Keystone XL Pipeline Segment Approved By Tulsa, Oklahoma Group

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Tulsa has approved a segment of TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL pipeline planned to run from Cushing to Texas.

Ross Adkins, chief of public affairs for the Tulsa district, confirmed the decision Friday. If the overall project is approved by the president, the pipeline could eventually transport tar sands oil from western Canada to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.

TransCanada needs corps approval for its wetlands and water-crossing plans. The company awaits a similar decision from the corps' Fort Worth, Texas district.

The Obama administration shelved the project earlier this year, explaining that officials needed more time to study alternate routes that would bypass certain environmentally sensitive areas in Nebraska.

Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department announced that it would issue a final decision on the project early next year.

Russ Girling, TransCanada's president and chief executive officer, has said by the time the final decision is made on the pipeline, "Keystone XL will be well into its fifth year of exhaustive and detailed studies, the most extensive review for a cross-border pipeline ever."

"The final review should focus solely on the realigned route that avoids the Nebraska Sandhills," Girling said earlier this month. "The rest of the Keystone XL route remains the same. The geology of the route remains the same. The environmental conditions remain the same. Nothing else has changed since the (Final Environmental Impact Statement) was approved."

The pipeline has drawn fierce opposition from environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, which said the $5.3 billion pipeline is a natural disaster waiting to happen if a section were to leak and threaten the drinking water supply for millions of Americans.

Related on HuffPost:

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• <em>From Getty:</em> SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 25: Protestors against the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline hold signs and stand on a Keith Haring sculpture as they demonstrate outside of the W Hotel before the arrival of U.S. President Barack Obama on October 25, 2011 in San Francisco, California. Hundreds of protestors from a wide variety of activist groups staged protests outside of the W Hotel where President Obama was holding a $7,500 per person fundraiser. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

• <em>From Getty:</em> SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 25: A protestor against the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline climbs on a Keith Haring sculpture as he demonstrates outside of the W Hotel where U.S. President Barack Obama was holding a fundraiser on October 25, 2011 in San Francisco, California. Hundreds of protestors from a wide variety of activist groups staged protests outside of the W Hotel where President Obama was holding a $7,500 per person fundraiser. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

• <em>From Getty:</em> Demonstrators listen to speakers in Lafayette Park across from the White House in Washington, DC November 6, 2011. Thousands of people are descending on the White House to join hands with one another and stand up to the Keystone XL pipeline. (Photo credit should read KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images)

• <em>From Getty:</em> Demonstrators listen to speakers in Lafayette Park across from the White House in Washington, DC November 6, 2011. Thousands of people are descending on the White House to join hands with one another and stand up to the Keystone XL pipeline. (Photo credit should read KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images)

• <em>From Getty:</em> A demonstrator waves signs in Lafayette Park across from the White House in Washington, DC November 6, 2011. Thousands of people are descending on the White House to join hands with one another and stand up to the Keystone XL pipeline.

• <em>From Getty:</em> A demonstrator dressed as an oil soaked bird in Lafayette Park across from the White House in Washington, DC November 6, 2011. Thousands of people are descending on the White House to join hands with one another and stand up to the Keystone XL pipeline.

• <em>From Getty:</em> Demonstrators listen to speakers in Lafayette Park across from the White House in Washington, DC November 6, 2011. Thousands of people are descending on the White House to join hands with one another and stand up to the Keystone XL pipeline.

• <em>From Getty:</em> A demonstrator holds signs in front of the White House in Washington, DC November 6, 2011. Thousands of people are descending on the White House to join hands with one another and stand up to the Keystone XL pipeline.

• <em>From Getty:</em> A demonstrator holds a magazine open to an article concerning tanker routes for the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline in front of the White House in Washington, DC November 6, 2011. Thousands of people are descending on the White House to join hands with one another and stand up to the Keystone XL pipeline.

• <em>From Getty:</em> Children demonstrate in front of the White House in Washington, DC November 6, 2011. Thousands of people are descending on the White House to join hands with one another and stand up to the Keystone XL pipeline. AFP PHOTO / Karen BLEIER

• <em>From Getty:</em> Demonstrators hold up a banner in front of the White House in Washington, DC November 6, 2011. Thousands of people are descending on the White House to join hands with one another and stand up to the Keystone XL pipeline. AFP PHOTO / Karen BLEIER

• <em>From Getty:</em> Demonstrators begin to line up around the White House in Washington, DC November 6, 2011. Thousands of people are descending on the White House to join hands with one another and stand up to the Keystone XL pipeline.

• <em>From Getty:</em> Demonstrators in front of the White House in Washington, DC November 6, 2011. Thousands of people are descending on the White House to join hands with one another and stand up to the Keystone XL pipeline.

• <em>From Getty:</em> Demonstrators line up in front of the White House in Washington, DC November 6, 2011. Thousands of people are descending on the White House to join hands with one another and stand up to the Keystone XL pipeline.

