The Keystone Pipeline System is an
oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by
TC Energy
TC Energy Corporation (formerly TransCanada Corporation) is a major North American energy company, based in the TC Energy Tower building in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, that develops and operates energy infrastructure in Canada, the United States, ...
and as of 31 March 2020 the
Government of Alberta
The government of Alberta (french: gouvernement de l'Alberta) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Alberta. As a constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor—is ...
.
It runs from the
Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin
The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) underlies of Western Canada including southwestern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan, Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories. This vast sedimentary ...
in
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
to refineries in
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
and
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, and also to oil
tank farms and an oil pipeline distribution center in
Cushing, Oklahoma
Cushing ( sac, Koshineki, iow, Amína P^óp^oye Chína, ''meaning: "Soft-seat town"'') is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 7,826 at the time of the 2010 census, a decline of 6.5% since 8,371 in 2000. Cushing ...
.
TransCanada Keystone Pipeline GP Ltd,
abbreviated here as Keystone, operates four phases of the project. In 2013, the first two phases had the capacity to deliver up to per day of oil into the Midwest refineries.
Phase III has capacity to deliver up to per day to the Texas refineries.
[ By comparison, production of ]petroleum in the United States
Petroleum has been a major industry in the United States since shortly after the oil discovery in the Oil Creek area of Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1859. The industry includes exploration, production, processing ( refining), transport ...
averaged per day in first-half 2015, with gross exports of per day through July 2015.
A proposed fourth pipeline, called Keystone XL (sometimes abbreviated KXL, with XL standing for "export limited") Pipeline, would have connected the Phase I-pipeline terminals in Hardisty, Alberta
Hardisty is a town in Flagstaff County in east-central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately from the Saskatchewan border, near the crossroads of Highway 13 and Highway 881, in the Battle River Valley. Hardisty is mainly known as a pivotal pet ...
, and Steele City, Nebraska
Steele City is a village in Jefferson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 47 at the 2020 census.
History
Steele City was founded in 1873 when the St. Joseph and Western Railroad was extended to that point. It is named for Dudle ...
, by a shorter route and a larger-diameter pipe. It would have run through Baker, Montana
Baker is a city in and the county seat of Fallon County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,802 at the 2020 census.
It was named after A. G. Baker, an engineer with the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.
History
Bak ...
, where American-produced light crude oil Light crude oil is liquid petroleum that has a low density and flows freely at room temperature. It has a low viscosity, low specific gravity and high API gravity due to the presence of a high proportion of light hydrocarbon fractions. It generally ...
from the Williston Basin
The Williston Basin is a large intracratonic sedimentary basin in eastern Montana, western North Dakota, South Dakota, southern Saskatchewan, and south-western Manitoba that is known for its rich deposits of petroleum and potash. The basin is a ...
( Bakken formation) of Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
and North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...
would have been added to the Keystone's throughput of synthetic crude oil
Synthetic crude is the output from a bitumen/extra heavy oil upgrader facility used in connection with oil sand production. It may also refer to shale oil, an output from an oil shale pyrolysis. The properties of the synthetic crude depend on t ...
(syncrude) and diluted bitumen (dilbit
Dilbit (diluted bitumen) is a bitumen diluted with one or more lighter petroleum products, typically natural-gas condensates such as naphtha. Diluting bitumen makes it much easier to transport, for example in pipelines. Per the Alberta Oil Sands ...
) from the oil sands
Oil sands, tar sands, crude bitumen, or bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and wate ...
of Canada. It is unclear how much of the oil transported through the pipeline would have reached American consumers instead of being exported to other countries.
The pipeline became well known when the proposed KXL extension attracted opposition from environmentalists, becoming a symbol of the battle over climate change and fossil fuels. In 2015 KXL was temporarily delayed by President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
. On January 24, 2017, President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
took action intended to permit the pipeline's completion. On January 20, 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...
to revoke the permit that was granted to TC Energy Corporation for the Keystone XL Pipeline (Phase 4). On June 9, 2021, TC Energy abandoned plans for the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Description
The Keystone Pipeline system consists of the operational Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III, the Gulf Coast Pipeline Project. A fourth, proposed pipeline expansion segment Phase IV, Keystone XL, failed to receive necessary permits from the United States federal government in 2015. Construction of Phase III, from Cushing, Oklahoma
Cushing ( sac, Koshineki, iow, Amína P^óp^oye Chína, ''meaning: "Soft-seat town"'') is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 7,826 at the time of the 2010 census, a decline of 6.5% since 8,371 in 2000. Cushing ...
, to Nederland, Texas, in the Gulf Coast
The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...
area, began in August 2012 as an independent economic utility.[It was presented to the ]United States State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nat ...
as an independent economic utility in February 2012, sidestepping the requirement for a Presidential Permit because it does not cross an international border (United States Department of State SEIS March 1, 2013 p. ES1). Phase III was opened on January 22, 2014, completing the pipeline path from Hardisty, Alberta
Hardisty is a town in Flagstaff County in east-central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately from the Saskatchewan border, near the crossroads of Highway 13 and Highway 881, in the Battle River Valley. Hardisty is mainly known as a pivotal pet ...
to Nederland, Texas. The Keystone XL Pipeline Project (Phase IV) revised proposal in 2012 consists of a new pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta, through Montana and South Dakota to Steele City, Nebraska
Steele City is a village in Jefferson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 47 at the 2020 census.
History
Steele City was founded in 1873 when the St. Joseph and Western Railroad was extended to that point. It is named for Dudle ...
, to "transport of up to of crude oil from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin
The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) underlies of Western Canada including southwestern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan, Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories. This vast sedimentary ...
in Alberta, Canada, and from the Williston Basin
The Williston Basin is a large intracratonic sedimentary basin in eastern Montana, western North Dakota, South Dakota, southern Saskatchewan, and south-western Manitoba that is known for its rich deposits of petroleum and potash. The basin is a ...
(Bakken) region in Montana and North Dakota, primarily to refineries in the Gulf Coast area".[ The Keystone XL pipeline segments were intended to allow American crude oil to enter the XL pipelines at ]Baker, Montana
Baker is a city in and the county seat of Fallon County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,802 at the 2020 census.
It was named after A. G. Baker, an engineer with the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.
History
Bak ...
, on their way to the storage and distribution facilities at Cushing, Oklahoma
Cushing ( sac, Koshineki, iow, Amína P^óp^oye Chína, ''meaning: "Soft-seat town"'') is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 7,826 at the time of the 2010 census, a decline of 6.5% since 8,371 in 2000. Cushing ...
. Cushing is a major crude oil marketing/refining and pipeline hub.
Operating since 2010, the original Keystone Pipeline System is a pipeline delivering Canadian crude oil to U.S. Midwest markets and Cushing, Oklahoma. In Canada, the first phase of Keystone involved the conversion of approximately of existing natural gas pipeline in Saskatchewan and Manitoba to crude oil pipeline service. It also included approximately of new pipeline, 16 pump stations and the Keystone Hardisty Terminal.
The U.S. portion of the Keystone Pipeline included of new, pipeline in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. The pipeline has a minimum ground cover of .[ It also involved construction of 23 pump stations and delivery facilities at ]Wood River, Illinois
Wood River is a city in Madison County, Illinois. The population was 10,657 according to the 2010 census.
Geography
Wood River is located at (38.863047, -90.088527).
According to the 2010 census, Wood River has a total area of , of which (or 9 ...
and Patoka, Illinois
Patoka is a town in Marion County, Illinois, United States. The population was 584 at the 2010 census.
History
The village was named after a local Native American chieftain.
Patoka is a town created in the 1860s United States.
Geography
Pat ...
. In 2011, the second phase of Keystone included a extension from Steele City, Nebraska, to Cushing, Oklahoma, and 11 new pump stations to increase the capacity of the pipeline from per day.
Additional phases (III, completed in 2014, and IV, rejected in 2015) have been in construction or discussion since 2011. If completed, the Keystone XL would have added per day increasing the total capacity up to per day.[
The original Keystone Pipeline cost US$5.2 billion. A press release from TransCanada in 2008 estimated the Keystone XL costs at approximately US$7 billion with a completion date of 2012.][
From January 2018 through December 31, 2019, Keystone XL development costs were $1.5 billion.]
History
The project was first proposed in 2005 by the Calgary, Alberta-based TransCanada Corporation
TC Energy Corporation (formerly TransCanada Corporation) is a major North American energy company, based in the TC Energy Tower building in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, that develops and operates energy infrastructure in Canada, the United States, ...
, and was approved by Canada's National Energy Board
The National Energy Board was an independent economic regulatory agency created in 1959 by the Government of Canada to oversee "international and inter-provincial aspects of the oil, gas and electric utility industries". Its head office was located ...
in 2007.[ On September 21, 2007, the ]National Energy Board
The National Energy Board was an independent economic regulatory agency created in 1959 by the Government of Canada to oversee "international and inter-provincial aspects of the oil, gas and electric utility industries". Its head office was located ...
of Canada approved the construction of the Canadian section of the pipeline, including converting a portion of TransCanada's Canadian Mainline gas pipeline to crude oil pipeline, on September 21, 2007.
In October 2007, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada
Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, abbreviated CEP in English and SCEP in French, was a largely private sector labour union with 150,000 members, active from 1992 to 2013. It was created in 1992 through the merger of three u ...
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".
On January 22, 2008, ConocoPhillips acquired a 50% stake in the project.
