TransCanada Applies for Another Pipeline, Republicans Warn Against Paris Climate Deal, Four More Student Blog Posts (by Bob Percival)

TransCanada Corporation, the Canadian company seeking approval to build the Keystone XL pipeline, has applied to the U.S. State Department for permission to build another pipeline, the Upland Pipeline Project.  This 200-mile pipeline woud transport up to 300,000 barrels a day of crude oil from North Dakota to Saskatchewan.  Some of this oil would travel through the company’s proposed Energy East pipeline to refineries on Canada’s east coast.  If the State Department grants its approval, the pipeline is expected to go into service in the year 2020. Amy Harder, TransCanada Seeks U.S. Approval of Another Pipeline, Wall St. J., April 27, 2015, at B7.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Republican leadership in Congress is considering sending a letter to other nations urging them not to join any global climate agreement negotiated by the Obama Administration.  The letter reportedly would be modeled on the letter by Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas to Iranian leaders, signed by 47 Republican Senators, warning that Congress could override any nuclear agreement between the U.S. and Iran.  Colleen McCain Nelson, GOP Plots Resistance to Talks on Climate, Wall St. J., April 27, 2015, at A4.  Representatives of the world are expected to negotiate a new global climate agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol when they meet in Paris in December. President Obama maintains that the U.S. pledge to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by nearly 30% by 2025 can be accomplished under existing law without seeking any new legislation from Congress.

Today four new student blog posts appear in the “Students” section of my parallel website at http://www.globalenvironmentallaw.com.  Dong Hee Hong compares policies to promote renewable energy in various countries.  Andrew Kiphart examines the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s regulations for hydraulic fracturing operations on federal land.  Lila Meadows focuses on the problem of climate refugees and Jon Saltzman discusses how electronic waste disposal is regulated in various countries.