Keystone XL is a proposed pipeline of approx 1,179 miles that would join the existing channel to improve oil flow and save on transportation costs. [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". In 2011, Russ Girling, president and CEO of TransCanada, touted the positive impact of the project as "putting 20,000US workers to work and spending $7billion stimulating the US economy", according to a report they commissioned. 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 . In 2015, KXL was temporarily delayed by President Barack Obama. [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]. [6][16], On January 24, 2017, in his first week in office, President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum to revive both Keystone XL pipelines,[70][71] which "would transport more than 800,000 barrels [130,000m3] per day of heavy crude" from Alberta to the Gulf Coast. [133] In this article Wood refers to the pipeline as a black snake that poses a major threat to the Sioux Nation. [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. The first, a southern leg, had already been completed and now runs between Cushing, Oklahoma, and Port Arthur, Texas. [54][205], In 2011, after opposition for laying the pipeline in this area, TransCanada agreed to change the route and skip the Sandhills,[108] even though pipeline industry spokesmen had maintained that existing pipelines carrying crude oil and refined liquid hydrocarbons have crossed over the Ogallala Aquifer for years in southeast Wyoming, eastern Colorado and New Mexico, western Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Indeed, moving crude by rail to the Gulf costs substantially more than moving it by pipe. 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. [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". [204] In December 2011, Congress passed a bill giving the Obama Administration a 60-day deadline to make a decision on the application to build the Keystone XL Pipeline. Indeed, one study found that between 2007 and 2010, pipelines moving tar sands oil in Midwestern states spilled three times more per mile than the U.S. national average for pipelines carrying conventional crude. 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. [60] The Senate had passed it 6236 on January 29,[61] and the House approved it 270152 on February 11. Historic flooding recently inundated parts of the Cornhusker State where the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would pass through. Meanwhile, major new tar sands projects stopped moving forward, despite investments from the government of Alberta, Canada. Reporters still fumbling numbers in wake of pipeline's rejection", "Keystone pipeline: How many jobs really at stake? [29] Later that year, TransCanada began the process of becoming the sole owner of the pipeline. Some three million miles of oil and gas pipelines already run through our country, but KXL wasnt your average pipeline, and tar sands oil isnt your average crude. The oil in the Lac-Mgantic rail cars came from the Bakken Formation in North Dakota, an area that would be served by the Keystone expansion. 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. Instead, TransCanada has invested a lot in misleading the American public by using fake science and faked numbers to promote the viability of the KXL pipeline project. [281], In early January 2016, TransCanada announced it would initiate an ISDS claim under NAFTA against the United States, seeking $15 billion in damages and calling the denial of a permit for Keystone XL "arbitrary and unjustified". On November 2, 2015, TransCanada asked the Obama administration to suspend its permit application for the Keystone XL. [168] After completion of the Keystone XL line, oil pipelines to the U.S. may run nearly half-empty. 2022 they are producing almost 12 million . To clear this. 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. Furthermore, the project cannot create such a high number of jobs for Native Americans. [218] On March 4, 2015, the Senate held a vote and failed to override President Obama's veto of the bill; the vote was 62 to 37, less than the two-thirds majority required to override a presidential veto. "TransCanada restarts Keystone pipeline after repairing leak". A study published in early 2020, co-authored by TC Energys own scientists, found that the anti-corrosion coating on the projects pipes was damaged from being stored outside and exposed to the elements for the last decade, notes NRDC senior attorney Jaclyn Prange, who spent years working on KXL litigation. On January 9, 2015, the Nebraska Supreme Court cleared the way for construction, and on the same day the House voted in favor of the pipeline. TransCanada has developed an Aboriginal Relations policy in order to confront some of these conflicts. history". [185][187][137], By August 11, there were over 1000nonviolent arrests at the White House. 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. Authorizing Keystone XL is an act of war against our people. The application was granted consideration. In the instance of the Keystone XL pipeline, there have been many protests and actions taken against the construction of the pipeline. However, once the oil starts reaching the international market, it will ultimately cause a price hike in fuel rates in America. The study found that the pipeline would have limited adverse environmental impacts, but was authored by a firm that had "previously worked on projects with TransCanada and describes the pipeline company as a 'major client' in its marketing materials". [20], The pipeline became well known when the proposed KXL extension attracted opposition from environmentalists with concerns about climate change and fossil fuels. There is thorough research or proper facts to back the claims made by the company. [citation needed] From January 2018 through December 31, 2019, Keystone XL development costs were $1.5 billion. The only group identified by the Pew poll with less than majority support for the pipeline was among those Democrats who identified themselves as liberal (41% in favor versus 54% opposed).