Quote:
Originally Posted by DiracSpike
Pipe is getting laid on the canadian side now. Pump stations (which are actually the most time consuming part, so it's not nothing although most measures of progress are km of pipe laid) were being constructed in the US. The main roadblock during Trumps administration has been a federal judge in Montana who has ruled against the pipeline twice, the most recent one last spring. He's a well known activist judge, his most recent miscarriage of justice was ruling that a streamlined US army corps of engineer permit program that has been in use since the 70s for every major infrastructure project in the states from pipelines to broadband was somehow invalid for keystone xl. I don't know where exactly that stands but the plan from TC was that pipe would be laid in the states this summer and 2023 would be the expected in service date. So this project was moving forward, under construction, it's not frozen or in limbo. Yet, I guess.
This is 100% a giant middle finger from Biden to us, that's undeniable no matter where you stand on Kenney or Trump or Trudeau or whomever else. USGC needs the crude we have, and instead of us piping it directly to them they'll be importing it from overseas. An added likely insult to injury is while shutting in our ethical production that benefits all of us biden will probably lift sanctions on Iran and Venezuela allowing more of their crude out. Allowing countries that not only don't share our respect for the environment, but don't even have common respect for their own people or human rights to be allowed market access by Biden while he denies us should make everyone furious. What will probably end up happening is once TMX is completed a lot of the heavy crude exported from Vancouver will probably wind up at the US gulf coast, it's only a slightly further sail than China and thanks to Biden it'll be the best way to get our crude to the states. So instead of a 2700km pipeline journey it'll be a 1,100 km pipeline journey the wrong way, followed by a 9,000km sail...yay environment!!
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I'm in favour of the pipeline, and pipelines in general, especially when it just make more sense to move product that way.
I just think it's overly simplistic to say this Biden trying to screw Canada. This has been in the approval process for years. There's obviously way more to it than simply, "screw Canada".
As for the Judge in Montana, he's not an activist judge because he ruled against the pipeline. He's ruled in favour of Trump on projects as well. Just because he ruled against this specific aspect doesn't make him an activist. Just taking a quick look, he ruled in favour of Trump reversing an Obama policy on coal. He rejected a bid by tribes, to undo the Trump administration's decision to end a temporary coal leasing moratorium on public lands. He said they had complied with his previous order to analyze the impacts of reversing an Obama ban on coal leasing on public lands.