As an expansion of the companys existing Keystone Pipeline System, which has been operating since 2010 (and continues to send Canadian tar sands crude oil from Alberta to various processing hubs in the middle of the United States), the pipeline promised to dramatically increase capacity to process the 168 billion barrels of crude oil locked up under Canadas boreal forest. Erwin Seba/Reuters, FILE "We recognize that incidents . In its November 11 response, TransCanada pointed out fourteen different routes for Keystone XL were being studied, eight that impacted Nebraska. On January 20, 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order[21] to revoke the permit[22] that was granted to TC Energy Corporation for the Keystone XL Pipeline (Phase 4). That's why our Emergency Response plans are approved by state and federal agencies, and why we practice them regularly. [77][78], In February 2019, District Judge Morris denied a request by TransCanada Corporation to begin constructing worker camps for pipeline although the company could begin construction of pipe storage and container yards as long as they were outside the proposed pipeline's right-of-way. Thousands of landowners testified against the development of this pipeline project on their land. [119], In January 2012, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) requested a new report on the environmental review process. "[176], A USA Today editorial pointed out that the 2013 Lac-Mgantic derailment in Quebec, in which crude oil carried by rail cars exploded and killed 47 people,[178] highlights the safety of pipelines compared to truck or rail transport. The 1,200-mile pipeline would have traveled southeast through nine South Dakota counties. Fact: This Keystone XL project will bring oil from Canadas oil sands to Gulf Coast in Texas. [102], As of 2008, certain parties who agreed to make volume commitments to the Keystone expansion had the option to acquire up to a combined 15% equity ownership,[30] which included Valero Energy Corporation[103] and Hogshead Spouter Co.[104], This 3,456-kilometre-long (2,147mi) pipeline runs from Hardisty, Alberta, to the junction at Steele City, Nebraska, and on to the Wood River Refinery in Roxana, Illinois, and Patoka Oil Terminal Hub (tank farm) north of Patoka, Illinois. While the tar sands industry was once seen as an unbeatable opponent in a David-and-Goliath fight, the victory against Keystone XL shows that the tables have begun to turnand that more power now lies with the advocates for climate justice than ever before. Thanks for signing up. On January 24, 2017, President Donald Trump took action intended to permit the pipeline's completion. This is why the government has failed to consider some important frontiers of public safety, climate change, and job security for Americans with this project. [68] [259], TransCanada Corporation responded with a letter by President and CEO Russel K. Girling stating that TransCanada "rejects the EPA inference that at lower oil prices the [Keystone XL Pipeline] Project will increase the rate of oil sands production growth and accompanying greenhouse gas emissions". [194][195] The event featured Lennox Yearwood; Chief Jacqueline Thomas, immediate past chief of the Saik'uz First Nation; Van Jones; Crystal Lameman, of Beaver Lake Cree Nation; Michael Brune, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and others as invited speakers. [175] In April 2013, Calgary-based Canada West Foundation warned that Alberta is "running up against a [pipeline capacity] wall around 2016, when we will have barrels of oil we can't move". It was expected to transport 830,000 barrels of Alberta tar sands oil per day to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Finally, massive fossil fuel infrastructure investments like KXL undermine efforts to minimize global warming and prioritize clean energy like wind and solar. Extremist Mass Killings in 2022 Linked to Far Right . At present, the refineries are dependent on heavy crude from Venezuela,[citation needed] including crude from Venezuela's own massive Orinoco oil sands. [100], The company, which changed its name from TransCanada Corporation to TC Energy Corporation on May 3, 2020, to "better reflect the scope of our operations as a leading North American energy infrastructure company", is the sole owner of the Keystone Pipeline System. In reality, Keystone XL will create a limited number of jobs that will mostly be non-local and temporary. The Keystone pipeline spill in a creek running through rural pastureland in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles northwest of Kansas City, also was the biggest in the system's history, according to U.S. Department of Transportation data. Leading climate scientist and former NASA researcher James Hansen has warned that fully exploiting Canadas tar sands reserves by moving forward with these projects would mean game over for our climate. [240], Environmental organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) also oppose the project due to its transportation of oil from oil sands. [72][73] The State Department issued a new Record of Decision on the same factual record as before but now finding that granting the permit to be in the national interest. For more than a decade, we've fought to keep this filthy fossil fuel from being dredged up and piped through the United States. [97][94] The order, however, did not affect any other present or future pipeline construction in the United States, and would be in force until the circuit court, and then the Supreme Court deliver their final rulings. [125] TransCanada's Pipeline Permit Application to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission states project impacts that include potential physical disturbance, demolition or removal of "prehistoric or historic archaeological sites, districts, buildings, structures, objects, and locations with traditional cultural value to Native Americans and other groups".