Keystone XL pipeline and corporate conflicts of interest

Friends of the Earth and members of Congress are seeking a Government Accountability Office review of the State Department's environmental impact assessment for the Keystone XL pipeline. The request follows allegations that the review vendor, Environmental Resources Management (ERM), failed to disclose financial and professional ties to TransCanada and other oil interests, thereby compromising the integrity of the review process.

• The State Department is accused of allowing foreign government and corporate influence to compromise the environmental review process for the Keystone XL pipeline, leading to ethical breaches.
• The consulting firm Environmental Resources Management (ERM) allegedly engaged in deceptive practices by denying conflicts of interest while failing to disclose work for TransCanada, a joint pipeline project with Exxon and TransCanada, and roles with five organizations including the American Petroleum Institute.
• The State Department failed to independently verify ERM's claims regarding conflicts of interest, which undermines the credibility of the environmental review.
• There are concerns that the State Department may have leaked the contents of the environmental review to the Canadian government and the American Petroleum Institute before informing Congress or the public.
• A ruling in Nebraska has invalidated the proposed route of the pipeline, raising questions about how the State Department can accurately assess its environmental impact without an approved route.

APA

Pica, E. (2014). Keystone XL pipeline and corporate conflicts of interest. Friends of the Earth. https://foe.org/news/2014-02-statement-keystone-xl-pipeline-and-corporate-conflic/

Chicago

Pica, Erich. Keystone XL pipeline and corporate conflicts of interest. Friends of the Earth, 2014. https://foe.org/news/2014-02-statement-keystone-xl-pipeline-and-corporate-conflic/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Pica |first1=Erich |title=Keystone XL pipeline and corporate conflicts of interest |publisher=Friends of the Earth |date=25 February 2014 |url=https://foe.org/news/2014-02-statement-keystone-xl-pipeline-and-corporate-conflic/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{pica2014keystone, author = {Pica, Erich}, title = {{Keystone XL pipeline and corporate conflicts of interest}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth}, year = {2014}, month = feb, url = {https://foe.org/news/2014-02-statement-keystone-xl-pipeline-and-corporate-conflic/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }