South Dakotans rejoice! The U.S. State Department has wisely decided to subject TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline to a longer environmental review. That means at least a few months that we can delay even higher gasoline prices and toxic spills for which TransCanada says it's not responsible. The review may not stop the pipeline, but it at least gives the public a chance to comment and TransCanada a chance to rectify what Senator Mike Johanns (R-Nebraska) calls "sloppy routing and incomplete analysis."
The Montana oil industry says such environmental concern is misguided. Bakken oil drillers cite TransCanada's own inflated economic impact numbers to argue that we should stop hindering their economic progress by fussing about silly little things like the Ogallala aquifer. The Bakken oil barons promise Keystone XL would reduce our dependence on oil from hostile foreign countries, but when they say "The Bakken needs to be attached to a globally traded market," that's code for doing exactly what TransCanada ultimately plans: selling their oil to China and other expanding overseas markets. Keystone XL is a sure route to higher prices and increased oil company profits but not domestic energy security.