Its no small feat extracting oil from tar sands, and doing so comes with steep environmental and economic costs. [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. In 2004, TransCanada made a major donation to the University of Toronto "to promote education and research in the health of the Aboriginal population". Frontline Indigenous youth, who have been standing up against destructive oil pipelines for years, are imploring President Biden to join them in protecting their water, lands, and cultures. It was constructed in 2010 and went online in February 2011.[3]. 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. Construction took another two years. On March 9, 2017, the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier of Alberta Rachel Notley attended North America's largest energy conference CERAWeek in Houston, Texas. [44][45] [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]. This pipeline project is supposed to connect oil sands in Alberta, Canada, to different cities, including Nebraska, Steele, and Gulf Coast. On the contrary, green and renewable energy could be the best way to go about it and can put a hold on global climate change to some extent. When completed it will add 350,000 barrels (56,000m3) per day new capacity to the existing pipeline for cumulative total of 800,000 barrels (130,000m3) per day. Jobs Gained, Jobs Lost by the Construction of Keystone XL, "EPA: Keystone XL impact statement needs revising", "EPA Calls for Further Study of Keystone XL", "Keystone Pipeline Leak Was Twice as Big as Previously Thought", "Keystone pipeline spills 210,000 gallons of oil on eve of permitting decision for TransCanada", "Keystone Poses 'No Significant Impacts' to Most Resources Along Path US", "Pipe dreams? Dec. 14 2022, Published 4:37 p.m. [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. [155] The large trade relationship between the US and Venezuela has persisted despite political tensions between the two countries. [12][13], TransCanada Keystone Pipeline GP Ltd,[14] abbreviated here as Keystone, operates four phases of the 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. The Keystone Pipeline was shut down mid-November 2017 after it leaked an initial estimate of 210,000 gallons of crude oil in Amherst, South Dakota, . [177] A report by the Cornell University Global Labor Institute noted of the 2010 Enbridge Tar Oil Spill along the Kalamazoo River in Michigan: "The experience of Kalamazoo residents and businesses provides an insight into some of the ways a community can be affected by a tar sands pipeline spill. TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) An oil spill in a creek in northeastern Kansas shut down a major pipeline that carries oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast, briefly . On January 24, 2017, President Donald Trump took action intended to permit the pipeline's completion. As per the analysis report conducted by Cornell Universitys Global Labor Institute, these job claims are nothing but mere fabrications. Indigenous communities are also concerned with health risks posed by the extension of the Keystone pipeline. Indeed, moving crude by rail to the Gulf costs substantially more than moving it by pipe. [68], On November 16, 2011, Enbridge announced it was buying ConocoPhillips's 50% interest in the Seaway pipeline that flowed from the Gulf of Mexico to the Cushing hub. [173], In 2013, frustrated by delays in getting approval for Keystone XL (via the Gulf of Mexico), the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines (via Kitimat, BC) and the expansion of the existing TransMountain line to Vancouver, Alberta has intensified exploration of two northern projects "to help the province get its oil to tidewater, making it available for export to overseas markets". However, the volume of oil imported into the US from Venezuela dropped in half from 2007 to 2014, as overall Venezuelan exports have dropped, and also as Venezuela seeks to become less dependent on US purchases of its crude oil. [257] EPA concluded that due to the current relatively cheap cost of oil, companies might be less likely to set up their own developments in the oil sands. US oil prices rose about 4% the following day following news of the leak and shutdown. And as far as existing pipelines we have 185 operational oil lines. "[211] In response to the Department of State's report, which recommended neither acceptance nor rejection, an editor of The New York Times recommended that Obama should reject the project, which "even by the State Department's most cautious calculationscan only add to the [climate change] problem". The takedown of the notorious Keystone XL (KXL) tar sands pipeline will go down as one of this generations most monumental environmental victories. 