Keystone Pipeline
Encyclopedia
The Keystone Pipeline System is a pipeline
Pipeline transport
Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....

 system to transport synthetic crude oil and diluted bitumen from the Athabasca Oil Sands
Athabasca Oil Sands
The Athabasca oil sands are large deposits of bitumen, or extremely heavy crude oil, located in northeastern Alberta, Canada - roughly centred on the boomtown of Fort McMurray...

 in northeastern Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 to multiple destinations in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, which include refineries in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, Cushing oil distribution hub in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

, and proposed connections to refineries along the Gulf Coast
Gulf Coast of the United States
The Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States...

 of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. It consists of the operational "Keystone Pipeline" (Phase 1) and "Keystone-Cushing Extension" (Phase 2), and two proposed Keystone XL pipeline expansion segments. After the Keystone XL pipeline segments are completed, American crude oil will enter the XL pipelines at Baker, Montana
Baker, Montana
Baker is a city in and the county seat of Fallon County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,741 at the 2010 census.It was named after A.G. Baker, an engineer with the Chicago, Milwaukee, St...

 and Cushing, Oklahoma
Cushing, Oklahoma
Cushing is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 8,371 at the 2000 census.The city was established after the Land Run of 1891 by Billy Rae Little. It was named for Marshall Cushing, private secretary to U.S. Postmaster General John Wanamaker...

.

The Keystone XL has faced lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...

s from oil refineries
Oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas...

 and criticism from environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...

s and some members of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

. The U.S. Department of State in 2010 extended the deadline for federal agencies to decide if the pipeline is in the national interest
National interest
The national interest, often referred to by the French expression raison d'État , is a country's goals and ambitions whether economic, military, or cultural. The concept is an important one in international relations where pursuit of the national interest is the foundation of the realist...

, and in November, 2011, President Obama
Presidency of Barack Obama
The Presidency of Barack Obama began at noon EST on January 20, 2009 when he became the 44th President of the United States. Obama was a United States Senator from Illinois at the time of his victory over Arizona Senator John McCain in the 2008 presidential election...

 postponed the decision until 2013. On November 30, Senate Republicans introduced legislation aimed at forcing the Obama administration to approve the Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days, unless the president declares the project is not in the national interest.

Keystone Pipeline

TransCanada Corporation proposed the project on February 9, 2005. In October 2007, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada
Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada
See also Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol SCEPCommunications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, abbreviated CEP in English and SCEP in French, is a largely private sector labour union with 150,000 members...

 asked the Canadian federal government to block regulatory approvals for the pipeline, with union president Dave Coles stating that "the Keystone pipeline will exclusively serve US markets, create permanent employment for very few Canadians, reduce our energy security, and hinder investment and job creation in the Canadian energy sector". However, the National Energy Board
National Energy Board
The National Energy Board is 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"...

 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. On March 17, 2008, the U.S. Department of State issued a Presidential Permit authorizing the construction, maintenance and operation of facilities at the United States and Canada border.

On January 22, 2008, ConocoPhillips acquired a 50% stake in the project. However, on June 17, 2009, TransCanada agreed that they would buy out ConocoPhillips' share in the project 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. The pipeline became operational in June 2010.

Keystone XL

The Keystone XL extension was proposed in 2008. The application was filed in the beginning of 2009 and the National Energy Board of Canada started hearings in September 2009. It was approved by the National Energy Board on March 11, 2010. The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission granted a permit on February 19, 2010.

The pipeline, however, has faced strong opposition from the environmental community. In its March 2010 report, the Natural Resources Defense Council
Natural Resources Defense Council
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a New York City-based, non-profit, non-partisan international environmental advocacy group, with offices in Washington DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Beijing...

 stated that "the Keystone XL Pipeline undermines the U.S. commitment to a clean energy economy", instead delivering dirty fuel from oil sands and high costs. On June 23, 2010, 50 Members of Congress spoke out against the Keystone XL pipeline. In their letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, they warned that "building this pipeline has the potential to undermine America's clean energy future and international leadership on climate change." On June 30, 2010, TransCanada replied by saying 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 the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines
Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines
The Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines Project is a proposal to construct two pipelines running from Bruderheim, Alberta, to Kitimat, British Columbia. The eastbound pipeline would import natural gas condensate and the westbound pipeline would export crude oil...

 or the Kinder Morgan
Kinder Morgan
Kinder Morgan, Inc. is an American energy company. It is also, through a subsidiary, the general partner of and owner of many of the interests in Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, a publicly traded pipeline and terminal limited partnership....