On March 17, 2008, during the final year of the Presidency of George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
, the United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
issued a Presidential Permit authorizing the construction, maintenance and operation of facilities at the United States and Canada border. In June 2008, the Keystone XL extension was proposed. Later that year, TransCanada began the process of becoming the sole owner of the pipeline. In 2009 it bought out ConocoPhillips' shares and revert to being the sole owner. It took TransCanada more than two years to acquire all the necessary state and federal permits for the pipeline. Construction took another two years.[ ]
In September 2009, the NEB – replaced in 2019 by the Canadian Energy Regulator The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) is the agency of the Government of Canada under its Natural Resources Canada portfolio, which licenses, supervises, regulates and enforces all applicable Canadian laws as regards to interprovincial and internationa ...
(CER) – started hearings. The pipeline, from Hardisty, Alberta
Hardisty is a town in Flagstaff County in east-central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately from the Saskatchewan border, near the crossroads of Highway 13 and Highway 881, in the Battle River Valley. Hardisty is mainly known as a pivotal pet ...
, Canada, to Patoka, Illinois
Patoka is a town in Marion County, Illinois, United States. The population was 584 at the 2010 census.
History
The village was named after a local Native American chieftain.
Patoka is a town created in the 1860s United States.
Geography
Pat ...
, United States, became operational in June 2010. Later that year, the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission
The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) regulates the energy, Telecommunications and grain warehouse companies located in South Dakota. The PUC keeps track of the Do Not Call Registry. Commissioners are elected to six-year terms in stag ...
granted a permit to proceed. and in March 2010, the National Energy Board approved the project.
In June 2010, Keystone Pipeline (Phase I) was completed and was delivering oil from Hardisty Hardisty may refer to:
* Hardisty (surname)
*Hardisty, Alberta, a town in Canada
*Hardisty, an area in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; usually defined as encompassing the neighbourhoods of Fulton Place, Capilano, Forest Heights, Gold Bar, and Terrace ...
, Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, over to the junction at Steele City, Nebraska
Steele City is a village in Jefferson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 47 at the 2020 census.
History
Steele City was founded in 1873 when the St. Joseph and Western Railroad was extended to that point. It is named for Dudle ...
, and on to Wood River Refinery
The Wood River Refinery is an oil refinery located in Roxana, Illinois, approximately north of St. Louis, Missouri, on the east side of the Mississippi River. The refinery is currently owned by Phillips 66 and Cenovus Energy and operated by the ...
in Roxana, Illinois
Roxana is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,542 at the 2010 census.
A majority of the land in Roxana is taken up by the Wood River Refinery, an oil refinery operated by Phillips 66. The refinery was orig ...
, and Patoka Oil Terminal Hub north of Patoka, Illinois
Patoka is a town in Marion County, Illinois, United States. The population was 584 at the 2010 census.
History
The village was named after a local Native American chieftain.
Patoka is a town created in the 1860s United States.
Geography
Pat ...
.
On July 21, 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency criticized the State Department's draft environmental impact study for neglecting concerns about oil spill response plans, safety issues and greenhouse gas.
In February 2011, the Keystone-Cushing extension (Phase II) was completed running from Steele City to a tank farm in Cushing, Oklahoma
Cushing ( sac, Koshineki, iow, Amína P^óp^oye Chína, ''meaning: "Soft-seat town"'') is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 7,826 at the time of the 2010 census, a decline of 6.5% since 8,371 in 2000. Cushing ...
.
On June 3, 2011, Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued TransCanada a Corrective Action Order (CAO), for Keystone's May 2011 leaks.[ Primary source] On April 2, 2016, PHMSA issued a CAO to TransCanada for a leak in Hutchinson County, South Dakota
Hutchinson County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,427. Its county seat is Olivet. The county was created in 1862 and organized in 1871; it was named for John Hutchinson, ...
,[ Primary source] and again on April 9.[ Primary source] The pipeline restarted at a reduced operating pressure on April 10 after the U.S. regulator approved the companies corrective actions and plan. A leak occurred in Marshall County, South Dakota
Marshall County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,306. Its county seat is Britton, South Dakota, Britton. The county was created on May 2 ...
in November 2017. This leak occurred early in the morning on November 16, 2017 near Amherst, South Dakota
Amherst is an unincorporated community in Marshall County, South Dakota, United States. Although not tracked by the Census Bureau, Amherst has been assigned the ZIP code of 57421.
History
A post office called Amherst was established in 1887. Th ...
and was contained shortly after detection south of the Ludden pump station.
On August 26, 2011, the final environmental impact report was released on stating that the pipeline would pose "no significant impacts" to most resources if environmental protection measures are followed, but it would present "significant adverse effects to certain cultural resources".
In September 2011, Cornell ILR Global Labor Institute released the results of the GLI Keystone XL Report, which evaluated the pipeline's impact on employment, the environment, energy independence
Energy independence is independence or autarky regarding energy resources, energy supply and/or energy generation by the energy industry.
Energy dependence, in general, refers to mankind's general dependence on either primary or secondary ene ...
, the economy, and other critical areas.
On November 10, 2011, the Department of State postponed a final decision while investigating "potential alternative routes around the Sandhills in Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
" in response to concerns that the project was not in the United States' national interest
The national interest is a sovereign state's goals and ambitions (economic, military, cultural, or otherwise), taken to be the aim of government.
Etymology
The Italian phrase ''ragione degli stati'' was first used by Giovanni della Casa around ...
. In its response, TransCanada pointed out fourteen different routes for Keystone XL were being studied, eight that impacted Nebraska. They included one potential alternative route in Nebraska that would have avoided the entire Sandhills region and Ogallala Aquifer
The Ogallala Aquifer () is a shallow water table aquifer surrounded by sand, silt, clay, and gravel located beneath the Great Plains in the United States. One of the world's largest aquifers, it underlies an area of approximately in porti ...
and six alternatives that would have reduced pipeline mileage crossing the Sandhills or the aquifer.
In March 2012, Obama endorsed the building of the southern segment (Gulf Coast Extension or Phase III) that begins in Cushing, Oklahoma. The President said in Cushing, Oklahoma, on March 22, "Today, I'm directing my administration to cut through the red tape, break through the bureaucratic hurdles, and make this project a priority, to go ahead and get it done."
On January 22, 2014, the Gulf Coast Extension (Phase III) was completed running from Cushing to refineries at Port Arthur, Texas.
In January 2014, the US 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".
On January 9, 2015, the Nebraska Supreme Court
The Nebraska Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Nebraska. The court consists of a chief justice and six associate justices. Each justice is initially appointed by the governor of Nebraska; using the Missouri Plan, each jus ...
cleared the way for construction, after Republican Governor Dave Heineman
David Eugene Heineman (born May 12, 1948) is an American politician who served as the 39th governor of Nebraska from 2005 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the 39th treasurer of Nebraska from 1995 to 2001 and 37th li ...
had approved of it in 2013.
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 Senate had passed it 62–36 on January 29, and the House approved it 270–152 on February 11. The Senate was unable to override the veto by a two-thirds majority, with a 62–37 vote.
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
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
over such use.
On November 3, 2015, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...
issued a determination that the project was not in the public interest. 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.
On November 6, 2015, the Obama administration rejected the Keystone XL pipeline project, citing economic and environmental concerns. Financial commitment towards completion of the pipeline was weakened by a number of technological factors as well. Innovations in fracking had increased domestic production of oil and, according to the EIA, reduced annual demand of oil from foreign countries to an all-time low since 1985. Shifts to gasoline fuel for cargo vehicles, new technologies promoting fuel efficiency, and export restrictions that forced the price of oil
The price of oil, or the oil price, generally refers to the spot price of a barrel () of benchmark crude oil—a reference price for buyers and sellers of crude oil such as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Brent Crude, Dubai Crude, OPEC ...
to decrease also played a part.
In mid-2016, a lateral pipeline to refineries at Houston, Texas and a terminal was completed, and was online in 2017.[
]
On January 24, 2017, in his first week in office, President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
signed a presidential memorandum to revive both Keystone XL pipelines, which "would transport more than per day of heavy crude" from Alberta to the Gulf Coast.
On March 9, 2017, the Canadian Prime Minister
The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as such ...
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
and Premier of Alberta
The premier of Alberta is the first minister for the Canadian province of Alberta, and the province's head of government. The current premier is Danielle Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party, who was sworn in on October 11, 2022.
The ...
Rachel Notley
Rachel Anne Notley (born April 17, 1964) is a Canadian politician who served as the 17th premier of Alberta from 2015 to 2019, and has been the leader of the Opposition since 2019. She sits as the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for ...
attended North America's largest energy conference – CERAWeek
CERAWeek is an annual energy conference organized by the information and insights company IHS Markit in Houston, Texas. The conference provides a platform for discussion on a range of energy-related topics; CERAWeek 2019 featured sessions on the w ...
in Houston, Texas. An Angus Reed Institute poll published that week showed that 48% of Canadians supported the revival of the Keystone XL pipeline project. The pollsters said that the support for the Keystone pipeline project by provincial NDP government and the federal Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
government under Trudeau had a positive impact on Canadians' attitudes of the project.
