The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to pass a bill today that would short-circuit the federal review of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and force its approval. Meanwhile, the Nebraska Supreme Court vacated a lower court’s decision that had nullified the controversial Keystone XL pipeline route through Nebraska. While a majority of justices ruled with landowners against Keystone, a supermajority of five votes was needed.
 
Jim Lyon, vice president for conservation policy at the National Wildlife Federation, said today:
 
"The facts are clear: The Keystone XL tar sands pipeline poses unacceptable risks to the Ogallala Aquifer that provides drinking water for millions and to important wildlife habitat for caribou, gray wolves, waterfowl, and endangered whooping cranes. It also clearly fails President Obama’s test that it not worsen global warming – oil companies wouldn’t be fighting this hard to build Keystone XL if it weren’t critical to getting climate-disrupting tar sands out of the ground and to the export market. While we’re disappointed the Nebraska Supreme Court fell short of the supermajority needed to support landowners seeking to protect their land and water, the case for rejection of Keystone XL remains as strong as ever.
 
"Keystone XL is not in America’s national interest and we expect it to be denied by President Obama."


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National Wildlife Federation’s work fighting proposed tar sands infrastructure expansions like Keystone XL, Alberta Clipper, and the Portland-Montreal pipeline.