President-elect Joe Biden will use an executive action to cancel the permit for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office, according to CBC News.
On a briefing note circulated to key stakeholders over the weekend, the words “Rescind Keystone XL pipeline permit” were at the top of the list, CBC News reports. Chief of Staff-designate Ron Klain released a list of priorities for Biden, but the Keystone Pipeline was not mentioned among them.
The Keystone pipeline already operates, running through six Midwestern states and ending in Port Arthur, Texas. It allows Canadian oil to reach Texas refineries without incurring Canadian taxes or US tariffs, due to the Gulf Coast oil refineries being a designated Foreign Trade Zone. This increases the profitability of the oil for petroleum companies.
The new pipeline would cut through three US state–Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska–before hooking into the existing pipeline going in southern Nebraska. It would carry more than 800,000 barrels per oil per day from oilsands in Alberta, Canada.
Environmentalists have objected to the new Keystone pipeline as a risk for oil spills and a sign of increasing use of fossil fuels. Advocates say that the project would create jobs and improve the cost of fuel.