Texas, Montana and 19 other Republican-led states are suing President Joe Biden in federal court for his rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline.
The lawsuit, which also names Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other cabinet members, was opened on Wednesday in the South Texas District Court in the United States. Along with Texas and Montana, the other claimants are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Many of the states are nowhere near the proposed route to Keystone XL, which would transport oil from oil sands in Alberta to refineries along the Texas Gulf coast. So, why do they believe they have a position? Montana’s attorney general’s office says that because eliminating the pipeline “would also have a ripple effect that adversely impacts the economy and the environment in states without a pipeline.”
Republican-led states argue that by revoking the license on his first day in office, Biden exceeded his authority because of a provision that Congress inserted into tax legislation in 2011 that required President Barack Obama to pass the gas pipeline in 60 days or issued a determination that was not in the national interest.
Obama rejected TransCanada’s (now TC Energy Corp.) request a few weeks later, saying that Congress did not give him enough time, but allowed the company to run again, which postponed the decision until after his re-election. Later, Obama rejected the request, President Donald Trump approved it, and Biden revoked the approval.
The pipeline requires a presidential license and a determination of national interest because it crosses an international border (with Canada).
A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.
Twelve states – including many of those that are suing Keystone XL – sued Biden last month over an executive climate order that issued a binding “social carbon cost” determination.
Those 12 – Arkansas, Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah – claim that Biden exceeded his authority by issuing the mandatory calculation of the social cost of carbon, which is factored into federal regulations, allowing decisions by the federal government and other decisions. Last month, acting in executive order, the Biden government temporarily and dramatically increased its calculation of the social cost of carbon to $ 51 per ton, reversing the Trump administration’s approach, which minimized the cost of climate change to society.
Attorneys general argue that the Biden government’s calculation of the social costs of greenhouse effect cases is “arbitrary and capricious” and say it will have detrimental effects on the economy, especially in rural states.
