How a single pipeline project became the epicenter of an enormous environmental, public health, and civil rights battle. In 2015, the U.S. State Department, under President Barack Obama, declined to grant the northern leg of the Keystone XL project the permit required to construct, maintain, and operate the pipeline across the U.S.Canada bordera permit that President Trump later granted and President Biden once again revoked. In fact, the treaties were created specifically for this sort of violation. The Natural Resources Defense Council works to safeguard the earth - its people, For example, in 2020, Teck Resources withdrew its 10-year application to build the largest tar sands mine in history, citing growing concern surrounding climate change in global markets. These sands contain bitumen, a gooey type of petroleum that can be converted into fuel. Like that of the United States, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe also has laws that require us to ensure that any company seeking to build a pipeline in our territory must obtain our consent. And the risk that Keystone XL would have spilled was heightened because of the extended time the pipe segments were left sitting outside in stockpiles. Tar sands oil is thicker, more acidic, and more corrosive than lighter conventional crude, and this ups the likelihood that a pipeline carrying it will leak. Our Land Use, Environmental Protection, and Public Utilities Codes directly apply, and TC Energy has failed to comply with them. Also in the filings, the Tribes point out that, contrary to defendants arguments, neither the presidents foreign affairs power, nor his role as commander in chief provide him authority to permit the pipeline. The United States formally agreed, among other things, to keep outsiders off Sioux and other tribal nations territory and protect tribal natural resources. Our land, water, and people are under direct threat from the KXL pipeline. Although, the pipelines proposed path crosses the plaintiff tribes homelands, the tribes have not been consulted as required by law and DOI policy. On March 28, 2017, his State Department illegally approved a cross-border permit for the pipeline, reversing the Obama administrations prior determination that KXL would not serve the national interest. But immediately after taking office, President Donald Trump brought the zombie project back to life, along with the legal battles against it. The pipeline, designed to run from Alberta, Canada, to Nebraska, had faced opposition from environmental groups, land use groups and Native American tribal entities for years. February: TransCanada Corporation proposes the Keystone Pipeline project. You'll receive your first NRDC action alert and Revoking the March 2019 Permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline. Neither the president nor wealthy foreign corporations are above the laws of our country. Police arrest approximately one thousand people. Pipeline opponents file a lawsuit against the Nebraska government claiming the state law used to review the new route is unconstitutional. Refining the sticky black gunk produces piles of petroleum coke, a hazardous, coal-like by-product. In 2017, the Trump administration reversed Obamas veto, signing an executive order to advance the Keystone pipeline as well as a similar crude oil project, the Dakota Access Pipeline despite the many valid arguments made against the two pipelines. Thats up nearly threefold from a decade ago, and an amount equal to 42 percent of our consumption. Since its construction in 1977, the Trans Alaska Pipeline has transported almost 17 billion barrels of oil, and currently transports about 527,323 barrels a day. It has also been determined that tar sands oil emits 17 percent more carbon than other forms of crude oil. It was expected to transport 830,000 barrels of Alberta tar sands oil per day to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Whats more, the whole process of getting the oil out and making it usable creates three to four times the carbon pollution of conventional crude extraction and processing. In an unprecedented action, President Trump has attempted to circumvent the law by issuing TransCanada yet another presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. Therefore, on Monday March 2, 2020, the Fort Belknap Indian Community and Rosebud Sioux Tribe filed a motion for preliminary injunction and asked the court to not allow TransCanada to begin construction of the pipeline while the case is under review. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe has retained the NARF to represent its interests with regard to the Keystone XL pipeline. Without Keystone XL, the tar sands industry has been forced to cancel projects rather than shift to rail, subsequently leaving more of the earths dirtiest fuel in the ground where it belongs. The goal was to transport 830,000 barrels of crude, tar sand oil to refineries on the American Gulf Coast each day. Phase 1 of the Keystone Pipeline was permitted in March 2008. People and wildlife coming into contact with tar sands oil are exposed to toxic chemicals, and rivers and wetland environments are at particular risk from a spill. This pipeline was proposed in 2008 and has been referred to as either the Keystone XL pipeline or KXL. It connects Steele City, Nebraska, to Cushing, Oklahoma. Public documents about extractive projects are often difficult to find and hard to read. Paramount Network just released a new mini-documentary entitled Take Action: Protect Our Land. The documentary explores the potential impact of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline on our client, the Fort Belknap Indian Community in Montana. In addition to extensive violations of law outlined in the original complaint, the new complaint raises the following issues: Maps released by TransCanada show the pipeline corridor and access roads crossing Rosebud territory, some of which is held in trust, as well as Rosebuds Mni Wiconi Water system. The obligation of the United States