TransCanada is asking for a reversal of president Obama’s decision to reject the pipeline, as well as asking the court to rule in its favor that no future president can block its construction.
In a separate filing with the State Department, TransCanada is going after the American taxpayer to the tune of $15 billion under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), specifically, four articles of that trade agreement between Mexico, Canada and the U.S. TransCanada says the monetary amount being requested is for costs and damages incurred by the company.
CBC News says the action is called a Chapter 11 challenge, one that no country outside the U.S. has effectively won. The main argument being used by TransCanada is that it did not receive fair and equitable treatment throughout the review process.
Usually, if a company asks for a permit to put a pipeline across U.S. borders, the review process lasts about a year and a half, but the Keystone XL pipeline was held up for much longer than that. TransCanada began the process in 2008.
“It basically says the U.S. has approved other pipelines, and so we are not being treated the same as these other guys who were approved,” said Cyndee Todgham Cherniak, who practises international trade law, in an interview with CBC News.
As for the lawsuit filed in Texas, TransCanda’s U.S. lawyers say it is not asking for monetary damages. It does want the permit denial invalidated, along with a ruling that no future president can block construction of the pipeline. The lawyers say the monetary request in the NAFTA filing is to recover costs for the company’s investors, according to Reuters.
Defendants in the Houston lawsuit are U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Sally Jewell, Secretary of the Department of Interior.
President Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline last November, saying it would not make a long-term contribution to the U.S. economy, lower gas prices or add to energy security. The rejection of the pipeline was applauded by numerous environmental groups and other concerned citizens.
Bill McKibben, 350.org co-founder, in talking about the NAFTA agreement said, “This isn’t going to get the pipeline built, and it is going to remind Americans how many of our rights these agreements give away. The idea that some trade agreement should force us to overheat the planet’s atmosphere is, quite simply, insane. But the oil industry is so used to always winning that I fear this kind of tantrum is predictable. Corporate power is truly out of control.”
It will be interesting to see how this lawsuit plays out in the courts. It is doubtful that TransCanada will be victorious, especially if it thinks the American public will agree to pay for its losses.
