Seventeen national construction associations joined Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) in comments supporting the U.S. State Department’s Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Keystone XL pipeline permit application and urging swift approval of the project.

The State Department issued the EIS in response to TransCanada’s May 2012 application to complete the proposed pipeline segment from Canada to Nebraska. In addition to the environmental findings, the report concludes the project would support more than 42,000 jobs, translating to $2 billion in earnings for workers. Direct expenditures associated with building the pipeline, such as construction and material costs, would total approximately $3.3 billion.

“From equipment and material suppliers to contractors and manufacturers, the construction industry agrees: the Keystone XL pipeline is critical to jobs, economic growth, and national security, and will have minimal environmental impact,” AED President and CEO Toby Mack said. “The administration has no excuse not to quickly approve the project.”

The coalition pointed to continued instability in oil producing regions as further evidence of the need to tap into new energy resources.

“By bringing an extra 830,000 barrels of oil per day to U.S. refineries, the pipeline would create American jobs and enhance our national security by reducing U.S. reliance on energy resources from less stable regions. Continued volatility in those regions only reinforces the urgent need to tap into new energy sources,” the letter said.

For more information, www.aednet.org.