WASHINGTON - The Canadian government demanded an answer immediately on
the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline. It has now received a reply from
the United States government that amounts to: Maybe next year.
The project is now paralyzed for an indefinite period, with the U.S.
administration Friday announcing another delay in a process already
beset by political and legal challenges.
The announcement made it clear that Canadian pipeline backers will not
get the answer they wanted in time for the summer construction season,
pushing completion of the project until 2015 — at best.
The State Department said it needs more time to prepare its
recommendation to the president because the pipeline route is mired in
uncertainty. A legal dispute is underway in Nebraska over the route and
it is unlikely to be resolved before next year.
Eight federal agencies were informed Friday that they will be granted
additional time to weigh into the process, while details of the route
are still being clarified.
Administration officials denied claims the decision was motivated by
politics. That accusation was levelled explicitly by its Republican
opponents at home, and in language that was only marginally more
diplomatic by the Harper government in Ottawa.
The Obama administration insisted the delay was about analyzing the
right pipeline route — and not at all about flinging a political hot
potato beyond November's congressional elections.
"That pipeline route is central to the environmental analysis," a State
Department official told reporters Friday.
"We are prudently recognizing that the facts agencies need to assess and
analyze could change... We have decided that the prudent thing is to
allow more time."
The southern leg of the Alberta-to-Texas pipeline is already completed,
but the northern stretch that crosses the Canada-U.S. border requires a
presidential permit. With that process delayed for years, rail shipments
of Alberta crude have skyrocketed, threatening a broader trickle-down
effect throughout the transportation system and on Canada's
resource-based economy.
Speculation had been rampant about whether the Obama administration
might try to punt the politically sensitive decision until after this
year's midterms. That's because even if the project has solid support
from the general public, it has sharply divided Barack Obama's
Democratic party.
On one side, there are big-money environmentalist donors. On the other
side, red-state conservative Democrats risk losing their seats and
leaving the Republicans with control of both congressional chambers.
The Harper government appears unconvinced the decision was apolitical.
<<====== [sound of whining from Ottawa]
"We are disappointed that politics continue to delay a decision on
Keystone XL," Harper spokesman Jason MacDonald said in a statement.
"This project will create tens of thousands of jobs on both sides of the
border, will enhance the energy security of North America, has strong
public support, and the U.S. State Department has, on multiple
occasions, acknowledged it will be environmentally sound."
In an attempt to push the process along, Foreign Affairs Minister John
Baird had spent several days in Washington recently pleading for a
decision soon, arguing that it would be unfair to keep construction
workers and the industry hanging as the building season approached.
Even President Barack Obama had been hinting that a final decision was
imminent. State governors who attended a meeting with him in late
February said he'd promised a decision in a couple of months.
The president told them this despite the fact that the pipeline route
had already been tossed into disarray by a Feb. 19 Nebraska court ruling
that said the state government broke the law in its attempt to
unilaterally dictate a route. The court found the pipeline-friendly
state government had violated the Nebraska constitution in bypassing an
arm's length infrastructure regulator.
The case won't be resolved until early 2015, at best, predicts a lawyer
at the centre of the dispute.
Dave Domina, who is representing holdout Nebraska landowners, laid out
the timeline this way: the district court has 90 days to transfer the
documents related to its Feb. 19 decision to the state Supreme Court;
the state government then has 30 days to submit a brief; Domina says he
then has 30 days to submit his brief; the case then goes on the calendar
for oral arguments and probably won't be heard until after the summer.
Oral arguments are next and finally, Domina says, the court will prepare
its verdict. In his career, he says he's seen state court decisions take
anywhere from six weeks to 19 months.
"A decision generally takes a couple of months, for a simple case,"
Domina said in an interview. "But a case involving the constitutional
validity of a statute is not a garden-variety case."
Domina, who happens to be running as a Democrat for a U.S. Senate seat
in the November midterms, also took a shot at the pipeline company. He
said TransCanada is paying now for its strong-arm approach to landowners
over the last few years.
"TransCanada has tried time and time again, in Nebraska, to use
shortcuts and end-runs... Franly, it tried to do the same thing in the
Nebraska legislature," he said.
"And what it has proven, once again, is haste makes waste."
There could be other problems for the project, activists say. Jane
Kleeb, who helped lead the anti-pipeline fight in Nebraska, said South
Dakota's permit expires on June 20 — which means the company might have
to go through a new application process there, too.
TransCanada Corp. expressed incredulity over Friday's news.
"We are extremely disappointed and frustrated," said company president
Russ Girling. "American men and women will miss out on another
construction season where they could have worked to build Keystone XL
and provided for their families. We feel for them."
Keystone will inevitably be used by Republicans as a hammer in the
November elections. For years, they've been citing the pipeline delay as
proof the Democrats are harmful to the economy.
"With tens of thousands of American jobs on the line and our allies in
Eastern Europe looking for energy leadership from America, it's clear
there is little this administration isn't willing to sacrifice for
politics," House Speaker John Boehner said Friday.
"For no reason other than the president's refusal to stand up to the
extreme left, good-paying jobs and North American energy remain out of
reach."
Expect a similar reaction from Democrats running in conservative states.
Mary Landrieu, a pro-pipeline Democrat at risk of losing her Louisiana
Senate seat, distanced herself from the administration.