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Farmers and Ranchers Ask State for Help Getting Information about Keystone XL Pipeline
Media Releases News Articles | Dakota Rural Action | September 22, 2009
Tomorrow at 8:30 am, the PUC will meet and discuss Dakota Rural Action’s motion and information requests.
“When Keystone’s three-foot diameter steel pipe starts to rust away, and it will rust away, then it will not be safe to drive over.” said Paul Seamans, a Dakota Rural Action member who farms in Jones County. “When it needs to be removed, who is going to pay for it? That’s a lot of steel to be dug out of the ground,” he added.
Once pipelines are no longer in use, the electrical systems that are meant to keep the pipes from corroding are turned off, and pipelines rust more quickly, with the result that large pipelines may weaken and collapse under the weight of vehicles. They may also develop holes that allow soil to fall inside the pipe, forming sinkholes in the soil over the pipeline. Buried pipelines may emerge from the soil creating an obstacle and eyesore. Abandoned pipelines may also need to be removed before construction of buildings, and they can interfere with other development of property. In addition, they may contain crude oil residues that would need to be cleaned up.
“My great grandfather settled here in 1910. He had a plan and vision to protect and nurture this land so it would be productive for generations to come. That plan has been carried out by my family for nearly 100 years,” said Roger Gunderson, a Dakota Rural Action member who ranches in Harding County. “I find it hard to believe that a company like TransCanada does not have a responsible business plan that it can share with us as to what they intend to do with the pipeline when it is no longer in use,” he added.
Recently, the Canadian National Energy Board announced that it is going to begin requiring pipeline companies to set aside funds to cover future abandonment costs. There is no U.S. federal requirement that pipeline companies plan and save money to deal with abandoned pipelines. As a result, landowners may be left with a big problem.
“Before TransCanada abandons the Keystone XL pipeline section in Canada, it will have to pay money to fix the land. But here in South Dakota, not only is there no clean up fund, we don’t know what TransCanada would do when it stopped using our land for the very same pipeline. My family has lived on this land for 70 years, so I take a long view. I don’t want to leave a mess that my grandkids will have to clean up.” said Kevin Graesser, a Dakota Rural Action member and Tripp County rancher.
“We’re the third generation on our land and we’re about to bring the fourth generation in to join us. As a family who’s ranched on this land for 75 years and taken good care of it, we want to know what would happen once TransCanada stopped using the pipeline. Would they treat the land right? Would we get stuck having to clean up after TransCanada?” asked Sandy and Jacki Limpert, Dakota Rural Action members from Harding County.
In addition to asking about TransCanada’s pipeline abandonment plans, the motion filed yesterday also requests information including the current demand for the pipeline given the economic slowdown and decreased oil consumption, property setbacks, the potential damage a pipeline rupture could cause, emergency response planning, legal liability, and the composition of the pipeline’s crude oil.
The Keystone XL pipeline would move costly tar sands crude oil 1,980 miles from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf Coast of Texas. Originally expected to begin construction in 2010, its anticipated construction date appears to have been pushed back to 2011 or 2012.
For more information
Contacts:
- For more information contact: Bob Beck, landowner, (605) 835-8746
Roger Gunderson, landowner, (605) 375-3782 - Stephanie Trask, Dakota Rural Action, (605) 697-5204
- Kelly Fuller, Plains Justice, (605) 670-0361
For a copy of the motion or information related to legal issues, please contact Kelly Fuller at Plains Justice: kfuller@plainsjustice.org or (605) 670-0361. (Plains Justice represents Dakota Rural Action at the PUC in the Keystone XL proceeding.)
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Dakota Rural Action is a grassroots family agriculture and conservation group that organizes South Dakotans to protect our family farmers and ranchers, natural resources, and unique way of life.
Tagged with: keystone xl, transcanada, dakota rural action
