Keystone Foe Steyer Urges Review of ‘Defective’ Analysis

Billionaire Tom Steyer, a Democratic Party donor and Keystone XL foe, called on U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to begin a review of the “defective” environmental analysis on the pipeline released last week.

Steyer in his letter said the impact statement is flawed because a TransCanada contractor, Environmental Resources Management, was hired to write the report.  The company made “problematic representations” in conflict of interest disclosures about its oil industry ties, Steyer wrote.

The report also doesn’t sufficiently address whether the refined oil from Alberta “will be shipped to economic competitors such as China,” which has an investment in the project, Steyer said.

“Of particular concern are final environmental impact statement (FEIS) conclusions that conflict with and are contradicted by tar sands industry executives who confirm that they need the pipeline in order to continue to develop the tar sands and to reach international markets,” Steyer wrote.  “The FEIS fails to consider that construction of the KXL pipeline is a necessity to fully maximize extraction of tar sands.”

Keystone Foe Steyer Urges Review of ‘Defective’ Analysis