Governor Sees Firsthand Impacts of Keystone XL Shutdown Decision

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte visited Phillips and Valley counties on Friday, Feb. 20, where he saw firsthand the impacts of President Joe Biden’s decision to shut down the Keystone XL Pipeline project.

Gianforte listened to Phillips County Commissioner Richard Dunbar and Marty Jorgenson, president of Barnard Construction expressed their concerns.

After the visits, Gianforte issued the following statement: “President Biden’s decision to shut down the Keystone XL Pipeline project is devastating to Montana. Today, we heard from Montanans who invested millions in their businesses in anticipation of this project and the economic boost it would bring their communities. We heard from school administrators and parents, who had anticipated increased revenues to recruit and pay teachers to educate their kids.”

He added, “We heard from officials with electric cooperatives, who had plans to build dozens of miles of transmission lines to the pipeline – bringing electricity to some of the region’s most rural areas. We heard from the local chamber of commerce, about how the project would have benefited their local businesses, created good-paying Montana jobs and boosted our economy. And we heard from Montanans, who were once optimistic about what the Keystone XL Pipeline project could mean for their treasured rural communities.

During the visit, Gianforte visited a Keystone XL pipe yard where he met the president of Barnard Construction. Before President Biden’s executive order, the company was beginning construction on the first 90 miles of the project in Montana. Gianforte later met with representatives of Big Flat Electric Cooperative, one of several coops that had invested capital to prepare to build transmission lines to the project.

To conclude the visit, the governor hosted a public roundtable with community stakeholders and residents, where he heard about the impacts of the project’s shutdown on local businesses, schools and families.