Obama Admin Hides KXL Wildlife Impact Documents

If you want to know the impacts of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline on endangered species, the Obama administration seemingly wants to keep you in the dark. An environmental group is suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for denying a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for such information.

The State Department initially blacked out information that showed potential conflicts of interest by the consultant that prepared its environmental impact statement on the Keystone pipeline. Pending now is a FOIA request from the Center for Biological Diversity for documents on how the pipeline would affect migratory birds and endangered species like whooping cranes and piping plovers.

The Fish and Wildlife Service denied the Center's FOIA for the documents — which were specifically cited in support of the State Department's EIS.

• "Greens Sue Feds for Keystone Docs," The Hill, September 9, 2014, by Laura Barron-Lopez.
• "Lawsuit Seeks Public Records on Keystone XL's Impacts on Whooping Cranes, Piping Plovers, Other Endangered Species," Release of September 9, 2014, Center for Biological Diversity.
• Previous Story: WatchDog of March 27, 2013.