On March 24, 2017, Trump signed a presidential permit to allow TransCanada to build the Keystone XL pipeline. 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.[
In November 2017, the Nebraska Public Service Commission approved (3–2) 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. This proved to be a major setback for TransCanada since they would have "years of new review and legal challenges". TransCanada asked Nebraska to reconsider this decision and worked with Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to determine the structural cause of a leak in South Dakota on November 21, 2017.][
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
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a United States environmental law that promotes the enhancement of the environment and established the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The law was enacted on January 1, 1970.Un ...
, and the Endangered Species Act.
In February 2019, District Judge Morris denied a request by TransCanada Corporation
TC Energy Corporation (formerly TransCanada Corporation) is a major North American energy company, based in the TC Energy Tower building in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, that develops and operates energy infrastructure in Canada, the United States, ...
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.
In March 2019, Trump revoked the prior permit and himself directly issued a new permit for the pipeline.
In May 2019, TransCanada Corporation changed its name to TC Energy Corporation, as its business extends into the United States, Mexico, as well as Canada where it has pipelines, power generation and energy storage operations.
In June 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts:
* District ...
granted the Justice Department's motion to lift the injunction blocking construction and found that the new permit mooted the prior Montana lawsuit.
In August 2019, the Nebraska Supreme Court
The Nebraska Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Nebraska. The court consists of a chief justice and six associate justices. Each justice is initially appointed by the governor of Nebraska; using the Missouri Plan, each jus ...
affirmed the Nebraska Public Service Commission The Nebraska Public Service Commission regulates railroads, household goods and passenger carriers, telephone companies, grain warehouses and construction of manufactured housing (mobile homes).
The Nebraska PSC is composed of five commissioners. ...
's approval of TransCanada's pipeline application.
In October 2019, the State Department solicited comments on its new draft supplemental environmental impact statement.
In March 2020, the Premier of Alberta
The premier of Alberta is the first minister for the Canadian province of Alberta, and the province's head of government. The current premier is Danielle Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party, who was sworn in on October 11, 2022.
The ...
Jason Kenney
Jason Thomas Kenney (born May 30, 1968) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022 and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member of ...
, who campaigned on promoting the province's oil and gas industry and has promoted it by repealing the carbon tax and establishing an energy war room ( Canadian Energy Centre), announced that the UCP government was taking an "equity stake" and providing a "loan guarantee", which amounts to a "total financial commitment of just over $7 billion" to the Keystone XL project.
On March 31, 2020, CEO Russ Girling announced that TC Energy "will proceed with construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline" and thanked President Donald Trump, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, and other government officials for "support and advocacy" for Keystone XL. Girling said that this construction, which will take place during the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, will follow government and health authorities guidance, to ensure the protection of workers, their families, and surrounding communities from the virus.
On April 15, 2020, District Judge Brian Morris issued a suspension for the pipeline's construction after the plaintiffs, the Northern Plains Resource Council
The Northern Plains Resource Council (NPRC) is an American grassroots conservation and family agriculture group. The organization was established in 1972 by ranchers in Montana who united in opposition to coal industry efforts to strip mine in th ...
, alleged the project was improperly reauthorised back in 2017. In the summary judgment, the judge agreed that the Endangered Species Act was violated, thereby voiding the permit.
On May 28, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit denied a motion to stay the District Judge's ruling. This prompted Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco to file an application for stay to the Supreme Court. The application was granted consideration.
On July 6, 2020, in the ''US Army Corps of Engineers v. Northern Plains Resource Council'' case, the Supreme Court of the US ordered all Keystone XL work be halted. 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. In response, TC Energy stated that the US part of the project would be reassessed (but not abandoned); the Canadian part would proceed as before.
On January 20, 2021, United States President Joe Biden revoked the permit for the pipeline on his first day in office.
On June 9, 2021, the Keystone XL project was abandoned by its developer. At the time of the project's cancellation, approximately 8% of the pipeline had been constructed.
Ownership
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. The pipeline system was originally developed as a partnership between TransCanada and ConocoPhillips, but TransCanada acquired ConocoPhillips' interest in August 2009.
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, which included Valero Energy Corporation
Valero Energy Corporation is a Fortune 500 international manufacturer and marketer of transportation fuels, other petrochemical products, and power. It is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Throughout the United States and Can ...
and Hogshead Spouter Co.
Route
Phase 1 (complete)
This pipeline runs from Hardisty, Alberta
Hardisty is a town in Flagstaff County in east-central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately from the Saskatchewan border, near the crossroads of Highway 13 and Highway 881, in the Battle River Valley. Hardisty is mainly known as a pivotal pet ...
, to the junction at Steele City, Nebraska
Steele City is a village in Jefferson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 47 at the 2020 census.
History
Steele City was founded in 1873 when the St. Joseph and Western Railroad was extended to that point. It is named for Dudle ...
, and on to the Wood River Refinery
The Wood River Refinery is an oil refinery located in Roxana, Illinois, approximately north of St. Louis, Missouri, on the east side of the Mississippi River. The refinery is currently owned by Phillips 66 and Cenovus Energy and operated by the ...
in Roxana, Illinois
Roxana is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,542 at the 2010 census.
A majority of the land in Roxana is taken up by the Wood River Refinery, an oil refinery operated by Phillips 66. The refinery was orig ...
, and Patoka Oil Terminal Hub (tank farm) north of Patoka, Illinois
Patoka is a town in Marion County, Illinois, United States. The population was 584 at the 2010 census.
History
The village was named after a local Native American chieftain.
Patoka is a town created in the 1860s United States.
Geography
Pat ...
.[
] The Canadian section involves approximately of pipeline converted from the Canadian Mainline natural gas pipeline and of new pipeline, pump stations and terminal facilities at Hardisty, Alberta.
The United States section is long.[ It runs through Nemaha, ]Brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...
and Doniphan counties in Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
and Buchanan, Clinton, Caldwell, Montgomery, Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
and St. Charles counties in Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
, before entering Madison Madison may refer to:
People
* Madison (name), a given name and a surname
* James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States
Place names
* Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
County, Illinois.[ Phase 1 went online in June 2010.]
Phase 2 (complete)
The Keystone-Cushing pipeline phase connected the Keystone pipeline (phase 1) in Steele City, Nebraska
Steele City is a village in Jefferson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 47 at the 2020 census.
History
Steele City was founded in 1873 when the St. Joseph and Western Railroad was extended to that point. It is named for Dudle ...
, south through Kansas to the oil hub and tank farm in Cushing, Oklahoma
Cushing ( sac, Koshineki, iow, Amína P^óp^oye Chína, ''meaning: "Soft-seat town"'') is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 7,826 at the time of the 2010 census, a decline of 6.5% since 8,371 in 2000. Cushing ...
, a distance of long. It was constructed in 2010 and went online in February 2011.
Phase 3a (complete)
The Cushing MarketLink pipeline phase started at Cushing, Oklahoma
Cushing ( sac, Koshineki, iow, Amína P^óp^oye Chína, ''meaning: "Soft-seat town"'') is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 7,826 at the time of the 2010 census, a decline of 6.5% since 8,371 in 2000. Cushing ...
, where American-produced oil is added to the pipeline, then runs south to a delivery point near terminals in Nederland, Texas, to serve refineries in the Port Arthur, Texas, area. Keystone started pumping oil through this section in January 2014. 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.
Phase 3b (complete)
The Houston Lateral pipeline phase is a pipeline to transport crude oil from the pipeline in Liberty County, Texas
Liberty County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 91,628. The county seat is Liberty. The county was created in 1831 as a municipality in Mexico and organized as a county in 1837. It is named for ...
, to refineries and terminal in the Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
area. This phase was constructed 2013 to 2016 and went online in 2017.
Phase 4 (canceled)
The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would start from the same area in Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, Canada, as the Phase 1 pipeline.[ The Canadian section would consist of of new pipeline.][ It would enter the United States at Morgan, Montana, and travel through ]Baker, Montana
Baker is a city in and the county seat of Fallon County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,802 at the 2020 census.
It was named after A. G. Baker, an engineer with the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.
History
Bak ...
, where American-produced oil would be added to the pipeline; then it would travel through South Dakota and Nebraska, where it would join the existing Keystone pipelines at Steele City, Nebraska
Steele City is a village in Jefferson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 47 at the 2020 census.
History
Steele City was founded in 1873 when the St. Joseph and Western Railroad was extended to that point. It is named for Dudle ...
. This phase generated the greatest controversy because of its routing over the Sandhills in Nebraska.[
In 2015, President ]Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
blocked the project, causing TC Energy to instigate a US $15 billion lawsuit under NAFTA.
On January 24, 2017, President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
took action intended to permit the pipeline's completion, whereupon TC Energy suspended their NAFTA Chapter 11 action.[
On January 18, 2018, TransCanada announced they had secured commitments to ship per day for 20 years.]
On January 20, 2021, President Joe Biden revoked the permit for the pipeline on his first day in office. On June 9, 2021, the project was abandoned by TC Energy.
Issues
Political issues
According to a February 10, 2011 ''Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was esta ...
'' article, Koch Industries
Koch Industries, Inc. ( ) is an American privately held multinational conglomerate corporation based in Wichita, Kansas and is the second-largest privately held company in the United States, after Cargill. Its subsidiaries are involved in the ...
were in a position to increase their profits substantially if the Keystone XL Pipeline were approved. By 2011, Koch Industries
Koch Industries, Inc. ( ) is an American privately held multinational conglomerate corporation based in Wichita, Kansas and is the second-largest privately held company in the United States, after Cargill. Its subsidiaries are involved in the ...
refined 25% of all crude oil imported into the United States. In response to the article, Congressmen Henry Waxman
Henry Arnold Waxman (born September 12, 1939) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 1975 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
His district included much of the western part of the city of ...
and Bobby Rush
Bobby Lee Rush (born November 23, 1946) is an American politician, activist and pastor who served as the U.S. representative for for three decades. A civil rights activist during the 1960s, Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Pant ...
submitted a letter to the Energy and Commerce Committee urging them to request documents from Koch Industries relating to the pipeline.
