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Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline After 7 Years Of Review

Published

10 years ago

November 9, 2015

Laura Barron-Lopez and Kate Sheppard, Huffington Post

President Barack Obama on Friday rejected TransCanada’s application to build the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have transported oil across the United States-Canada border.

After seven years of reviewing the project, Obama announced his decision — ending one of the biggest environmental question marks of his presidency — from the Roosevelt Room in the White House.

“The State Department has decided that the Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the national interest of the United States,” he said. “I agree with that decision.”

Tensions over the proposed pipeline had been high for years, with Obama’s environmental base pressuring him to reject the project — citing its impact on emissions — and Republicans in Congress voting repeatedly to force its approval, citing the economic boost it would provide.

But on Friday Obama pushed back at claims that had long been major talking points of both industry and environmentalists. Keystone, Obama said, would not have been “a silver bullet for the economy” nor an “express lane to climate disaster.”

Taking a jab at the politicization of the pipeline, Obama said it had become “overinflated” and used as a symbol on the campaign trail by both parties.

“Over years, the Keystone XL pipeline has occupied what I frankly consider an overinflated role in our political discourse,” Obama said, joined by both Secretary of State John Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden. The president met earlier Friday with Kerry, whose department oversaw the review.

The president’s rejection rests on key points highlighted by the State Department: That the pipeline would not contribute significantly to the economy, and that it would not lower gas prices for American consumers. Over the last year gas prices have steadily dropped in the U.S., due to an oversupply in the market.

“Shipping dirtier crude oil into our country would not increase America’s energy security,” Obama said.

Obama did not cite the pipeline’s contribution to emissions and ultimately climate change. Compared to greenhouse gases from industrial sources like power plants (which are the largest source of U.S. emissions) and vehicle tailpipe emissions, Keystone XL’s impact would have been minimal.

But he did say “approving this project would have undercut” America’s role as the “global leader” on combatting climate change.

“Not acting,” Obama said, “is the biggest risk we face.”

The president said he spoke Friday morning with Canada’s newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who “expressed his disappointment” with the decision.

“This decision isn’t surprising, but it is sickening,” said House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who was elected to the post last week, in a statement following the announcement.

Green groups praised the president’s decision on Friday, calling it a “day of celebration.”

“President Obama is the first world leader to reject a project because of its effect on the climate,” said Bill McKibben, president of climate group 350.org. “That gives him new stature as an environmental leader.”

The project’s environmental impact was long a point of contention. In a major climate address in June 2013, Obama said the pipeline should only be approved if it “does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution.” The State Department’s final environmental impact analysis released in January 2014 lent support to the pipeline’s approval, concluding that it would not substantially increase emissions.

But environmental advocates argued that construction of the northern portion would encourage increased production in the oil sands that would not be economical otherwise. They also pointed out that the oil produces substantially higher greenhouse gas emissions than conventional crude. And the Environmental Protection Agency told the State Department that it should re-evaluate those projections in light of current oil price trends.

Obama’s decision will solidify his legacy on climate change among environmentalists — who considered Keystone a litmus test. But the administration has long argued that the president’s legacy rests on his aggressive regulations to curb carbon emissions from power plants and his work to craft a major climate agreement with nearly 200 nations at the upcoming Paris Climate Change Conference.

TransCanada CEO Russ Girling called the decision a disappointment. “Today, misplaced symbolism was chosen over merit and science — rhetoric won out over reason,” he said in an emailed statement.

In its statement Friday, the company said it would consider all options, “including filing a new application for a presidential permit,” which would likely come should a Republican take the White House in 2016.

TransCanada first submitted its permit application for the 1,600-mile, $7 billion project to the State Department in 2008. Because the pipeline would cross an international border, the State Department was responsible for determining whether granting a permit for the project would serve the national interest.

The pipeline would have shuttled up to 830,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada’s oil sands to U.S. refineries. The southern portion of the pipeline has already been approved and constructed and is pumping oil from Cushing, Oklahoma, south to Port Arthur, Texas.

The Republican-led Congress passed legislation forcing approval of the pipeline in February, which Obama swiftly vetoed, saying it conflicted with “established executive branch procedures” and would cut short “thorough consideration” of its environmental and security implications.

But that consideration has dragged on for years. The administration delayed a decision after the environmental analysis was released, citing the need to wait for a lawsuit over the route through Nebraska to play out. Nebraska’s highest court allowed the pipeline route to go forward in January 2015, and the State Department asked other agencies to make their final comments on the pipeline by February. But the administration put off issuing its final decision, leading to months of speculation about when it might come.

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Rest in Peace: A.M.E. Pastor and L.A Civil Rights Icon Cecil “Chip” Murray Passes

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94. “Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Published

3 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94.

“Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Murray oversaw the growth of FAME’s congregation from 250 members to 18,000.

“My heart is with the First AME congregation and community today as we reflect on a legacy that changed this city forever,” Bass continued.

Murray served as Senior Minister at FAME, the oldest Black congregation in the city, for 27 years. During that time, various dignitaries visited and he built strong relationships with political and civic leaders in the city and across the state, as well as a number of Hollywood figures. Several national political leaders also visited with Murray and his congregation at FAME, including Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Murray, a Florida native and U.S. Air Force vet, attended Florida A&M University, where he majored in history, worked on the school newspaper and pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He later attended Claremont School of Theology in Los Angeles County, where he earned his doctorate in Divinity.

Murray is survived by his son Drew. His wife Bernadine, who was a committed member of the A.M.E. church and the daughter of his childhood pastor, died in 2013.

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Court Throws Out Law That Allowed Californians to Build Duplexes, Triplexes and RDUs on Their Properties

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional. Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

Published

3 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional.

Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the cities, pointing out that SB 9 discredited charter cities that were granted jurisdiction to create new governance systems and enact policy reforms. The court ruling affects 121 charter cities that have local constitutions.

Attorney Pam Lee represented five Southern California cities in the lawsuit against the state and Attorney General Rob Bonta.

“This is a monumental victory for all charter cities in California,” Lee said.

However, general law cities are excluded from the court ruling as state housing laws still apply in residential areas.

Attorney General Bonta and his team are working to review the decision and consider all options that will protect SB 9 as a state law. Bonta said the law has helped provide affordable housing for residents in California.

“Our statewide housing shortage and affordability crisis requires collaboration, innovation, and a good faith effort by local governments to increase the housing supply,” Bonta said.

“SB9 is an important tool in this effort, and we’re going to make sure homeowners have the opportunity to utilize it,” he said.

Charter cities remain adamant that the state should refrain from making land-use decisions on their behalf. In the lawsuit, city representatives argued that SB 9 eliminates local authority to create single-family zoning districts and approve housing developments.

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Funds for Down Payments and Credit Repair Given to Black First Time Homebuyers

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) won a $10,000 fair housing settlement last November against a property management company, CIM Group LP, a global real estate company headquartered in Los Angeles, and property owner, RACR Sora, LLC, for implementing a blanket ban on renting to tenants with criminal histories at Sora Apartments in Inglewood. Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

Published

3 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media

Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

CRD Director Kevin Kish said the department investigates cases of apparent racial bias in housing and sometimes more subtle acts of prejudice like nuisance-free or crime-free housing policies or holding tenants to different standards based on their race.

Kish said, “People will get evicted if they call the police. This can negatively impact victims of domestic violence. We also see these no-crime ordinances, or no-crime policies, used in racially discriminatory ways. If there is some kind of incident, and the police are called and it involves a Black family, then they get evicted, but other folks aren’t necessarily evicted.”

On April 11,1968, a week after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, President Lydon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, color, religion, and nationality.

Kish noted that William Byron Rumford, the first Black California State Assemblymember, who represented Berkley and Oakland, spearheaded the passing of the Rumford Act in 1963. That law sought to end discriminatory housing practices in the Golden State, five years before the Fair Housing Act became law.
Real estate agent and housing advocate Ashley Garner is the director of the CLTRE Keeper Home Ownership program. That organization gave 25 Black, indigenous, and people of color $17,500 each in down payment and credit repair support to purchase a home in Oak Park, a traditionally Black neighborhood in Sacramento, last fall. CLTRE obtained a $500,000 grant from the city of Sacramento to award the funds to the residents after they completed an eight-week homeownership program.

In 2021, the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) noted that around four in 10 Black California families owned homes, which trails that of White, Asian-American and Latinos.
According to Forbes, the median price for a home in California is over $500,000, which is double the cost of a home in the rest of the country.

Black lawmakers recently introduced their Reparations Priority Bill Package that includes support for Black first-time homebuyers, homeowners’ mortgage assistance and property tax relief for neighborhoods restricted by historic redlining.

California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) spokesperson Eric Johnson said CalHFA helps prospective low-income and moderate-income Californians purchase homes by offering down payment and closing cost aid. “There are lots of people who have steady jobs, good credit scores, constant income, but they haven’t been able to save up the money that traditional banks need or want to see for a down payment,” Johnson stated. “We help those folks out. We give a loan for the down payment to get them over that hurdle.”
CRD and the Department of Real Estate hosted “Fair Housing Protections for People with Criminal Histories” Zoom call on April 10.

On April 25, CRD will also hold Zoom seminars focused on advocating for fair housing for people with disabilities.