West Virginia senator Joe Manchin has asked President Biden to reverse his decision canceling the Keystone XL pipeline, reports the MetroNews of West Virginia.
Manchin is the new chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. As a Democrat in an evenly divided Senate, he has substantial political leverage.
In a February 9 letter to the president, he emphasized the safety of the pipeline:
“Recent analysis by the Department of Transportation shows that incidents occurred approximately once every 50 million gallons of crude oil shipped by rail and once every 55 million gallons shipped by truck, compared to once every 720
million gallons shipped by pipeline. Further, the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration noted that pipelines have a 99.999% safety record.”
Furthermore, wrote Manchin:
“Pipeline infrastructure projects already undergo a rigorous permitting process that allows experts to weigh-in on the security, safety, and environmental impacts of the project. I encourage you to let these processes proceed as intended and to not let politics drive the decisions on the development and operation of our nation’s vital energy infrastructure.”