U.S. review of Keystone XL taking 5 times longer than average
An Associated Press examination of every cross-border pipeline application since 2004, when Bush revised the process, shows that the Keystone review has been anything but ordinary.
Since April 2004, when Bush signed his order, the government has taken an average of 478 days — less than a year and a half — to approve or reject all other applications.
Former Bush White House officials who helped develop the policy say it was never intended that the final decision about a presidential permit would be delegated to a Cabinet department.
Republicans and energy advocates have pressed President Obama to approve the project, which environmentalists say would promote dirty tar sands oil and risk spills.
The company first applied in September 2008 for a permit to build the 1,179-mile pipeline, which would connect Canada’s tar sands with crude oil refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Under Bush’s executive order, the State Department receives permit applications and circulates them to agencies such as the Commerce Department, Energy Department and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Keystone wouldn’t move forward if it would significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions.
Even the pipeline that took the longest to approve — the 435-mile Vantage Pipeline Project, approved during Obama’s tenure — took fewer than three years, despite requiring complex negotiations with Native American tribes concerned about historical preservation.
To come up with an average processing time, the AP culled data from the Federal Register, State Department records, congressional correspondence, Congressional Research Service reports and data provided by pipeline owners.