Current Status
President Biden revoked a key permit for the Keystone Pipeline on his first day in office. TC Energy canceled the project on June 9, 2021, and all domestic litigation has been dismissed.
Why it Matters
The Keystone XL pipeline was a proposed extension of the existing Keystone Pipeline System, which currently transports up to 800,000 barrels of oil per day between Canada and the US. The Keystone Pipeline System runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta to refineries in Illinois and Texas, and to oil tank farms and an oil pipeline distribution center in Cushing, Oklahoma. TC Energy, formerly TransCanada, is the sole owner of the Keystone Pipeline System.
The Keystone XL pipeline would have brought oil from Hardisty in Alberta, Canada directly to Steele City, Nebraska. It would have run through Baker, Montana, where oil from the Bakken formation in Montana and North Dakota would be added to the pipeline. The proposed 875-mile route of Keystone XL would have crossed the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers.
Opponents of Keystone XL point to the pipeline’s future contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, and the impact of construction on local ecosystems and wildlife.
Timeline
June 9, 2021 TC Energy Corp. terminated the Keystone XL Project. Federal district courts dismissed litigation as moot in light of the project’s cancellation. Texas v. Biden, 3:21-cv-00065 (S.D. Tex.); Indigenous Environmental Network, et al., v. Trump, et al., No. 4:19-cv-00028 (D. Mont.).
Jan. 20, 2021 President Biden issued Executive Order 13990, revoking the March 2019 Presidential Permit for the Keystone XL pipeline.
Apr. 15, 2020 The District Court for the District of Montana vacated the Army Corps’ Nationwide Permit 12 under the Clean Water Act, finding the Corps failed to complete the mandated consultation process under the Endangered Species Act. The vacatur applied to the Corps’ dredge or fill activities in federal waterways, including relevant portions of the Keystone XL pipeline crossing the Yellowstone and Cheyenne Rivers. The court modified the injunction to apply only to new oil and gas pipelines on May 11, 2020. N. Plains Res. Council v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, No. 19-cv-00044 (D. Mont.). The Ninth Circuit declined to stay the district court’s injunction. N. Plains Res. Council v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, No. 20-35412 (9th Cir.). On July 6, 2020, the Supreme Court stayed the district court’s May 11 order, but upheld the stay of Nationwide Permit 12 as applied to the Keystone XL pipeline. Army Corps of Engineers, et al., v. N. Plains. Res. Council, et al., No. 19A1053 (US).
Jan. 22, 2020 The Department of the Interior granted a right-of-way to TC Energy for a term of 30 years, allowing for the construction of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline across 44 miles of federally managed lands in Montana. TC Energy began construction on the pipeline on April 5, 2020, starting in northern Montana.
March 29, 2019 President Trump issued a new Presidential Permit immediately authorizing the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. The permit did not address the Montana district court’s decision barring construction. On June 6, the Ninth Circuit dissolved the district court’s permanent injunction barring construction on the pipeline, and dismissed the district court case as moot in light of the new permit. Indigenous Environmental Network, et al., v. Dep’t of State, et al., No. 18-36068 (9th Cir.) (consolidated with No. 18-36069). Environmental groups challenged the new permit, but the District Court for the District of Montana denied plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction on Oct. 16, 2020. Indigenous Environmental Network, et al., v. Trump, et al., No. 4:19-cv-00028 (D. Mont.).
Nov. 20, 2017 The Nebraska Public Service Commission approved construction of the pipeline via an alternative route (the Mainline Alternative Route [MAR]). On Dec. 19, the Commission rejected TransCanada’s petition to use an alternative route closer to the original proposed route.
March 23, 2017 Trump signed the permit allowing TransCanada to build the Keystone XL pipeline. Environmental and Tribal groups challenged the permit and underlying environmental review of the pipeline. On Nov. 8, 2018, the District Court for the District of Montana vacated the 2017 Record of Decision (ROD) and enjoined TransCanada and the federal government from construction or operation activities while the State Department completed a supplement to the 2014 SEIS, and clarified the scope of that injunction on Feb. 15, 2019. Indigenous Environmental Network, et al., v. Dep’t of State, et al., Nos. 4:17-cv-00029 (D. Montana). The Ninth Circuit declined to stay the district court’s injunction on March 15, 2019. Indigenous Environmental Network et al., v. Dep’t of State et al., Nos. 18-36068 (9th Cir.) (consolidated with 18-36069).
Jan. 24, 2017 President Trump signed an executive order to expedite the approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline and Dakota Access Pipeline. TransCanada resubmitted its application for a Presidential Permit. The State Department issued a new Record of Decision and National Interest Determination on March 23, 2017 approving the project. The 2017 ROD repeated much of the text from the 2015 ROD but omitted the section on “Climate Change-Related Foreign Policy Considerations.”