Judge reaffirms decision to halt Keystone XL, others under nationwide permit program
A federal judge in Montana has reaffirmed his decision to block construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline and any other oil or natural gas pipeline project seeking approval for new construction under a streamlined nationwide permitting system.

Alan Kovski
May 13th, 2020

A federal judge in Montana has reaffirmed his decision to block construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline and any other oil or natural gas pipeline project seeking approval for new construction under a streamlined nationwide permitting system for infrastructure anywhere in the country.

Judge Brian Morris of the US District Court for the District of Montana narrowed his decision May 11 to apply only to construction of new oil and gas pipelines under Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP 12).

Morris had issued a decision Apr. 15 that blocked work not only on oil and gas pipelines but all other projects—such as electric transmission lines, telecommunication cables, internet connections, and the repair and maintenance of such infrastructure—that seek a permit under NWP 12.

Morris had based his decision on his judgment that the US Army Corps of Engineers must consult with the US Fish and Wildlife Service on the cumulative risks to endangered species from the NWP 12 program before that program can be allowed to continue. The Corps of Engineers reissued its NWP 12 program in 2017 without what is called programmatic consultation under the Endangered Species Act.

The Corps of Engineers, joined by pipeline company TC Energy Corp., responded to the Apr. 15 ruling by filing motions for a partial stay pending appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Morris, chosen for the federal bench by President Obama, agreed with environmental activist plaintiffs that they would suffer substantial harm if a stay applied to oil and gas pipelines.

Programmatic consultation is “the only way to avoid piecemeal destruction of species and habitat,” he decided.

The case is Northern Plains Resource Council v. US Army Corps of Engineers.

https://www.ogj.com/general-interest/government/article/14175965/judge-reaffirms-decision-to-halt-keystone-xl-others-under-nationwide-permit-program?utm_source=OGJ+Daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS200514014&o_eid=4092C7427178D8Y&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C4092C7427178D8Y&oly_enc_id=4092C7427178D8Y

West Virginia in on that ? Hundreds of miles of pipe stockpiled here along with pipe liners sitting idle in camps for months.
Pipe and workforce just up and vanished ???

Our state has a history of socialist judges legislating from the bench.

Look up Donald W. Molloy and see how he helped destroy much of the logging industry in NW MT.

I am hopeful that a new Congress will see fit to put a stop to this habit of district judges entering nationwide orders

I'm concerned about the possible environmental impact in the U.S. and have questions about whether it is our best interest.

The Keystone XL is intended for transporting Canadian tar sand crude to refineries in the U.S., right?

Why can't the Canadians refine their own dirty crude for domestic use and for export via Canadian ports?

What is the benefit to the U.S.?

Ah!... I see!

Said the blind man to his deaf daughter.

Moot point right now as all that oil has no value presently.

I don't think it is moot that the judge did what he did.

As Mark Levin has been saying, we need to get a handle on these judges that are doing all this legislating from the bench. I have to agree. There should not be any lifetime judgeships out there. Problem is if he can do it with XL, he can do it with any pipeline that is need to move US oil to the next destination.

I wasn't referring to the Judge. I agree that is not a Moot Point!

Ignore the muther f*cker and do it anyway.

If it isn’t carried by pipeline it’s going to be transported by truck or rail which is more likely to spill, etc

As to the benefits to the US, don’t you think we’re going to benefit from any of the following

-millions in easement payments to landowners which will be reinvested in local economies
-thousand of jobs for engineers, equipment operators and welders who will build the pipeline
-thousands of jobs for the pipe yard workers, longshoreman and truckers who will take the pipe and material to the site
-the thousands of jobs in the refineries that will turn it into gas, diesel and plastics
-the thousand of other jobs that will in turn be supported by these workers spending the wages they made at the pipeline or the plant
-the chit load in local school and property taxes those refinieries, pipeline and plants will pay
-the profits in ordinary people’s 401k/pension from owning stock in the pipeline company or the refinery that takes a product that sells for $40/barrel and turns it into a product that sells for $150 or more a barrel.

Been a while since I’ve had an economics class but I don’t see how this can be anything but a good thing for us workers and the us economy

Is there anything Trump can do to fire all those Libertard POS Judges the Halfican appointed ???

Not really. But he’s been smart to focus on getting appeals court judges appointed. Will take a little while but these liberal judges will get reversed and once that happens a couple times most of them will start to fall in line and act right

the problem with the entire system is not only do the judges legislate from the bench, but they empower the Fish and wildlife etc to legislate from their jobs as well. They can be very politically motivated against projects. Its not just Fish and Wildlife, it is any of the groups that control one piece of the process that must be reviewed. and coordinated with.

Wow, ignorance and NIMBY in action here. You've bought the Green terminology hook, line and sinker. Maybe you can join Shalane Woodly and chain yourself to the pipeline in protest. You do know that the route has been changed to satisfy to Nebraska aquifer concerns?

FYI, it is oil sand, not tar sand. It is not dirty oil, but heavy oil. Some US oil refineries are set up to refine heavy oil and require it to produce their products.

Because of a lack of capacity of Canadian pipelines, US firms buy Canadian heavy oil at a significant discount, in addition to the difference in exchange. Once refined, they can sell the product at world prices. That's a win coming and going for the USA.

BTW, we have tried to build pipelines, but US agitators and protestors disrupt construction and file frivolous lawsuits. Canadian protestors are funded by US interests.

The dirtiest oil in North America comes from fields near the tar pits near Los Angeles.

Rocket science from the engineering manager of our Upgrader expansion in Ft. Saskatchewan from 2004 - 2009...