"TC Energy asked Idaho Republicans to support a gas infrastructure project. The Republicans simply slapped their names on the company’s draft letter."

"The controversial Keystone pipeline ruptured in Kansas last week, spilling more than 14,000 barrels — nearly 600,000 gallons — of crude oil onto several properties and turning a rural creek black. It is the largest spill in the Keystone system’s history and the biggest oil spill in the U.S. since 2010.

The incident has left Canadian pipeline giant TC Energy Corporation scrambling to do damage control — not only in Kansas but in other states where it seeks to expand fossil fuel infrastructure.

But leading up to the spill, TC Energy already had politicians in some of those states marching to the company’s tune, including two U.S. senators. Internal emails reviewed by HuffPost show that TC Energy solicited and authored a letter that Idaho Republican officials submitted to federal regulators urging them to approve the company’s proposal to expand natural gas shipments in the Pacific Northwest."

Chris D'Angelo reports for HuffPost December 15, 2022. [2]