The pipeline was a prominent issue in the 2014 United States mid-term elections, and after Republicans gained control of the Senate that year, the project was revived. 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. It became a symbol too often used as a campaign cudgel by both parties rather than a serious policy matter." He went on to state that "approving this project would have undercut he United States'global leadership" on climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
.
In January 2012, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) requested a new report on the environmental review process.
In September 2015, Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
publicly expressed her opposition to the Keystone XL, citing concerns about climate change. 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 order would expedite the environmental review, which Trump described as an "incredibly cumbersome, long, horrible permitting process."
Indigenous lands and peoples
Many American and Canadian Aboriginals have opposed the Keystone XL project for various reasons, including possible damage to sacred sites, pollution, and water contamination, which could lead to health risks among their communities.
On September 19, 2011, a number of Indigenous tribal leaders in the United States and Canada were arrested for protesting the Keystone XL outside the White House. According to Debra White Plume, a Lakota
Lakota may refer to:
* Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes
*Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples
Place names
In the United States:
* Lakota, Iowa
* Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County
* La ...
activist, Indigenous peoples "have thousands of ancient and historical cultural resources that would be destroyed across heirtreaty lands". TransCanada's Pipeline Permit Application to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission
The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) regulates the energy, Telecommunications and grain warehouse companies located in South Dakota. The PUC keeps track of the Do Not Call Registry. Commissioners are elected to six-year terms in stag ...
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".
Indigenous communities are also concerned with health risks posed by the extension of the Keystone pipeline. Locally caught fish and untreated surface water would be at risk for contamination through oil sands extraction, and are central to the diets of many Indigenous peoples. Earl Hatley, an environmental activist who has worked with Native American tribes has expressed concern about the environmental and public health impact on Native Americans.
TransCanada has developed an Aboriginal Relations policy in order to confront some of these conflicts. In 2004, TransCanada made a major donation to the University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...
"to promote education and research in the health of the Aboriginal population". Another proposed solution is TransCanada's Aboriginal Human Resource Strategy, which was developed to facilitate Aboriginal employment and to provide "opportunities for Aboriginal businesses to participate in both the construction of new facilities and the ongoing maintenance of existing facilities". Despite TransCanada’s actions, many Indigenous nations oppose the Keystone Pipeline.
Cindy S. Wood’s, “The Great Sioux Nation V. The ‘Black Snake’: Native American Rights and the Keystone XL Pipeline.” In this article Wood refers to the pipeline as a black snake that poses a major threat to the Sioux Nation. 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. With relation to the Este’s article, there is concern by indigenous people that the Keystone Pipeline can lead to a similar type of destruction.
Dallas Goldtooth’s article, “Keystone XL would destroy our native lands. This is why we fight” further explains the relationship with the Oceti Sakowin Tribe by referring to the environment as “Mother Earth” when resisting the Keystone Pipeline. In this article he speaks on the dangers that could inevitably occur via the pipeline. 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. As the original caretakers, we know what it will take to ensure these lands are available for generations to come. This pipeline has a strong chance of leaking, and if so, it could contaminate the water. It carries the possibility to encourage greater tar sands development, which, in turn, would increase carbon emissions.”
Eminent domain
When Nebraska landowners who had refused TransCanada the permission it needed for pipeline easements on their properties, TransCanada attempted to exercise eminent domain
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
over such use. 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".[ As of October 17, 2011, TransCanada had "34 ]eminent domain
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
actions against landowners in Texas" and "22 in South Dakota". Some of those landowners gave testimony for a House Energy and Commerce Committee
The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more tha ...
hearing in May 2011. 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. On October 4, 2012, 78-year-old Texas landowner Eleanor Fairchild was arrested for criminal trespassing
Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land.
Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, ...
and other charges after she was accused of standing in front of pipeline construction equipment on Fairchild's farm in Winnsboro, a town about east of Dallas. Fairchild has owned the land since 1983 and refused to sign any agreements with TransCanada. Her land was seized by eminent domain
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
.
By September 29, 2015, TransCanada (later TC Energy) had dropped the lawsuit and acceded to the authority of elected, five-member Nebraska Public Service Commission The Nebraska Public Service Commission regulates railroads, household goods and passenger carriers, telephone companies, grain warehouses and construction of manufactured housing (mobile homes).
The Nebraska PSC is composed of five commissioners. ...
, which has the state constitutional authority to approve gas and oil pipelines.
Conflicts of interest
In October 2011, ''The New York Times'' questioned the impartiality of the environmental analysis of the pipeline done by Cardno Entrix, an environmental contractor based in Houston. 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".[
] 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.
According to ''The New York Times'', legal experts questioned whether the U.S. government was "flouting the intent" of the Federal National Environmental Policy Act
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a United States environmental law that promotes the enhancement of the environment and established the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The law was enacted on January 1, 1970.Un ...
, which " asmeant to ensure an impartial environmental analysis of major projects". The report prompted 14 senators and congressmen to ask the State Department inspector general on October 26, 2011 "to investigate whether conflicts of interest tainted the process" for reviewing environmental impact. 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. 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.
On May 4, 2012, the U.S. Department of State selected Environmental Resources Management (ERM) to author a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, after the Environmental Protection Agency had found previous versions of the study, by contractor Cardno Entrix, to be extremely inadequate. Project opponents panned the study on its release, calling it a "deeply flawed analysis". An investigation by the magazine Mother Jones
Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...
revealed that the State Department had redacted the biographies of the study's authors to hide their previous contract work for TransCanada and other oil companies with an economic interest in the project. 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".
Diplomatic issues
Commentator Bill Mann has linked the Keystone postponement to the Michigan Senate's rejection of Canadian funding for the proposed Gordie Howe International Bridge
The Gordie Howe International Bridge (french: Pont International Gordie-Howe), known during development as the Detroit River International Crossing and the New International Trade Crossing, is a cable-stayed international bridge across the De ...
and to other recent instances of "U.S. government actions (and inactions) that show little concern about Canadian concerns". Mann drew attention to a ''Maclean's
''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian persp ...
'' article sub-titled "we used to be friends" about U.S./Canada relations after President Obama had "insulted Canada (yet again)" over the pipeline.
Canadian Ambassador Doer observes that Obama's "choice is to have it come down by a pipeline that he approves, or without his approval, it comes down on trains".
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. Doer said that all the evidence supports a favorable decision by the US government for the controversial pipeline.
In contrast, the President of the Rosebud Sioux Nation, Cyril Scott, has stated that the November 14, 2014, vote in favor of the Keystone XL pipeline in the U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
is an "act of war
A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one b ...
", declaring:
We are outraged at the lack of intergovernmental cooperation. We are a sovereign nation
A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group.
A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...
, and we are not being treated as such. We will close our reservation borders to Keystone XL. Authorizing Keystone XL is an act of war against our people.
Geopolitical issues
Proponents for the Keystone XL pipeline argue that it would allow the U.S. to increase its energy security and reduce its dependence on foreign oil. TransCanada CEO Russ Girling has argued that "the U.S. needs 10 million barrels a day of imported oil" and the debate over the proposed pipeline "is not a debate of oil versus alternative energy. This is a debate about whether you want to get your oil from Canada or Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
or Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
." However, an independent study conducted by the Cornell ILR Global Labor Institute refers to some studies (e.g. 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". It also states that the project will increase the heavy crude oil price in the Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
by diverting oil sands oil from the Midwest refineries to the Gulf Coast and export markets.
The US Gulf Coast has a large concentration of refineries designed to process very heavy crude oil. At present, the refineries are dependent on heavy crude from Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, including crude from Venezuela's own massive Orinoco oil sands
The Orinoco Belt is a territory in the southern strip of the eastern Orinoco River Basin in Venezuela which overlies the world's largest deposits of petroleum. Its local Spanish language, Spanish name is ''Faja Petrolífera del Orinoco'' (Orinoco P ...
. The United States is the number one buyer of crude oil exported from Venezuela. The large trade relationship between the US and Venezuela has persisted despite political tensions between the two countries. 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. The Keystone pipeline is seen as a way to replace imports of heavy oil-sand crude from Venezuela with more reliable Canadian heavy oil.
TransCanada's Girling has also argued that if Canadian oil doesn't reach the Gulf through an environmentally friendly buried pipeline, that the alternative is oil that will be brought in by tanker, a mode of transportation that produces higher greenhouse-gas emissions and that puts the environment at greater risk. Diane Francis
Diane Marie Francis (born 1946) is an US-born British-Canadian journalist, author and editor-at-large for the ''National Post'' newspaper since 1998. She is a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C., specializing ...
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. She cited as an example an effort by Saudi Arabia to stop television commercials critical of the Saudi government. 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
The Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines were a project to build a twin pipeline from Bruderheim, Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia. The eastbound pipeline would have imported natural gas condensate and the westbound pipeline would have expo ...
or Kinder Morgan's Trans-Mountain line.
