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Obama to Reject Keystone XL Pipeline

Large sections of Keystone Pipeline in Texas
Large sections of Keystone Pipeline in Texas / AP
November 6, 2015

The Obama administration will reject the Keystone XL pipeline Friday, according people close to the decision.

The Wall Street Journal reported that President Obama will cite climate change as a primary reason for the decision.

Obama is due to make a statement from the White House Friday at 11:45A.M. on the administration’s decision. He will be joined by Secretary of State John Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden.

The project has been under review for more than seven years.

The news comes days after the State Department rejected a request from TransCanada to pause its review of the pipeline. The Canada company penned a letter to the State Department Monday asking that the agency suspend its review of the project while it studied a state review process in Nebraska for the portion of the pipeline to be built in that state.

In a response Wednesday, State Department spokesman John Kirby said that there was no "legal basis" requiring the government agency to submit to TransCanada’s request.

"There’s no obligation to pause," Kirby stated. "A lot of work has gone into this to date, and the secretary wants that work to continue."

In the immediate wake of the Obama administration’s decision Friday, TransCanada shares dropped as much as 4.6 percent.

Published under: Barack Obama , Keystone XL