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day."
• The court also said that the Sierra Club and the other groups could not post a bond to cover TransCanada's losses if the pipeline builder ultimately wins the lawsuit. The judges also rejected an argument that
• TransCanada's potential losses were "self-inflicted" because of its own deadlines for construction.
• The Keystone pipeline was designed to carry tar sands oil from Canada across Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Concerns were raised in Nebraska by plans to route the line through the fragile Sandhills region.
• Because the Keystone XL pipeline will cross the Canada-U.S. border, federal approval is required. President Barack Obama visited Cushing in 2012 and urged construction of the pipeline's 485-mile southern portion from Cushing to Port Arthur, Texas.
• Judge William J. Martinez said in a dissent that the lower court didn't adequately assess whether the Sierra Club and the others could win their lawsuit against the regulators and that he would have sent the case back for more proceedings.
• He said the groups could perhaps win their argument that environmental assessments were insufficient. He said the pipeline will cross water five times each mile -- a total of 2,227 times -- and that the lower court didn't consider the full impact of building the pipeline.
• The construction right of way, 85 feet wide, will be cleared of trees, vegetation and topsoil while some wetlands are filled in, Martinez wrote.
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US attorney: 12 indicted in Bakken drug ring
MATTHEW BROWN, Associated Press
• BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) -- A dozen people have been indicted on federal charges alleging they were involved in a ring that distributed methamphetamine in the Bakken oil patch along the North Dakota border, and in other cities and towns across Montana, authorities said.
• Federal indictments unsealed Wednesday said Washington state resident Robert Ferrell Armstrong, also known as "Dr. Bob," obtained pure methamphetamine in his home state to distribute through a network of couriers across Montana.
• Authorities say the ring began operating in April 2012 and distributed drugs in Sidney, Fairview, Billings, Big Timber, Columbus, Livingston and Bozeman. Several people who were indicted face potential prison terms of 10 years to life if convicted.
• During initial appearances in federal court, the defendants pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges and were appointed public defenders. They include resi (Continued on page 27)
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