Another Chapter in the Keystone XL Pipeline Project Begins Oct. 9

After filing a request on July 10 to again block construction on the Keystone XL pipeline project environmental groups and Justice Department attorneys won’t be able to state their case and argue their points of view until Wednesday, Oct. 9, to U.S. District Judge Brian Morris in Great Falls.

This scheduled hearing is just another chapter in the journey of the construction and implementation of the Keystone XL pipeline project. Originally scheduled for construction to begin in the Hi-Line this past spring, materials were seen traveling across Northeast Montana to staging areas in northern Phillips and Valley County in October of 2018. All construction plans were placed on hold when Judge Morris blocked construction Nov. 8, 2018, issuing an injunction against any further construction. Later on in the month, after hearing arguments from TransCanada, now TC Energy, the developer of the Keystone XL Project, stating their case for the need to clarify or amend his earlier ruling., Judge Morris ruled the company can continue to do preliminary work, however they were still not allowed to do any construction.

The company again asked Judge Morris in January to begin work on the construction of worker camps and pipe yards in order to try and salvage the construction season. On Feb 15, Judge Morris ruled he would keep the injunction in place, denying the request to begin constructing worker camps. He did state during the ruling however that the company could perform some limited activities such as the construction and use of pipe storage and container yards in addition to preliminary work such as the purchase of materials, land surveys and finalizing contracts.

The case was brought before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. While awaiting for the three judge panel to review the case and make a decision, as well as to get things moving along, President Trump signed a new order on March 29, issuing a new permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline. This permit allows construction work to be completed even while the previous case on whether or not construction would continue was pending in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The new permit replaced the previous permit issued in March 2017, granting permission to “construct, connect, operate and maintain” the pipeline in U.S. territory, specifically providing permission to build a pipeline facility in Phillips County.

However, in June the company’s Executive Vice President Vice President Paul Miller stated the project has missed the 2019 construction season due to court delays. On June 6, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had given the go-ahead to proceed on the Keystone XL Pipeline. The three judge panel ordered a dismissal of the lawsuit citing inadequate environmental impacts of the pipeline. The panel of judges also stated since President Trump issued a new permit for the project in March, any issues associated with the previous permit are no longer valid and therefore any injunctions associated with those issues no longer apply.

Following that ruling, attorneys for environmental groups against the project, including Northern Plains Resource Council and the Sierra Club, made a request to again block construction stating the project would make climate change worse. A second lawsuit was also filed to cancel approvals issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada.

Only time will tell what the next phase in the Keystone project will be.