April 9, 2019
Opponents of the long-stalled Keystone XL oil pipeline asked a federal court in a lawsuit on Friday to declare that President Donald Trump acted illegally when he issued a new permit for the project in a bid to get around an earlier court ruling.
In November, U.S. District Judge Brian Morris ruled that the Trump administration did not fully consider potential oil spills and other impacts when it approved the pipeline in 2017.
Trump’s new permit, issued last week, is intended to circumvent that ruling and kick-start the proposal to ship crude oil from the tar sands of western Canada to U.S. refineries.
While the southern portion of the project was completed years ago, construction of the portion from Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska, has been delayed.
White House officials have said the presidential permit is immune from court review. But legal experts say that’s an open question.