• <em>From Getty:</em> A sign is seen in Lafayette Park across from the White House in Washington, DC November 6, 2011 during a protest. Thousands of people are descending on the White House to join hands with one another and stand up to the Keystone XL pipeline.

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/6320235175/in/set-72157628079975942" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/6320925438/in/set-72157628079975942" target="_hplink">Emma Cassidy and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/6320975886/in/set-72157628079975942" target="_hplink">Shadia Fayne Wood and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/6320307073/in/set-72157628079975942" target="_hplink">Amy Dewan and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/6320919878/in/set-72157628079975942" target="_hplink">Emma Cassidy and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/6320760272/in/set-72157628079975942" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/6321050482/in/set-72157628079975942/" target="_hplink">Clayton Conn and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mothernature/6306631974/" target="_hplink">mothernature photography</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

• <em>Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/" target="_hplink">Josh Lopez and Tar Sands Action</a>.</em>

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Comments

[traceymarie]

09:57 AM on 07/03/2012

800,000 gallons of oil spilled in American waters, devestating to our country and the baggers want a pipeine of dirty tar sands oil to run across our country over our aquifiers.

[bubba lew]

02:15 PM on 07/02/2012

OMG The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers yeah you know the guys who built the levies in New Orleans yeah those guys ROTFLMAO

[Dah Bomb]

05:23 AM on 07/02/2012

Oh.

My.

Where the heck did my mis-click take me ...

[grumpyfarmer]

07:19 PM on 07/01/2012

Is there a reason an irrigation pivot is shown? Is that as close to an oil pipeline as you can get? Kind of like showing a picture of a horse for a story about a zebra?

[MS Ind]

10:26 AM on 07/03/2012

I was wondering the same thing... Are the editors misinformed about what a pipeline is or are they just assuming that we are too dumb to know what an irrigation pivot looks like?

[jimmyjohnson145]

12:42 AM on 07/01/2012

Pipes that will be carrying that nice Canadian oil the width of my USA are manufactured in China.
Its just a shame that we cannot manufacture our own steel anymore,and have to use communist steel.

[Dah Bomb]

05:24 AM on 07/02/2012

We can't raise the tariffs on China's imports without first repaying the loans they gave us ...that makes domestic steel unable to compete.

[jimmyjohnson145]

06:57 PM on 07/02/2012

Now,thats just amazing! The things one can learn here. Thank You for the info.

[deweaver]

09:11 PM on 07/02/2012

Try and get a permit to build a new modern steel pipe factory almost anywhere in the US. With low interest rates creating low cost capital and will modern automation allowing very high labor productivity, China has no economic advantage over US production.

We could produce the pipe cheaper than China, but some local NIMBY group or some environmental activist organization would delay the proposed factory for 10 years while the lawyers, PR flacks, and the political class collect millions of dollars in tribute. That is why old pipe mills sell for many times their replacement cost.

[recumbentguy]

08:14 AM on 07/03/2012

You are probably wearing communist clothes.

[jimmyjohnson145]

06:09 PM on 07/03/2012

that would be Correct....I did check...shoes (Red Wings) China; sox Mexico; skivvies Fruit of the Loom (Honduras); T- Shirt (Hanes) Haiti; Wranglers Jeans,Mexico;.... Baseball Cap China.....Interesting...72 ford mustang engine block - says on the side "Hecho en Mexico"
So much for "Independence" Day...have a great one any way...

[Shell Lavender]

05:09 PM on 06/30/2012

I wonder what palms were greased with green to get the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Tulsa to agree to destroying the land around Tulsa and on into Texas? The Keystone pipeline will kill the environment wherever it is laid, it will poison the groundwater and all living things, what price is too high before people to wake up.

[Dah Bomb]

05:25 AM on 07/02/2012

You do know you get more radiation from the sun ... than from living next to a nuclear reactor ... right?

[lifersoffspring3]

04:36 PM on 06/30/2012

Oh yea,like fracking is safe,duh!

[Don Lieber]

09:33 AM on 06/30/2012

Who writes for the Huff Post nowadays? Industry spin doctors? This headline is laughable and misleading: Tulsa "GROUP" approves KXL? Seriously? This is the Army Corps of Engineers - a government agency. It the Huff Post actually covered "LOCAL" opinion they'd write about TARSANDSBLOCKADE.ORG - an actual group of citizens led by LOCAL Texans and Oklahomans now planning a non-violent, human blockade of this climate-killing, toxic spewing pipeline. Huff -- get your headlines straight.

[olitenup]

12:42 PM on 06/30/2012

They must hire ex-National Enquirer people to write the headlines.

[Don Lieber]

09:31 AM on 07/01/2012

Totally agree - "Tulsa GROUP" approves...? Huff is losing its intelligence edge - to the extent is / she was better than mainstream before -- getting sucked into dumb-down style, I guess. urgh.

[Dah Bomb]

05:27 AM on 07/02/2012

You do know that this isn't a serious news outlet ... most people come here to debate for entertainment purposes ... I wouldn't take anything here too seriously without first confirming it from multiple other sources ...