This likely means the end of the $8 billion pipeline, a years-long project that would have carried oil sands crude from Alberta, Canada, to the American Gulf Coast.
President Biden has set his sights on more than 100 Trump administration environmental rollbacks as well as plans to rejoin the international climate accord.
After a three-year push, the Trump administration has opened up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil leases. It's a scramble to lock in drilling before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
The Trump administration is trying to force banks to make loans to gun-makers and to finance payday lenders. Critics call the move bizarre. It's opposed by watchdog groups and banks.
After a three-year push by the Trump administration, almost no oil companies offered bids. Analysts point to controversy, low oil prices and an incoming administration that opposes drilling.
The coronavirus-induced collapse in oil demand stole all the headlines. But oil companies faced a myriad of other woes, too, from hurricanes to itchy investors — and, of course, climate change.
There's little solid data on how much oil is under the refuge, and lawsuits and market forces could dampen industry interest. Any leases would also face opposition from a Biden administration.
Fifteen states are challenging the decision, arguing that the risk of explosion puts lives in danger. For one project, highly flammable gas will travel 200 miles through a busy East Coast corridor.