Economic issues
Temporary construction jobs
The number of temporary jobs created during the two-year construction of the KXL pipeline has been estimated by proponents to be as high as 20,000, and by independent groups to be as low as 2,000. In 2011, Russ Girling
Russ Girling is a Canadian businessman. He served as the president and chief executive officer of TC Energy.
Early life
Girling graduated from the University of Calgary, where he earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Master of Business Admi ...
, president and CEO of TransCanada, touted the positive impact of the project as "putting 20,000 US workers to work and spending $7 billion stimulating the US economy", according to a report they commissioned. These numbers have been disputed by an independent study conducted by the Cornell ILR Global Labor Institute, which found that while the Keystone XL would result in 2,500 to 4,650 temporary construction jobs, the impact will be reduced by higher oil prices in the Midwest, which will likely reduce national employment.
In 2012, the US State Department estimated that the pipeline would create about 5,000 to 6,000 temporary jobs in the US during the two-year construction period, would increase gasoline availability to the Northeast and expand the Gulf refining industry. 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. In July 2013, Obama said "The most realistic estimates are this might create maybe 2,000 jobs during the construction of the pipeline, which might take a year or two, and then after that we're talking about somewhere between 50 and 100 jobs in an economy of 150 million working people." The estimate of 2,000 during construction came under heavy attack, while the long-term, permanent job estimates did not receive as much criticism. According to the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS), the pipeline will only create 35 permanent jobs.
Effects on oil industry and consumers
In 2010 Glen Perry, a petroleum engineer for Adira Energy, warned that including the Alberta Clipper pipeline owned by TransCanada's competitor Enbridge
Enbridge Inc. is a multinational pipeline and energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Enbridge owns and operates pipelines throughout Canada and the United States, transporting crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. ...
, there is an extensive overcapacity of oil pipelines from Canada. After completion of the Keystone XL line, oil pipelines to the U.S. may run nearly half-empty. The expected lack of volume combined with extensive construction cost overruns has prompted several petroleum refining companies to sue TransCanada. Suncor Energy
Suncor Energy (french: Suncor Énergie) is a Canadian integrated energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. It specializes in production of synthetic crude from oil sands. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, Suncor Energy was ranked as the 48th-lar ...
hoped to recoup significant construction-related tolls, though the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission did not rule in their favor. According to ''The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'',
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. They accuse TransCanada of misleading them when they signed shipping contracts in the summer of 2007. TransCanada nearly doubled its construction estimates in October 2007, from $2.8-billion (U.S.) to $5.2-billion.
In 2013, United States Democrats were concerned that Keystone XL would not provide petroleum products for domestic use, but simply facilitate getting Alberta oil sands products to American coastal ports
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
on the Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
for export to China and other countries. In January 2015, Senate Republicans blocked a vote on an amendment proposed by Senator Edward J. Markey
Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American lawyer, politician, and former Army reservist who has served as the junior United States senator from Massachusetts since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representat ...
, which would have banned exports from the Keystone XL pipeline and required that the pipeline be built with steel from the United States.
Effects on tax revenue
Due to a 2011 exemption the state of Kansas gave TransCanada, the local authorities would lose $50 million public revenue from property taxes for a decade.
In 2013, frustrated by delays in getting approval for Keystone XL (via the Gulf of Mexico), the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines
The Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines were a project to build a twin pipeline from Bruderheim, Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia. The eastbound pipeline would have imported natural gas condensate and the westbound pipeline would have expo ...
(via Kitimat
Kitimat is a district municipality in the North Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of the Regional District of Kitimat–Stikine regional government. The Kitimat Valley is part of the most populous urban distr ...
, 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". By May 2012, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had spent $9 million and $16.5 million by May 2013 to promote Keystone XL.[ Until Canadian crude oil accesses international prices like LLS or Maya crude oil by "getting to tidewater" (south to the U.S. Gulf ports via Keystone XL for example, west to the BC Pacific coast via the proposed Northern Gateway line to ports at Kitimat, BC or north via the northern hamlet of ]Tuktoyaktuk
Tuktoyaktuk , or ''Tuktuyaaqtuuq'' (Inuvialuktun: ''it looks like a caribou''), is an Inuvialuit hamlet located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, at the northern terminus of the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway.Montgomer ...
, on the Beaufort Sea),[ the Alberta government is losing from $4–30 billion in tax and royalty revenues as the primary product of the oil sands, ]Western Canadian Select
Western Canadian Select (WCS) is a heavy sour blend of crude oil that is one of North America's largest heavy crude oil streams and, historically, its cheapest. It was established in December 2004 as a new heavy oil stream by EnCana (now Ceno ...
(WCS), the bitumen crude oil basket, is discounted so heavily against West Texas Intermediate (WTI) while Maya crude oil, a similar product close to tidewater, is reaching peak prices. In April 2013, Calgary-based Canada West Foundation
The Canada West Foundation is a non-partisan think tank based in Calgary, Alberta. It primarily conducts research on issues of concern in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, but also on issues of national significance.
The found ...
warned that Alberta is "running up against a ipeline capacitywall around 2016, when we will have barrels of oil we can't move".[
Pipeline opponents warn of disruption of farms and ranches during construction,] and point to damage to water mains and sewage lines sustained during construction of an Enbridge crude oil pipeline in Michigan. A report by the Cornell University Global Labor Institute noted of the 2010 Enbridge Tar Oil Spill along the Kalamazoo River
The Kalamazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is long from the junction of its North and South branches to its mouth at Lake Michigan, with a total length extending to when one includes the South Branch.U.S. Geologica ...
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. Pipeline spills are not just an environmental concern. Pipeline spills can also result in significant economic and employment costs, although the systematic tracking of the social, health, and economic impacts of pipeline spills is not required by law. Leaks and spills from Keystone XL and other tar sands and conventional crude pipelines could put existing jobs at risk."
Safety
A ''USA Today'' editorial pointed out that the 2013 Lac-Mégantic derailment in Quebec, in which crude oil carried by rail cars exploded and killed 47 people, highlights the safety of pipelines compared to truck or rail transport. The oil in the Lac-Mégantic rail cars came from the Bakken Formation in North Dakota, an area that would be served by the Keystone expansion. 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. Canadian journalist Diana Furchtgott-Roth commented: "If this oil shipment had been carried through pipelines, instead of rail, families in Lac-Mégantic would not be grieving for lost loved ones today, and oil would not be polluting Lac Mégantic and the Chaudière River." A ''Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' article in March 2014 points out that the main reason oil producers from the North Dakota Bakken Shale region are using rail and trucks to transport oil is economics not pipeline capacity. 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. The article goes on to state that there is little support remaining among these producers for the Keystone XL.
Protests and opposition
There has been active public opposition to the project since it was first announced.
Bill McKibben, environmental and global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
activist and founder of 350.org
350.org is an international environmental organization addressing the climate crisis. Its stated goal is to end the use of fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy by building a global, grassroots movement.
The 350 in the name stands fo ...
, the group that organized the 2009 international protests—described by CNN as "the most widespread day of political action in the planet's history"—led the opposition to the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
In the year before the 2012 United States presidential election
The 2012 United States presidential election was the 57th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Biden, were re-e ...
, McKibben and other activists mounted pressure on then-President Obama, who was running for re-election. Obama had included a call to "be the generation that finally frees America from the tyranny of oil" in his 2008 United States presidential election
The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator f ...
.[ A broad coalition of protesters, including ]Phil Radford
Philip David Radford (born January 2, 1976) is an American activist who served as the executive director of Greenpeace USA. He is the founder and President of Progressive Power Lab, an organization that incubates companies and non-profits that b ...
, Daryl Hannah
Daryl Christine Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her screen debut in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film '' The Fury'' (1978). She has starred in various movies across the years, i ...
, Dave Heineman
David Eugene Heineman (born May 12, 1948) is an American politician who served as the 39th governor of Nebraska from 2005 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the 39th treasurer of Nebraska from 1995 to 2001 and 37th li ...
, Ben Nelson
Earl Benjamin Nelson (born May 17, 1941) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 37th governor of Nebraska from 1991 to 1999 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 2001 to 2013. He is a member of the De ...
, Mike Johanns
Michael Owen Johanns ( ; born June 18, 1950) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 2009 to 2015. He served as the 38th governor of Nebraska from 1999 until 2005, and was chair of the Mi ...
and Susie Tompkins Buell challenged him to keep that promise.
By August 11, there were over 1000 nonviolent arrests at the White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
.
On November 6, 2011, several thousand formed a human chain around the White House to convince Obama to block the Keystone XL project. 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. In this case, people willing, hopeful, almost dying for him to be the Barack Obama of 2008."
In August 2012, the Tar Sands Blockade launched an indefinite tree sit in East Texas. On October 31, 2012, Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
presidential candidate Jill Stein
Jill Ellen Stein (born May 14, 1950) is an American physician, activist, and former political candidate. She was the Green Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 and 2016 elections and the Green-Rainbow Party's candidat ...
was arrested in Texas for criminal trespass after trying to deliver food and supplies to the Keystone XL protesters.
On February 17, 2013, approximately 35,000 to 50,000 protesters attended a rally in Washington, D.C. organized by The Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...
, 350.org
350.org is an international environmental organization addressing the climate crisis. Its stated goal is to end the use of fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy by building a global, grassroots movement.
The 350 in the name stands fo ...
