Keystone Cushing-Gulf leg gets final Corps OK
BY ROD WALTON World Staff Writer
Saturday, July 28, 2012
7/28/12 at 3:33 AM
TransCanada Corp. has received the last of three U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits needed to begin construction this summer on the southern leg of the Keystone XL Pipeline to bring crude oil from Oklahoma's Cushing hub to the Texas Gulf Coast.
The Fort Worth district of the Corps has approved the Keystone's wetlands and water-body crossing plan. The Tulsa and Galveston, Texas, districts approved their portions of the Keystone route earlier this summer.
"Receiving this final, key Army Corps permit for the Gulf Coast Project is very positive news," TransCanada CEO Russ Girling said in a statement. "TransCanada is now poised to put approximately 4,000 Americans to work constructing the $2.3 billion pipeline that will be built in three distinct 'spreads' or sections. The Gulf Coast Project will contribute millions in property taxes to counties in Oklahoma and Texas, money that can be used to build roads, schools and hospitals."
Environmentalists, however, have opposed the Keystone XL for years, arguing that the thick, bitumen form of crude piped out of western Canada's tar sands is dangerous to aquifers and prone to pipeline leakage.
The northern leg from Canada to Steele City, Neb., still needs federal approval. President Barack Obama has the project on hold after Nebraska officials expressed concerns about its route through the Sand Hills and over the Ogallala Aquifer in their state. A new route through Nebraska is being proposed by TransCanada.
TransCanada plans to start construction of the southern leg within weeks.
A portion from Steele City to Cushing already is completed and operational, bringing Canadian oil to the terminals.
Original Print Headline: Keystone Cushing-Gulf leg gets final Corps OK
Rod Walton 918-581-8457
rod.walton@tulsaworld.com
