Guest Opinions

In Montana, Keystone Pipeline Draws Praise and Concern

By Larry Winslow and Jed Link, Guest Writer, 8-29-11

	Protesters against the Keystone XL Pipeline staged a sit-in outside the White House last week, with 65 arrests. The protests are continuing this week. Photo by Amy Dewan, Tar Sands Action, Flickr.

Editor’s Note: After the State Department released its final environmental impact statement Friday on the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, which is intended to carry crude oil from the Alberta tar sands in Canada through eastern Montana and down to the Gulf Coast, supporters and opponents of the project raised an immediate hue and cry. In Montana, the Rocky Mountain state that would be most directly affected by the pipeline, the controversy was encapsulated in two releases.

The Northern Plains Resource Council is very worried, but Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, is delighted. Those opposing reactions are published here.

By Larry Winslow, Northern Plains Resource Council

The final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline released by the U.S. State Department on Friday is far from final.

Montana still has to issue a state permit and decide whether to grant the safety and landowner conditions requested by the Northern Plains Pipeline Landowners Group (NPPLG).

Hearings to determine what is in the best national interest still need to be held in states crossed by the pipeline, and in Washington, D.C.

Finally, the State Department and President Obama have to decide whether to permit the pipeline, if it is in the national interest.

The release of the final analysis of environmental impacts for Keystone XL has been long-awaited by emergency responders in areas crossed by the pipeline, landowners along the route, and others concerned about the impacts of this project.

NPPLG, a committee of the Northern Plains Resource Council, is a group of landowners crossed by the proposed Keystone XL pipeline who have organized to negotiate with the company an equitable contract that protects landowners and public safety.

One of those landowners is committee member Irene Moffett of the Glendive area.

“I hope that the final EIS is better than the original and supplemental EIS, both of which had many flaws, faults, and wrong information, and did not cover proper reclamation of lands,” Moffett said.

“I hope the final EIS will require them to have the emergency response plan in place before they start building the pipeline. I will also be looking for requirements to make the roads safer, in the face of the coming heavy construction traffic.”

The final EIS released on Friday fails to provide an Emergency Response Plan, or to include a full review of the safety of tar sands pipelines, to determine whether the current regulations are adequate for this type of highly corrosive oil.

It also does not demonstrate the U.S.’s need for the Keystone XL pipeline; it focuses on the needs of the pipeline’s corporate owner, TransCanada. It admits that a lot of the product will be exported and not actually be for American consumption.

The 14 spills in the first year of operation of TransCanada’s Keystone I pipeline, which is similar in purpose, construction and operation to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, leave no question that current regulations need updating before the company builds another pipeline.

The final EIS predicts a frequency of spills of any size from 1.78 to 2.51 spills per year on this pipeline.

“I hope that in light of the Exxon pipeline spill on the Yellowstone River, we have learned our lesson about how deep pipelines need to be buried,” said Ed Gulick, chair of Northern Plains Resource Council. “The plan up until now has been to only bury the Keystone XL pipeline 25 feet under major river crossings, including the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers, even though there have been places of deep erosion on the Missouri River this season of 100 feet.

“I’m interested to see if the final EIS mandates a safer burial depth, but I fear it doesn’t. This pipeline is to cross the Missouri right down from the Fort Peck Dam.”

Don Brown, an NPPLG member and landowner along the Keystone XL route in McCone County, Montana, expressed his concerns about what happens at the end of the pipeline’s life.

“The first two versions of the EIS didn’t address abandonment at all,” he said. “The final EIS refers to the pipe being abandoned in place. So at that point, who is liable for problems associated with a rotting pipeline under my land? At that point, does the liability remain with my children?

“Our government is shoving the burden of the pipe onto the future generation of landowners in eastern Montana. It’s a dirty legacy.”

The State Department will hold a hearing in Glendive September 27 to take public comments on the final EIS and whether the pipeline is in the national interest. Written comments will be accepted until October 9.

Visit this U.S. State Department site for more information.

Construction on the original Keystone pipeline in North Dakota, which extends to the Midwest. The expansion will go through two Canadian provinces and five states, including Montana. Photo courtesy of TransCanada Corp.

SUPPORT FROM REP. REHBERG

By Jed Link, spokesman for Rep. Denny Rehberg

Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.), released on Friday the following statement after the U.S. Department of State released its environmental impact statement of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline which will run through Montana on its way from Alberta, Canada to Texas.

“The Keystone Pipeline project will create real jobs, help bolster economic growth and provide national energy security. It’s unfortunate this pipeline has been delayed, but I’m glad the federal bureaucracy is finally beginning to move. I’m going to hold their feet to the fire and make sure this deadline is met. It’s time to stop delaying economic recovery.”

In April, Rehberg sent the following letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In it, he asked them to approve the Keystone Pipeline.
Dear Secretary Clinton:

After nearly three years, the Department of State continues to review the Presidential Permit application for the Keystone Gulf Coast Expansion Pipeline (“Keystone XL”) project. Further permitting delays threaten to undermine America’s energy and national security.

After its completion, Keystone XL will supply approximately half the volume of oil that we currently import from the Middle East, further enhancing our energy security by reducing our dependence on oil from politically hostile states. As recent events in the Middle East and North Africa demonstrate, America needs an all-of-the-above energy approach that utilizes domestic sources, in addition to imports from our energy-rich northern neighbor.

The Keystone XL pipeline will also include an access point for oil produced in Montana’s Bakken region—America’s only onshore source of crude currently experiencing growth. Montana’s producers are constrained by a lack of infrastructure, which results in their product being sold at a discount or being transported using inefficient and expensive means.

The access point will give producers the ability to safely and efficiently transport their product from Baker, Montana to refineries in Oklahoma and Texas.
Furthermore, an independent study has concluded that, after Keystone XL is constructed and operational, Montana could see nearly $2.1 billion in property taxes to counties and other local governments during the lifespan of the pipeline.

During the construction phase of the project, Montana is projected to see $421 million in new spending, the creation of nearly 6,000 new jobs, and increased personal income of $286 million.

In expressing my support for this project, it should be noted that I’ve encouraged TransCanada to work with landowners in a manner that does not impose condemnations of private property.

Agriculture will continue to be the backbone of eastern Montana’s economy, and TransCanada must make every effort to respect property rights and ensure that stringent emergency plans are in place should an accident occur.

Given the clear benefits and extensive review undertaken by the Department, I strongly urge your approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Thank you for your consideration, and please don’t hesitate to contact me should you have any further questions.

Larry Winslow is communications coordinator of the Northern Plains Resource Council, in Billings, Mont. Jed Link is a spokesman for Congressman Denny Rehberg in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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