ACEC-Canada supports Keystone XL pipeline

The Association of Consulting Engineering Companies – Canada (ACEC-Canada) is supporting the Keystone XL pipeline project.

The Ottawa-based association issued a statement on January 31 applauding a report by the U.S. Department of State that had found the pipeline “will not have a significant impact on greenhouse gas emissions.”

The 36-inch diameter, 1,897-kilometre long pipe is being proposed by TransCanada. it would stretch from Hardisty in Alberta to Steele City, Nebrasca, enabling the easier shipping of crude oil from the Northern Alberta oilsands to the Gulf Coast.

“This is a huge step in the right direction,” John Gamble, president of ACEC, wrote in a statement. “For the second time the State Department has concluded — after an intensive period of study and consultation — that Keystone will not have an appreciable impact on GHG emissions in Canada or the U.S…. We urge the United States government to approve Keystone XL without further delay in light of this report.”

Debate has been fierce around the pipeline, with celebrities such as Robert Redford and Neil Young voicing opposition, and other groups, including a coalition

of Democrats and Republicans, joining forces to support it.

In January ACEC issued a statement in support of the Enbridge Northern Gateway twin pipeline that would 1,177 km in length from Bruderheim in Alberta to a port at Kitimat on the B.C. coast.

To read the full ACEC statement on the Keystone XL pipeline, click here.

A feature in Maclean’s February 3 issue explores the history of the Keystone XL project and the opposition to it.

Click here.