A Canadian company, TC Energy, has built the first piece of the disputed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline across the U.S. border. However, it has not resolved a courtroom setback that will make it hard to finish the $8 billion project.
The 1,200-mile pipeline from Alberta to Nebraska was stalled for much for the past decade before President Donald Trump was elected and began trying to push it through to completion. Environmentalists and Native American tribes are opposed to the line because of worries over spills and that burning fuel would make climate change worse.
Work finally started in April at the border crossing in remote northern Montana. The 1.2-mile section has now been completed except for some site reclamation activity, TC Energy spokeswoman Sara Babern said.
The Calgary-based company has started site work for labor camps near Baker, Montana, and Philip, South Dakota, but has not set a day to occupy them.
According to NBC Montana, the company’s three-year construction timeline was put into doubt following a May 15 ruling from a Montana federal judge that cancelled a key permit. It is needed to build the line across hundreds of streams, wetlands, and other water bodies along its route.
The ruling affected all new oil and gas pipeline construction and was appealed by the Trump administration and TC Energy.
Source: NBC Montana
