With the news several days ago that Bill Clinton is encouraging his ideological allies on the left to “embrace” the Keystone XL pipeline, those of us who have seen the light on this issue all along have the opportunity to correct two standing misconceptions:

1. That the pipeline is a partisan issue with Republicans in support and Democrats against. False. Although the Obama administration has done its best to create a partisan battle by blaming its nakedly political decision to halt the pipeline on some sort of mysterious Republican cabal, the fact is that many politicians on both sides of the aisle – who are worried about more than their next election – have supported the pipeline from the outset.
2. That the pipeline is a choice between the economy and the environment. Again, false. The environmental impacts of the pipeline have been studied exhaustively for FOUR YEARS, and Obama’s own State Department concluded that the pipeline would pose no undue risk to the environment.

Keystone XL Pipeline: MYTH vs. FACT

MYTH: The Keystone XL Pipeline is a partisan issue, pitting pro-Pipeline Republicans against anti-Pipeline Democrats.

FACT: Democrat Hillary Clinton’s State Department has supported the pipeline, both under the initial plan and the current revised plan.

On Friday, the State Department issued its final Environmental Impact Statement, concluding that the proposed 1,700-mile pipeline would have “no significant impact” on the environment and recommending that the project move forward…

FACT: Former Democratic President Bill Clinton has come out in support of the Keystone XL Pipeline, calling for members of both parties to “embrace” the project in a speech to the Energy Department conference on Wednesday.

“So, I think we should embrace it and develop a stakeholder-driven system of high standards for doing the work,” Clinton added.

FACT: Numerous Congressional Democrats have supported the pipeline since its earliest conception.

Twenty House Democrats, led by Rep. Gene Green (D-Tex.), wrote to President Obama on Wednesday, asking him to approve the pipeline.

FACT: Labor unions overwhelmingly support the Keystone XL Pipeline.

For America’s skilled craft construction professionals, any discussion of the Keystone XL project begins and ends with one word: JOBS. Today, roughly 14% of the American construction workforce is unemployed — which is significantly higher than the overall national unemployment rate of 9%…Throughout America’s Heartland, the Keystone Pipeline represents the prospect for 20,000 immediate jobs, and as many as 500,000 indirect jobs via a strong economic multiplier effect.

MYTH: Constructing the Keystone XL Pipeline is a choice between jobs and the economy and protecting our environment.

FACT: The Keystone XL Pipeline does not, and never has, posed a threat to the environment. What’s more, any possible objections environmentalists had to the original pipeline plan have been addressed in the revised version.

Meanwhile, the opponents of Keystone are descending upon Washington, DC for another demonstration against this important job-creating initiative. The unfortunate aspect of their opposition is that they are trying to kill the Keystone project by presenting the tired old false choice of energy vs. the environment.

Environmentalists conveniently forget that thousands of miles of pipelines already cross the Ogallala Aquifer. Also, people have visions of the BP oil spill in the Gulf after the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Clearly, that was a real disaster. A land spill is completely different. In the unlikely event of an oil spill on land, the black mess is easily cleaned up with excavators, loaders and trucks. The oil-contaminated soil is simply hauled away and properly disposed…The environmental aspects of the pipeline have been studied to death, with a review that lasted four years. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) rated the potential for water contamination as minimal and contained in a limited area. Oil contamination of drinking water would not be likely because the soil composition impedes downward migration of oil.

DOS studied and addressed risk to soil, wetlands, water resources, vegetation, fish, wildlife, and endangered species. They concluded that the construction of the pipeline would pose minimal environmental risk. Keystone XL also met 57 specific pipeline safety standard requirements created by DOS and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The pipeline would be equipped with 16,000 sensors connected to satellite that would monitor the pressure of the pipeline.