Keystone XL: Businessweek uncovers more lies by State Department contractor about its ties to TransCanada

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today Businessweek reveló new evidence that Environmental Resources Management, the company hired by the State Department to review the environmental impact of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, lied on its conflict of interest disclosure form about its work for pipeline builder TransCanada and other oil companies. This latest document follows research released by Friends of the Earth on July 10 that documented ERM’s lies.

Businessweek’s Brad Weiners links to a newly uncovered 2010 document on which ERM lists TransCanada as a client and writes: “…  [U]nless this document is a forgery, ERM appears not to have disclosed all it should have to the U.S. government.”

Ross Hammond, senior campaigner with Friends of the Earth, said the latest revelations are further proof that ERM cannnot be trusted.

“ERM has close and ongoing ties to TransCanada and other companies with a stake in Keystone XL and they’ve lied about those ties,” said Hammond. “If they lied about this most basic fact, how can we believe them when they say the pipeline will not have any significant environmental impact?”

“A decision as important as whether to approve the Keystone XL pipeline must be made on the basis of unimpeachable analysis and Environmental Resources Management cannot provide that.  Secretary of State John Kerry must halt the review process and start again with a full, unbiased review of the Keystone XL pipeline’s impacts.”

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Contacto:
Ross Hammond, (415) 559-5082
Adam Russell, (202) 222-0722, [email protected]