[126]. The Houston Lateral pipeline phase is a 47-mile (76km) pipeline to transport crude oil from the pipeline in Liberty County, Texas, to refineries and terminal in the Houston area. This pipeline project is supposed to connect oil sands in Alberta, Canada, to different cities, including Nebraska, Steele, and Gulf Coast. [26][42][43], In June 2010, Keystone Pipeline (Phase I) was completed and was delivering oil from Hardisty, Alberta, over 3,456 kilometres (2,147mi) to the junction at Steele City, Nebraska, and on to Wood River Refinery in Roxana, Illinois, and Patoka Oil Terminal Hub north of Patoka, Illinois. Shifts to gasoline fuel for cargo vehicles, new technologies promoting fuel efficiency, and export restrictions that forced the price of oil to decrease also played a part. [270] However, according to industries, the Seaway line alone is not enough for oil transportation to the Gulf Coast. The Keystone XL pipeline extension, proposed by TC Energy (then TransCanada) in 2008, was initially designed to transport the planets dirtiest fossil fuel, tar sands oil, to marketand fast. Organizer Bill McKibben said, "this has become not only the biggest environmental flash point in many, many years, but maybe the issue in recent times in the Obama administration when he's been most directly confronted by people in the street. This is why we fight | Dallas Goldtooth", "Eminent Domain Fight Has a Canadian Twist", "Daryl Hannah freed following arrest in pipeline protest", "Pipeline Review Is Faced With Question of Conflict", "Keystone XL: State Department cleared of conflict, not ineptness", "Keystone XL pipeline report slammed by activists and scientists", "EXCLUSIVE: State Dept. That number made it the seventh-largest onshore oil spill since 2002. [267], An Angus Reid Institute poll, published on March 9, 2017, showed that 48% of respondents across Canada supported the Keystone XL revival, while 33% opposed it, and 20% were uncertain. [53], On November 10, 2011, the Department of State postponed a final decision while investigating "potential alternative routes around the Sandhills in Nebraska" in response to concerns that the project was not in the United States' national interest. The Tribes are asking the court to rescind the illegal issuance of the Keystone XL pipeline presidential permit.[199], Environmental concerns include the potential for air pollution, and for leaks and spills, that could pollute critical water supplies and cause harm to migratory birds and other wildlife. Since this pipeline will carry raw tar sands known to be more abrasive and corrosive, the chances of oil spills increase significantly. In 2015, the U.S. State Department, under President Barack Obama, declined to grant the northern leg of the Keystone XL project the permit required to construct, maintain, and operate the pipeline across the U.S.Canada bordera permit that President Trump later granted and President Biden once again revoked. However, this project is seeing protests by environmentalists and American due to its severe consequences on environmental safety, public health, jobs, and energy security. 2022. Fact: In various independent studies based on the future economics of the KXL project, it has been found that these claims of generating millions of dollars by TransCanada are a plot to get support for this project. However, this project is seeing protests by environmentalists and American due to its severe consequences on environmental safety, public health, jobs, and energy security. Keystone XL: Myths vs. Facts Keystone XL - the 2,000 mile tar sands pipeline that would stretch from Canada to the Gulf Coast - sparked an escalating debate in recent months, with both sides sparring over the consequences for energy security, jobs, public health and environmental safety. In addition, When the State Department released the original proposal ERM had submitted to secure the SEIS contract, portions of the work histories of key personnel were redacted. [210] The March 2013 U.S. Department of State Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) stated that the original proposals, would not cause "significant impacts to most resources along the proposed Project route". [158] TransCanada had said that development of oil sands will expand regardless of whether the crude oil is exported to the United States or alternatively to Asian markets through Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines or Kinder Morgan's Trans-Mountain line. Since it first went into operation in 2010, TC Energys original Keystone Pipeline System has leaked more than a dozen times; one incident in North Dakota sent a 60-foot, 21,000-gallon geyser of tar sands oil spewing into the air. When Nebraska landowners who had refused TransCanada the permission it needed for pipeline easements on their properties, TransCanada attempted to exercise eminent domain over such use. In February 2011, the Keystone-Cushing extension (Phase II) was completed running 468 kilometres (291mi) from Steele City to a tank farm in Cushing, Oklahoma. [12] The Keystone XL pipeline segments were intended to allow American crude oil to enter the XL pipelines at Baker, Montana, on their way to the storage and distribution facilities at Cushing, Oklahoma. Simultaneous 'solidarity' protests were also organized in several other cities across the United States, Europe, and Canada. The people and the planet can claim more than a few victoriesand 2019 is looking better already. Keystone XL was a terrible idea from the start, Swift said. This is not a pipeline to America, said the late civil rights activist Julian Bond, among the many arrested. We are a sovereign nation, and we are not being treated as such. "[188], In August 2012, the Tar Sands Blockade launched an indefinite tree sit in East Texas;[189] Naomi Klein credits these blockades and direct action against the pipeline in general with popularising the global anti-extractivist Blockadia movement. Fact: KXL will Threaten the Ogallala Aquifer, Smaller oil pipeline to cross Ogallala Aquifer, "TransCanada Wins as Obama Keystone Permit Seen", "Keystone XL pipeline: Obama rejects controversial project", "TransCanada proposes new Keystone XL route in Nebraska", "Exclusive: State Dept. Initially, President Obama put this project on hold, but Donald Trump turned it and gave it a green flag. This is a debate about whether you want to get your oil from Canada or Venezuela or Nigeria. [109], Since 2010, there were concerns that a pipeline spill could threaten the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the world's largest fresh water reserves. One of the central arguments made by pipeline pushers was that tar sands expansion will move forward with or without Keystone XL. Alberta tar sands expansion will move forward with or without Keystone XL oil spill 2002... Mostly be non-local and temporary put this project on hold, but Donald took! 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