During his first week in office, President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum advancing the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which is a clear reversal of former President Barack Obama's actions.
This order does not guarantee the final permit needed to build oil pipelines like Keystone, but it invites TransCanada, the pipeline operator, to re-submit a permit application for the extension. It also encourages the secretary of state to "take all actions necessary and appropriate to facilitate its expeditious review" within 60 days of a permit being submitted.
Because the pipeline would have crossed the U.S.-Canada border, it required a presidential permit from the State Department, which the Obama administration denied in 2015. It said the project would hinder the United States' ability to be a leader in climate change action.
(That idea, expressed in a 2015 letter from then-Secretary of State John Kerry, has since been taken down from the State Department website.)
The controversial extension to the Keystone pipeline would transport more than 800,000 barrels of oil from Western Canada to Steele City, Neb., and then connect it with an existing southern pipeline system that opened in early 2014.
As Trump signed the Keystone XL measure on Jan. 24, he said it would create a "lot of jobs, 28,000 jobs, great construction jobs".
A 2014 State Department report, which evaluated the project's environmental and economic impact for the country, found, "A total of 42,100 jobs throughout the United States would be supported by construction of the proposed Project."
Most of those jobs would only last during the construction phase, which was expected to take one to two years in 2014. After the construction phase, the State Department report concluded the project would provide for about 35 permanent employees and 15 temporary contractors.
As for the environmental impact, a 2014 State Department report determined the project is "unlikely to significantly impact the rate of extraction in the oil sands."
But that doesn't mean it would be entirely without negative environmental impact, seeing as the same document found that it would generate more greenhouse gases than alternative methods.
In addition to the Keystone XL memorandum, Trump also signed a presidential memorandum reviving the Dakota Access Pipeline project by ordering the Army to "review and approve in an expedited manner" the construction of the pipeline. He also signed an memorandum asking for a federal plan to incentivize U.S.-made pipes for projects.
Trump has taken the first step to move forward with plans to build the Keystone XL extension. The pipeline still needs to be built, and Trump still needs to profit off it once it's built, so we rate this pledge In The Works.