Monday, October 10, 2011
(photo: keloland.com)
The environmental assessment that has helped green-light a controversial oil pipeline project from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico was performed by a company that had financial ties to the pipeline operator.
Cardno ENTRIX, an environmental contractor based in Houston, was hired by the State Department after TransCanada, the company that wants to build the 1,700-mile pipeline from the oil sands of northern Alberta to the Texas coast, recommended Cardno ENTRIX—which had done other business with TransCanada.
In fact, Cardno ENTRIX describes the pipeline company as a “major client” in its marketing materials, according to The New York Times.
Federal law states that major construction projects require an impartial environmental analysis before proceeding.
But the conclusion that Cardno ENTRIX reached with respect to the Keystone XL project—that it would have “limited adverse environmental impacts”—has now come into question.
Also, early drafts of Cardno ENTRIX’s study were criticized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, saying they were “inadequate” and provided “insufficient information.”
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Pipeline Review Is Faced With Question of Conflict (by Elisabeth Rosenthal and Dan Frosch, New York Times)
Tar Sands Oil Pipeline would Violate Bush-Era Pollution Law (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
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