EPA raises oil sands emission concerns

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WASHINGTON, April 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department is called on to work with Canadian producers of oil sands to offset greenhouse gas emissions, the EPA said.

The State Department heard public comments on a draft review of the planned cross-border Keystone XL pipeline last week in Nebraska. The department's review of the pipeline stated that emissions and other concerns over oil sands production would be present with or without the pipeline.

The Environmental Protection Agency said a "more careful review" of the issue was needed, the Financial Times reports.

The State Department is called on to "work with Canada to promote further efforts to reduce (greenhouse gas) emissions associated with the production of oil sands crude, including a joint focus on carbon capture and storage projects and research," the EPA said.

Supporters of the Keystone XL project say it would ensure energy security for North America while at the same time bring jobs back to a lackluster economy.

Anthony Swift, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, was quoted as saying the EPA, not the State Department, got it right on Keystone XL.

"It's one more reason this misguided and dangerous project needs to be denied," he was quoted as saying.