On May 23, 2013, the Department of State posted the first set of approximately 100,000 comments, out of the more than 1.2 million received, on the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline to www.regulations.gov, a public website. This marks the first time the Department has made all individual comments on a Presidential Permit application available to the public. The Department decided to post these comments as part of its continued effort to maximize transparency in the federal Presidential Permit review process. The comments can be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=DOS-2013-0011.

The Department of State has received an unprecedented number of comments on the Keystone XL Draft SEIS from members of the public, federal and state agencies and representatives, Native American tribes, non-governmental organizations, and other parties. The Department plans to post subsequent sets of comments of a similar size weekly. All comments will be posted prior to completion of the Final SEIS. The Department is diligently and efficiently evaluating these comments to ensure that this input is taken into consideration as we prepare the Final SEIS. For more information, please contact Imani Esparza at EsparzaIJ@state.gov.