"President Obama, denouncing a 'rushed and arbitrary deadline' set by congressional Republicans, announced Wednesday that he was rejecting a Canadian firm's application for a permit to build and operate the Keystone XL pipeline, a massive project that would have stretched from Canada's oil sands to refineries in Texas.
Obama said that the Feb. 21 deadline, set by Congress as part of the two-month payroll tax cut extension, made it impossible to adequately review the project proposed by TransCanada. But he left the door open to the possibility that a new proposal might pass regulatory muster.
'This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline that prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people,' the president said in a statement."
Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson report for the Washington Post January 18, 2012.
SEE ALSO:
"Rejecting Pipeline Proposal, Obama Blames Congress" (New York Times)
"Obama Administration To Deny Keystone XL Oil Pipeline Permit" (Los Angeles Times)
"Business Groups, Republicans Launch Onslaught on President Over Keystone" (E2Wire/The Hill)
"New Study To Probe Corrosiveness Of Canada Oil" (Reuters)
"NWF's Symons Calls Keystone XL a Scam, Says Oil Will Not Be Used To Benefit Americans" (Onpoint/E&ETV)
"Obama Rejects Pipeline, Blames Republicans" (E&ENews PM)
"TransCanada Could Reapply With New Pipeline Route: Source" (Reuters)
"Obama Administration Rejects Keystone Oil Pipeline" (Reuters)
"Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline Permit" (Mother Jones)
"Harper Miscalculated Keystone Xl Anger, Opposition Parties Say" (Toronto Sun)
"Keystone XL: Canada To Diversify Oil Exports, Harper Tells Obama" (CTV News)
"Obama and Harper Split On Keystone XL Pipeline Deal" (BBC News)
"No Keystone Pipeline, No Problem: 'I Am Very Serious About Selling Our Oil Off This Continent,' Stephen Harper Says" (National Post)
"Keystone XL Pipeline: GOP Wants Hillary Clinton To Testify" (Politico)
"Keystone XL Decision Hands The GOP A Gift" (Right Turn/Washington Post)
Video: "Gingrich, Perry Slam Obama Keystone Denial" (Washington Post)
"EPA Urged To Disregard Oilsands Emissions in Keystone Decision: Letters" (Postmedia)
"Rejected Pipeline Becomes Hot-Button Election Issue" (NPR)
"Obama Denies Permit for Keystone Oil Pipeline, But Keeps Door Open" (McClatchy)
"Obama Rejects Oil Pipeline From Canada, Triggering Loud Controversy" (McClatchy)
"New Pipeline Study Would Take Minimum 12-18 Months" (Reuters)
"President Obama's Keystone XL Decision Swells Green Group Love To 'High Water Mark'" (Huffington Post)
