Things got a little heated when I called into Governor Heineman’s monthly radio show yesterday. The Governor insisted to me and other callers that he has been publicly opposed to the TransCanada’s risky Keystone XL pipeline running through the Sandhills for months.

Well, the facts disagree.

First, Heineman tried to tell caller Mark that his opposition to the current route went all the way back to October 2010, when he wrote a letter to Sect. Clinton. But as Mark pointed out, Heineman never asked Sect. Clinton to move the pipeline away from the Sandhills and out of the Ogallala Aquifer. And legally, that’s not her job. That’s his and the state legislature’s.

If Governor Heineman ever publicly endorsed an alternative route, I’d love to see the evidence. Bold has been following this issue closely for the last 18 months, and none of us could recall a news story where the Governor took such a stand before last week.

Because if the Governor had made such a public statement during the legislation, Bold would have backed him up, celebrated him, and moved him to the “Send thank yous” section on our action page.

If Heineman had insisted that the Unicameral pass comprehensive pipeline siting and routing regulations, we would have cheered him on.

But he didn’t, and now he insists that it’s too late to do anything. Once again, Heineman’s got it wrong. Sect. Clinton hasn’t made a decision on the permit, which means there’s still time for our state officials to protect our land and water. Unless, of course, Gov. Heineman thinks the feds can make decisions for our state better than he can as the leader of our state.

If the Governor is serious about protecting our land and water, he should support State Sen. Ken Haar’s call for a special session and publicly support any bill to get the pipeline away from the Sandhills.

Protecting our land and water is not a waste of taxpayer resources. When the pipeline leaks into the Aquifer and Nebraskans have to pay for clean up because our state has NO laws holding TransCanada liable, that’s a waste a of taxpayer resources.

Contact Gov. Heineman, tell him it’s not only his legal right but his moral duty to get the pipeline out of the Sandhills and out of our clean water.