I am calling on you to complete a new and rigorous environmental review of the revised proposal for the northern portion of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline submitted by TransCanada. That is what President Obama has promised America and I will hold you to it.

In 2011, the State Department issued an Environmental Impact Statement concluding that the Keystone XL would have "no significant impact" on the surrounding environment. That conclusion defied belief and has been disproven by independent experts on a variety of fronts. The Keystone XL would increase America's reliance on dirty fuels, drive more global warming, hasten the destruction of Canada's boreal forest and put the water supply of millions of Americans at risk -- without lowering gas prices or increasing U.S. energy security.

Your department has already announced that, instead of issuing a new EIS, you will prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to address those controversial issues raised by last year's original and flawed EIS. That is not enough! TransCanada's revised proposal constitutes an entirely new project and must get a new and thorough review before any decision on it is made.

Your new evaluation must address these realities:

* The Keystone XL would carry a corrosive, acidic tar sands mixture that is far more hazardous than most conventional oil pipelines. It brings with it a higher chance of oil spills that are extremely difficult to clean up.
* This pipeline will not boost U.S. oil supplies or increase America's energy security. Existing crude pipelines from Canada are half empty right now; another tar sands pipeline is not needed.
* The EPA estimates that Keystone XL would increase global warming pollution by the equivalent of several coal-fired power plants operating continuously.

The Keystone XL is a massive industrial project that will wreak havoc on the environment and put millions of Americans at risk. Please put our health above oil industry profits and give the Keystone XL proposal the robust environmental review that President Obama promised and that we as Americans deserve. Thank you.