BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - The Latest on a U.S. State Department environmental review of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada (all times local):
4:55 p.m.
Opponents of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada say the Trump administration is understating the potential for the line to break and spill into water bodies such as Montana’s Missouri River.
U.S. State Department officials held the only public meeting on a new environmental review of the long-stalled pipeline on Tuesday in Billings.
Backers say the $8 billion project would create thousands of construction jobs and boost local tax revenues.
A federal judge blocked it last year, saying more environmental study was needed.
President Donald Trump issued a presidential permit for the line in March in a bid to avoid another unfavorable court ruling.
Montana state Sen. Frank Smith says the 1,200-mile (1930-kilometer) line will break eventually. The Democrat worries that could foul downstream water supplies including on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.
11:15 a.m.
U.S. State Department officials are taking public comment on the latest environmental review of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada as the Trump administration pushes the long-stalled project.
Department officials scheduled the sole public meeting on the 648-page environmental study at a convention center in Billings on Tuesday evening.
Opponents planned a rally beforehand to highlight the pipeline’s potential to worsen climate change and the risk that it could break and pollute water supplies.
A federal judge last year blocked the $8 billion, 1,209-mile (1946-kilometer) line, saying more environmental studies were needed.
In March, President Donald Trump issued a new presidential permit for the TC Energy Corp. project in a bid to avoid further judicial review
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