An appeals court has lifted a judge’s injunction that blocked construction of the $8 billion Keystone XL oil pipeline last Thursday, arguing that it no longer applies after the Trump administration replaced a permit earlier this year.
According to PBS, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit issued by environmental and Native American groups, saying President Donald Trump had revoked a 2017 permit that allowed the pipeline to be built. The Hill reported that the “ruling sided with arguments that the old permit, which was replaced by the Trump administration in March, is no longer valid. Therefore, the injunction associated with it also no longer applies.”
The ruling was a victory for the administration and TC Energy, a Calgary Alberta-based company that wants to build the line.
“We are pleased with the ruling,” TC Energy spokesman Matthew John told PBS. “We look forward to advancing the project.”
PBS reported that attorneys for the plaintiffs accused Trump of trying to get around court rulings by issuing the new permit, which they say is also flawed. They have since filed another lawsuit to block the new permit.
“We shouldn’t forget the underlying issue here—global warming,” Attorney Stephan Volker, who represents Indigenous Environmental Network and North Coast Rivers Alliance, told PBS. “We’re trying to save the Earth. I wish the federal government would pay attention to the science and do its job.”
The pipeline would ship up to 830,000 barrels (35 million gallons) of crude oil daily from Alberta through Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska. It would then tie to existing pipelines to carry the oil to U.S. refineries.
