"Opponents of a pipeline that would nearly double U.S. imports of Canadian oil-sands crude sued the State Department today in a bid to force speedy disclosure of any contacts it made with a lobbyist for the pipeline's sponsor.

The suit stems from a December Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by three advocacy groups seeking to view potential communications between the department -- which is set to decide on a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline by year's end -- and Paul Elliott, a lobbyist for its sponsor, TransCanada Corp.

Elliott's past work as an adviser to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton prompted the push by the three groups-turned-plaintiffs, all of which have criticized Clinton for appearing partial in previous remarks on the merits of Keystone XL."

Elana Schor reports for Greenwire May 18, 2011. [2]