Seventeen US states, including Texas, are suing the Biden administration for its recent decision to scrap construction of the controversial Keystone oil pipeline.
The lawsuit was announced on Wednesday by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The states argue that the White House did not have the authority to revoke the Keystone pipeline’s license single-handedly. The construction of the oil pipeline is part of an energy policy set by parliament, Paxton said.
The Keystone pipeline was supposed to transport 830,000 barrels of oil per day from the Canadian province of Alberta to the US state of Nebraska. The revocation of the permit was one of many presidential decrees issued by Biden to combat climate change.
Last month, Senate energy committee head Joe Manchin argued with Biden to have the pipeline built. The conservative Democrat said that the construction project also creates jobs for unions and that transporting oil by pipeline is safer than transport in road tankers or trains.
The White House did not immediately respond to the lawsuit of the seventeen states on Wednesday.
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