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. By Tsvetana Paraskova - Dec 26, 2022, 3:30 AM CST TC Energy, the operator of the Keystone Pipeline, has received approval from the U.S. DAPL may be underway, but the water protectors at Standing Rock taught us a lot about going up against the fossil fuel industry. The oil flow was stopped on Wednesday, December 7 just seven minutes after a leak was discovered. [65], On November 6, 2015, the Obama administration rejected the Keystone XL pipeline project, citing economic and environmental concerns. [230][235] In April 2018, a federal investigation found that 408,000 US gallons (1,540m3) of crude had spilled at the site, almost twice what TransCanada had reported. In cooperation with Enterprise Products Partners LP it is reversing the Seaway pipeline so that an oversupply of oil at Cushing can reach the Gulf. TC Energy is the Canadian pipeline company that planned to build the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have spanned from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Nebraska. The suit was thrown out by a federal judge on procedural grounds, ruling that the NRDC lacked the authority to bring it. Fact: While American Petroleum Institute has stated that this project will create jobs for over half a million American people, the truth is these are all false claims. Heres everything you need to know about the historic KXL fightand why the pipelines cancellation has had no impact on current oil prices. The existing Keystone pipeline travels to Port Arthur, Texas to be refined and guess what - the majority of it is exported. Complicating matters, leaks can be difficult to detect. In the instance of the Keystone XL pipeline, there have been many protests and actions taken against the construction of the pipeline. Additionally, it will cause havoc on labor organizations and environmentalists looking to address global climate change. Additionally, the review process for the KXL pipeline project was outsourced by the US government to a company that has close ties with TransCanada. Its costly both to produce and to ship, particularly by rail, which would be an alternative to Keystone XL. Published February 26, 2022 7:38am EST US energy dependence threatens national security, experts warn, as GOP calls on Biden to reopen Keystone XL One expert warned that America is allowing. [68] The pollsters said that the support for the Keystone pipeline project by provincial NDP government and the federal Liberal government under Trudeau had a positive impact on Canadians' attitudes of the project. [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. However, once the oil starts reaching the international market, it will ultimately cause a price hike in fuel rates in America. [241][242] The leak was the largest in the United States in nearly a decade. The Keystone Pipeline has been shut down following a leak discovered near the border of Kansas and Nebraska. [108][109][110], In 2015, President Barack Obama blocked the project, causing TC Energy to instigate a US $15 billion lawsuit under NAFTA. According to Debra White Plume, a Lakota activist, Indigenous peoples "have thousands of ancient and historical cultural resources that would be destroyed across [their] treaty lands". [3], The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration began an investigation into the leak. 15 Fun Facts About Stray Kids | Entertainment. 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. [213], In April 2013, the EPA challenged the U.S. State Department report's conclusion that the pipeline would not result in greater oil sand production, noting that "while informative, [it] is not based on an updated energy-economic modeling effort". [251], As of 2013, however, producing and processing tar sands oil results in roughly 14 per cent more greenhouse gas emissions than the average oil used in the U.S.[252] [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". [157] Diane Francis has argued that much of the opposition to the oil sands actually comes from foreign countries such as Nigeria, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia, all of whom supply oil to the United States and who could be affected if the price of oil drops due to the new availability of oil from the pipeline. Fact: It appears that the government review process for Keystone XL has been completely fair. seq., the Corps' issuance of the permits was arbitrary and capricious and an abuse of discretion. 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. [55][56], In March 2012, Obama endorsed the building of the southern segment (Gulf Coast Extension or Phase III) that begins in Cushing, Oklahoma. [37] It took TransCanada more than two years to acquire all the necessary state and federal permits for the pipeline. In 2009 it bought out ConocoPhillips' shares and revert to being the sole owner. [4][5], In January 2014, the U.S. Department of State's (DoS) January 2014 "Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement" (SEIS) said that, "because of broader market dynamics and options for crude oil transport in the North American logistics system, the upstream and downstream activities are unlikely to be substantially different whether or not the proposed Project is constructed". [105] The Canadian section involves approximately 864 kilometres (537mi) of pipeline converted from the Canadian Mainline natural gas pipeline and 373 kilometres (232mi) of new pipeline, pump stations and terminal facilities at Hardisty, Alberta. They tried to cover this by making up such. [228][229], In 2016, about 400 barrels (64m3) were released from the original Keystone pipe network via leaks, which federal investigators said resulted from a "weld anomaly". [277] In late 2014 Enbridge announced it is awaiting final approval from the US State Department and expects to proceed with the last phase in mid-2015. The black snake is a reference to something that is sneaky, dangerous and sinister, which is the way the Sioux Nation views the Keystone Pipeline. [179] Increased oil production in North Dakota has exceeded pipeline capacity since 2010, leading to increasing volumes of crude oil