, and The Hip Hop Caucus, in what Bill McKibben described as "the biggest climate rally by far, by far, by far, in U.S. history". The event featured Lennox Yearwood
Lennox Yearwood, Jr. is a minister and community activist who is also an influential member of political hip hop. Yearwood currently serves as president of the Hip Hop Caucus, a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that empowers young pe ...
; Chief Jacqueline Thomas, immediate past chief of the Saik'uz First Nation
Saik'uz (translated as "on the sand"), or Stoney Creek, is a Dakelh nation whose main community is on a reserve southwest of Vanderhoof, British Columbia along Kenney Dam Road. Saik'uz is a member of the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council.
Amenities ...
; Van Jones
Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones (born September 20, 1968) is an American news and political commentator, author, and lawyer. He is the co-founder of several non-profit organizations, a three-time ''New York Times'' bestselling author, a CNN host and c ...
; Crystal Lameman, of Beaver Lake Cree Nation
The Beaver Lake Cree Nation is a First Nations band government located northeast of Edmonton, Alberta, representing people of the Cree ethno-linguistic group in the area around Lac La Biche, Alberta, where the band office is currently located. ...
; Michael Brune
Michael Brune (born 24 August 1971) became the youngest executive director of the Sierra Club at 38, an American environmental organization founded by preservationist John Muir, UC professor of botany Willis Linn Jepson, and attorney Warren Olney ...
, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and others as invited speakers.
Simultaneous 'solidarity' protests were also organized in several other cities across the United States, Europe, and Canada. Protesters called on President Obama to reject the planned pipeline extension when deciding the fate of the pipeline after Secretary of State John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...
completes a review of the project.
On March 2, 2014, approximately 1000–1200 protesters marched from Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
to the White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
to stage a protest against the Keystone Pipeline. 398 arrests were made of people tying themselves to the White House fence with zip-ties and lying on a black tarp in front of the fence. The tarp represented an oil spill, and many protesters dressed in white jumpsuits covered in black ink, symbolizing oil-covered hazmat suit
A hazmat suit (hazardous materials suit) is a piece of personal protective equipment that consists of an impermeable whole-body garment worn as protection against hazardous materials. Such suits are often combined with self-contained breathing ...
s, laid down upon the tarp.
There is a long history of opposition to colonialism by indigenous people. In the instance of the Keystone XL pipeline, there have been many protests and actions taken against the construction of the pipeline. In may of 2019, the Sioux Nation held their own public hearing for native, and non-native people to voice their concerns about the Keystone Pipeline. In a public announcement from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe they state, “The Rosebud Sioux Tribe, along with other tribal nations, recently filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for numerous violations of the law in the Keystone XL pipeline permitting process. The Tribes are asking the court to rescind the illegal issuance of the Keystone XL pipeline presidential permit.”
Environmental concerns
Environmental concerns include the potential for air pollution
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different typ ...
, and for leaks and spills, that could pollute critical water supplies and cause harm to migratory bird
Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting b ...
s and other wildlife. 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
The Ogallala Aquifer () is a shallow water table aquifer surrounded by sand, silt, clay, and gravel located beneath the Great Plains in the United States. One of the world's largest aquifers, it underlies an area of approximately in porti ...
, one of the largest reserves of fresh water in the world.
The Sandhills region and Ogallala Aquifer
Since 2010, there were concerns that a pipeline spill could threaten the Ogallala Aquifer
The Ogallala Aquifer () is a shallow water table aquifer surrounded by sand, silt, clay, and gravel located beneath the Great Plains in the United States. One of the world's largest aquifers, it underlies an area of approximately in porti ...
, one of the world's largest fresh water reserves. The Ogallala Aquifer spans eight states, provides drinking water
Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...
for two million people, and supports $20 billion in agriculture. Critics say that a major leak could ruin drinking water and devastate the mid-western U.S. economy.
On November 10, 2011, the Department of State postponed a final decision while investigating "potential alternative routes around the Sandhills in Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
" in response to concerns that the project was not in the United States' national interest
The national interest is a sovereign state's goals and ambitions (economic, military, cultural, or otherwise), taken to be the aim of government.
Etymology
The Italian phrase ''ragione degli stati'' was first used by Giovanni della Casa around ...
.[
In its November 11 response, TransCanada pointed out fourteen different routes for Keystone XL were being studied, eight that impacted Nebraska. They included one potential alternative route in Nebraska that would have avoided the entire Sandhills region and ]Ogallala Aquifer
The Ogallala Aquifer () is a shallow water table aquifer surrounded by sand, silt, clay, and gravel located beneath the Great Plains in the United States. One of the world's largest aquifers, it underlies an area of approximately in porti ...
and six alternatives that would have reduced pipeline mileage crossing the Sandhills or the aquifer.
The Keystone XL proposal faced criticism from environmentalist
An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...
s and a minority of the members of the United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
.
On November 22, 2011, the Nebraska unicameral legislature passed unanimously two bills with the governor's signature that enacted a compromise agreed upon with the pipeline builder to move the route, and approved up to US$2 million in state funding for an environmental study.
On November 30, 2011, a group of Republican senators introduced legislation aimed at forcing the Obama administration to make a decision within 60 days. 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.
In 2011, after opposition for laying the pipeline in this area, TransCanada agreed to change the route and skip the Sandhills,[ 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. The Pioneer crude oil pipeline crosses east–west 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.
In January 2012, President Obama rejected the application amid protests about the pipeline's impact on Nebraska's environmentally sensitive Sandhills region.] The deadline for the decision had "prevented a full assessment of the pipeline's impact".
On September 5, 2012, TransCanada submitted an environmental report on the new route in Nebraska, which the company says is "based on extensive feedback from Nebraskans, and reflects our shared desire to minimize the disturbance of land and sensitive resources in the state". The March 2013 U.S. Department of State supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) stated that the original proposals, would not cause "significant impacts to most resources along the proposed Project route". This included the shortening of the pipeline to ; 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". 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." In response to the Department of State's report, which recommended neither acceptance nor rejection, an editor of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' recommended that Obama should reject the project, which "even by the State Department's most cautious calculations—can only add to the limate changeproblem".[The Alberta government placed a $30,000 ad entitled "Keystone XL: The Choice of Reason" in ''The New York Times'' to counter the editorial (CBC March 17, 2013).] On March 21, ''Mother Jones'' revealed that key personnel employed b
Environment Resources Management
(ERM), the consulting firm responsible for generating most of the SEIS, had previously performed contract work for TransCanada corporation. 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.
In April 2013, the EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
challenged the U.S. State Department report's conclusion that the pipeline would not result in greater oil sand production, noting that "while informative, tis not based on an updated energy-economic modeling effort". Overall, the EPA rated the SEIS with their category "EO-2" (EO for "environmental objections" and 2 for "insufficient information").
In May 2013 Republicans in the House of Representatives defended the Northern Route Approval Act, which would allow for congressional approval of the pipeline, on the grounds that the pipeline created jobs and energy independence. If enacted the Northern Route Approval Act would waive the requirement for permits for a foreign company and bypass the need for President Obama's approval, and the debate in the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate, concerned about serious environmental risks, that could result in the rejection of the pipeline.[ ]
In April 2013, TransCanada Corporation
TC Energy Corporation (formerly TransCanada Corporation) is a major North American energy company, based in the TC Energy Tower building in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, that develops and operates energy infrastructure in Canada, the United States, ...
changed the original proposed route of Keystone XL to minimize "disturbance of land, water resources and special areas"; the new route was approved by Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman
David Eugene Heineman (born May 12, 1948) is an American politician who served as the 39th governor of Nebraska from 2005 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the 39th treasurer of Nebraska from 1995 to 2001 and 37th li ...
in January 2013. On April 18, 2014, the Obama administration announced that the review of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline has been extended indefinitely, pending the result of a legal challenge to a Nebraska pipeline siting law that could change the route.
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. On January 29, 2015, the Keystone XL Pipeline was passed by the Senate 62–36.[Senate Passes Keystone XL Measure]
accessed Jan. 2015 On February 11, 2015, the Keystone XL Pipeline was passed by the House of Representatives with the proposed Senate Amendments 270–152. The Keystone XL Pipeline bill was not officially sent to President Obama, starting the official ten-day count towards the bill becoming law without presidential signature, until February 24, 2015. 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. On February 24, 2015, the bill was vetoed and returned for congressional action. 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. The review by the State Department is ongoing. On June 15, 2015 the House Oversight Committee threatened to subpoena the State Department for the latter's withholding of records relevant to the process since March 2015 and calling the process "unnecessarily secretive". Despite some records being posted by consulted agencies such as the EPA, the State Department has not responded to the request. On November 2, 2015, TransCanada asked the Obama administration to suspend its permit application for the Keystone XL.
Potential for oil spills
University of Nebraska
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
professor John Stansbury conducted an independent analysis which provides more detail on the potential risks for the Ogallala Aquifer
The Ogallala Aquifer () is a shallow water table aquifer surrounded by sand, silt, clay, and gravel located beneath the Great Plains in the United States. One of the world's largest aquifers, it underlies an area of approximately in porti ...
. 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. These spills could release as much as of oil each."
Other items of note in Stansbury's analysis:
* "While TransCanada estimates that the Keystone XL will have 11 significant spills, defined as more than of crude oil, over 50 years, a more realistic assessment is 91 significant spills over the pipeline's operational lifetime. TransCanada arbitrarily and improperly adjusted spill factors to produce an estimate of one major spill on the of pipeline about every five years, but federal data on the actual incidence of spills on comparable pipelines indicate a more likely average of almost two major spills per year. (The existing Keystone I pipeline has had one major spill and 11 smaller spills in its first year of operation.)"
