Daines Addresses Keystone Cancellation
President Biden’s cancellation of the Keystone XL Pipeline continues to be an area of debate at the national level.
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., brought up the issue during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing last week.
Daines questioned Alberta Premier Jason Kenney regarding the impacts of the pipeline’s cancellation. Daines mentioned energy security, the economy and the United States’ relationship with Canada.
“Premier, you know better than most what the Keystone XL Pipeline meant for jobs, revenue and energy security…That’s why Alberta filed a suit against the United States seeking $1.3B in damages,” Daines said. “Let me just read a line from that filing: The Biden Administration’s decision to revoke the Keystone XL Pipeline ‘resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs, caused systemic harm to the American, Canadian and Albertan economies, and diminished the highly integrated North American energy system upon which future North American prosperity will continue to rely,’” A multi-state lawsuit challenging President Biden’s cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline project was dismissed by a federal judge on Jan. 6.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Vincent Brown, an appointee by former President Donald Trump, ruled that TC Energy’s decision to end the $8 billion project in June means the court has no jurisdiction to consider the lawsuit in the Southern District of Texas. “Because it is dead, any ruling this court makes on whether President Biden had the authority to revoke the permit would be advisory. Thus, the court has no jurisdiction and the case must be dismissed as moot.”
At that time, Daines released the statement, “Joe Biden declared war on Made in America energy on Day One by killing the Keystone XL pipeline. Now, Montanans are paying the price. While it’s very disappointing to see this case thrown out, I’m glad to see Attorney General Knudsen put up a hard fight.”
First proposed in 2008, the 1,700 pipeline was planned to carry roughly 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast. The Montana route included running from Phillips County to the southeast corner of Fallon County including the counties of Valley, McCone, Dawson and Prairie.
