MADISON – Faced with mounting energy costs, Wisconsin residents overwhelmingly support an oil pipeline from Canada to the United States, and WMC has delivered nearly 15,000 comments from Wisconsinites to the U.S. State Department supporting construction.
“Wisconsin businesses need access to affordable and reliable sources of energy to remain competitive in today’s global market,” said Scott Manley, WMC environmental policy director. “The Keystone XL pipeline will benefit businesses and consumers in Wisconsin by stabilizing our energy supplies with oil from Canada, our primary trading partner. The comments submitted today demonstrate Wisconsinites understand that stable and reliable sources of energy will result in lower prices for businesses and consumers alike. The Keystone XL project is a win-win for consumers and jobs.”
The Keystone Pipeline will bring more than 700,000 barrels of oil daily from Canada to the U.S. The pipeline requires U.S. State Department approval because it is an international project.
WMC delivered the 14,930 comments along with Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), to the U.S. Department of State, which must issue the final necessary permit to allow the Keystone XL project to proceed.
CEA Executive Vice President Michael Whatley said the project enjoys strong support in Wisconsin because the public understands the pipeline will help control energy prices.
“The Keystone XL pipeline will be the safest pipeline ever built in the United States, and construction will help create more than 20,000 jobs nationwide,” Whatley said. “The pipeline will also generate more than $20 billion in new economic growth for the struggling U.S. economy. The 700,000 barrels of oil per day that will flow through Keystone XL will help reduce fuel prices for families coast to coast, and dramatically improve our energy security by reducing our reliance on Middle Eastern oil. These comments that we are submitting today from thousands of Wisconsinites reflect what people across the country are saying: We need jobs, we need a stronger economy, and we need to build the Keystone XL pipeline.”
The 1,700-mile proposed Keystone XL pipeline would deliver crude oil to refineries along the Gulf Coast in Texas. Keystone XL received approval from Canada’s National Energy Board in 2010, but the project also requires a Presidential Permit from the U.S. Department of State because it crosses an international border. In June, CEA delivered more than 62,000 public comments supporting the project to the State Department, all of which came from people living in the six states through which the proposed pipeline will travel: Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Scott Manley, (608) 209-0568
###
