FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 21, 2017

Contact:
Jane Kleeb, Bold Alliance, 402-705-3622, jane@boldnebraska.org
Linda Anderson, Bold Nebraska, Linda@boldnebraska.org

 

Bold, Landowners & Citizens to Deliver Keystone XL Review “Intervenor” Applications to Nebraska Public Service Commission on Wednesday

Rally at PSC offices in Lincoln coincides with March 22 deadline to file as an intervenor in Nebraska state agency’s review of foreign export pipeline

Lincoln — Bold will join landowners and citizens on Wednesday in Lincoln to deliver applications to file as official “intervenors” in the Nebraska Public Service Commission’s review of TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL tarsands export pipeline.

  • WHAT: Delivery of Keystone XL Intervenor Applications to PSC Offices
  • WHO: Landowners, citizens, Bold’s Linda Anderson and attorney Ken Winston
  • WHEN: Wednesday, March 22, 4:00 p.m.
  • WHERE: Public Service Commission, 300 The Atrium Building, 1200 N Street, Lincoln

Along with landowners on the route of Keystone XL, and citizens concerned about spills and the effect KXL will have on climate change, Bold itself will be filing an application to serve as an intervenor in the PSC review process for Keystone XL, which can take eight months to a year and is expected to include public hearings in addition to the quasi-judicial “intervenor” process.

Landowners will be represented at the PSC by attorney Dave Domina, who has led the legal fight waged by landowners against KXL and eminent domain for the past six years.

“Bold is proud to stand with the many brave Nebraskans who have been fighting the Keystone XL pipeline for years,” said Ken Winston, attorney representing Bold in the intervenor process. “We are also proud to stand up for the legal rights of many people opposing this environmental nightmare whose voices might not otherwise be heard in this process. And we are proud to stand up for the land, the water and all the bounteous natural resources that sustain our state and its people, now and into the future.”

More details on the Public Service Commission’s intervenor process for KXL

Dramatic Polling Shift on Keystone XL

According to several new polls, more Americans now oppose than support construction of TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL tarsands export pipeline.

48% of Americans said they oppose Keystone XL, compared with 42% who support it, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted Feb. 7-12.

The share of the overall public favoring the pipeline has fallen 17 percentage points since 2014 (from 59% to 42%).

The breakdown by party in the poll shows that Democrats are now strongly opposed to Keystone XL, with 74% opposed and just 17% in support — less than half the share that did so three years ago (44%).

In another recent (Feb. 23) Quinnipiac Poll, 51% of American voters said they were opposed to Keystone XL, compared with 38% who support it.

Background on Nebraska opposition to Keystone XL:

In Nebraska, the pipeline permit application process at the Public Service Commission can take eight months to a year. The process calls for public hearings and other opportunities for comment, including an official intervenor process where landowners and others are represented by attorneys, and testimony is heard from experts and others in a quasi-judicial setting.

TransCanada also cannot apply to use eminent domain authority again to take farmers’ and ranchers’ land against their will until September 2017, according to applicable Nebraska state law governing the use of eminent domain. The collective of Nebraska landowners who held out against selling their land to TransCanada remains strong — many are still in court suing TransCanada for the money they have already spent on attorneys and court costs battling eminent domain for over six years.

President Trump’s State Dept. abandoned established procedure and eliminated any opportunity for public comment on TransCanada’s federal permit application and the Environmental Impact Statement for Keystone XL, the same review that led Sec. Kerry and President Obama to determine the pipeline was not in the U.S. national interest. The State Dept. received more than 1 million comments from citizens the last time around.

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