President Obama in Cushing, OK
By Mose Buchele, KUT News for StateImpact Texas
CUSHING, OKLHAOMA – President Obama’s pledge to expedite construction of the Southern Section of the Keystone XL pipeline is provoking a strong reaction from Texas environmental groups today.
Environmental groups that had generally supported Obama’s position on the pipeline were singing a different tune, after his endorsement of the portion of the project that would run from Cushing, Oklahoma to the Texas Gulf Coast.
Rita Beving represents 3 East Texas cities that want to stop the pipeline. She says even with Obama’s support, Texas groups will have a chance to defeat the project.
BEVING: “This needs to follow the law. And in Texas there’s at least six water permits that are pending. There are things called 404 water permits with the Army Corps of Engineers. There are questions about whether Trans Canada is even a common carrier.”
Pipeline company Trans Canada’s designation as a common carrier in Texas has allowed it to use eminent domain. That’s facing a legal challenge by one Texas landowner in a case that will go before the courts in April.
Obama’s embrace of the Cushing to Texas section of the project has also won him few friends among Conservative supporters of the pipeline, the republican politicians characterizing the president’s speech today as election year posturing.
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