South Dakota Joins Legal Defense of Keystone Pipeline

Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that South Dakota has joined a Multi-State Amicus Curiae or friend of the court brief filed in the United States District Court of Texas against the federal government in support of the Keystone Pipeline. “President Obama’s rejection of the pipeline infringes on the authority of Congress and the sovereignty of the States imposing significant economic harm to the affected States, including future jobs, and lost revenue to state and local governments,” said Jackley. The amicus brief argues that the President has unlawfully infringed on Congress’s exclusive authority to regulate interstate and international commerce. The brief also emphasizes that the Keystone XL Pipeline will promote interstate commerce and economic development. The brief sets forth that “In South Dakota, state regulators have approved several times the construction of the Pipeline, the Governor Dennis Daugaard has expressed his support of the Pipeline. All of South Dakota’s representatives in Congress supported construction of the Pipeline.” The states included in this amicus brief are Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas. The Keystone XL Pipeline will carry oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico through these states. There is no cost to South Dakota for joining the litigation.