Response to State Dept. Environmental Report on KXL

WASHINGTON - We have compiled key information for the press and public in response to the release of the State Department's Final Environmental Impact Statement on Keystone XL today.

Jane Kleeb is available via email jane@boldnebraska.org for questions or contact with landowners. 

Pictures: All pictures on Flickr can be downloaded and used for press outlets, please source Bold Nebraska and photographer listed.

Key Background Info and Timeline: The State Department's next phase in the review of Keystone XL pipeline was issued today. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is one report the President receives before making his final decision on TransCanada's permit. There is also a critical National Interest Determination (NID) process that starts today, and lasts up to 90 days for the public and 105 days for federal agencies. The NID must look at other areas than the environment to determine if this pipeline is our national interest, such as domestic energy production (more info on NID here). The State Department's timeline can be halted if we are successful in the lawsuit against the illegal routing process for our state (more info on lawsuit here). We expect a decision on the lawsuit by the end of March 2014 and both sides are ready to appeal to Supreme Court.

Quotes: 

Jane Kleeb, Bold Nebraska executive director:

• Contact: 402-705-3622, jane@boldnebraska.org
• Picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/boldnebraska/9306960101/in/set-72157634677116463
• "The State Department acknowledges there is risk to our water and Keystone XL will increase tarsands production. TransCanada is fighting for their bottom line, while farmers and ranchers are fighting for their livelihoods and the Ogallala Aquifer which at one point our Governor stood with us to protect. We are in this fight to win and are confident Pres. Obama will make the right decision and deny the permit." 

Randy Thompson, Nebraska landowner and rancher

• Chair of All Risk, No Reward Coalition, face of the "Stand with Randy" campaign

• Contact: 402-920-2759, randyft@windstream.net

• "I appreciate the fact that the State Department held their final hearing here in Nebraska. It is my hope that they took to heart the dramatic and overwhelming testimony they heard from Nebraska citizens on that cold day in Grand Island. Hopefully, those involved in the decision making process will realize that protecting the greatest fresh water aquifer in the western hemisphere from any unnecessary risks of contamination is a “no brainer." Another critical part of the equation that is not included in this, or any EIS, is the issue of individual property rights of American citizens who would be unjustifiably forced to forfeit those rights for this project. An export pipeline built by a private, for profit corporation, should never be granted the power of eminent domain. If the President truly values the rights of American citizens, along with many of our nation’s most valuable natural resources, then it should be an easy 'NO' decision for him." 

Jenni Harrington, Nebraska landowner in the proposed Keystone XL pipeline route

• Hosted the "Build Our Energy" project, a wind & solar-powered barn built directly in the pipeline's path, on her family's land

• Contact: 402-363-8591, jenniharrington28@gmail.com

• “We are encouraged the State Department is finally offering a more balanced view of Keystone XL’s risks. After watching the tarsands spills in Michigan and Arkansas, we know pollution is not “localized” but rather hurts families and communities. President Obama said he wants to be able to look his grandkids in the eye and say “yes I did” do everything to leave a safer, more stable world with new sources of energy. That is my wish too and tarsands is too dirty and too risky to be part of our collective vision for our kids.”

Ken Winston, Policy Director for Nebraska Sierra Club

• Contact: 402-212-3737, ken.winston@nebraska.sierraclub.org
• "Keystone XL continues to fail all the tests that President Obama has said it must pass. It clearly fails the climate test that he laid out last summer, because every major climate change expert has concluded that it would significantly exacerbate climate change. It also fails the test that President Obama used when he denied the permit in 2012, because it threatens America’s greatest freshwater resource, the Ogallala Aquifer, at many points where it is close to the surface and most vulnerable. President Obama needs deny the permit in order to honor his commitments to the American people to fight climate change and protect our most valuable resources."