FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 13, 2020
Bold Nebraska Delivers Over 10,000 Public Comments Opposing Keystone XL Pipeline Water Permit Applications to U.S. Army Corps in Omaha Today
NoKXL coalition including Sierra Club, NRDC submits total of over 63,000 comments opposing KXL permits to Army Corps and state agencies in NE, SD, MT
Omaha — Bold Nebraska founder Jane Kleeb visited the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office in Omaha today, to hand-deliver over 10,000 public comments collected by the organization in opposition to Keystone XL pipeline permit applications to cross U.S. waterways.
WHAT: Bold Nebraska’s Jane Kleeb delivers 10,000 public comments to Army Corps
WHEN: Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2:00 p.m. CT
WHERE: Army Corps of Engineers, 1616 Capitol Ave, Omaha
WATCH: https://www.facebook.com/events/1029883790804189/permalink/1033675937091641/
“The Army Corps’ first responsibility should be to protect our most precious resource—our water. Today, Bold supporters made our voices heard, as we have for over ten years, asking our government to stand with us against a foreign corporation,” said Jane Kleeb, Bold Nebraska founder.
This move by “TC Energy” / TransCanada to apply for new permits comes after indigenous, landowner, and environmental groups including Bold successfully sued to stop the company’s illegal use of a blanket “Nationwide Permit 12” to fast-track authorization of Keystone XL construction through all 770+ U.S. water crossings.
Along with Bold’s more than 10,000 comments, the NoKXL coalition of organizations including Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council that have been collaborating to fight Keystone XL for ten years submitted a total of over 63,000 public comments today opposing the permits.
Bold’s public comment urges the U.S. Army Corps, and the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, which are charged with reviewing TC Energy’s new permit application, to reject the permits because the proposed Keystone XL project poses grave threats to critical drinking water sources like the Missouri River, and the Ogallala aquifer that irrigates a third of our nation’s crops — in addition to trampling the sovereign rights of Tribal Nations, abusing eminent domain for private gain in seizing farmers’ land, and would greatly exacerbate our climate crisis.
Bold’s comment also highlights TC Energy’s horrendous safety record with its existing Keystone pipeline, which has spilled 20 times over 10 years in operation, leading to three Corrective Action Orders issued by federal regulators, and an ongoing Government Accountability Office investigation into the foreign corporation’s safety record.
During a series of three telephone-based public hearings hosted by the Army Corps and the three state agencies reviewing TC Energy’s permit applications, over 175 citizens dialed-in to testify in opposition to the permits — including 75 who called in to the Nebraska-focused hearing on Oct. 1st.
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) review extends beyond the Army Corps public comments deadline on Oct. 13. The MT DEQ will host a separate, Zoom-based public hearing to hear comments on TC Energy’s permit application on Nov. 16, and written public comments into the MT DEQ are being accepted until Nov. 30, 2020.
View the Keystone XL water permit public comments online:
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-the-army-corps-and-nebraska-dept-of-environment-energy-no-keystone-xl-pipeline
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