's Trans-Mountain line.

On July 6, 2010, House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Henry Waxman
Henry Waxman
Henry Arnold Waxman is the U.S. Representative for , serving in Congress since 1975. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is considered to be one of the most influential liberal members of Congress...

 urged the State Department to block Keystone XL, saying in a letter to the department that "this pipeline is a multi-billion dollar investment to expand our reliance on the dirtiest source of transportation fuel currently available". On July 21, 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency said the draft environmental impact study for Keystone XL was inadequate and should be revised, indicating that the State Department's original report was "unduly narrow" because it didn't fully look at oil spill response plans, safety issues and greenhouse gas concerns. The final environmental impact report was released on August 26, 2011. It stated 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". However, summer/fall, 2011, protests brought the challenge to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

, leading ultimately to the President's November, 2011, postponement of the decision until 2013.

On November 10, 2011, TransCanada stated they have spoken with the U.S. Department of State and will have conversations to discuss next steps. 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 and six alternatives that would have reduced pipeline mileage crossing the Sandhills or the aquifer. On November 22, 2011 the governor of Nebraska signed two bills that enacted a compromise agreed upon with the pipeline builder to move the route, and approved up to $2 million in state funding for an environmental study. On November 30th, 2011, a group of leading Republican senators introduced legislation aimed at forcing the Obama administration to make a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days.

Phase 1

The 3456 kilometres (2,147.5 mi) long pipeline runs from Hardisty
Hardisty, Alberta
Hardisty, Alberta is a town in Flagstaff County in Alberta, Canada. It is located in east-central Alberta, from the Saskatchewan border, near the crossroads of Highway 13 and Highway 881, in the Battle River Valley.- History :...

, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 to the United States refineries in Wood River, Illinois
Wood River, Illinois
Wood River is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,296 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Wood River is located at ....

 and Patoka, Illinois
Patoka, Illinois
Patoka is a village in Marion County, Illinois, United States. The population was 633 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Patoka is located at ....

. The Canadian section involves approximately 864 kilometres (536.9 mi) of pipeline converted from the Canadian Mainline natural gas pipeline and 373 kilometres (231.8 mi) of new pipeline, pump stations and terminal facilities at Hardisty, Alberta
Hardisty, Alberta
Hardisty, Alberta is a town in Flagstaff County in Alberta, Canada. It is located in east-central Alberta, from the Saskatchewan border, near the crossroads of Highway 13 and Highway 881, in the Battle River Valley.- History :...

. The United States section is 2219 kilometres (1,378.8 mi) long. It runs through Buchanan
Buchanan County, Missouri
Buchanan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2010, the population was 89,201. Its county seat is Saint Joseph. When originally formed in 1838, the county was named Roberts County, after settler Hiram Roberts; it was renamed in 1839 for James Buchanan, then a U.S....

, Clinton
Clinton County, Missouri
As of the census of 2000, there were 18,979 people, 7,152 households, and 5,299 families residing in the county. The population density was 45 people per square mile . There were 7,877 housing units at an average density of 19 per square mile...

 and Caldwell
Caldwell County, Missouri
Caldwell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. , the population was 8,969. Its county seat is Kingston. The county was organized in 1836 as a haven for the Mormons, who had been previously driven from Jackson County, Missouri in November of 1833 and had been refugees in...

 counties in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, and Nemaha
Nemaha County, Kansas
Nemaha County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 10,178. The county seat is Seneca.- History :...

