OUR VIEW: Time for Obama to approve Keystone XL pipeline

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OUR VIEW

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All signs point to the Keystone XL pipeline providing jobs along its proposed route, yet the project still is in a holding pattern as it awaits approval from Washington, D.C.

U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said earlier this week that evidence is mounting that the pipeline will have a positive economic impact on the region through which it passes.

In a Thursday story written by The Daily Republic, Thune said, speaking of President Obama, “given the report from his own State Department, I would think he would be hard pressed to reject it.”

Thune noted how the State Department has predicted various economic benefits from the pipeline. It also has reported that the heavy tar-sands oil from Canada could potentially have an adverse effect on the environment, but it likely won’t be as bad as many critics say.

Thune responds with the same argument we always have used: The world will burn that tar-sand oil no matter how it is shipped to markets. It just as well pass through a pipe.

And last week, we reported that TransCanada — the company behind the proposed pipeline — plans to build a workforce camp near Colome. The site would house approximately 300 people in RVs and campers while work on the pipeline progresses. To us, that means jobs and potential tax revenue.

What’s needed, however, is final approval from President Obama. When will it come?

Tags: opinion, updates, editorials, keystone, pipeline, oil, national