How long does it take to cancel a pipeline?

It’s not easy to defeat a proposed pipeline. TC Energy (formerly TransCanada Energy) publicly announced plans to build the Keystone XL pipeline extension on July 16, 2008. The project was later rejected by President Obama, expedited by President Trump, and rejected once more by President Biden. Many activists were arrested and millions of dollars were spent lobbying the US government. Nearly 13 years after it was announced, TC Energy finally terminated the project on June 9, 2021.

While the termination of the Keystone XL was a huge win for activists, several other pipeline projects are still underway. The list includes (but is not limited to) the Line 3 expansion in northern Minnesota, the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Byhalia Pipeline in Memphis, Tennessee.

• Enbridge’s new Line 3 was publicly announced on March 3, 2014. This fight is ongoing.

• Energy Transfer Partner’s Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) was announced on June 25, 2014. This fight is ongoing.

• The proposed Byhalia Connection was publicly announced on December 11, 2019 by partners Plains All American and Valero Energy.
  Update as of July 2, 2021: Plains All American canceled the Byhalia Pipeline project “due to lower U.S. oil production resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.”