In a statement this afternoon, Obama said that he received a recommendation from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton earlier today recommending that the Keystone XL tar sands Presidential permit application be denied.
TransCanada’s first tar sands pipeline leaked 12 times in its first year of operation, although the company estimated it would leak just once in 14 years. The proposed Keystone XL pipeline route would cross Texas’s third-largest aquifer, as well as numerous rivers and lakes that provide water to some of the most populated areas of the Lone Star State, making TransCanada’s leaky history a pretty compelling reason for reviewing Keystone XL thoroughly. But when congressional Republicans forced a 60-day decision on the Keystone XL’s presidential permit, they took the option of a thorough review away from President Obama and the U.S. State Department.
Trevor Lovell with the Texas office of Public Citizen said, “Today’s rejection of the permit application was the only sensible decision the Obama administration could make.”
