21 states sue Joe Biden for revoking Keystone XL pipeline permits
21 states including Texas and Montana sued President Joe Biden for approving an executive order revoking permits for the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada, arguing the president has overstepped his authority.
The lawsuit filed on Wednesday in the federal District Court in Texas argues that it is Congress that has the right to regulate interstate commerce and not the president as the oil pipeline will reach refineries in Houston passing through several states on its way.
“The President lacks the power to enact his ‘ambitious plan’ to reshape the economy in defiance of Congress’s unwillingness to do so,” the lawsuit states.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen reacted to Biden’s decision to repeal the permit saying that it shows his ”contempt for rural communities in Montana and other states along the path of the pipeline that would benefit from and support the project.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stated that President Biden”s goal is to undo all the progress of the previous administration, with complete disregard for the Constitutional limits on his power. “His decision to revoke the pipeline permit is not only unlawful but will also devastate the livelihoods of thousands of workers, their families, and their communities,” the General added.
Attorneys general in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming joined in the suit.
Former President Donald Trump approved the permits of the 1,280-mile project construction which stalled under the Obama administration again in 2019.
But Biden revoked them on his first day in office by signing an executive order.
TC Energy warned that thousands of union workers would lose their jobs as it will suspend the construction of the $8 billion project.
Keystone XL, which can carry up to 830,000 barrels of crude oil a day from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Neb., for distribution to refineries on the Gulf Coast, was opposed by some environmental groups.
The lawsuit has also pointed out the environmental argument.
“Essentially, the President purports to unilaterally shutter Keystone XL to send a climate-friendly signal to the international community and secure a stronger negotiating position in his efforts to combat climate change,” it says.
Congress has never allowed the President to intrude upon its powers over international and interstate commerce to facilitate the President’s pursuit of such vague objectives.
