Energy Secretary Signals Support For Keystone XL Pipeline; GOP Governor Comes Out Against It

In an interview with energyNOW!, Energy Secretary Steven Chu indicated that he may support the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Touting the project’s benefits, he said, “It’s not perfect, but it’s a trade off.” And, he said, having Canada supply oil to the U.S. is “much more comforting than to have other countries supply our oil.”

On the same day energyNOW! published an excerpt from the interview, set to air in September, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman (R) asked President Obama to oppose the oil pipeline project. In a letter to Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he outlined his concerns about having TransCanada’s pipeline cross part of Nebraska’s Ogallala Aquifer. “Maintaining and protecting Nebraska’s water supply is very important to me and the residents of Nebraska,” Heineman said in the letter. “This resources is the lifeblood of Nebraska’s agriculture industry.”

A State Department study reported that a pipeline would only “affect a limited area of the aquifer around the spill site,” an assertion with which Heineman said he disagreed.