being shipped by truck or rail to refineries. Farmers, ranchers, tribes, and conservation groups helped keep the project stalled for Trumps full four years in office, despite his best efforts to expedite its approval. The keystone pipeline is operated, build and retains almost all profits to Trans-Canada; short or long term financial to anyone in the USA - minor sort-term assembly which has already been manufactured, and most of the line is strategically positioned Across the heartland. [83], In August 2019, the Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed the Nebraska Public Service Commission's approval of TransCanada's pipeline application. [39] The pipeline, from Hardisty, Alberta, Canada, to Patoka, Illinois, United States, became operational in June 2010. We will The statement of creating half a million jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue for states is a diplomatic strategy to build support and turn opposition into their favor. NRDC.org stories are available for online republication by news media outlets or nonprofits under these conditions: The writer(s) must be credited with a byline; you must note prominently that the story was originally published by NRDC.org and link to the original; the story cannot be edited (beyond simple things such as time and place elements, style, and grammar); you cant resell the story in any form or grant republishing rights to other outlets; you cant republish our material wholesale or automaticallyyou need to select stories individually; you can't republish the photos or graphics on our site without specific permission; you should drop us a note to let us know when youve used one of our stories. a 2011 study by Danielle Droitsch of Pembina Institute) according to which "a good portion of the oil that will gush down the KXL will probably end up being finally consumed beyond the territorial United States". For more than a decade, we've fought to keep this filthy fossil fuel from being dredged up and piped through the United States. Suncor Energy hoped to recoup significant construction-related tolls, though the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission did not rule in their favor. When the Obama administration refused to grant the cross-border permit necessary to build TC Energys Keystone XL oil pipeline in November 2015, it struck a blow against polluting powers and acknowledged the consensus on this misguided project from a wide swath of communities, experts, and organizations. [12] In response to a Freedom of Information Act request for route information, the Department of State revealed on June 24, 2013, that "Neither Cardno ENTRIX nor TransCanada ever submitted GIS information to the Department of State, nor was either corporation required to do so. [106] It runs through Nemaha, Brown and Doniphan counties in Kansas and Buchanan, Clinton, Caldwell, Montgomery, Lincoln and St. Charles counties in Missouri, before entering Madison County, Illinois. [149], During the 2014 Pacific Northwest Economic Region Summit in Whistler, B.C., Canada's US Ambassador Gary Doer stated that there is no proof, be it environmental, economic, safety or scientific, that construction work on Keystone XL should not go ahead. In Alberta, support was at 77%, and in Quebec at 36%. The market case had also deteriorated. [33], In October 2007, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada asked the Canadian federal government to block regulatory approvals for the pipeline, with union president Dave Coles stating "the Keystone pipeline will exclusively serve US markets, create a permanent employment for very few Canadians, reduce our energy security, and hinder investment and job creation in the Canadian energy sector". [135] In his book The Pipeline and the Paradigm, Samuel Avery quotes landowner David Daniel in Texas, who claims that TransCanada illegally seized his land via eminent domain by claiming to be a public utility rather than a private firm. A spill would have been devastating to the farms, ranches, and communities that depend on these crucial ecosystems. Keystone XL would have crossed agriculturally important and environmentally sensitive areas, including hundreds of rivers, streams, aquifers, and water bodies. Less than two years before the project was finally pulled, the Keystone tar sands pipeline was temporarily shut down after a spill in North Dakota of reportedly more than 378,000 gallons in late October 2019. The other jobs will be temporary and limited to the projects duration. The projects corporate backerthe Canadian energy infrastructure company TC Energyofficially abandoned the project in June 2021 following President Joe Bidens denial of a key permit on his first day in office. Keystone XL was a terrible idea from the start, Swift said. About 588,000 gallons of tar sands crude was released. [280], In June 2012, Sierra Club, Clean Energy Future Oklahoma, and the East Texas Sub Regional Planning Commission filed a joint complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma seeking injunctive relief and petitioning for a review of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' action in issuing Nationwide Permit 12 permits for the Cushing, Oklahoma, to the Gulf Coast portion of the pipeline. . Five years ago, a pipeline spilled a million gallons of tar sands crude into a Michigan riverand were still cleaning it up. Tar sands oil is thicker, more acidic, and more corrosive than lighter conventional crude, and