KEYSTONE/OIL/PIPELINES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration has given final approval to the Keystone XL project, bringing the mammoth oil pipeline a step closer to fruition more than a year after former President Barack Obama blocked its construction.
The U.S. State Department said Friday [3-24-17] it had issued a presidential permit to TransCanada Corp., the company behind the Keystone XL, to build the pipeline.
It still faces state-level legal challenges in Nebraska and South Dakota that could cause further delays. TransCanada needed approval from the State Department because the pipeline crosses the U.S.-Canadian border.
President Donald Trump announced the pipeline’s approval at a ceremony in the Oval Office Friday, calling it part of a ‘new era’ of American investment in infrastructure and energy projects that would provide thousands of jobs to Americans.”
-Christopher M. Matthews, Rebecca Ballhaus, and Anne Steele, “Trump Administration Grants Permit to TransCanada for Keystone XL Pipeline,” The Wall Street Journal online, March 24, 2017