ogallala aquifer keystone pipeline map
The suit alleges that, contrary to the federal Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. [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 (291 mi) long. The Ogallala Aquifer spans eight states, provides drinking water for two million people, and supports $20 billion in agriculture. [209] Stansbury concludes that safety assessments provided by TransCanada are misleading: "We can expect no fewer than 2 major spills per state during the 50-year projected lifetime of the pipeline. 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. [45] The pipeline restarted at a reduced operating pressure on April 10 after the U.S. regulator approved the companies corrective actions and plan. [34] It took TransCanada more than two years to acquire all the necessary state and federal permits for the pipeline. [129] In August 2014, a study was published that concluded the pipeline could produce up to 4 times more global warming pollution than the State Department's study indicated. [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. [101][102][103], In 2015, President Obama blocked the project, causing TC Energy to instigate a US $15 billion lawsuit under NAFTA. The $8 billion pipeline would transport 830,000 barrels of tar sands oil per day from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf Coast of the United States, running 1,700 miles and crossing rivers and aquifers, including the Ogallala Aquifer. The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC Energy and as of 31 March 2020 the Government of Alberta. [71] This proved to be a major setback for TransCanada since they would have "years of new review and legal challenges". [164] By May 2012, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had spent $9 million and $16.5 million by May 2013 to promote Keystone XL. [8] This phase has generated the greatest controversy because of its routing over the Sandhills in Nebraska. When TransCanada proposed the original Keystone XL pipeline route in May 2010, the Ogallala Aquifer, named for a site three miles east of Ogallala, Neb., caused a storm of great concern among scientists, activists, farmers, landowners and conservationists. The pipeline has faced years of sustained protests from environmental activists and organizations; Indigenous communities; religious leaders; and the farmers, ranchers, and business owners along its proposed route. [127] However, the Department of State's Office of the Inspector General conducted an investigation of the potential conflict of interest, and its February 2012 report of that investigation states there was no conflict of interest either in the selection of the contractor or in the preparation of the environmental impact statement. [116] 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".[118]. [27], The original Keystone Pipeline cost US$5.2 billion. [211] However, while TransCanada had asserted that a set of 57 conditions will ensure Keystone XL's safe operation, Anthony Swift of the Natural Resources Defense Council asserted that all but a few of these conditions simply restate current minimum standards. [125] On October 4, 2012, 78-year-old Texas landowner Eleanor Fairchild was arrested for criminal trespassing and other charges after she was accused of standing in front of pipeline construction equipment on Fairchild's farm in Winnsboro, a town about 100 miles (160 km) east of Dallas. [212], TransCanada claims that they will take 100% responsibility for any potential environmental problems. The oil industry has lobbied hard to get KXL built by using false claims, political arm-twisting, and big bucks. The leak lasted for several minutes, with no initial reports of damage to water sources or wildlife. The pipeline was subsequently re-routed . [113] After Donald Trump's victory in that election, he released a presidential memorandum on January 24, 2017 announcing revival of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. The U.S. State Department's Preliminary Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, issued in March 2013, estimated 3,900 direct jobs and 42,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction.[157]. (Indeed, Keystone XL was viewed as a necessary ingredient in the oil industry’s plans to triple tar sands production by 2030. The Pipeline Poses Minimal Risk to the Ogallala Aquifer James Goeke , a research hydrogeologist, is professor emeritus at the University of … [227], Environmental organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) also oppose the project due to its transportation of oil from oil sands. Indigenous communities are also concerned with health risks posed by the extension of the Keystone pipeline. Construction of Phase III, from Cushing, Oklahoma, to Nederland, Texas, in the Gulf Coast area, began in August 2012 as an independent economic utility. [231][232], In December 2010, the No Tar Sands Oil campaign, sponsored by action groups including Corporate Ethics International, NRDC, Sierra Club, 350.org, National Wildlife Federation, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and Rainforest Action Network, was launched. Natali Segovia, WPLC Staff Attorney. We will close our reservation borders to Keystone XL. It used the same Sandhills boundaries as a 2001 map calledEcoregions of Nebraska and Kansas. Pat Handlin, WPLC Board Member. [147] 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. [104], On January 18, 2018, TransCanada announced they had secured commitments to ship 500,000 barrels (79,000 m3) per day for 20 years. TransCanada nearly doubled its construction estimates in October 2007, from $2.8-billion (U.S.) to $5.2-billion. The depth to the water table of the Ogallala Aquifer varies from actual surface discharge to over 150 meters (500 feet). In 2014, the EPA stated that tar sands oil emits 17 percent more carbon than other types of crude, but ironically, the State Department revised this number upward three years later, stating that the emissions could be “5 percent to 20 percent higher than previously indicated.” That means burdening the planet with an extra 178.3 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, the same impact as 38.5 million passenger vehicles or 45.8 coal-fired power plants. 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? [102], Since 2010, there were concerns that a pipeline spill could threaten the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the world's largest fresh water reserves. This dirty, dangerous oil, which is almost impossible to clean and affects the health of people, is bad news for our country—and the planet. [208], University of Nebraska professor John Stansbury conducted an independent analysis which provides more detail on the potential risks for the Ogallala Aquifer. Even as Trump and TC Energy tried to revive the pipeline, polls showed that a majority of Americans opposed it. 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. Five years ago, a pipeline spilled a million gallons of tar sands crude into a Michigan river—and we’re still cleaning it up. This is a debate about whether you want to get your oil from Canada or Venezuela or Nigeria. [91][92] In the summary judgment, the judge agreed that the Endangered Species Act was violated, thereby voiding the permit. Nebraska. "[54], January 22, 2014 The Gulf Coast Extension (Phase III) was completed running 784 kilometres (487 mi) from Cushing to refineries at Port Arthur, Texas. [99] 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. When completed it will add 350,000 barrels (56,000 m3) per day new capacity to the existing pipeline for cumulative total of 800,000 barrels (130,000 m3) per day. [175] A broad coalition of protesters, including Phil Radford, Daryl Hannah,[176] Dave Heineman, Ben Nelson, Mike Johanns and Susie Tompkins Buell challenged him to keep that promise.