this ups the likelihood that a pipeline carrying it will leak. They accuse TransCanada of misleading them when they signed shipping contracts in the summer of 2007. Also Read: What Are The 20+ Reindeer Facts For Kids? Nation Dec 11, 2022 3:29 PM EST. In Canada, the first phase of Keystone involved the conversion of approximately 864 kilometres (537mi) of existing 36-inch (910mm) natural gas pipeline in Saskatchewan and Manitoba to crude oil pipeline service. NRDC and its partners also found the majority of Keystone XL oil would have been sent to markets overseasaided by a 2015 reversal of a ban on crude oil exports. [51][76][needs update], In November 2018, U.S. District Judge Brian Morris (District of Montana) enjoined construction of the pipeline and vacated the new permit because the policy reversal violated the Administrative Procedure Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Endangered Species Act. Furthermore, the project cannot create such a high number of jobs for Native Americans. [44] One of the major concerns was the way in which the original route crossed the Sandhills, the large wetland ecosystem in Nebraska, and the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest reserves of fresh water in the world. [228] In its March 2010 report, the NRDC stated that "the Keystone XL Pipeline undermines the U.S. commitment to a clean energy economy", instead "delivering dirty fuel at high costs". What Are The 20+ Reindeer Facts For Kids? [34], On January 22, 2008, ConocoPhillips acquired a 50% stake in the project. Heres why thats a disaster in the making. [40] Later that year, the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission granted a permit to proceed. 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. (That effort failed.) [111], On January 18, 2018, TransCanada announced they had secured commitments to ship 500,000 barrels (79,000m3) per day for 20 years. [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. [220] Despite some records being posted by consulted agencies such as the EPA, the State Department has not responded to the request. [109], Since 2010, there were concerns that a pipeline spill could threaten the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the world's largest fresh water reserves. [16] The Keystone XL Pipeline Project (Phase IV) revised proposal in 2012 consists of a new 36-inch (910mm) pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta, through Montana and South Dakota to Steele City, Nebraska, to "transport of up to 830,000 barrels per day (132,000m3/d) of crude oil from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta, Canada, and from the Williston Basin (Bakken) region in Montana and North Dakota, primarily to refineries in the Gulf Coast area". Republicans delayed delivering the bill over the Presidents Day holiday weekend to ensure Congress would be in session if the president were to veto the bill. TransCanada nearly doubled its construction estimates in October 2007, from $2.8-billion (U.S.) to $5.2-billion. Natural Resources Defense Council 2023 Privacy Policy Yes, Trump has green-lighted the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. Even worse, building Keystone XL would have meant enduring those risks just to send the fuel to our overseas rivalsand the profits to Big Oil. The following year, President Obama said in his speech announcing the rejection of the pipeline on November 6, 2015, that Keystone XL had taken on symbolic importance, "for years, the Keystone pipeline has occupied what I, frankly, consider an overinflated role in our political discourse. its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. Whats more surprising is that these jobs will be non-local and of temporary nature. U.S. Energy . ), It would also have led to greater greenhouse gas emissionswhich, the latest scientific reports makes clear, we simply cant afford if were to avoid the most catastrophic climate impacts. . According to The Globe and Mail, The refiners argue that construction overruns have raised the cost of shipping on the Canadian portion of Keystone by 145 per cent while the U.S. portion has run 92 per cent over budget. The Keystone pipeline spill in a creek running through rural pastureland in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of Kansas City, also was the biggest in the system . [54] In its response, TransCanada pointed out fourteen different routes for Keystone XL were being studied, eight that impacted Nebraska. One such protest, a historic act of civil disobedience outside the White House in August 2011, resulted in the arrest of more than 1,200 demonstrators. [30], The original Keystone Pipeline cost US$5.2billion. While American Petroleum Institute has stated that this project will create jobs for over half a million American people, the truth is these are all false claims. [A]pproval or denial of any one crude oil transport project, including the proposed Project, is unlikely to significantly impact the rate of extraction in the oil sands, or the continued demand for heavy crude oil. Opponents of this projectnow called the Gulf Coast Pipelinesay that TC Energy took advantage of legal loopholes to push the pipeline through, obtaining authorization under a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers nationwide permit and dodging the more rigorous vetting process for individual permits, which requires public input. Other items of note in Stansbury's analysis: Portions of the pipeline will also cross an active seismic zone that had a 4.3-magnitude earthquake as recently as 2002. A fourth, proposed pipeline expansion segment Phase IV, Keystone XL, failed to receive necessary permits from the United States federal government in 2015. The report blamed the discrepancy on a failure to take account of the increase in consumption due to the drop in the price of oil that would be spurred by the pipeline. 