In addition to the 13,004 public comments we submitted on behalf of Nebraskans and the over 1 million comments nationwide submitted, state-based groups came together to submit a detailed response to the State Department on why we oppose the Keystone XL pipeline--the route, the map of the Sandhills, emergency response plans, landowner rights, spill liability, concerns about our water and economic risks to rural farmers and ranchers are all detailed in our submission to the State Department including how the DEQ changed the region of the Sandhills on their own website to cover-up the real Sandhills and give TransCanada political cover for a risky route.

View the full PDF of our submission to the State Department.

Last week, Noelle Ptomey, of Cedar Bluffs, Nebraska, attempted to email Congressman Lee Terry using an email form on his website. She wanted to tell Terry that she was upset that he and other Nebraska elected officials did not attend the final State Department hearing on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline in Grand Island. But when Ptomey entered her zip code into the Terry website’s comment form, she found that she was blocked because she does not live in his district.

Ptomey e-mailed Jane Kleeb, director of Bold Nebraska, who encouraged her to call Terry’s office to voice her concerns. Kleeb also forwarded Ptomey’s email to Common Cause and the Associated Press (AP), which picked up the story. Ptomey told the AP that she called Terry’s office “to say how discouraging it was to know that our elected officials are trying to filter emails and only hear from the people in their district.”

We did it! Over 1 million comments were submitted to the State Department.

Developing Story: The tarsands spill on Saturday in Arkansas forced families to evacutae their homes. At first Exxon denied it was tarsands, tried to say its no worse than other oil. Enbridge tried this same lie in Michigan and we all know how that turned out ($1 billion later and still not cleaned up 2 years later).

This Exxon pipeline that burst and kept spewing tarsands and benzene for 45 minutes in Arkansas is a snapshot of what could happen in Fullerton or any of the small towns along the proposed TransCanada route. Here are two articles, we will post more as press and citizens report on this risk and no reward...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/31/arkansas-oil-spill-2013-exxon_n_2986754.html

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/30/arkansas-residents-evacuate-as-exxon-mobil-tar-sands-pipeline-ruptures/

More than the Easter bunny is hopping our way! Updates on landowner rights, State Dept. hearing, the citizen lawsuit and timing of the decision by Pres. Obama are in this blog post. We still need you write letters to President Obama. It is the old-school, handwritten letters that get the attention of our elected leaders. The President told Republicans he knows this pipeline creates 35 long-term jobs and is an export pipeline. Which if course then asks the question, how again is this in our national interest? Why are we risking water and property rights? Keep up the pressure pipeline fighters!

Donate to help support the activities for the hearing!

Landowners, citizens, environmental advocates, and tar sands industry leaders all agree: the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is the key to expanding the tar sands industry. The only opposing viewpoint comes from the flawed State Department’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which was written by oil and gas industry consultants that benefit from pipelines getting approved. The American public is getting bamboozled.

“Industry experts continue to make it clear that they need the new capacity from Keystone XL in order to make tar sands profitable,” said Jane Kleeb, Executive Director of Bold Nebraska. “The only ones arguing with this assessment is the State Department, who relied on TransCanada and industry consultants to craft the report to suit their bottom line.”

"President Obama, Secretary Kerrey and the American public are getting bamboozled by the State Department report written by oil consultants and paid for by TransCanada," said Randy Thompson, a Nebraska rancher. “We will not sit on the sidelines as a foreign corporation attempts to force us to relinquish our land for a project that would put our family operations at risk. They need to get an export pipeline built so they can expand tar sands and we stand in their way."

As Inside Climate News reports, the conclusion about the future of the tar sands industry “was based on analysis provided by two consulting firms with ties to oil and pipeline companies that could benefit from the proposed project.”
 
But those who are investing in the industry tell a different story.
 
Bloomberg Business Week further confirmed that the State Department got it wrong. The article emphasizes just how critical the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is to further expansion of the industry, and highlights industry voices that say the industry cannot expand at its desired or expected rate without Keystone XL. This industry affirmation flies in the face of the State Department’s analysis that tar sands development will occur with or without the pipeline.
 
From Business Week's "Keystone Pipeline Decision May Influence Oil-Sands Development":

A U.S. decision on whether to approve TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s Keystone XL pipeline has the potential to accelerate—or slow—investments in Canada’s oil sands.

Stopping the pipeline would mean continued discounted prices for Canadian crude, making it harder for producers to sell their commodity at a profit and potentially slowing oil-sands development.

Current discounts of almost $30 a barrel are “unsustainable,” Enbridge Inc. (ENB)’s Chief Executive Officer Al Monaco said yesterday in a presentation at the IHS CeraWeek energy conference in Houston. “If we can’t attract world prices, then we will ultimately curb energy development.”

“It’s fair to say that development has already slowed because of the discount,” said Robert Schulz, a business professor at the University of Calgary who specializes in the Canadian oil and natural gas industry. “Companies are certainly going to wait and see what the decision on Keystone is before moving ahead with development,” he said in an interview.

Suncor Energy Inc. (SU), Canada’s largest energy company by market value, has delayed a joint venture with Total SA and is considering whether to cancel an oil-sands processing plant being jointly planned with the French company, CEO Steve Williams said on a conference call on Nov. 1.

We describe the State Department process and our reaction, click here.

The area of the Sandhills the State Department is using in their most recent study comes from a shrunken map formally submitted by the Nebraska DEQ through the MOU they have with the State Department. You see, its Nebraska's role to define the route, and they did...all to benefit TransCanada (who paid $5 million for the DEQ report and used a contractor HDR they are working with on other projects as well, yes this is a conflict).

The State Department released the next step in the review process today, a report called the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS). They are giving citizens 45 days to review and comment. The State Department will then issue a Final EIS. The State Department also must conduct what is called a National Interest Determination report and give other federal agencies 90 days to review that report. So, we are looking at a possible final decision in June or July, possibly later if hearings and proper review times is given to citizens.

Bold Nebraska will update this page as our team, citizens and landowners can review the SEIS. Our initial reactions are below.