Keystone
The Keystone Pipeline is a 7.2 billion dollar 2,148 mile pipeline that would deliver crude oil from the oilsands in Alberta to U.S. Midwest markets at Wood River and Patoka, Illinois, and Cushing Oklahoma. Initially the pipeline would carry 435,000 barrels per day from Alberta to the U.S., expanding to a nominal capacity of 590,000 barrels per day.
The pipeline would run from Hardisty, Alberta through the Dakotas, Nebraska, across Kansas and Missouri and then into Illinois, with a spur into Oklahoma. The U.S. portion of the project includes construction of approximately 1,379 miles of pipeline and pump stations.
Status of the Project
The Keystone Pipeline is fully permitted, and is currently being challenged in court. Natural Resources Defense Council and Plains Justice, representing Dakota Resource Council and Dakota Rural Action have filed a suit that challenges the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that was required for the special Presidential Permit that had to be issued by the State Department for the pipeline to cross the U.S border. Additionally, several tribes filed suit in South Dakota federal court in November of 2008, challenging the Presidential Permit, arguing that it violates laws regulating native cultural and historic resources.
Graphic: Dakotans Concerned
Click to see larger image
More Information
- TransCanada’s State Department Presidential Permit application and EIS documents
- TransCanada’s permit applications and hearing information from theSouth Dakota Public Utilities Commission
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife permitting documents
- Documents related to the Sierra Club and NRDC lawsuit challenging the EIS
- Documents related to the tribal lawsuits
- TransCanada’s Keystone project website
