Kotorba toon: XXL pipeline

http://www.omaha.com/news/nebraska/if-keystone-xl-permit-is-rejected-transcanada-might-sue-u/article_5c186e50-95ad-567f-b57f-1ee7f3c547ac.html

If Keystone XL permit is rejected, TransCanada might sue U.S. for $2.4 billion it's already spent

POSTED: THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2015 12:01 AM | UPDATED: 9:17 AM, THU AUG 6, 2015.
By Joe Duggan / World-Herald Bureau

LINCOLN — A Canadian corporation seeking to build the Keystone XL pipeline says it has already spent $2.4 billion without having laid a foot of pipe.

If President Barack Obama rejects the pipeline, TransCanada could use a provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement in an attempt to recoup that cost from the United States.

The 1994 trade pact between the United States, Canada and Mexico allows corporations to file what’s called a Chapter 11 claim (not to be confused with bankruptcy) against a member nation to settle disputes. If TransCanada were to win such a case before a special NAFTA tribunal, U.S. taxpayers could be on the hook for monetary damages.

TransCanada CEO Russ Girling recently left a possible NAFTA challenge on the table when asked what the company would do if Obama rejects the pipeline permit application.

FULL story at link.