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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 10, 2017
Landowners, Tribes, Environmental Groups Make Case to Nebraska PSC That Keystone XL is Not in the Public Interest
460,000+ public comments delivered to PSC today; schedule now includes submission of legal briefs on Sept. 15th and 25th; final decision from Public Service Commission due Nov. 23
Lincoln, NE – After hearing impassioned testimony from landowners, Tribes, and experts about why the Keystone XL pipeline is not in the public interest, the Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC) today concluded its intervenor hearing on TransCanada’s permit application for a Nebraska route for its proposed pipeline, which were held Monday-Thursday at the Cornhusker Marriott Hotel in Lincoln, NE.
The next steps in the PSC process will see attorneys for both sides submit initial closing argument briefs on Sept. 15, and then submit reply briefs on Sept. 25. Under statute, the PSC then has until Nov. 23 to issue its final decision on whether to deny or approve TransCanada’s application for its “preferred” route — or stipulate that the pipeline must be located in an existing energy corridor, like TransCanada’s existing Keystone 1 pipeline, which avoids large sections of the Sandhills and the shallowest region of the Ogallala Aquifer.
However the PSC rules, the decision is then expected to be challenged at the Nebraska State Court of Appeals by either side.
Jane Kleeb, Bold Nebraska:
“The amount of opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline is clear. Our water, property rights, climate and the Sovereign Rights of Native Nations are in the public interest and must be protected from this foreign tarsands pipeline.”
WATCH: Jane Kleeb of Bold Nebraska speaks to reporters after the hearing about next steps in the PSC process:
Earlier today, over 461,000 public comments were delivered to the Nebraska Public Service Commissioners, urging them to reject a construction permit for the Keystone XL pipeline through the state. The comments were collected by Bold Nebraska, CREDO, Sierra Club, 350.org, Oil Change International, MoveOn.org Civic Action, Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Friends of the Earth U.S.
WATCH: Facebook Live video of delivery feat. comments from Bold Nebraska’s Jane Kleeb:
On August 6th, the day before the hearings began, hundreds from Nebraska and surrounding states marched through the streets of Lincoln, highlighting the threat that Keystone XL poses to farmers, Tribal Nations, the climate, and countless communities along its route. Commissioners are expected to issue a decision on the matter by November 23rd. If the permit is granted, it would mandate the use of eminent domain for private gain, forcing Nebraskans to sell their land for the benefit of the fossil fuel industry.
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