White House spokesman Jay Carney today emphasized the obstacles facing environmentalists who hope to force a presidential veto of the $7 billion Canada-to-U.S. oil pipeline known as Keystone XL, depicting the project's fate as resting with the State Department.

Carney walled off President Obama from the mushrooming controversy over the 1,700-mile pipeline -- which would nearly double U.S. imports of emissions-intensive Canadian oil-sands crude if approved by State -- six days before green groups plan a massive White House protest aimed at prodding the president to personally nix the XL link.

"This is a decision that will be made by the State Department," Carney told reporters today when pressed on what permitting the pipeline might reveal about Obama's environmental record. "And they are taking into ... account public comment and comments certainly from experts, both environmental, as well as energy experts."

That process at State, once anticipated to conclude by year's end, could slip amid intense efforts from conservation and Plains-state landowner groups to derail the XL project by making it into a climate-change proving ground for the Obama administration (Greenwire, Aug. 19). At the crux of green opposition is the higher greenhouse gas footprint generated by oil sands crude, while industry groups and Republicans tout the pipeline as a useful means to lock down a long-term fuel supply from a more stable ally to diminish Middle Eastern imports.

The White House is not required to take a leading role in deciding on a permit for the project, sponsored by Alberta-based TransCanada Corp., unless a consulting federal agency registers objection to the State Department's final decision. That trigger is far from guaranteed, given that U.S. EPA declined to refer the project to the White House under the National Environmental Policy Act (Greenwire, Oct. 27).

After addressing Keystone XL by promoting the administration's progress on increasing fuel-economy standards that reduce vehicle emissions, Carney underscored the lack of enthusiasm in the White House for catching the political hot potato that the pipeline has become. "I understand you're trying to get me to engage in something that's -- that's being reviewed over at the State Department," he added. "And, you know, my comments weren't meant to address the Keystone issue."