Keystone XL to Be Investigated

Environmentalists who protested outside the White House on Sunday against the construction of TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline are likely cheering the latest news about the project. The pipeline is going to be reviewed by Harold W. Geisel, a senior official in the State Department’s inspector-general office, “to determine to what extent the department and all other parties involved complied with federal laws and regulations” when seeking a permit, according to documents released Monday. The investigation could delay the Obama administration’s decision as to whether or not to approve the $7 billion project, which would transport extracted oil from Canada to factories in Oklahoma and along the Gulf Coast. Supporters of the pipeline, including several labor unions, say it will create thousands of jobs and reduce heavy reliance on oil imports.