If you can't screw the environment, sue 'em

TransCanada launches legal battle over Keystone XL rejection

Posted on January 6, 2016 | By Robert Grattan, fuelfix

HOUSTON — TransCanada will launch a new round of legal battles over the Keystone XL pipeline, two months after U.S. President Barack Obama denied a key permit for the controversial project, the company said on Wednesday.

The Calgary, Alberta-based company filed a lawsuit in federal court in Houston, arguing that the President overstepped his constitutional authority when denied a cross-border permit for the pipeline in November.

Separately, TransCanada will initiate a $15 billion claim to recover costs and damages under a provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The company said it will argue the rejection was “arbitrary and unjustified.”

The company also said it expects to take an as much as CAD$2.9 billion, or about U.S. $2.1 billion, writedown as a result of the project’s cancellation.

(More here.)