Trump gives go-ahead to major new Canada-US oil pipeline
The three-foot-wide (1 meter) Bridger Pipeline Expansion will carry 550,000 barrels (87,400 cubic meters) of oil per day from Canada’s Montana border into eastern Montana and Wyoming, where it will connect to another pipeline.
The project will require additional state and federal environmental approvals before construction, which company officials expect to begin next year. Environmentalists hope to stop the project due to concerns that the pipeline could break and spill.
At peak volume, the 650-mile (1,050-kilometer) pipeline would carry two-thirds as much oil as the better-known Keystone XL pipeline, which was partially built before President Joe Biden canceled its permit the day he took office in 2021, citing climate change concerns.
“It’s a little different from the last administration. They’re not going to sign a pipeline deal. And our pipelines are under construction,” Trump said after signing the Bridger Pipeline Expansion cross-border approval.
During his first term, Trump approved the Keystone
Biden’s cancellation of the Keystone XL permit the following year disappointed Canadian officials, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, after Alberta invested more than $1 billion in the project. The Bridger Pipeline Expansion, sometimes referred to as the “Keystone Light,” will not cross any Native American reservations. More than 70 percent of the project will be built within existing pipeline corridors and 80 percent on private land, Bridger Pipeline LLC said in a statement.
The Casper, Wyoming-based company operates more than 3,700 miles (5,950 kilometers) of oil gathering and transmission pipelines in North Dakota and Montana’s Williston Basin and Wyoming’s Powder River Basin.
If Bridger Pipeline, a subsidiary of True Companies, can complete its project before Trump leaves office, it could prevent a future administration from backing down. Bridger spokesman Bill Salvin said they hope to begin construction in the fall of 2027 and finish in late 2028 or early 2029.
Trump’s term ends on January 20, 2029.
True Company subsidiaries have been responsible for several major pipeline spills, including the 2015 spill of more than 50,000 gallons (240,000 liters) of crude oil into the Yellowstone River and contaminating a Montana city’s drinking water supply, the 2022 spill of 45,000 gallons of diesel in Wyoming, and the 2016 spill that released more than 600,000 gallons (2.7 million) of oil. was responsible for the accident. liters) of crude oil is polluting the Little Missouri River and a tributary in North Dakota.
True’s subsidiaries agreed to pay a $12.5 million fine to settle a government lawsuit over spills in North Dakota and Montana.
Salvin said that the company has developed an artificial intelligence-supported leak detection system that allows it to be notified faster when there is a problem. It also plans to drill 30 to 40 feet (9 to 12 meters) beneath major rivers, including the Yellowstone and Missouri, to reduce the chance of accidents. The accident in 2015 occurred on a line built in a shallow ditch at the bottom of the river.
“We designed the pipeline with integrity and safety in mind. We have emergency response plans in case oil leaks out of the line, which is extremely rare,” Salvin said.
Environmental groups opposing the project include the Montana Environmental Information Center and WildEarth Guardians.
“The biggest concern we see right now is the leak risk concern that exists with all pipeline projects,” said attorney Jenny Harbine of environmental law firm Earthjustice. “Pipelines rupture and leak. That’s just the reality of pipelines.”
