Before there was much talk of the Keystone XL pipeline, there was the Alberta Clipper -- a pipeline that received approval from the State Department and was praised for its positive economic benefits. Here are the details.
* According to the State Department, Enbridge Energy's Alberta Clipper pipeline received a Record of Decision and National Interest Determination as well as a Presidential Permit on Aug. 20, 2009. The 326-mile, 36-inch pipeline, which was constructed in 2010, would span from Hardisty, Alberta, to Superior, Wis., and carry up to 450,000 barrels of crude oil a day from the Canadian oil sands to U.S. refineries.
* The Department provided a media note with its approval, stating the pipeline will advance a number of strategic interests in the U.S., including a diversity of available supplies at a time of "considerable political tension in other major oil producing countries and regions." It stated the approval of the permit was a positive economic signal about the reliability and availability of U.S. energy imports and a provider of immediate term, shovel ready jobs.
* According to Enbridge, the project was mechanically complete in 2010 and had an ultimate capacity of up to 800,000 barrels per day available.
* TransCanada's Keystone project would provide a 36-inch crude oil pipeline that would span the 1,661-mile distance from Hardisty, Alberta, to the refineries in Nederland, Texas. The project, which initially came before the State Department in 2008, was delayed on Nov. 10 until 2013, and following pressure by Congress to approve it, was denied a presidential permit on Jan. 18. The department recommended the denial, stating there was insufficient time to determine if it was in the nation's best interest.
* According to TransCanada, the Keystone project would put 13,000 Americans to work constructing the pipeline and the company estimated 7,000 manufacturing jobs and 118,000 spin-off jobs would be created through its construction and operation.
* On Jan. 30, 44 senators, including John Hoeven, R-N.D., Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and David Vitter, R-La., announced a bill that would authorize TransCanada to construct and operate the Keystone XL pipeline. The senators argued the pipeline approval fell under congressional authority in the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. The bill would require the State Department to enter into a memorandum of understanding within 30 days with Nebraska to assist in rerouting the pipeline away from environmentally sensitive areas while allowing work on other parts of the pipeline to begin. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, Congress has the authority to approve the project.
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