By Scotty Schenck, photo editor

The controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline bill passed in Congress today.

The pipeline is proposed to be built to transport oil sands from Canada to refineries in Texas along the Gulf Coast. The Canadian company TransCanada Corporation wants to build the pipeline. After being debated for months, the bill passed in the House, 270-152, with 29 Democrats voting for the proposal. It passed in the Senate with a vote of 62-36. This is not the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto of President Barack Obama, which the White House has made clear he will do.

“I can confirm for you that if this bill passes this Congress, the president wouldn’t sign it,” White House Press Secretary John Earnest said in a press conference on Jan 6.

Reuters reported that the US State Department is expected to give President Obama their recommendation on how to proceed with the Keystone pipeline. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent a letter to the Department on Feb. 2 to influence their recommendation to President Obama, who has 10 days to veto the bill. In the letter, the EPA stated the pipeline would significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions and cause further impact on climate change.

“We note as particularly important the commitment by Keystone to be responsible for clean-up and restoration of groundwater as well as surface water in the event of a release or discharge of crude oil,” the EPA said in the letter to the State Department. “Nonetheless, the Final (Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement) acknowledged that the proposed pipeline does present a risk of spills, which remains a concern for citizens and businesses relying on groundwater resources by the route.”

This letter to the president brought the agency under scrutiny and, according to an article by the Wall Street Journal, the Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. and TransCanada Corporation criticized the EPA’s decision to oppose the project.

“One is left with the conclusion that there has been significant distortion and omission to arrive at the EPA’s conclusion,” Canadian Ambassador Gary Doer said in a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry.

TransCanada also wrote to the U.S. State Department, rejecting the EPA conclusions that the influx of oil will cause lowered oil prices and, in turn, cause increasing oil sands production and further carbon emissions.

“TransCanada recognizes EPA’s concerns related to increased carbon emissions and the need for sensible public policy frameworks focused on reducing emissions. However, it is clear from the factual record generated by the Department that the Project will not contribute to increased (greenhouse gas) emissions,” the company said in the letter.

House Speaker John Boehner and other Republicans have said it will creates jobs and help the economy.

“The Keystone Pipeline is going to mean tens of thousands of American jobs. … He should reconsider his veto and sign this jobs bill,” he said.

Environmental factors are not the only reason for support from the opposing party. Democrats have challenged the Republicans’ argument, saying that job creation would be minimal and that the oil will not be given to Americans. A Bloomberg Business article claimed the president said that the oil would likely be sold overseas, so Americans would see very little benefit in energy independence from the oil shipped through the pipeline.

Photo courtesy Wikimedia, Creative Commons