TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) About 200 people turned up in Topeka to tell officials from the U.S. State Department what they think about the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would move oil to the Texas coast from Canada.
Gov. Sam Brownback and several other Kansas politicians said at the opening of the meeting Monday they support the $7 billion pipeline, which Brownback called “a good thing for America, and a good thing for Kansas.”
Rabbi Moti Rieber, coordinator of Kansas Interfaith Power Light, said he’s opposed to the 1,700-mile pipeline, which he considers a “direct threat” to the Kansas environment.
Several labor union members also said they supported the pipeline because of the jobs it would create.
The State Department is expected to decide this year whether to recommend permitting the project.
