State Department: Keystone decision isn’t political

The State Department insisted Thursday that the Obama administration’s plan to delay a final decision on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline until after the election has nothing to do with politics.

“This decision is based on the process that we’ve been going through,” State Department Assistant Secretary Kerri-Ann Jones told reporters on a conference call. “This is not a political decision.”

Jones said the White House played no role in the decision, though the State Department informed officials about their plan to reevaluate the proposed route, delaying a final ruling on the pipeline until after the election.

“The White House did not have anything to do with this decision except we consulted with them as we were moving toward it,” Jones said. “There was no effort to sort of influence our decision. It was our decision.”

The State Department announced Thursday that it will conduct an assessment of alternative pipeline routes through Nebraska, citing public concerns about the impact of the project in the environmentally sensitive Sand Hills region of the state. The Nebraska state legislature, for example, is in the middle of a special session aimed at changing the pipeline route.

“This message about the Sand Hills of Nebraska has been coming strong and with increasing intensity,” Jones said.

But proponents of the pipeline nonetheless alleged Thursday that the decision to review alternative routes was intended to prevent President Obama from having to weather the political fallout that would come with making a final decision on the project. 

“President Obama is putting a far-left environmentalist agenda before jobs, the economy and national security,” Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) said in a statement.

“Politics has trumped jobs in this decision and we can only wonder if the Administration’s delay will cause Canada to turn their pipeline west and ship their energy and American jobs elsewhere,” U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue said in a statement.

Environmental activists and others have mounted a massive opposition campaign to TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil sands crude from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas.

They have positioned the decision as a referendum on Obama’s energy policy, warning that they’ll withhold valuable resources that could aid the president’s reelection campaign if he greenlights the project.

Opponents of the pipeline have also been critical of the State Department’s review of the project. They’ve faulted the department for allowing Cardno Entrix, a contractor with financial ties to TransCanada, to conduct an environmental review of the pipeline.

Jones, on the call with reporters Thursday, defended the department’s decision to use Cardno Entrix. She also said the department would consider using the company to evaluate the alternative route.

“They would be considered as anyone else would be,” Jones said.

Meanwhile, President Obama is under intense pressure from proponents of the project to approve the pipeline. Industry groups and many Republicans argue that the project is essential because it will boost the economy and create jobs.

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