Watchdog: US Federal Judge Approves Lawsuit Challenging Keystone XL Pipeline

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and three other agencies  have filed the lawsuit challenging the US State Department's environmental review of the 1,179-mile proposed pipeline.

The environmental watchdogs have claimed that the State Department's environmental impact assessment is outdated and inadequate, the release said.

Meantime, a US federal judge granted on Wednesday  permission to allow a lawsuit by a coalition of environmental groups to proceed against President Donald Trump's approval of a permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline, the Center for Biological Diversity said in a press release.

"A federal judge ruled today that a lawsuit brought by environmental and landowner groups over the Trump administration's approval of the cross-border permit for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline can proceed," the release said.

The Trump administration and TransCanada argued that after the initial approval of the pipeline, the US federal government is not required to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act or the Endangered Species Act, the release explained, adding that both have attempted to have the lawsuit terminated.

In March, the State Department issued a permit for TransCanada to construct the $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline immediately after Trump approved the pipeline deal. One last section of the entire Keystone pipeline project remains to be constructed.

Former President Barack Obama had previously blocked the project in 2015.