"Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) requested an independent audit today of the State Department's environmental review system for projects such as Keystone XL, his latest step to protest the Obama administration's handling of the controversial oil sands crude pipeline."

"A Grijalva spokesman said the Government Accountability Office already has agreed to conduct the inquiry that he will formalize today alongside Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Friends of the Earth President Erich Pica and other anti-KXL advocates. Grijalva has led Democratic critics of State's environmental impact statement (EIS) on the pipeline, amplifying climate activists' conflict-of-interest charges.

A GAO spokesman said that all audit requests must go through a weeks-long review process and that no formal decision has been reached on Grijalva's proposed investigation."

Elana Schor reports for Greenwire February 25, 2014. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Grijalva: GAO To Probe State's Keystone Review" (E2 Wire/The Hill) [3]

"Environmental Firm Writing U.S. Keystone Report Studied Pipelines for Landowners" (Washington Post) [4]

"State Department IG Won’t Release Keystone XL Report on a Contractor Friday" (Washington Post) [5]

"Keystone Contractor’s Ties To Energy Groups Draw New Scrutiny" (Politico) [6]

"Did the State Department Fail Obama on Keystone XL?" (Bloomberg) [7]