Approving the Keystone XL Oil Pipeline (S. 2280)

What is S. 2280?

(Updated August 12, 2017)

This bill would provide Canadian energy company, Transcanada, with Congressional approval of a permit to begin construction on 1,700 miles of expansions to an existing oil pipeline.

The Obama administration has delayed a decision on the project following a February Nebraska state court ruling that made a portion of the pipeline route invalid. This bill seeks to bypass the President's delay; however, the pipeline crosses an international border, and therefore authority falls to the State Department (part of the administration) to approve or deny the project. The project's cost is $5.4 billion. Numbers vary widely on job creation, depending on the source.  

Argument in favor

Creates jobs. Reduces gas prices. Reduces overseas oil imports. Private businesses should be free to act in ways they deem profitable free of government interference.

Argument opposed

Potentially devastating environmental impact. Creates no more than 100 permanent jobs in the United States, according to the State Department.

Impact

Would create jobs, but estimates here vary greatly, with Transcanada — the firm building the pipeline — offering the number of jobs created at 20,000, while President Obama has stated that the pipeline extension would create roughly 2,000 temporary construction jobs and 50 to 100 permanent U.S. jobs. On January 31st, 2014, the State Department issued a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report for the Keystone XL that stated in part that the project would have no significant impact on climate change because tar sands oil will be extracted regardless of transportation method (pipeline or railcar). Some environmental groups have raised concern about the high level of corrosiveness in the type of oil being transported, and that such a level of corrosiveness could translate to a higher possibility of a spill.

Cost of S. 2280

A CBO estimate is unavailable

Additional Info

Of Note: 

• The pipeline would cross six states: Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. 
• To clarify: 
•    The main pipeline is known as the Keystone Pipeline, and already exists;
•    The proposed expansions are known as the Keystone XL Pipeline. 
• The existing pipeline runs from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Illinois. The proposed Keystone XL pipeline is comprised of two extensions to the existing pipeline: the southern leg, and the northern leg. The southern leg of the extension connects Cushing, Oklahoma with Port Arthur, Texas and Houston, Texas, where oil refineries are in abundance. This southern leg is already up and running. 
• The northern leg of the pipeline has encountered a six-year delay. In February, a Nebraska judge found that a 2012 law improperly gave authority over the pipeline route to Nebraska's governor, stating that route authority actually belongs to the Nebraska Public Service Commission.
  

Media: 

Washington Post TV: The Keystone XL Pipeline, Explained

Senate Democrats (Opposed)

U.S. Energy and Commerce Committee (In Favor)

The Washington Post

(Photo Credit: Flickr user shannonpatrick17)