Montana Attorney General says multi million dollar project is off

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen says the Keystone XL Pipeline scheduled to run through eastern Montana is dead for good. He says the company that was building the oil pipeline from Canada to Kansas has fully relinquished the pipeline and has given up all the permits and pulled up crossings in the ground. He says the company, TC Energy out of Canada did this so they could now sue the U.S. Government over the canceling of the pipeline through the NAFTA Courts. President Joe Biden canceled the pipeline on his first day in office, January 20, 2021.

photo courtesy of GF Tribune/Austin Knudsen

austin knudsen

AG Austin Knudsen

The move by Biden canceled 3,500 jobs for the eastern part of the state. Knudsen says the project was suppose to bring in an estimated $60,000,000 in revenue to Montana each year and help out cash strapped counties in the eastern part of the state. knudsen had filed suit against the Biden Administration trying to keep the project alive.

Biden's canceling of the pipeline could cost U.S. taxpayers a lot of Money.

President Biden's canceling of the project could cost U.S. taxpayers as much as 15-billion dollars because that's what TC Energy is suing for in the NAFTA Court. They say that's for lost profits. The Canadian company claims that blocking the construction of the pipeline violates its rights under NAFTA’s Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions.

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Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline To Run From Canada To Gulf Of Mexico

GASCOYNE, ND - OCTOBER 14: Miles of unused pipe, prepared for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, sit in a lot on October 14, 2014 outside Gascoyne, North Dakota. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

The pipeline has been the subject of protests since way back when it was approved in 2008. The line would have pumped about 830,000 gallons of oil per day from Hardisty, Canada, through Montana and eventually to Steel City, Kansas.

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The Cowboy And Indian Alliance Kicks Off Week Of Protests Against The Keystone XL Pipeline

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 22: Members of the Cowboy and Indian Alliance, including Native American tribal leaders and non-native farmers and ranchers from across the United States, march past the U.S. Capitol while demonstrating against the proposed Keystone XL pipeline April 22, 2014 in Washington, DC. As part of its "Reject and Protect" protest, the Cowboy and Indian Alliance is organizing a weeklong series of actions by farmers, ranchers and tribes to show their opposition to the pipeline. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline To Run From Canada To Gulf Of Mexico

PIERRE, SD - OCTOBER 13: People participate in a protest against the proposed Keystone XL pipeline on October 13, 2014 in Pierre, South Dakota. Numerous Native American tribes, ranchers, politicians and people against the pipeline came together to hold a rally on the steps of the state's capital building. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Attorney General Austin Knudsen says the project is dead unless some other company wants to start from scratch and he calls that, unfortunate.