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. On January 29, 2015, the Keystone XL Pipeline was passed by the Senate 6236. The TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline is considered one of the toughest projects for organized labor. [23][24], The Keystone Pipeline system consisted of the operational Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III, the Gulf Coast Pipeline Project. Finally, massive fossil fuel infrastructure investments like KXL undermine efforts to minimize global warming and prioritize clean energy like wind and solar. She cited as an example an effort by Saudi Arabia to stop television commercials critical of the Saudi government. Since this Keystone XL project will pass through the Sandhills region, a spill accident on a large scale in the future could cause severe damage to this environmentally sensitive region. [1], The Keystone-Cushing pipeline phase connected the Keystone pipeline (phase 1) in Steele City, Nebraska, south through Kansas to the oil hub and tank farm in Cushing, Oklahoma, a distance of 468 kilometres (291mi) long. Nevertheless, in the mid-2000s, with gas prices on the rise, oil companies ramped up production and sought additional ways to move their product from Canadas remote tar sands fields to midwestern and Gulf Coast refineries. [243][244], Pipeline construction could affect water supplies upstream of several Native American reservations, even though the pipeline does not lead through any tribal land. [145] Based on an analysis of public documents on the State Department website, one critic asserted that "Environmental Resources Management was paid an undisclosed amount under contract to TransCanada to write the statement". [206] The Pioneer crude oil pipeline crosses eastwest across Nebraska, and the Pony Express pipeline, which crosses the Ogallala Aquifer in Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas, was being converted as of 2013 from natural gas to crude oil, under a permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The suit alleges that, contrary to the federal Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. In 2014, more than two million comments urging a rejection of the pipeline were submitted to the U.S. Department of State during a 30-day public comment period. [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. [28], The U.S. portion of the Keystone Pipeline included 1,744 kilometres (1,084mi) of new, 30-inch-diameter (760mm) pipeline in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. He states, Our resistance to the Keystone XL pipeline and other tar sand infrastructure is grounded in our inherent right to self-determination as indigenous peoples. [170][dead link] In January 2015, Senate Republicans blocked a vote on an amendment proposed by Senator Edward J. Markey, which would have banned exports from the Keystone XL pipeline and required that the pipeline be built with steel from the United States. The leak lasted for several minutes, with no initial reports of damage to water sources or wildlife. They included one potential alternative route in Nebraska that would have avoided the entire Sandhills region and Ogallala Aquifer and six alternatives that would have reduced pipeline mileage crossing the Sandhills or the aquifer. 701 et. The Bakken oil is of a higher quality than the Canadian sand oil and can be sold to east coast refinery at a premium that they would not get sending it to Gulf refineries. This dirty, dangerous oil, which is almost impossible to clean and affects the health of people, is bad news for our countryand the planet. "[57], On January 22, 2014, the Gulf Coast Extension (Phase III) was completed running 784 kilometres (487mi) from Cushing to refineries at Port Arthur, Texas. On June 9, 2021, TC Energy abandoned plans for the Keystone XL Pipeline. [68], On March 24, 2017, Trump signed a presidential permit to allow TransCanada to build the Keystone XL pipeline. The Keystone XL pipeline, which would have expanded an existing system transporting oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast, has been a political and environmental battleground since its conception. Landowners in the path of the pipeline have complained about threats by TransCanada to confiscate private land and lawsuits to allow the "pipeline on their property even though the controversial project has yet to receive federal approval". The second segment was the hotly contested 1,209-mile northern lega shortcut of sortsthat would have run from Hardisty, Alberta, through Montana and South Dakota to Steele City, Nebraska. Its a pipeline through America, and it threatens to be a disaster for us if it leaks poisons on the way. Leading scientists and economists came out in opposition to the project, in addition to unions and world leaders such as the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and former president Jimmy Carter (together, these and other Nobel laureates have written letters against the project).

Danville Correctional Center Inmate Mailing Address, Articles K