Judge orders gov’t review of Keystone pipeline documents

Federal officials must go back and review documents related to the disputed Keystone XL oil pipeline, under a Wednesday court ruling that came after environmentalists accused President Donald Trump’s administration of withholding details on the project’s approval. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris said the government must provide any relevant documents by March 21 or explain why they should be withheld. The ruling came in a lawsuit pending in federal court in Montana from environmentalists seeking to stop the 1,179-mile (1,897-kilometer) pipeline. It would carry crude from Canada’s oil sands region to U.S. refineries. The project has become a flashpoint in the debate over climate change. It was blocked by former President Barack Obama in 2015 before President Donald Trump revived it last year. U.S. Justice Department attorneys fought against releasing the sought-after documents. They said it could take more than six years and cost $6.3 million for officials to go through an estimated 5 million pages of documents that would need to be reviewed before they could be released. Attorney Jackie Prange with the Natural Resources Defense Council said the government’s time and expense estimate was “vastly overblown” and included documents unrelated to Keystone...more