[261]. [227], The main issues are the risk of oil spills along the pipeline, which would traverse highly sensitive terrain, and 17% higher greenhouse gas emissions from the extraction of oil sands compared to extraction of conventional oil. [240], Environmental organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) also oppose the project due to its transportation of oil from oil sands. 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). "[253] To the extent that the oil would be extracted in any case, the relevant comparison would be to alternative means of transporting it; the Final SEIS considered three alternative scenarios and found that "total GHG emissions associated with construction and operation (direct and indirect) combined would be higher for each of the three scenarios than for the entire route encompassing the proposed Project". That number made it the seventh-largest onshore oil spill since 2002. [59], On February 24, 2015, President Obama vetoed a bill that approved the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, saying that the decision of approval should rest with the Executive Branch. The TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline is considered one of the toughest projects for organized labor. Looking at the spills incidents that happened in the past few years, the answer is a resounding yes. [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. Kerry found that there was a "perception" among foreigners that the project would increase greenhouse-gas emissions, and that, whether or not this perception was accurate, the decision would therefore "undercut the credibility and influence of the United States" in climate-change-related negotiations. [112], On January 20, 2021, President Joe Biden revoked the permit for the pipeline on his first day in office. In June 2021, TC Energy announced that it was abandoning its plans for building the pipeline for goodputting an end to a fossil fuel project that had loomed over waterways, communities, and the climate for more than a decade. [4][5][107] Oil producers in the U.S. pushed for this phase so the glut of oil can be distributed out of the large oil tank farms and distribution center in Cushing. [23][24], The Keystone Pipeline system consisted of the operational Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III, the Gulf Coast Pipeline Project. [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. Other than this, problems also exist on the ground where people are busy fighting against deforestation and water pollution caused by this project. Yes, Trump has green-lighted the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. [225], TransCanada claims that they will take 100% responsibility for any potential environmental problems. The main reason why TransCanada is pulling out every single card on this project is that its the only way for this company to explore overseas markets. In November 2017, the Nebraska Public Service Commission approved (32) the construction of the pipeline, albeit through an alternative route which is longer, but deemed to have the least environmental impact compared to two other routes that were considered. There have been nearly 12 to 15 spills accidents in the Midwest pipeline, which has led to the wastage of thousands of gallons of oil in these spills. However, this project is seeing protests by environmentalists and American due to its severe consequences on environmental safety, public health, jobs, and energy security. 701 et. [23][24] At the time of the project's cancellation, approximately 8% of the pipeline had been constructed. [196] The KXL Pipeline would have connected to the existing Keystone Pipeline to help transport Alberta tar sands oil in Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. September 29, 2015 TransCanada dropped their lawsuit against Nebraska landowners who had refused permission allowing for pipeline easements on their properties, in order to exercise eminent domain over such use. [258] The EPA suggested that the State Department should "revisit" its prior conclusions in light of the drop in oil prices. 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. "[123], Many American and Canadian Aboriginals have opposed the Keystone XL project for various reasons,[124] including possible damage to sacred sites, pollution, and water contamination, which could lead to health risks among their communities. This included the shortening of the pipeline to 875 miles (1,408km); its avoidance of "crossing the NDEQ-identified Sandhills Region" and "reduction of the length of pipeline crossing the Northern High Plains Aquifer system, which includes the Ogallala formation". However, the reports conducted by the authorities were a complete sham, and there was nothing reasonable in them. If completed, the Keystone XL would have added 510,000 barrels (81,000 m 3) per day increasing the total capacity up to 1.1 million barrels (170,000 m 3) per day. An astonishing number of people in America are unaware of different keystone pipeline facts and myths. [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". The Keystone pipeline is seen as a way to replace imports of heavy oil-sand crude from Venezuela with more reliable Canadian heavy oil. [68] An Angus Reed Institute poll published that week showed that 48% of Canadians supported the revival of the Keystone XL pipeline project. [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. Fact: It appears that the government review process for Keystone XL has been completely fair. 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. [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. 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. Refining the sticky black gunk produces piles of petroleum coke, a hazardous, coal-like by-product. But immediately after taking office, President Donald Trump brought the zombie project back to life, along with the legal battles against it. The revoked permit became the final nail in the pipelines coffin. [246][247] 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". [282], The Sandhills region and Ogallala Aquifer. Fact: The Midwest has become the center of the debate over pipelines and pipeline politics, but are these concerns justified? Pipeline under construction in Alberta, Canada.