EPA Administrator: Route Questions Delay Keystone Decision

The White House will decide on the Keystone XL pipeline as soon as questions are answered about its proposed route, said Gina McCarthy, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Obama administration announced April 18 it would delay indefinitely a decision on whether to move forward with the Keystone XL pipeline. While the decision may have appeased environmentalists, a number of Democrats and Republicans voiced frustration with the delay.

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McCarthy said the debate had been "going on for a while," but emphasized President Barack Obama will make a decision on the project.

"We're going to be prepared to make the decision as soon as we are certain about the route," McCarthy told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Tuesday. "The president said he's going to make a decision on it. And the decision will be made."

The pipeline was just one of many projects before the country, McCarthy said. She indicated a larger issue facing the United States involved climate change.

"One of the biggest challenges we're facing is climate change on this Earth Day. And, we can't lose sight of that," she said.

Obama has an "entire administrative strategy" for issues of energy, climate, and the environment, McCarthy said. She said she understood the Keystone XL pipeline was a project that "has a lot of concern."

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