WASHINGTON (AP)
The Trump administration suffered setbacks when a federal judge blocked Canada's license to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline and ordered officials to conduct a new environmental review.
Environmental activists and tribal groups cheered the US government's ruling. S.
Montana District Judge, President Donald Trump called it a "political decision" and a "shame ". "The 1,184-mile (1,900)
The pipeline will begin in Alberta and will ship up to 830,000 barrels of crude oil to the Gulf Coast Pier every day through six states.
Trump touted the $8 billion pipeline as part of his commitment to "energy dominance" in North America, and put his administration's rapid approval of the project under President Barack Obama.
The Trump administration did not say whether it would appeal the new ruling.
The State Department said it was reviewing the decision, but declined to comment further on ongoing litigation.
The pipeline was originally proposed by Calgary.
Headquartered in TransCanada on 2008.
It has become the focus of ten years.
There has long been controversy among Democrats, environmental groups and Native American tribes who have warned of increased pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and opposed business groups and Republicans cheering on the project's jobs and potential energy productionU. S.
District Judge Brian Morris suspended the program late Thursday, ruling that the State Department did not fully consider potential oil spills and other effects as required by federal law.
He ordered the department to complete a new review to address issues that had arisen since the completion of the last environmental review in 2014.
New topics include the cumulative impact of climate
Change the greenhouse gas emissions of Keystone XL and the associated pipelines that bring oil from Canada;
Impact of current oil prices on pipeline viability
Latest modeling of potential oil spills;
And the impact of the project on the cultural resources of indigenous tribes and other groups along the route.
It may take a year for the review to be completed.
Environmental protection activists and Native American groups have sued for stopping the project on the grounds of property rights and possible leaks.
The plaintiff in this case, Becky Mitchell, chairman of the Northern Plains Resource Committee, said her organization was excited about the ruling.
"The decision brought TransCanada back to the drawings," Mitchell said, calling the ruling "the result of grass-roots democratic action that won the water and the people . ".
TransCanada said in a statement that it was reviewing the judge's 54-page decision.
"We are still working on building this important energy infrastructure project," said TransCanada spokesman Terry Cunha . ".
Environmental groups announced victory and predicted
A delayed project will never be built.
Doug Hayes, senior lawyer at the Sierra Club, said the court's ruling "once and for all shows that TransCanada is time to abandon their Keystone XL Daydream", the largest environmental protection organization in the United States.
The fight over the project has crossed several presidents, involving a confrontation between protesters and law enforcement.
After years of legal wrangling, Mr. Obama rejected permission for the pipeline in 2015.
The company seeks compensation of $15 billion.
On 2017, Trump signed an executive action to push forward the construction of the project again.
TransCanada recently announced plans to start construction next year, after a State Council review ordered by Morris concluded that significant environmental damage caused by the leak was unlikely to occur and could be alleviated soon.
Review is not enough, Morris said.
TransCanada promised continuous monitoring and said it was automatically turned off
Closing the valve will help the officer to quickly identify a leak or break.
Tom Goldtooth, executive director, Minnesota Indigenous Environment Network
The base propaganda group, also the plaintiff in this case, said the ruling was a sacred victory for tribes, water and Mother Earth.
He called the pipeline "the enemy of the people, the climate and life we know . ".
It must be stopped.
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