, Brown
Brown County, Kansas
Brown County is a county located in Northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 9,984. Its county seat and most populous city is Hiawatha...

 and Doniphan
Doniphan County, Kansas
Doniphan County is a county located in Northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 7,945. Its county seat is Troy and its most populous city is Wathena. The county along with Buchanan, Andrew, and DeKalb counties in Missouri is included in...

 counties in Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

. Phase 1 went online in June 2010.

Phase 2

From Steele City, Nebraska
Steele City, Nebraska
Steele City is a village in Jefferson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 84 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Steele City is located at ....

, the 291 miles (468.3 km) Keystone-Cushing pipeline was routed through Kansas to the oil hub and tank farm in Cushing, Oklahoma
Cushing, Oklahoma
Cushing is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 8,371 at the 2000 census.The city was established after the Land Run of 1891 by Billy Rae Little. It was named for Marshall Cushing, private secretary to U.S. Postmaster General John Wanamaker...

 in 2010 and went online in February 2011.

Phase 3

This phase, known as Cushing MarketLink, is part of the Keystone XL pipeline. This proposed phase would start from Cushing, Oklahoma
Cushing, Oklahoma
Cushing is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 8,371 at the 2000 census.The city was established after the Land Run of 1891 by Billy Rae Little. It was named for Marshall Cushing, private secretary to U.S. Postmaster General John Wanamaker...

 where domestic oil would be added to the pipeline, then it would expand 435 miles (700.1 km) to a delivery point near terminals in Nederland, Texas
Nederland, Texas
Nederland is a city in Jefferson County, Texas, United States. The population was 17,547 at the 2010 census.The city is adjacent to the Southeast Texas Regional Airport in Port Arthur, which serves the nearby cities of Beaumont and Port Arthur. It is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur...

 to serve the Port Arthur, Texas
Port Arthur, Texas
-Demographics:As of the 2000 census, there were 57,755 people, 21,839 households, and 14,675 families residing in the city. The population density was 696.5 people per square mile . There were 24,713 housing units at an average density of 298.0 per square mile...

 marketplace. Also proposed is an approximate 47 miles (75.6 km) previous pipeline to transport crude oil from the pipeline in Liberty County, Texas
Liberty County, Texas
Liberty County is a county located in Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 75,643. Its county seat is Liberty.-Geography:According to the U.S...

 to the Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

 area.

Domestic oil producers in the USA are pushing for this phase so the glut of oil can be distributed out of the large oil tank farms and distribution center in Cushing, Oklahoma
Cushing, Oklahoma
Cushing is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 8,371 at the 2000 census.The city was established after the Land Run of 1891 by Billy Rae Little. It was named for Marshall Cushing, private secretary to U.S. Postmaster General John Wanamaker...

. On November 16, 2011, Enbridge announced it is buying ConocoPhillips' 50% interest in the Seaway pipeline that flows from the Gulf of Mexico to the Cushing hub. In cooperation with Enterprise Products Partners LP
Enterprise Products
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. is a natural gas and crude oil pipeline company with headquarters in Houston, Texas. It acquired GulfTerra in September 2004, and is a member of the Fortune 500...

 it plans to reverse the Seaway pipeline so that an oversupply of oil at Cushing could reach the Gulf. This project will replace the earlier proposed alternative Wrangler pipeline project from Cushing to the Gulf Coast. However, according to industries, the Seaway line alone is not enough for oil transportation to the Gulf Coast.

Phase 4

This phase is part of the Keystone XL pipeline and would start from the same area in Alberta, Canada as the main pipeline. The Canadian section would consist of 529 kilometres (328.7 mi) of new pipeline. It would enter the United States at Morgan, Montana and travel through Baker, Montana
Baker, Montana
Baker is a city in and the county seat of Fallon County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,741 at the 2010 census.It was named after A.G. Baker, an engineer with the Chicago, Milwaukee, St...

 where domestic 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, Nebraska
Steele City is a village in Jefferson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 84 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Steele City is located at ....

. This phase has generated the greatest controversy because its routing over the top of the Ogallala Aquifer
Ogallala Aquifer
The Ogallala Aquifer, also known as the High Plains Aquifer, is a vast yet shallow underground water table aquifer located beneath the Great Plains in the United States...

 in Nebraska.