to uphold those treaties is paramount, and Keystone XLs current path cannot be approved without the Siangu Lakotas consent. Digital maps are a powerful way to educate the public about connections between oil and gas extraction, climate change, social justice, and Indigenous rights. The Keystone XL Pipeline Is Dead, but TC Energy Still Owns Hundreds of Miles of Rights of Way Many landowners who opposed the pipeline have begun a new fight, trying to regain control of the land . It was a political step, having nothing to do with what the law actually requires. The biggest concern with the Keystone XL Pipeline would be a spill in an environmentally sensitive area, such as the . In 2017, the US State Department released a study which proved that carbon emissions could be between 5 and 20 percent higher than the original 17 percent estimation. The notorious tar sands pipeline was a lightning rod in the fight against climate change and the seemingly unstoppable oil industry. The proposed Keystone XL extension actually comprised two segments. In exchange for measures like safe passage of emigrants and peaceful construction of the railroads, the US government and tribal nations signed treaties to prevent intrusion on or destruction of tribal nations lands and natural resources. The court also noted that the Tribes could file a new suit against the Bureau of Land Management given it has approved the pipeline in the remainder of the United States. The pipelines proposed route crosses through traditional Lakota homelands and treaty territories, and will affect not only the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, but also Native Nations in Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Keystone XL will need permission from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, so this is not over.. TransCanada ignores the threat that this influx of people creates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Phase 3b is added later, connecting the pipeline from Port Arthur to Houston, Texas. June: TransCanada announces it will buy ConocoPhillips stake in Keystone. But then the Trump administration would do something to undercut us outside of court. The administration also attempted to issue other permits for the project, all based on flawed environmental analyses, eventually prompting more lawsuits, including two from NRDC and its allies. All construction was stopped. While the tar sands industry was once seen as an unbeatable opponent in a David-and-Goliath fight, the victory against Keystone XL shows that the tables have begun to turnand that more power now lies with the advocates for climate justice than ever before. The authority to permit the pipeline falls within Congresss exclusive and plenary power to regulate foreign commerce. Canada is considered one of the most water-rich countries in the world and yet many indigenous communities continue to be provided with inadequate access to safe drinking water which provides a large public health concern for these communities. The federal court denied the United States federal governments and the TransCanadas (TC Energy) efforts to dismiss the Tribes case against the KXL Pipeline. Dirty energy lobbyists claimed developing tar sands would protect our national energy security and bring U.S. fuel prices down. Keystone XL would have crossed agriculturally important and environmentally sensitive areas, including hundreds of rivers, streams, aquifers, and water bodies. Of course, TransCanada claims that KXL will be safe, that it will be state of the art. But the groundswell of public protest was up against a formidable opponenthundreds of millions spent on lobbying by the fossil fuel industry. The decision echoed a seven-year State Department review process with EPA input that concluded the pipeline would fail to serve national interests. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions. Its mines are a blight on Canadas boreal, where mining operations dig up and flatten forests to access the oil below, destroying wildlife habitat and one of the worlds largest carbon sinks. The takedown of the notorious Keystone XL (KXL) tar sands pipeline will go down as one of this generations most monumental environmental victories. The proposed Keystone XL (KXL) Pipeline would cross Nebraska, Montana, and South Dakota, including tribal lands. The water delivery system for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe is called the Mni Wiconi, which translates to Water is Life. On February 11, 2019, an 1,800-gallon spill was detected in Missouri on the main Keystone line, and last year more than 400,000 gallons were spilled from the main Keystone line in South Dakota near a tribal community. The mineral estates qualify as Indian lands and the Tribe has jurisdiction over them. US President Joe Biden has cancelled permits for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office. It's derived from a sludgy, sticky deposit found beneath the wilds of northern Albertas boreal forest. Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer-based technology that combines geographic data and relevant information about specific locations. On Wednesday, June 9, 2021, TransCanada (TC Energy) announced that it is terminating its Keystone XL pipeline project. On November 17, 2020, the Tribes filed a federal lawsuit against the United States Department of Interior and the BLM over their January 2020 issuing of the KXL permit. In 2015, when the Keystone XL pipeline was being debated, numerous Native American tribes and the Indigenous Environmental Network organized against it. Rather than honoring these legal obligations, the United States has chosen to blatantly violate them. These lands are Indian lands. NARF Staff Attorney Matthew Campbell responded to the action, The Rosebud Sioux Tribe and Fort Belknap Indian Community have both poured tremendous effort and resources to defend their treaty rights and the safety of their tribal communities during the last few years.
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