Jonathon Berman, (202) 495-3033, joanthon.berman@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC -- Today, the Sierra Club, Northern Plains Resource Council, Bold Alliance, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, and the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a federal lawsuit in Montana, challenging the State Department’s border-crossing permit and related environmental reviews and approvals for the Keystone XL pipeline. In an effort to comply with Donald Trump’s arbitrary 60-day decision deadline, the State Department relied solely on an outdated and incomplete environmental impact statement, which fails to properly account for the pipeline’s threats to the climate, water resources, wildlife, and communities along the pipeline route.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
“The Keystone XL pipeline is nothing more than a dirty and dangerous proposal that’s time has passed. It was rightfully rejected by the court of public opinion and President Obama, and now it will be rejected in the court system.
“It has never been a question of whether a pipeline will spill, but rather a question of when, and Keystone XL is no different. This tar sands pipeline poses a direct threat to our climate, our clean water, wildlife, and thousands of landowners and communities along the route of this dirty and dangerous project, and it must and will be stopped.
“We continue to meet Trump in the streets, and we look forward to meeting him in the courts to stop his reckless agenda that threatens our clean air and water and the climate. He was defeated -- twice -- when he tried implementing a Muslim ban; he was defeated when he tried to take health care away from 24 million Americans, and he will be defeated once again as he tries to force this pipeline on the people who have already seen its rejection.This movement has already defeated the Keystone XL pipeline, and we will do so once again.”
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