For Immediate Release *** October 7, 2011

Contact: Natalie Joubert, (202) 429-4931, njoubert@consumerenergyalliance.org

Thousands in Texas Call for Approval of Keystone XL

AUSTIN - Today the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Association of Manufacturers, and the Texas Oil and Gas Association announced, in conjunction with Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), that they have submitted 10,337 public comments from Texas residents supporting the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The comments were submitted to the U.S. Department of State, which must issue the final necessary permit to allow the Keystone XL project to proceed.

In response, Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce President Jim Rich issued the following statement:

"On behalf of the 1,100 businesses in the Beaumont area and the 41 chambers of commerce and ten economic development organizations who are partners for the My Town, My Job, My Voice Campaign (www.mytownmyjobmyvoice.org), we strongly support the Keystone XL pipeline and the significant economic benefits it will bring to our region.  This project will not only generate billions in economic activity for the state, but also help support thousands of refinery workers in southeast Texas.  Keystone XL is absolutely in the best interest for Beaumont businesses."

Texas Association of Manufacturers executive director Luke Bellsnyder agrees, adding "The Keystone XL Pipeline will inject $2.3 billion in new private investment to the state economy at that exact point in time when the risk of another economic downturn is high.  We expect to see thousands of high-quality manufacturing jobs emerge as the pipeline is designed, outfitted, constructed and maintained.  Keystone XL Pipeline is primed to deliver exactly the kind of jobs we need, just when we need them in Texas.""

"The Keystone XL Pipeline makes sense for Texas and for all of the United States.  The project establishes a pipeline to deliver much needed energy resources from a reliable trading partner and creates jobs for thousands of Americans.  It's a win-win," said Debbie Hastings, vice president for environmental affairs for the Texas Oil and Gas Association. 

Added CEA Executive Vice President Michael Whatley:

"The Keystone XL pipeline will be the safest pipeline ever built in the United States, and construction will help create more than 20,000 jobs nationwide. These comments that we are submitting today from thousands of Texans reflect what people across the country are saying: We need jobs, we need a stronger economy, and we need to build the Keystone XL pipeline."

The 1,700-mile proposed Keystone XL pipeline would deliver 700,000 barrels of U.S. and Canadian crude oil per day to refineries along the Gulf Coast in Texas.  Keystone XL received approval from Canada's National Energy Board in 2010, but the project also requires a Presidential Permit from the U.S. Department of State because it crosses an international border. In June, CEA delivered more than 62,000 public comments supporting the project to the State Department, all of which came from people living in the six states through which the proposed pipeline will travel: Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

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Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, comprised of more than 160 affiliate members, including energy consumers and producers, and tens of thousands of consumer advocates, that supports the thoughtful utilization of energy resources to help ensure improved domestic and global energy security, stable prices for consumers and balanced energy policy for America.

The Transportation Division and members of the Government Affairs and Public Affairs Division met on Monday with State Senator Tommy Williams . Senator Williams chairs the Transportation Committee of the Texas State Senate. One of the key issues facing the State of Texas is the declining revenue from the gasoline tax and the lack of new revenue sources for new highway construction. The Senator offered his insights into the problem and the possible solutions seeking participation from the business community to address in the future.

Plans for Business Development Week took shape this week with several planning sessions to identify topics, themes, and logistics for this new undertaking. We are really excited about the way the plan is coming together.

The Advancing New Technologies at Lamar University Division met on Thursday to final plans for their fall breakfast with industry champions on October 18. We further updated the group on the progress to develop an Innovation and Commercialization Center at Lamar University. We are pleased to report that a temporary building has been identified for the center next to the John Gray Library and a ribbon cutting will be scheduled in the near future. We also discussed the details for the funding of a more permanent place for the programs and activities of the center.

The Leadership Beaumont Strategic Planning Committee met on Thursday. Sally Broussard from the Spindletop Center will chair the group with Daniel Risso, ExxonMobil Refinery Manager as Vice Chair. The plans for the next three months is to benchmark what other programs have done to address leadership development in a rapidly changing world. The vision is to add a global perspective and anticipation skills as a component  of Leadership Beaumont. We will be visited by experts from McKinney, Texas in November, Lafayette, Louisiana, in December, and the Dallas area in January to explore best practices.