July 23 (Bloomberg) -- House Republicans drafted another bill to speed work on the Keystone XL oil pipeline after previous efforts failed to overturn President Barack Obama’s rejection of a permit for the project.
The legislation proposed by Representative Lee Terry, a Nebraska Republican, would let the section of the proposed TransCanada Corp. pipeline across Montana and South Dakota advance without Obama’s approval. Obama rejected the project in January, and urged the company to reapply while a revised route is studied to avoid an aquifer in Nebraska.
Republicans have made unsuccessful efforts to force a permit for the project, including adding language in the House version of a highway spending bill that failed in the Democrat- led Senate. The latest effort is also unlikely to win support Senate.
Pipeline supporters say the project, developed by Calgary- based TransCanada, will create thousands of jobs and increase U.S. energy security. Critics say extracting oil from Canada’s tar sands in Alberta releases more greenhouse gases than conventional drilling. They also said the original route threatened the Ogallala drinking-water aquifer in Nebraska.
The U.S. State Department now must approve the project because it crosses an international border. Terry previously introduced legislation that would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve TransCanada’s Keystone application within 30 days of receipt.
--Editors: Steve Geimann, Jon Morgan
To contact the reporter on this story: Jim Snyder in Washington at jsnyder24@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net
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