2013 KXL State Dept. hearing in Nebraska
2013 State Dept. public hearing on Keystone XL in Grand Island, NE. (Photo: Mary Anne Andrei)

Update: Local TV station KTVQ and the Williston Herald covered the rally and hearing in Billings on Oct. 30.

I traveled to Billings, Montana today to stand in solidarity with landowners, Tribal Nations, and Water Protectors at a rally before the one and only public hearing being held by the U.S. State Department on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

Bold Nebraska founder Jane Kleeb gives testimony during the State Dept.’s public hearing on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline in Grand Island, NE, April 2013. (Photo: Mary Anne Andrei)

Unfortunately, unlike the historic 2013 State Dept. hearing on KXL in Grand Island, Nebraska — where over 1,000 Pipeline Fighters turned out, and hundreds gave public testimony in front of their fellow neighbors and citizens for nearly 12 hours — the scene here in Montana is a sad excuse for a public hearing, where citizens must instead speak their concerns privately one-by-one into a tape recorder, or else write them out to submit on paper.

Despite this attempt to silence the voices of Pipeline Fighters with no true “public hearing,” it’s still crucial that we speak out.

The best way you can make your voice heard right now is to submit a written comment into the State Department’s new draft environmental review of the pipeline. Public comments are due by Nov. 18th.

Add your name: Submit a NoKXL comment to the U.S. State Department.

(Note: We encourage affected landowners living on the proposed KXL route to submit hand-written letters with your public comments on the pipeline directly to the State Department. Include docket number: DOS-2019-0033)

Mailing address:
Ross Alliston, Keystone XL Program Manager
Office of Environmental Quality and Transboundary Issues
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

I’m proud to stand alongside Water Protectors here in Montana today, and will make sure to relay all the concerns of landowners and Pipeline Fighters from back home in Nebraska when I speak directly to State Department officials at the hearing.

Make sure your voice in opposition to KXL is heard: Submit a NoKXL comment now.

Thanks for standing with us.

Jane Kleeb and the Bold team

In line outside in the snow, waiting for the doors to open to the State Dept.’s KXL hearing in Grand Island, NE in April (yes, April) 2013. (Photo: Mark Hefflinger)
Pipeline Fighters raise armbands at the State Dept. public hearing on Keystone XL in Grand Island, NE in 2013. (Photo: Mary Anne Andrei)
Waiting outside in line before the doors open at the State Dept. hearing on Keystone XL in Grand Island, NE in April 2013.
Landowners on the proposed KXL route in Nebraska, sisters Terri Harrington, Abbi Kleinschmidt and Jenni Harrington, at the State Dept. public hearing in Grand Island, NE in 2013. (Photo: Mary Anne Andrei)

Testimony at the public hearing on KXL held by the U.S. State Dept. in Grand Island, NE in April 2013: