A stockpile of material south of Shaunavon gathered in anticipation of Keystone Pipeline construction, will be gathering dust for the time being as U.S. President Barack Obama officially denied a permit for the TransCanada Corp to move ahead with the project.
The decision puts at least a temporary halt to construction although TransCanada was quick to announce that it would reapply for the presidential permit to complete the U.S. portions of the pipeline.
“This outcome is one of the scenarios we anticipated,” Russ Girling, TransCanada’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.  “While we are disappointed, TransCanada remains fully committed to the construction of Keystone XL.  Plans are already underway on a number of fronts to largely maintain the construction schedule of the project. We will re-apply for a Presidential Permit and expect a new application would be processed in an expedited manner to allow for an in-service date of late 2014.”
The Obama administration, in explaining its decision to deny the permit, said there wasn’t enough time to complete a review process on the project. The president’s office said it wanted a full assessment of the pipeline’s impact on the health and safety of the American people before giving approval. The permit was rejected on the basis that the review could not be completed before a Congress imposed Feb. 21 deadline to accept or reject the proposal.
The 2,700 kilometer pipeline, which has been an issue of hot political debate in the U.S., would ultimately carry 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day from Alberta to refineries in the Gulf of Mexico.
The pipeline would begin at Hardisty, Alberta and cross diagonally through southwest Saskatchewan, near Shaunavon, before heading into the United States.
The National Energy Board approved the Canadian portion of the pipeline in March of 2010.
In its preparations for the project, TransCanada had been stockpiling large quantities of pipe at locations along the proposed route, including a site owned by the company south of Shaunavon.
While the decision has put a temporary hold on the pipleline, many local municipal leaders were optimistic that construction would eventually proceed.

“I think we all realize that it’s a political decision and I think everyone is hopeful that after the American election that it will go ahead,” said Donald Lundberg, the Reeve of the RM of Arlington.
Lundberg says the project will bring some significant economic benefits to the region, including a huge boost from massive crews expected to work on the pipeline.
In the meantime, Lundberg says, the delay shouldn’t have too much of an impact on local businesses because many area communities are already fairly busy with other oilfield related activity.
But Lundberg was also quick to point out that the pipeline will bring other economic benefits as well, including some significant tax revenue.
As an example, Lundberg says the RM of Arlington could receive about $325,000 in tax revenue in one year from the pipeline, which is about 13 per cent of the municipality’s yearly revenue.
“It’s a large financial factor for our municipality,” said Lundberg. “We already have one TransCanada pipeline that is 28 kilometres long through the RM, and the Keystone XL is on a parallel line.”
Through the approval process in Canada, a number of southwest Saskatchewan landowners have also negotiated easement contracts with TransCanada.
“This will impact a lot of individual property owners, too, because they were getting paid for this pipeline to go through their property,” said Lundberg.
The biggest hurdle to the project has come from the U.S., where environmentalists have lobbied against the pipeline.
The business leaders say the $7 billion pipeline project will create thousands of jobs in the U.S.
“Thousands of jobs continue to hang in the balance if this project does not go forward,” said Girling. “This project is too important to the U.S. economy, the Canadian economy and the national interest of the United States for it not to proceed.”