Description

The initial capacity of Keystone Pipeline is 435000 oilbbl/d which will be increased up to 590000 oilbbl/d. The diameter of the pipeline is 36 inches (914.4 mm). It will have a minimum ground cover of 4 feet (1.2 m). The Keystone XL will add 510000 oilbbl/d increasing the total capacity up to 1.1 Moilbbl/d.

The original Keystone Pipeline cost $US5.2 billion with the Keystone XL expansion slated to cost approximately US$7 billion. The Keystone XL is expected to be completed by 2012–2013.

Upon completion, the Keystone Pipeline System would provide 5 percent of the current U.S. petroleum consumption needs and represent 9 percent of U.S. petroleum imports.

Partnership

The project was originally developed as a partnership between TransCanada and ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational energy corporation with its headquarters located in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas in the United States...

. Certain parties who have agreed to make volume commitments to the Keystone expansion have an option to acquire up to a combined 15% equity ownership. One of such companies is Valero Energy Corporation.
On August 12, 2009, however, TransCanada received regulatory approval to purchase ConocoPhillips' interest in the project and is now the sole owner of the Keystone Pipeline System.

Lawsuits

In September 2009, independent refiner CVR sued TransCanada's 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 145% higher than initially presented, while the tolls for the US 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
Natural Resources Defense Council
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a New York City-based, non-profit, non-partisan international environmental advocacy group, with offices in Washington DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Beijing...

 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.

Impacts

See also: Risk to Ogallala Aquifer

Environmental groups, citizens, and politicians have raised a number of concerns about the potential impacts of the Keystone XL extension. One concern is that the pipeline could pollute air and water supplies and harm migratory birds and other wildlife. It will cross the Sandhills in Nebraska, the large wetland ecosystem, and the Ogallala Aquifer
Ogallala Aquifer
The Ogallala Aquifer, also known as the High Plains Aquifer, is a vast yet shallow underground water table aquifer located beneath the Great Plains in the United States...

, one of the largest reserves of fresh water
Fresh Water
Fresh Water is the debut album by Australian rock and blues singer Alison McCallum, released in 1972. Rare for an Australian artist at the time, it came in a gatefold sleeve...

 in the world. The Ogallala Aquifer spans eight states, provides drinking water
Drinking water
Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...

 for two million people, and supports $20 billion in agriculture. Critics are concerned that a major leak could ruin drinking water and devastate the mid-western U.S. economy. Portions of the pipeline will also cross an active seismic zone that had a 4.3 magnitude earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

 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.

Analysts believe that including the Alberta Clipper pipeline owned by TransCanada's competitor Enbridge
Enbridge
Enbridge Inc. is a Calgary, Alberta based company focused on three core businesses: crude oil and liquids pipelines, natural gas transportation and distribution, and green energy. The company has approximately 6,000 employees, mostly in Canada and the United States...

, there is an extensive overcapacity of oil pipelines from Canada and after completion of the Keystone XL line oil pipelines to the U.S. will run nearly half-empty.

In its March 2010 report, the Natural Resources Defense Council
Natural Resources Defense Council
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a New York City-based, non-profit, non-partisan international environmental advocacy group, with offices in Washington DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Beijing...

 stated that "the Keystone XL Pipeline undermines the U.S. commitment to a clean energy economy", instead delivering dirty fuel from oil sands and high costs. In December, 2010, No Tar Sands Oil campaign was launched. Sponsored by a number of action groups, including Corporate Ethics International, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and Rainforest Action Network and featuring TV ads on CNN, MSNBC, and Comedy Central, the $500,000 US campaign asked that people urge President Obama to stop the Keystone XL pipeline from being built by visiting The National Wildlife Federation website.
According to the National Wildlife Federation Action Fund, the President and US State Department have the power to require an additional Environmental Impact Assessment. Members of Congress and the EPA requested this measure be taken.

Concerns of bad sections of pipe using defective steel are causing areas of Keystone to be excavated and checked. PHMSA had earlier sent out warnings about some pipe swelling under pressure.

