Dive Brief:
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In a move that could create 13,000 construction jobs, the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday approved the building of the $7 billion, 1,179-mile Keystone XL pipeline between Canada and Nebraska, via Montana and South Dakota.
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The U.S. Senate, which has shot down the authorization multiple times in the past, is set to vote on the measure early this week. Support from energy-state legislators has met with opposition from those who claim the project could pollute drinking water and destroy farms and tribal grounds. President Obama has said he would like to delay the pipeline.
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The U.S. State Department estimates the project will create 42,100 jobs over a two-year construction period. TransCanada, the company that will build the pipeline, estimates fewer jobs: 20,000, including 13,000 in construction and 7,000 in manufacturing.
Dive Insight:
A third estimate, from Cornell University's Global Labor Institute, calls the other two “highly questionable and ultimately misleading.” Cornell forecasts the need for 2,500 to 4,650 direct construction jobs.
Whichever estimate is accurate, it’s important to note that those jobs will be temporary. In fact, once construction is finished, fewer than 50 employees will be required to operate the pipeline, the State Department estimates.