EPA on Keystone XL: Significant Climate Impacts from Tar Sands Pipeline

blogs.scientificamerican.com - by David Biello - April 23, 2013

In a draft assessment of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, consultants for the U.S. State Department judged that building it would have no significant impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Why? Because the analysts assumed the tar sands oil would find a way out with or without the new pipeline.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not agree.

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EPA Comment Letter: Department of State's Draft Supplemental EIS for the Keystone XL Project (April 22, 2013)       (7 Page .PDF report)

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to integrate environmental values into their decision making processes by considering the environmental impacts of their proposed actions and reasonable alternatives to those actions.

To meet NEPA requirements federal agencies prepare a detailed statement known as an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). EPA reviews and comments on EISs prepared by other federal agencies, maintains a national filing system for all EISs, and assures that its own actions comply with NEPA.

http://epa.gov/compliance/nepa/