SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Today, the State Department Inspector General released the findings from its investigation into conflicts of interest by Keystone XL pipeline environmental review vendor Environmental Resources Management (ERM).
The investigation found no “conflict of interest,” even though ERM has close ties to TransCanada and is a member of the American Petroleum Institute. Below is a statement from Scott Parkin, Senior Climate Campaigner at Rainforest Action Network:
“This highly politicized dog and pony show will be used by Keystone XL proponents to prop up the legitimacy of the oil-soaked approval process that has allowed plans for this pipeline to get this far. But no serious observer will be convinced by today’s report that a member of the American Petroleum Institute – a vocal supporter of the Keystone project – can be considered an objective third party to credibly assess its environmental impacts.
“This process has been an embarrassment from the start for an administration that came to office promising action on climate and an end to Big Oil’s tyranny. The only way Obama can reclaim the credibility to his base is to reject this flawed mess, once and for all.
“President Obama has everything he needs right now to reject this pipeline once and for all, and put a big dent in big oil’s dangerous stranglehold on Washington D.C. If he fails to make that clear choice soon, more than 78,000 people from across the country, many of whom worked to get him elected, have pledged to resist the KXL’s approval with peaceful but bold acts of civil disobedience.”
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