Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Keystone XL Continues Operations Despite Tribe's Request To Delay

A sign for TC Energy on a fence with pieces of pipeline in the background.
shannonpatrick17
/
Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
A sign for TC Energy on a fence with pieces of pipeline in the background.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Canadian company has started construction on the long-stalled Keystone XL oil sands pipeline despite calls from tribal leaders and environmentalists to delay the $8 billion project amid the coronavirus pandemic.

A spokesman for TC Energy says work began over the weekend at the pipeline's border crossing in northern Montana's Phillips County.

About 100 workers are involved initially.

That number is expected to swell into the thousands in coming months as work proceeds.

Opponents fear the workers could spread the coronavirus in rural areas that are not equipped to handle an outbreak.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.