Bill

The Northern Route Approval Act is bipartisan legislation to approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, a project long-delayed by the President that will create thousands of American jobs and increase domestic energy security.

The Keystone project will create 42,100 jobs, according to State Department estimates, and transport approximately 830,000 barrels of oil per day of secure North American oil supplies to U.S. refineries.  According to the State Department, “non-OPEC Canadian crude oil supplies advance the energy security of the United States, given Canada’s close proximity, our free trade agreements, and our close bilateral relationship with this stable democracy.”

The application to build Keystone XL was first filed in September 2008, and the State Department completed the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in August 2011 with a finding that the pipeline would have limited adverse environmental impacts.  Construction was also found to be the preferred option among those studied, including the option to not undertake the project.  However, the President has delayed approval of the project, and required the project sponsor to apply for a new route through Nebraska.  The Governor of Nebraska approved the reroute earlier this year.

H.R. 3, approved by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on May 16, 2013, ends the long, drawn-out process of delay by review and finally allows construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

Click here for additional information on H.R. 3.