Green Groups Sue US to Stop Work on Keystone XL Oil Pipeline

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/10/05-5

Environmental groups sued the U.S. government on Wednesday to stop the clearing of grasslands, the moving of threatened species and other work going on ahead of U.S. approval of $7 billion Canada to Texas planned oil pipeline.



The Center for Biological Diversity, the Western Nebraska Resources Council and Friends of the Earth sued the U.S. State Department and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to stop work they called "illegal construction" on the 1,700 mile (2,740 km) pipeline.

The suit, the first of many legal and regulatory hurdles that the pipeline could face, was filed in the U.S. District Court in Nebraska. The complaint can be seen here: link.reuters.com/gad34s .

TransCanada (TRP.TO) wants to build the pipeline to take 500,000 barrels per day of crude from Canada's vast oil sands to refineries in Texas. The line could also drain U.S.-produced oil from new oil fields that has caused a glut in the Cushing, Oklahoma crude hub.

More at the link --