* "Analysis of the time needed to shut down the pipeline shows that response to a leak at a river crossing could conservatively take more than ten times longer than the 11 minutes and 30 seconds that TransCanada assumes. (After the June 2010 spill of more than of crude oil into a tributary of the Kalamazoo River
The Kalamazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is long from the junction of its North and South branches to its mouth at Lake Michigan, with a total length extending to when one includes the South Branch.U.S. Geologica ...
, an Enbridge tar sands pipeline—a pipe compared to the Keystone XL—was not completely shut down for 12 hours.)"
* "Realistic calculations yield worst-case spill estimates of more than in the Nebraska Sandhills above the Ogallala Aquifer, more than of crude oil at the Yellowstone River
The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the Western United States. Considered the principal tributary of upper Missouri, via its own tributaries it drains an area with headwaters across the mountains a ...
crossings, more than at the Platte River
The Platte River () is a major river in the State of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which itsel ...
crossing and more than at the Missouri River crossing."
* "Contaminants from a release at the Missouri or Yellowstone River crossing would enter Lake Sakakawea
Lake Sakakawea is a large reservoir in the north central United States, impounded in 1953 by Garrison Dam, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam located in the Missouri River basin in central North Dakota. Named for the Shoshone-Hidatsa woman Sa ...
in North Dakota where they would adversely affect drinking water intakes, aquatic wildlife, and recreation. Contaminants from a spill at the Platte River crossing would travel downstream unabated into the Missouri River for several hundred miles affecting drinking water intakes for hundreds of thousands of people (e.g., Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...
; Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
; Nebraska City, Nebraska
Nebraska City is a city in Nebraska, and the county seat of, Otoe County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,289.
The Nebraska State Legislature has credited Nebraska City as being the oldest incorporated ...
; St. Joseph, Missouri
St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...
; Kansas City, Missouri) as well as aquatic habitats and recreational activities. In addition, other constituents from the spill would pose serious risks to humans and to aquatic species in the river."
* "The worst-case site for such a spill is in the Sandhills region of Nebraska. The Sandhills are ancient sand dunes that have been stabilized by grasses. Because of their very permeable geology, nearly 100 percent of the annual rainfall infiltrates to a very shallow aquifer, often less than below the surface. This aquifer is the well-known Ogallala Aquifer that is one of the most productive and important aquifers in the world."
Portions of the pipeline will also cross an active seismic zone
In seismology, a seismic zone or seismic belt is an area of seismicity potentially sharing a common cause. It may also be a region on a map for which a common areal rate of seismicity is assumed for the purpose of calculating probabilistic ground ...
that had a 4.3-magnitude earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
as recently as 2002. Opponents claim that TransCanada applied to the U.S. government to use thinner steel and pump at higher pressures than normal.
TransCanada CEO Russ Girling
Russ Girling is a Canadian businessman. He served as the president and chief executive officer of TC Energy.
Early life
Girling graduated from the University of Calgary, where he earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Master of Business Admi ...
has described the Keystone Pipeline as "routine", noting that TransCanada has been building similar pipelines in North America for half a century and that there were of similar oil pipelines in the United States in 2011. He also stated that the Keystone Pipeline was planned to include 57 improvements above standard requirements demanded by U.S. regulators, making it "the safest pipeline ever built". Rep. Ed Whitfield
Wayne Edward Whitfield (born May 25, 1943) is an American politician and attorney who served as the U.S. representative of from January 1995, until his resignation in September 2016. He is a member of the Republican Party, and the first to repr ...
, a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce
The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more than ...
concurred, saying "this is the most technologically advanced and safest pipeline ever proposed". 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
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a United States-based 501(c)(3) non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Bo ...
asserted that all but a few of these conditions simply restate current minimum standards.
TransCanada claims that they will take 100% responsibility for any potential environmental problems. According to their website, "It's our responsibility—as a good company and under law. If anything happens on the Keystone XL Pipeline, rapid response is key. That's why our Emergency Response plans are approved by state and federal agencies, and why we practice them regularly. We conduct regular emergency exercises, and aerial surveys every two weeks. We're ready to respond with a highly-trained response team standing by."
Alberta oil sands
Different environmental groups, citizens, and politicians have raised concerns about the potential negative impacts of the Keystone XL project.
The main issues are the risk of oil spills along the pipeline, which would traverse highly sensitive terrain, and 17% higher greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...
from the extraction of oil sands
Oil sands, tar sands, crude bitumen, or bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and wate ...
compared to extraction of conventional oil.
Leaks and spills
In 2016, about were released from the original Keystone pipe network via leaks, which federal investigators said resulted from a "weld anomaly".
On November 17, 2017, the pipeline leaked around onto farmland near Amherst, South Dakota
Amherst is an unincorporated community in Marshall County, South Dakota, United States. Although not tracked by the Census Bureau, Amherst has been assigned the ZIP code of 57421.
History
A post office called Amherst was established in 1887. Th ...
. The oil leak is the largest seen from the Keystone pipeline in the state. The leak lasted for several minutes, with no initial reports of damage to water sources or wildlife. Although the spill did not happen on Sioux property, it was in close enough proximity to potentially contaminate the aquifer used for water. The pipeline was immediately shut down,["Keystone pipeline leak in South Dakota about double previous estimate: paper"](_blank)
Reuters, April 7, 2018 and TransCanada began using the pipe again 12 days after the leak.["Keystone Pipeline spill in South Dakota twice as big as first thought"](_blank)
Associated Press, April 7, 2018 For much of late 2017, the Keystone pipeline operated at reduced pressure during remediation efforts. The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is a United States Department of Transportation agency created in 2004, responsible for developing and enforcing regulations for the safe, reliable, and environmentally sound oper ...
said that the failure "may have been caused by mechanical damage to the pipeline and coating associated with a weight installed on the pipeline in 2008". Later, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that a metal tracked vehicle had run over the area, damaging the pipeline.["November spill from Keystone pipeline larger than first estimated"](_blank)
Daniel J. Graeber, UPI, April 9, 2018 In April 2018, a federal investigation found that of crude had spilled at the site, almost twice what TransCanada had reported. That number made it the seventh-largest onshore oil spill since 2002.["The Keystone Pipeline oil spill was nearly twice as big as TransCanada said"](_blank)
''Vice News
Vice News (stylized as VICE News) is Vice Media's current affairs channel, producing daily documentary essays and video through its website and YouTube channel. It promotes itself on its coverage of "under-reported stories". Vice News was create ...
'', Sarah Sax, April 10, 2018
In April 2018, ''Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was esta ...
'' reviewed documents that showed that Keystone had "leaked substantially more oil, and more often, in the United States than the company indicated to regulators in risk assessments before operations began in 2010."
On October 31, 2019, a rupture occurred near Edinburg, North Dakota
Edinburg is a city in Walsh County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 199 at the 2020 census.
History
Edinburg was founded in 1887. The State Bank of Edinburg building, built in 1900, and the WPA Auditorium, built 1938, are both ...
, spilling an estimated where the that were not recovered from the 0.5 acre containment have spread contaminating 5 acres. This occurred while the South Dakota Water Management Board was in the middle of hearings on whether or not to allow TC Energy to use millions of gallons of water to build camps to house temporary construction workers for Keystone XL construction.
On December 7, 2022, TC Energy in Canada initiated a shutdown
Shutdown or shut down may refer to:
* Government shutdowns in the United States
* Shutdown (computing)
* Shutdown (economics)
* Shutdown (nuclear reactor)
Arts and entertainment Music
* "Shut Down" (The Beach Boys song), 1963
* ''Shut Down Volu ...
of the Keystone Pipeline System in response to a 9PM Eastern Time alarm signaling a loss in pressure. TC Energy confirmed that there had been a release of oil into a creek located in Washington County, Kansas
Washington County (standard abbreviation: WS) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 5,530. Its county seat and largest city is Washington.
History
Early history
For millennia, the ...
, 20 miles to the south of Steele City, Nebraska
Steele City is a village in Jefferson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 47 at the 2020 census.
History
Steele City was founded in 1873 when the St. Joseph and Western Railroad was extended to that point. It is named for Dudle ...
. About 588,000 gallons of tar sands crude was released. US oil prices rose about 4% the following day following news of the leak and shutdown. The leak was the largest in the United States in nearly a decade.
Water supplies
Pipeline construction could affect water supplies upstream of several Native American reservations, even though the pipeline does not lead through any tribal land. TC Energy is applying for permits to tap the Cheyenne River
The Cheyenne River ( lkt, Wakpá Wašté; "Good River"), also written ''Chyone'', referring to the Cheyenne people who once lived there, is a tributary of the Missouri River in the U.S. states of Wyoming and South Dakota. It is approximately 2 ...
, White River (South Dakota), and Bad River (South Dakota)
The Bad River ( Lakota: ''wakpá-šiča''; "river-bad") is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 30, 2011 in cen ...
for use during construction primarily for drilling to install pipe, to build pump stations and to control dust.
Increased carbon emissions
Environmental organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a United States-based 501(c)(3) non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Bo ...
