City Council Votes to Avoid Banking With Keystone XL Backers

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle City Council has voted to oppose the Keystone XL Pipeline and to request that the city's finance department avoid contracting with banks that back the $8 billion project.

The Seattle Times reports the council voted unanimously Monday to pass the resolution. The Trump administration signed off on the pipeline last month, reversing the Obama administration's rejection of the pipeline.

The Keystone XL wouldn't pass through Seattle but anti-pipeline activists say the project would contribute to devastating climate change.

The council passed legislation earlier this year requesting that Mayor Ed Murray not renew a Wells Fargo contract because of the bank's role as a lender for the Dakota Access Pipeline project. The city will wait until that contract expires at the end of next year rather than severing ties immediately.