Environmentalists have filed a lawsuit against the US State Department to demand the release of documents related to a controversial US-Canada pipeline project.Green groups sued the State Department on Wednesday seeking access to communications with a lobbyist linked to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as
Another John Jay...
regarding a planned USD 7 billion TransCanada oil sands pipeline, Rooters reported.
TransCanada is hoping to win the State Department's approval of its planned Keystone XL pipeline. The State Department's approval is needed because the project crosses the Canada-US border.
Paul Elliott, who was national deputy director for Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, has been accused of taking advantage of his previous service to Clinton to get the go-ahead for the controversial project.
"We think the public has a right to know in what ways TransCanada and Mr. Elliott have attempted to influence Secretary Clinton's view of this controversial project," said Kenny Bruno from Corporate Ethics International, which has participated in filing the lawsuit against the State Department.
Activists have harshly criticized the huge environmental risks that the planned project could pose because of the use of the carbon-intensive oil sands crude and possible leaks over fragile water supplies.
The pipeline project would span 1,700 miles and transport crude from Canada's oil sands to the US Gulf coast.
The lawsuit comes following a Freedom of Information Act request for detailed contacts between Elliott and the US State Department filed by the green groups last year.
Clinton had earlier said the US State Department was "inclined" to endorse the pipeline project mainly due to energy security concerns.