"The State Department said it would delay its decision on a permit for a contentious $7 billion pipeline project intended to deliver crude oil from the oil sands of the province of Alberta in Canada, to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.

A public comment period on the department’s draft environmental impact statement for the project, called Keystone XL, ended on July 2, and officials had planned to consult other federal agencies through Sept. 15. On Monday, however, the department said it would wait to complete a full environmental impact assessment and then allow for an additional 90 days of interagency consultation.

The department provided no timeline for completion of the environmental assessment, but at the least, a decision on the permit would be delayed until the end of this year.

Two weeks ago, a variety of concerns were raised by the Environmental Protection Agency in a letter to the department."

Tom Zeller Jr. reports for the New York Times July 27, 2010. [2]