2011 protests and postponement

Starting in spring, 2011, environmental and global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...

 activist Bill McKibben
Bill McKibben
William Ernest "Bill" McKibben is an American environmentalist, author, and journalist who has written extensively on the impact of global warming. He is the Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College...

 took the question of the pipeline to NASA scientist James Hansen
James Hansen
James E. Hansen heads the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City, a part of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. He has held this position since 1981...

, who told McKibben the pipeline would be "game over for the planet". McKibben and other activists moved toward a new oppositional approach which coalesced in August with over 1000 nonviolent arrests at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

. They promised to continue to challenge President Obama to stand by his 2008 call to "be the generation that finally frees America from the tyranny of oil" as he entered the 2012 reelection campaign. A relatively broad coalition came together, including the Republican governor Dave Heineman
Dave Heineman
David Eugene "Dave" Heineman is the 39th and current Governor of Nebraska. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:...


and senators Ben Nelson
Ben Nelson
Earl Benjamin "Ben" Nelson is the senior U.S. Senator from Nebraska. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000....

 (D) and Mike Johanns
Mike Johanns
Michael Owen "Mike" Johanns is an American Republican politician who has been the junior United States Senator from Nebraska since 2009. Previously he was the 38th Governor of Nebraska from 1999 to 2005 and was U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 2005 to 2007, becoming the fourth Nebraskan to hold...

 (R) from Nebraska, and some Democratic funders like Susie Tompkins Buell
Susie Tompkins Buell
Susie Tompkins Buell is an American entrepreneur and a liberal political donor associated with the Democracy Alliance.-Investor and businesswoman:...

.

On August 21, 2011, the New York Times published an editorial opposing the Keystone XL pipeline because of the additional greenhouse gas emissions and the probability of oil spills in sensitive areas. While TransCanada had asserted that a set of 57 conditions will ensure Keystone XL's safe operation, investigative journalists asserted that all but a few of these conditions simply restate current minimum standards.

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." According to The Times, legal experts questioned whether the US government was "flouting the intent" of the Federal National Environmental Policy Act
National Environmental Policy Act
The National Environmental Policy Act is a United States environmental law that established a U.S. national policy promoting the enhancement of the environment and also established the President's Council on Environmental Quality ....

 which "[was] meant 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 "to investigate whether conflicts of interest tainted the process" for reviewing environmental impact.

On November 7, 2011, several thousand environmentalist supporters, some shouldering a long black inflatable replica of a pipeline, formed a human chain around the White House on Sunday to try to convince Barack Obama to block the controversial Keystone XL project. Organiser 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."

On November 10, four days after twelve thousand people encircled the White House, culminating the months of protests, President Obama announced "the decision on the pipeline permit would be delayed until at least 2013, pending further environmental review". TransCanada stated they have been in conservation with the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and fourteen different routes were being studied, eight that impacted Nebraska. They included one potential alternative route in Nebraska that would avoided the entire Sandhills region and Ogallala aquifer and six alternatives that would have reduced pipeline mileage crossing the Sandhills or the aquifer.

Support

Looking at the issue, commentator Bill Mann linked the Keystone postponement to the Michigan Senate's rejection of Canadian funding for the proposed Detroit River International Crossing
Detroit River International Crossing
The Detroit River International Crossing , alternatively New International Trade Crossing , is a multi-national construction project and committee between Canada and the United States to create a new border crossing over the Detroit River...

 and to other recent instances of "U.S. government actions (and inactions) that show little concern about Canadian concerns". Mann drew attention to a Macleans article sub-titled "we used to be friends" about U.S./Canada relations after President Obama had "insulted Canada (yet again)" over the pipeline.

TransCanada Corp. CEO Russ Girling argues 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 or Nigeria." 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.

Girling 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 are 200,000 miles of similar coil pipe in the United States today. He also stated that the Keystone Pipeline will include 57 improvements above standard requirements demanded by U.S. regulators so far, making it "the safest pipeline ever built."

In a speech to the Canadian Club in Toronto on September 23, 2011, Joe Oliver
Joe Oliver (politician)
Joseph "Joe" Oliver, , PC is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Eglinton—Lawrence as a member of the Conservative Party....

, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources
Minister of Natural Resources (Canada)
The Minister of Natural Resources is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for Natural Resources Canada. As of January 19, 2010, the Minister of Natural Resources is Joe Oliver.-Ministers:Key:...

, sharply criticized opponents of oil sands development and the pipeline, arguing that:
  • The total area that has been affected by surface mining represents only 0.1% of Canada's boreal forest
    Boreal forest of Canada
    Canada's boreal forest comprises about one third of the circumpolar boreal forest that rings the northern hemisphere, mostly north of the 50th parallel. Other countries with boreal forest include Russia, which contains the majority, and the Scandinavian and Nordic countries . The boreal region in...

    .
  • The oil sands account for about 0.1% of global greenhouse-gas emissions.
  • Electricity plants powered by coal in the U.S. generate almost 40 times more greenhouse-gas emissions than Canada's oil sands (the coal-fired electricity plants in the State of Wisconsin alone produce the equivalent of the entire GHG emissions of the oil sands.
  • California bitumen is more GHG-intensive than the oil sands.

Oliver criticized opponents of the pipeline, stating that all of the above facts are ignored by "celebrity protestors."

Writing in the National Post, Diane Francis
Diane Francis
Diane Francis is a Canadian journalist, author, and editor-at-large for the National Post newspaper since 1998. She was previously the Editor of the Financial Post from 1991 to 1998, when it was taken over by the National Post and incorporated into it...

 argued that opposition to the Pipeline "ma[kes] no sense because emissions from the oil sands are a fraction of the emissions from coal and equivalent to California heavy crude oils or ethanol" and questioned why "None of these has been getting the same attention as the oil sands and this pipeline." She also 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 a recent effort by Saudi Arabia to stop television commercials by a pro-oil sands NGO called EthicalOil.org.

Political issues

In February 2011, Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...

 reported that Koch Industries
Koch Industries
Koch Industries, Inc. , is an American private energy conglomerate based in Wichita, Kansas, with subsidiaries involved in manufacturing, trading and investments. Koch also owns Invista, Georgia-Pacific, Flint Hills Resources, Koch Pipeline, Koch Fertilizer, Koch Minerals and Matador Cattle Company...

 were poised to be "big winners" from the pipeline. In May 2011, Congressmen Waxman
Henry Waxman
Henry Arnold Waxman is the U.S. Representative for , serving in Congress since 1975. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is considered to be one of the most influential liberal members of Congress...

 and Rush
Bobby Rush
Bobby Lee Rush is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Democratic Party.The district is located principally on the South Side of Chicago. It is a minority-majority district and has a higher percentage of African Americans than any other congressional district in...

 wrote a letter to the Energy and Commerce Committee
United States 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 200 years...

 which cited the Reuters story, and which urged the Committee to request documents from Koch Industries which relate to the Keystone XL pipeline.

In response to negative publicity, president and CEO of TransCanada Russ Girling
Russ Girling
Russ Girling is the President and CEO of TransCanada Corporation as of July 1, 2010.Prior to this, he was Chief Operating Officer , responsible for overseeing TransCanada Corporation’s Pipeline and Energy businesses, corporate development activities and strategies, operations and major projects,...

 touted the positive impact of the project by "putting 20,000 US workers to work and spending $7 billion stimulating the US economy." This has been disputed by an independent study conducted by the Cornell ILR Global Labor Institute
Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations
The New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations is an industrial relations school at Cornell University, an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, USA...

 which found that while the Keystone XL would result in 2,500 to 4,650 temporary construction jobs, this impact will be reduced by higher oil prices in the Midwest which will likely reduce national employment.

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 17 October 2011, TransCanada had "34 eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...

 actions against landowners in Texas" and "22 in South Dakota." Some of those landowners gave testimony for a House Energy and Commerce Committee
United States 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 200 years...

hearing in May 2011.

Due to an exemption the state gave TransCanada, the local authorities would lose $50 million public revenue from property taxes for a decade.

External links

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