IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 214 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that extensive scientific 

and technical studies and analyses by the Department of State and 

other Federal agencies have affirmed that the proposed Keystone XL 

pipeline is an environmentally sound project. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 15, 2013 

Mr. WEBER of Texas (for himself, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. HALL, Mr. 

NEUGEBAUER, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. STOCKMAN, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. 

SCHWEIKERT, and Mr. STEWART) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

extensive scientific and technical studies and analyses 

by the Department of State and other Federal agencies 

have affirmed that the proposed Keystone XL pipeline 

is an environmentally sound project. 

Whereas safe and responsible production, transportation, and 

use of oil and petroleum products provide the foundation 

of America’s energy economy, helping to secure and advance our economic prosperity, national security, and 

overall quality of life; 

Whereas Department of State assessments found that the 

Keystone XL pipeline ‘‘is not likely to impact the amount 


SMARTINEZ on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 214 IH 

of crude oil produced from the oil sands’’ and that ‘‘approval or denial of the proposed Project is unlikely to 

have a substantial impact on the rate of development in 

the oil sands’’; 

Whereas the Department of State found that the incremental 

life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with the 

Keystone XL project are estimated in the range of 0.07 

to 0.83 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, 

with the upper end of this range representing twelve onethousandths of one percent of the 6,702 million metric 

tons of carbon dioxide emitted in the United States in 

2011; 

Whereas after extensive evaluation of potential impacts to 

land and water resources along the Keystone XL pipeline’s 875 mile proposed route, the Department of State 

found that ‘‘The analyses of potential impacts associated 

with construction and normal operation of the proposed 

Project suggest that there would be no significant impacts to most resources along the proposed Project route 

(assuming Keystone complies with all laws and required 

conditions and measures).’’; 

Whereas transportation of oil via pipeline has a record of unmatched safety and environmental protection, and the 

Department of State found that ‘‘Spills associated with 

the proposed Project that enter the environment are expected to be rare and relatively small’’, and that ‘‘there 

is no evidence of increased corrosion or other pipeline 

threat due to viscosity’’ of diluted bitumen oil that will 

be transported by the Keystone XL pipeline; and 

Whereas plans to incorporate 57 project-specific special conditions related to the design, construction, and operations 

of the Keystone XL pipeline led the Department of State 


SMARTINEZ on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 214 IH 

to find that the pipeline will have ‘‘a degree of safety over 

any other typically constructed domestic oil pipeline’’: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that the Federal Government’s exhaustive sci3 entific and technical analysis of the potential environ4 mental impacts of the Keystone XL pipeline have repeat5 edly affirmed the environmental soundness and safety of 

6 the proposed project. 

Æ 


SMARTINEZ on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS