WASHINGTON, Nov 7 (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department’s
inspector general has opened a “special review” of the
department’s handling of permitting for the Canada-to-Texas
Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, which could delay the final
decision on the line into 2012 or later.

Howard Geisel, the State Department’s inspector general,
said in a memo sent to Senator Bernie Sanders that the review
will determine to what extent the department and all other
parties involved complied with federal laws and regulations
relating to the permitting process on TransCanada Corp’s proposed $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democrats on Thursday blocked the first major bill in the Senate that would have delayed the Environmental Protection Agency’s clean air rules.

The bill, which needed 60 votes to pass, got only 47 votes. Joe Manchin from West Virginia, who faces reelection next year, was the lone Democrat to vote for the bill. His state is rich in coal, the fuel that could see added costs from a raft of upcoming EPA rules on power plants and industry.

WASHINGTON, Nov 3 (Reuters) – Reeling from months of
protests, President Barack Obama’s advisers are worried that
administration approval for a planned oil pipeline from Canada
could cost him political support from Democrats in 2012.

Senior officials at the White House and Obama’s Chicago
campaign headquarters have fielded complaints from supporters
who are unhappy about TransCanada Corp’s plan to build a
massive pipeline to transport crude from Alberta to Texas,
sources familiar with the situation said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Green groups said on Saturday they would give the Environmental Protection Agency more time to forge the first-ever plan to regulate carbon dioxide from power plants, the country’s single biggest source of greenhouse gases.

The Environmental Defense Fund and other green groups that are negotiating with the EPA on the deadline for the plan said they would withhold legal action against the agency until November 30. They, along with New York, California and several other states, had sued the agency to issue the carbon rules.

WASHINGTON, Oct 29 (Reuters) – U.S. green groups said on
Saturday they would give the Environmental Protection Agency
more time to forge the first-ever plan to regulate carbon
dioxide from power plants, the country’s single biggest source
of greenhouse gases.

The Environmental Defense Fund and other green groups that
are negotiating with the EPA on the deadline for the plan said
they would withhold legal action against the agency until Nov.
30. They, along with New York, California and several other
states, had sued the agency to issue the carbon rules.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top U.S. environmental regulator on Thursday said her agency would soon comment on the proposed $7 billion Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, adding she was concerned about emissions and potential leaks that could result from the project.

“We have comments we are just about completing on the current environmental impact statement,” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson said at a Howard University event with youth environment leaders.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Fourteen U.S. lawmakers called on President Barack Obama to delay a decision on the Canada-to-Texas Keystone oil sands pipeline while Obama was interrupted in Denver on Wednesday by a protester opposing TransCanada Corp’s project.

Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who is one of the most liberal members of the Senate, and 13 Democratic lawmakers asked for a delay until the State Department investigates alleged conflicts of interest over the project.

By Timothy Gardner

(Reuters) – Nebraska Governor Dave said on Monday he will call a special session of the state legislature over TransCanada Corp’s proposed $7 billion oil sands pipeline that would cross ecologically sensitive areas.

Heineman wants TransCanada to change the route of the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline away from Nebraska’s Sand Hills region, which sits atop the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest sources of water for farms in the central United States. He does not oppose the pipeline outright.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a pipeline safety bill on Monday that would require strength-testing of old pipes and hike fines for safety violations after a series of accidents and explosions.

The legislation was sparked by an explosion a year ago in San Bruno, California, on a line owned by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. The explosion destroyed a neighborhood and killed eight people.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Monday it will not tighten controls on dust particles on farms when it sends the rule to the White House for its regular five-year review.

Some Republicans, including presidential hopeful Herman Cain, have said the EPA would expand the rule, which mainly affects heavy industry and vehicles, and regulate farms more broadly.