US Oil Pipeline Links May Have to Wait for Approval from Former President

A revised plan by the South Bend, Indiana-based company to revive a portion of the cancelled Keystone XL pipeline requires the stamp of approval from former US President Donald Trump. The new proposal aims to reroute the 2,000-mile pipeline and build only half of it, with plans to connect oil production facilities in North Dakota to refineries on the Gulf Coast. According to the plan, the revised pipeline would be a “segmented” approach, rather than a full-scale restart of the original project. The South Bend company claims that this new route will reduce the environmental impact and provide an alternative to other existing pipelines. The proposal is set to be reviewed by the US State Department, which has jurisdiction over the project under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Critics argue that reviving the pipeline would go against Trump’s administration’s own decision to cancel the original Keystone XL project in 2017 due to concerns about climate change. Supporters of the revised plan point out that it addresses some of the environmental concerns raised during the previous project’s development. The new route would avoid sensitive areas, such as the Sandhills region of North Dakota, and reduce the potential for oil spills.