New obstacle for Keystone XL

TransCanada’s controversial Keystone XL pipeline is facing yet another regulatory obstacle. The company is now required to recertify the Alberta-Nebraska conduit where it passes through South Dakota. The project was approved by the state on 29 June 2010; however, TransCanada must verify that the conditions placed on the Keystone pipeline by South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) are all still valid, and that the company will meet all of these conditions.

During an interview with local press, Gary Hanson, Chairman of the PUC, stated: “I would anticipate there will be challenges. There will certainly be challenges by a number of organisations and possibly citizens. Some of those persons or entities will probably not have any standing. But I believe some of them are certainly more mature organisations that understand the process.”

A new evidentiary hearing will take place once the company submits an application to verify the validity of the conditions placed on the pipeline in 2010; however, according to Hanson, the company has yet to do this. Davis Sheremata, a representative of TransCanada, said in a statement that the company will go through the re-certification process and is waiting to determine exactly what will be required by the PUC.

“The challenge will be the (hearing) process where we anticipate a number of attorneys representing a number of interveners, and it will depend on how creative those folks are,” said Hanson. Keystone also faces another legal hurdle in Nebraska, where the Supreme Court is yet to decide whether to uphold a judge’s ruling invalidating a route approved by Governor Dave Heineman.

Edited from various sources by Rosalie Starling

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/02072014/new_obstacle_for_keystone_xl_590/