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Exxon cleaning up pipeline oil spill in Arkansas as Keystone debate continuesAs the cleanup of Canadian crude oil spilled from a ruptured Arkansas pipeline continued Sunday, a leading Republican warned that if President Barack Obama won’t approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, Congress will act to give the long-delayed project a green light.More than 12,000 barrels of oil and water from a spill that fouled Mayflower, Ark., had been recovered by Sunday afternoon as a major cleanup continued with containment booms being deployed in an attempt to keep the oil from leaking into a nearby lake, confirmed Exxon, operator of the pipeline that ruptured Friday.Kimberly Brasington, an Exxon spokeswoman, confirmed the oil from the ruptured Pegasus pipeline originated in Canada. The oil is “Wabasca Heavy Crude from Western Canada,” she said in an e-mail Sunday. Canadian group CrudeMonitor describes Wabasca as a blend of heavy oil production from the Athabasca region.On Saturday, Nebraska Congressman Lee Terry accused Mr. Obama of “using every bureaucratic trick and excuse in the book” to block the project.“The Keystone XL pipeline is a no-brainer,” Mr. Terry said, echoing the quip first used by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to describe the Keystone decision nearly two years ago. Mr. Terry warned that if Mr. Obama rejects Keystone, intended to funnel Alberta’s oil to Texas refineries, Congress will move to override the president. Mr. Obama is expected to decide this summer on whether to allow the project to proceed.Exxon shut the Pegasus pipeline, which can carry more than 90,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Pakota, Ill., to Nederland, Tex., after the rupture was discovered near Little Rock, Ark. on Friday afternoon. The line is more than 50 years old and has roughly one-tenth the capacity of Keystone XL.It was the second spill of Canadian crude in less than a week. Last Wednesday, a train carrying Canadian crude derailed in Minnesota, spilling about 400 barrels.“Whether it’s the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, or ... [the] mess in Arkansas, Americans are realizing that transporting large amounts of this corrosive and polluting fuel is a bad deal for American taxpayers and for our environment,” said Rep. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat and leading Keystone opponent running for the Senate seat vacated by State Secretary John Kerry.Pipeline advocates say pipelines are far safer and less costly to transport large volumes of oil than rail tankers, but the lack of capacity has forced oil sands producers to turn to rail to get the crude to refineries.Although the trans-border pipeline decision is well within the President’s executive authority, Congress could pass special legislation authorizing the project which would cross half a dozen states to deliver upwards of one million barrels of oil sands crude daily to U.S. refineries on the Gulf Coast.With a sufficient majority, Congress could also override any presidential veto of authorizing legislation although Mr. Terry’s threat remains, at best, a hypothetical long shot.“No more delays, no more politics,” Mr. Terry said Saturday, before turning to the “blessings we celebrate during the rites of Easter and Passover.” In a toughly worded attack on Mr. Obama over Keystone XL, he said: “If the president continues to drag his feet, Congress is prepared to act.”Last year, Mr. Obama delayed deciding on Keystone XL until after November’s election, which gave him a second four-year stint in the White House. But continued delay is unacceptable, Mr. Terry said.“It’s now been more than 1,600 days since the initial permits were filed for building the pipeline. To put that in perspective, it took the United States a little more than 1,300 days to win World War II.”The Republican threat to try and force the President’s hand reflects the stronger-than-expected support for Keystone in a Senate vote 10 days ago when 17 Democrats joined Republicans in a pro-pipeline, though non-binding, 62-37 vote in the 100-seat Senate.Given the Republican majority control of the House of Representatives, the ability to muster more than 60 votes – sufficient to avoid a filibuster – in the Democrat-controlled Senate suggests Congress might be able to override Mr. Obama on Keystone.However, despite the growing efforts of environmental groups to turn Keystone into a litmus test of Mr. Obama’s willingness to make good on his sweeping but vague promises to take action on man-made greenhouse gases contributing to climate change, many analysts expect a presidential go-ahead for the pipeline.Its opponents argue the oil sands crude isn’t needed in the United States, that it will be mostly exported and that its heavy carbon content makes it particularly harmful to the environment.In his Easter weekend address, Mr. Obama made no mention of Keystone. It isn’t unusual for the weekly remarks from the president and the opposition to focus on different subjects.With a report from Reuters

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