Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.WASHINGTON — A bill sponsored by Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., to force approval of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline would cut key federal agencies out of the review process, officials from those agencies testified Friday on Capitol Hill.
Terry's legislation would shift authority over the pipeline away from President Barack Obama and the U.S. State Department and give it to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The bill also would require the commission to approve the pipeline permit within 30 days.
By granting the energy agency sole authority over construction of the pipeline, the bill would eliminate the complementary role that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers typically plays in reviewing pipelines that cross rivers or other navigable waterways, Margaret Gaffney-Smith, chief of the corps' regulatory program, told senators.
Terry's legislation also raises questions about the 42 miles of land crossed by the pipeline that are managed by the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management. Mike Pool, the bureau's deputy director, testified that Terry's bill would preclude the bureau from issuing rights of way for the pipeline and also prevent it from collecting rents and other recovery costs that resulted from construction of the pipeline.
Both agencies said that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission does not have the expertise to handle a project of this scale on its own and that the 30-day deadline would not be enough time to give their input.
Terry said he is working on changes to the bill to address concerns about stepping on the corps' authority, but it was clear that he and other Republicans intend to move forward with the legislation. His bill is scheduled to go through the amendment process and receive a committee vote Tuesday.
The Obama administration rejected the pipeline last month, saying it did not have enough time to complete all the necessary reviews before a Feb. 21 deadline that Republicans included in the payroll tax cut extension bill. The administration noted that efforts are still under way to find an alternate route around Nebraska's environmentally sensitive Sand Hills.
Terry complained that the Obama administration has been using Nebraska as an excuse for rejecting the pipeline, despite Republican efforts to allow as much time as needed to find an alternative route.
"The message that the president's denial of this permit sent the world is that the far left of the environmental community is now in charge of our energy and foreign policy," Terry said.
Friday's hearing was a continuation of a contentious session held Jan. 25 on Terry's bill. Democrats had insisted on the additional hearing to have testimony from the agencies and from a couple of pipeline opponents. They also sought to have witnesses from Koch Industries and TransCanada, but neither agreed to testify.
Nebraska landowner Randy Thompson testified Friday and described TransCanada as an aggressive bully trying to push around property owners. He said the fight over the pipeline is far from finished.
"The dust has not settled in Nebraska on this issue," Thompson said. "TransCanada has built a mountain of distrust among the ordinary citizens of our state, and even with their voluntary agreement to move the pipeline out of the Sand Hills, we remain very skeptical."
Retired Brig. Gen. Steven Anderson testified that the pipeline would serve only to keep the country addicted to oil.
Anderson served as Gen. David Petraeus' senior logistician in Iraq and said he struggled every day with how to provide fuel to forces in the field. He also said many soldiers were killed during fuel-related missions.
"Our long supply lines provide thousands of convenient targets, and the revenues from satiating our oil habit bring the enemy the resources to kill us," Anderson said.
Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., introduced legislation Friday aimed at keeping any Keystone XL oil in the United States. Keystone opponents say the oil flowing through the pipeline will ultimately land on tankers and be shipped to other parts of the world.
Markey told The World-Herald it doesn't make sense to "pollute the planet" and "potentially pollute the United States" only to send the oil to other countries.
"What is the benefit? Why would we take all those risks?" Markey asked.
Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., chairman of the subcommittee handling Terry's bill, said the Department of Energy has determined that most of the oil going through the pipeline would be used in the United States.
Whitfield said he would oppose Markey's legislation.
"I don't think that's ... our free-market system," he said of the proposal.
Contact the writer:
202-630-4823, joe.morton@owh.com
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