Next PUC hearing on Keystone XL coming this week. We still need a remedy for the problems caused by the fed’s war on energy.
From Bob Mercer, the PUC faces a Keystone XL procedural hearing on Tuesday where opponents continue to try to throw a wrench into what should be a minor hurdle in recertification.
State law calls for a project’s sponsor to seek certification from the commission if the project hasn’t commenced within four years of the permit. The purpose of certification is to show the project will continue to meet conditions set in the permit.
“Surely the Legislature did not intend for a complete bar to certification by establishing a standard that no project could satisfy,” PUC staff attorney Kristin Edwards wrote in the brief. “For example, one such change that was noted by Keystone and would likely apply to any project that was dormant for four years was an increase in cost.”
TransCanada, through its lawyers in South Dakota, opposes the dismissal. They contend various conditions in the permit were written in specific ways to allow for changes.
And I persist in believing that, in the face of a federal government hostile to oil, gas and coal resource development, the Legislature needs to make sure that a federal government delay should not be able to be used to force a company into having to spend the time and financial resources needed for state certification twice.
It’s a basic issue of fairness – and legislators need to recognize that. We can only hope they propose a legislative solution.
