Biden’s list of tasks for Inauguration Day (January 20) includes signing an executive order to rescind the Keystone XL construction permit granted in 2019 by incumbent US President Donald Trump, according to documents obtained by The Canadian Press on Sunday.
"Roll back Trump enviro actions via EO (including rescind Keystone XL pipeline permit)," the document from Biden’s transition team says.
Biden’s incoming chief of staff Ron Klain said in a Saturday release that Biden was expected to sign "roughly a dozen" execute actions on Inauguration Day, but there was no mention of Keystone XL.
Keystone is an oil pipeline system that moves crude oil from the Canadian province of Alberta to the US states of Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas. The first three phases of the system are currently operational, however, the construction of the fourth phase, better known as Keystone XL, which is planned to transport oil to Nebraska, has become a partisan political issue in the United States.
The Obama administration blocked the pipeline project for eight years while the Trump administration authorized construction.
In September, the US Supreme Court rejected a request from the Trump administration and TC Energy to dismiss a lower court ruling blocking further construction of the pipeline because of a violation related to a water-crossing permit.