Next Steps on Keystone XL Pipeline Review Process

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Next Steps on Keystone XL Pipeline Review Process


Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC

July 22, 2011




The U.S. Department of State plans to issue a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline in mid-August.
Following the issuance of a Final EIS, the next step is a 90-day review period where interested federal agencies, such as the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, will provide their views on whether issuance of a Presidential Permit would be in the national interest.
During September, the State Department will also host public meetings in each of the six states through which the proposed pipeline would pass. We plan to hold meetings in the state capitals of Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, with an additional meeting in the Sand Hills region in Nebraska and along the Gulf Coast near Port Arthur, Texas. This will be followed by a final public meeting in Washington, DC.
These meetings will give individuals an opportunity to voice their views on whether granting or denying a Presidential Permit for the pipeline would be in the national interest and to comment on economic, energy security, environmental and safety issues relevant to that determination.
Detailed information on dates, times, and locations for public meetings will be published before the end of August on the website http://www.keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov.
Keystone XL is a proposed 1700-mile oil pipeline from the U.S.-Canadian border in Montana, through Cushing, Oklahoma, to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Per Executive Order 13337, the State Department is responsible for reviewing the application for a Presidential Permit for the pipeline to cross the border between Canada and the United States. The Department is conducting a thorough and objective review process defined by law and Executive Order.
When released, the Final EIS and related documents will be available through the State Department’s website: http://www.keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov.
Although we expect to make a decision on whether to grant or deny the permit before the end of the year, we will not make a decision until we have completed this process.


PRN: 2011/1225