Kerry vows to leave ‘no question unanswered’ on Keystone pipeline

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), a longtime advocate of green causes, is vowing a careful review of the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline ahead of the Obama administration’s decision on whether to permit the controversial project.

Kerry chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, which oversees the State Department, the agency that’s vetting TransCanada Corp.’s proposed $7 billion, 1,700-mile pipeline to bring crude from Alberta’s oil sands projects to Gulf Coast refineries.

{mosads}“There’s a lot at stake here and I’ll do my best to leave no question unanswered including every possible economic and environmental consideration before a final decision is made,” Kerry said in a statement to The Hill Thursday.

The State Department hopes to make a final decision by the end of the year, although the deadline reportedly may slip.

Environmentalists opposing the project are pressing Kerry to take a more active role in probing the pipeline and in particular the State Department review process that they call rigged in TransCanada’s favor.

The group Friends of the Earth is steering Massachusetts activists to a new website that urges them to call Kerry’s office, and accuses him of being  “silent on the oily influence scandal” surrounding State’s review.

“The Keystone XL pipeline is too dirty and dangerous, and the evidence of State Department corruption too flagrant, to have powerful potential allies like Senator Kerry sitting on the sidelines,” the website states.

But Kerry, in the statement, says he has long been keeping tabs on the Keystone XL proposal and the environmental stakes.

“For two years now, I’ve had the Foreign Relations Committee conducting regular oversight of the permitting process because of concerns about Keystone XL. We’ve hosted several briefings with the State Department to discuss the environmental impact assessments as well as the process for determining the national interest,” Kerry said.

“The Committee’s ongoing work is obviously especially urgent given the concerns that have been raised, and we’re following up with the State Department and the White House,” Kerry said.

State says it has made no decision and has defended its review process against charges of bias. State officials also say they have taken pains to solicit input from all sides.

But 14 lawmakers, including three senators, this week called on the State Department’s inspector general to probe the agency’s review process.

The Friends of the Earth website encourages callers to urge Kerry to use his Foreign Relations perch to hold State “accountable,” and back the call for a inspector general probe.

It remains unclear whether Kerry will schedule a hearing on Keystone project. “We are exploring all angles and aspects,” Kerry spokeswoman Jodi Seth said.

Kerry also said, “I think that the environmental focus I brought to this Committee, and the environmental bona fides of President Obama and Secretary Clinton, should underscore that we all approach this issue with appropriate seriousness and sensitivity.”

Business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute are lobbying in favor of the project, arguing it would create scores of jobs while improving energy security by expanding imports from a friendly neighbor. Canada is already the largest supplier of oil to the U.S.

TransCanada claims the pipeline would create 20,000 jobs and is emphasizing that it would operate under strict safety standards.

But environmental groups, which have called the jobs estimates inflated, oppose the pipeline due to greenhouse gas emissions, forest damage and other impacts from oil sands projects, as well as the potential for pipeline spills that could contaminate farmland and drinking water in states along the route.