Keystone Pipeline Back In Obama's Court

How long has it been since we heard anything about the Keystone Pipeline? It's been months since it was in the news, with President Obama declining to approve the original route, due to environmental concerns (is there any other reason?) and saying more study needed to be done on the alternate routes that had been proposed. All of those excuses ended yesterday with the final approval of Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman for the new route. Governor Heineman has even sent a letter to President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, asking them to expedite their approval of the Keystone Pipeline.

(Human Events) The new route of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline was approved Tuesday by Nebraska Republican Gov. Dave Heineman completing the local environmental review process and putting the final approval back into the hands of President Barack Obama. Heineman told Obama in a letter that the new route will avoid fragile areas and that the pipeline would bring $418 million in economic benefits including $16 million in use taxes. Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill, who urged Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to complete the final process to approve the federal permit needed to begin construction, applauded the decision.

It will be interesting to see how many days, weeks, months, or dare I say it, years, it takes for President Obama to hand down his approval of the Keystone Pipeline and allows construction to begin. My guess is that the approval will not be granted for a very long time, if ever. If you question my belief on this, just take a listen to the part of Obama's inaugural address where he declares he will respond to the threat of climate change. He made it very clear to those who would oppose projects such as the Keystone Pipeline that he is on their side in this fight.

When you look at the Keystone Pipeline, it makes all kinds of sense to begin construction. It will allow oil from Canada to flow across our northern border, through several states, including Oklahoma, and find its way to Texas. It can then be properly processed and be placed on the market for sale. Regardless of the environmental concerns, which have already been addressed, this will be good for the United States economy, as well as the economies of the states it passes through. What's there not to like?

With President Obama, it seems there is plenty. From the beginning, he has opposed Keystone. When the environmental studies were completed, he declared more study was needed. At the rate our government moves, that was likely to take years. Now that the governor of Nebraska is satisfied with the alternate route, I can't help but wonder what environmental concerns the President will cite when he places Keystone on hold. Or will he just let it languish on his desk and refuse to even look at the proposal? If I was a gambling man, I would place good money on the bet that the Keystone Pipeline is never approved by President Obama. If I am wrong, I'll be glad to write another post, admitting my failure to incorrectly gauge this President's actions and to congratulate him on approving the Keystone Pipeline for sound economic reasons. I'll be waiting in my corner to see how he proceeds.

Originally posted at Political Realities...