Today, the Nebraska Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling and held that the power to approve a route for the Keystone XL pipeline through the state lay with the governor. Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman had previously approved the pipeline’s route, but his authority was challenged by a group of landowners (pipeline opponents) who claimed the authoritative power was held by the state’s Public Service Commission rather than the governor.
President Obama repeatedly referred to this pending decision as the reason why he could not made a final decision on whether to approve or deny the pipeline. As recently as earlier this week, when indicating the president would veto a measure to approve the pipeline that is currently making its way through Congress, Obama press secretary Josh Earnest referred to a “well‐established process in place” for making such decisions. The Nebraska case was the last remaining part of that process, as the State Department has already given the pipeline a clean bill of environmental health.
As for the president himself, in delivering his Climate Action Plan back in the summer of 2013, he said:
I do want to be clear: Allowing the Keystone pipeline to be built requires a finding that doing so would be in our nation’s interest. And our national interest will be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution. The net effects of the pipeline’s impact on our climate will be absolutely critical to determining whether this project is allowed to go forward. It’s relevant.
Odd that he should say that in June of 2013 when a month earlier, in May of 2013, I testified before Congress as to that climate math of the Keystone XL pipeline and found its effect on our climate was inconsequential, resulting in less than 1/100th of a degree of warming by the end of this century. Case closed.
Before the Nebraska decision, Congress was preparing to send legislation to the president’s desk that would wrest the decision from the State Department. But now that the Nebraska court decision has been handed down, Obama can steal the thunder for himself and simply grant approval to the pipeline.
And, who knows, with today’s oil economics, perhaps the pipeline will not be built, and the president can have his cake and eat it too.