(NRDC) also oppose the project due to its transportation of oil from oil sands.[ In its March 2010 report, the NRDC stated that "the Keystone XL Pipeline undermines the U.S. commitment to a ]clean energy
Clean may refer to:
* Cleaning, the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment
* Cleanliness, the state of being clean and free from dirt
Arts and media Music A ...
economy", instead "delivering dirty fuel at high costs". On June 23, 2010, 50 Democrats in Congress in their letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
warned that "building this pipeline has the potential to undermine America's clean energy future and international leadership on climate change", referencing the higher input quantity of fossil fuels necessary to take the tar and turn it into a usable fuel product in comparison to other conventionally derived fossil fuels.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee
The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more tha ...
's chairman at the time, Representative Henry Waxman
Henry Arnold Waxman (born September 12, 1939) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 1975 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
His district included much of the western part of the city of ...
, had also urged the State Department to block Keystone XL for greenhouse gas emission reasons.
In December 2010, the No Tar Sands Oil campaign, sponsored by action groups including Corporate Ethics International, NRDC, Sierra Club, 350.org
350.org is an international environmental organization addressing the climate crisis. Its stated goal is to end the use of fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy by building a global, grassroots movement.
The 350 in the name stands fo ...
, National Wildlife Federation, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and Rainforest Action Network
Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is an environmental organization based in San Francisco, California, United States. The organization was founded by Randy "Hurricane" Hayes and Mike Roselle in 1985, and first gained national prominence with a gr ...
, was launched.
In September 2011, Joe Oliver, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, sharply criticized opponents of oil sands development in a speech to the Canadian Club of Toronto
The Canadian Club of Toronto, now known as Canadian Club Toronto, is a non-profit speakers' forum in Toronto, Ontario. It meets several times a month to hear speeches given by invited guests from diverse fields, including politics, law, business, ...
, arguing that oil sands account for about 0.1% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, coal power plants powered in the U.S. generate almost 40 times more greenhouse-gas emissions than Canada's oil sands and California bitumen is more GHG-intensive than the oil sands.
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.
The State Department's 2012 Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (Final SEIS) estimated that producing and transporting oil to the pipeline's capacity would increase greenhouse-gas emissions compared to alternative sources of oil, if the denial of the pipeline project meant that the oil would stay in the ground. "However, ... such a change is not likely to occur. proval 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." 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". The Final SEIS made no estimate of the net effect of the project on greenhouse-gas emissions, considering both the amount of oil that would likely replace other sources (increasing emissions) and the amount of oil for which the pipeline would merely replace alternate means of transportation (decreasing emissions).
In a February 2015, the US EPA responded to the U.S. Department of State's Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (Final SEIS) for the Keystone XL Pipeline Project, that the pipeline will significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions because it will lead to the expansion of Alberta's carbon-intensive oilsands. and that over the proposed 50-year timeline of the pipeline, this could mean releasing as much as "1.37 billion more tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere". 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. It would be too expensive for the companies to ship by rail. However, "the presence of the pipeline, which offers an inexpensive way to move the oil to market, could increase the likelihood that companies would extract from the oil sands even when prices are low". The EPA suggested that the State Department should "revisit" its prior conclusions in light of the drop in oil prices.
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 eystone XL PipelineProject will increase the rate of oil sands production growth and accompanying greenhouse gas emissions". Girling maintained that the EPA's conclusions "are not supported by the facts outlined in the Final SEIS or actual observations of the marketplace".
Public opinion polls
United States
Public opinion polls taken by independent national polling organizations toward the beginning of the dispute showed majority support for the proposed pipeline in the US.
A September 2013 poll by the Pew Center found 65% favored the project and 30% opposed. The same poll found the pipeline favored by majorities of men (69%), women (61%), Democrats (51%), Republicans (82%), independents (64%), as well as by those in every division of age, education, economic status, and geographic region. 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).[Pew Center]
Continued Support for Keystone XL Pipeline
September 26, 2013.
The overall results of polls on the Keystone XL pipeline taken by independent national polling organizations from 2012 to 2014 were as follows:
* Gallup (March 2012): 57% government should approve, 29% government should not approve
* Pew Center (September 2013): 65% favor, 30% oppose
* Rasmussen (January 2014): 57% favor, 28% oppose (of likely voters)
* USA Today (January 2014): 56% favor, 41% oppose
* Washington Post–ABC News (April 2014): 65% government should approve, 22% government should not approve
* CBS News – Roper (May 2014): 56% favor, 28% oppose
In contrast, Pew's February 2017 poll showed that support for the pipeline had fallen to only 42%, with 48% of polled respondents opposing the pipeline, a 17 percentage point drop in support since 2014, with the majority of the shift due to a sharp decline in support among Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents. At the time of the poll, only 17% of Democrats favored the pipeline. Support among Republicans had also fallen (to 76%) but not as steeply as among Democrats.[Pew Center]
February 21, 2017.
/ref>
Canada
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. In Alberta, support was at 77%, and in Quebec at 36%.
Alternative projects
On November 16, 2011, Enbridge
Enbridge Inc. is a multinational pipeline and energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Enbridge owns and operates pipelines throughout Canada and the United States, transporting crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. ...
announced it was buying ConocoPhillips's 50% interest in the Seaway pipeline
The Seaway Crude Pipeline System (SCPS), commonly known as the Seaway Pipeline, is an oil pipeline system which transports crude oil between Cushing, Oklahoma and Freeport, Texas, and through the Texas City, Texas Terminal and Distribution System ...
that flowed from the Gulf of Mexico to the Cushing hub. In cooperation with Enterprise Products Partners LP
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. () is an American midstream natural gas and crude oil pipeline company with headquarters in Houston, Texas.
It acquired GulfTerra in September 2004. The company ranked No. 105 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of ...
it is reversing the Seaway pipeline so that an oversupply of oil at Cushing can reach the Gulf. This project replaced the earlier proposed alternative Wrangler pipeline project from Cushing to the Gulf Coast. It began reversed operations on May 17, 2012. However, according to industries, the Seaway line alone is not enough for oil transportation to the Gulf Coast.
On January 19, 2012, TransCanada announced it may shorten the initial path to remove the need for federal approval. TransCanada said that work on that section of the pipeline could start in June 2012 and be on-line by the middle to late 2013.
In April 2013, it was learned that the government of Alberta was investigating, as an alternative to the pipeline south through the United States, a shorter all-Canadian pipeline north to the Arctic coast, from where the oil would be taken by tanker ships through the Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...
to markets in Asia and Europe and in August, TransCanada announced a new proposal to create a longer all-Canada pipeline, called Energy East, that would extend as far east as the port city of Saint John, New Brunswick
Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of K ...
, at the same time providing feedstock to refineries in Montreal, Quebec City, and Saint John.
The Enbridge "Alberta Clipper" expansion of the existing cross-border Line 67 pipeline has been continuing since late 2013. When completed it will add per day new capacity to the existing pipeline for cumulative total of per day. 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.
Lawsuits
In September 2009, independent refiner CVR sued TransCanada for Keystone Pipeline tolls seeking $250 million damage compensation or release from transportation agreements. CVR alleged that the final tolls for the Canadian segment of the pipeline were 146% higher than initially presented, while the tolls for the U.S. segment were 92% higher. In April 2010, three smaller refineries sued TransCanada to break Keystone transportation contracts, saying the new pipeline has been beset with cost overruns.
In October 2009, a suit was filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a United States-based 501(c)(3) non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Bo ...
that challenged the pipeline on the grounds that its permit was based on a deficient environmental impact statement. The suit was thrown out by a federal judge on procedural grounds, ruling that the NRDC lacked the authority to bring it.
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
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
' action in issuing Nationwide Permit 12 permits for the Cushing, Oklahoma, to the Gulf Coast portion of the pipeline. The suit alleges that, contrary to the federal Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 701 et. seq., the Corps' issuance of the permits was arbitrary and capricious and an abuse of discretion.
In early January 2016, TransCanada announced it would initiate an ISDS
Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) or investment court system (ICS) is a system through which countries can be sued by foreign investors for certain state actions affecting foreign direct investment (FDI). This system most often takes the ...
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".TransCanada to launch NAFTA claim over Keystone rejection
The Globe and Mail, January 6, 2016
See also
* Climate change in the United States
* List of oil pipelines
This is a list of oil pipelines.
Africa
* Chad–Cameroon pipeline – Chad–Cameroon
* Sudeth pipeline – South Sudan–Ethiopia (under construction)
* Transnet Pipelines – South Africa
* Sumed pipeline – Egypt
* Tazama Pipeline – Tanzan ...
* List of oil refineries
* List of articles about Canadian oil sands
This is a list of articles related to Canadian oil sands:
* Athabasca oil sands
* Black Bonanza
* BP#Canadian oil sands
* Canadian Centre for Energy Information
* Canadian oil sands (disambiguation)
*Climate change in Canada
* Cold Lake oil s ...
*
Notes
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
2012 Presidential Permit application documents
from the United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
2017 Presidential Permit application documents
from the United States Department of State
Keystone Pipeline Project
TC Energy
Interactive maps of Keystone XL route from Canadian border to Texas Gulf Coast
Keystone Mapping Project
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Crude oil pipelines in the United States
Energy infrastructure completed in 2010
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TC Energy
Trump administration controversies
Pipelines in Alberta
Pipelines in Saskatchewan
Oil pipelines in North Dakota
Pipelines in South Dakota
Pipelines in Nebraska
Pipelines in Kansas
Oil pipelines in Missouri
Oil pipelines in Illinois
Oil pipelines in Oklahoma
Oil pipelines in Texas