[26][27], Operating since 2010, the original Keystone Pipeline System is a 3,461-kilometre (2,151mi) pipeline delivering Canadian crude oil to U.S. Midwest markets and Cushing, Oklahoma. 2022. The Keystone pipeline sprang a new leak. Initially, President Obama put this project on hold, but Donald Trump turned it and gave it a green flag. Fact: This Keystone XL project will bring oil from Canadas oil sands to Gulf Coast in Texas. This phase was constructed 2013 to 2016 and went online in 2017. [108][109][110], In 2015, President Barack Obama blocked the project, causing TC Energy to instigate a US $15 billion lawsuit under NAFTA. [93] Girling said that this construction, which will take place during the COVID-19 pandemic, will follow government and health authorities guidance, to ensure the protection of workers, their families, and surrounding communities from the virus.[93]. [6][16], On January 24, 2017, in his first week in office, President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum to revive both Keystone XL pipelines,[70][71] which "would transport more than 800,000 barrels [130,000m3] per day of heavy crude" from Alberta to the Gulf Coast. A view of the land repair work underway at site of an oil spill from Keystone Pipeline, located north of Washington, Kansas, Dec. 15, 2022. Although the spill did not happen on Sioux property, it was in close enough proximity to potentially contaminate the aquifer used for water. The Natural Resources Defense Council works to safeguard the earth - its people, [34], On January 22, 2008, ConocoPhillips acquired a 50% stake in the project. [127] Locally caught fish and untreated surface water would be at risk for contamination through oil sands extraction, and are central to the diets of many Indigenous peoples. The Keystone Pipeline oil spill occurred on December 7, 2022, when a leak in the Keystone Pipeline released 14,000 barrels of oil into a creek in Washington County, Kansas.The leak is the largest in the United States since the 2013 North Dakota pipeline spill and the largest in the history of the Keystone Pipeline. On his fourth day in office, Trump signed an executive order to allow Keystone XL to move forward. [1][2][3], The Keystone Pipeline System spans from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta to refineries in Texas. It is unclear how much of the oil transported through the pipeline would have reached American consumers instead of being exported to other countries. Whats more, the whole process of getting the oil out and making it usable creates three to four times the carbon pollution of conventional crude extraction and processing. [5] Pipelines in the Keystone Pipeline System go through stress tests prior to use. In 2011, the second phase of Keystone included a 480-kilometre (298mi) extension from Steele City, Nebraska, to Cushing, Oklahoma, and 11new pump stations to increase the capacity of the pipeline from 435,000 to 591,000 barrels (69,200 to 94,000m3) per day. [163][164] The U.S. State Department's Preliminary Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, issued in March 2013, estimated 3,900 direct jobs and 42,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction. [94][95] In the summary judgment, the judge agreed that the Endangered Species Act was violated, thereby voiding the permit. We are a sovereign nation, and we are not being treated as such. Refining the sticky black gunk produces piles of petroleum coke, a hazardous, coal-like by-product. By the time President Biden took office in 2021, ready to fulfill his campaign promise to revoke the cross-border permit, the dirty energy pipeline had become one of the foremost climate controversies of our time. [143] Project opponents panned the study on its release, calling it a "deeply flawed analysis". TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) An oil spill in a creek in northeastern Kansas shut down a major pipeline that carries oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast, briefly . As per the analysis report conducted by Cornell Universitys Global Labor Institute, these job claims are nothing but mere fabrications. The Keystone pipeline spill in a creek running through rural pastureland in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of Kansas City, also was the biggest in the system . From here, it will be sent to different overseas markets. [53], The US Gulf Coast has a large concentration of refineries designed to process very heavy crude oil. [197] Protesters called on President Obama to reject the planned pipeline extension when deciding the fate of the pipeline after Secretary of State John Kerry completes a review of the project.[198]. Additionally, the review process for the KXL pipeline project was outsourced by the US government to a company that has close ties with TransCanada. Jobs Gained, Jobs Lost by the Construction of Keystone XL", "Keystone modifications call Obama's bluff", "TransCanada to Work with Department of State on New Keystone XL Route Options", "Media Advisory State of Nebraska to Play Major Role in Defining New Keystone XL Route Away From the Sandhills", "Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS), "Obama Facing Rising Pressure on Keystone Oil Pipeline", "Congress clears Keystone XL pipeline bill, setting up veto", "Department of State: Record of Decision and National Interest Determination", "Obama rejects TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline", "Obama administration rejects Keystone pipeline", "Half of Canadians in favour of Keystone XL revival while U.S. support declines: Poll", Recent Case: Montana District Court Holds State Departments National Interest Determination for Keystone XL Pipeline Violated APA by Disregarding Prior Factual Findings, "Memorandum on Construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline", "Keystone XL: Trump issues permit to begin construction of pipeline", "Presidential Permit: Authorizing TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P., To Construct, Connect, Operate, and Maintain Pipeline Facilities at the International Boundary Between the United States and Canada", "Nebraska approves path for controversial Keystone XL pipeline", "TransCanada Asks Nebraska to Reconsider Keystone XL Ruling", "South Dakota Regulator Raises Prospect of Revoking Keystone Permit", "A judge just dealt a potentially fatal blow to Keystone XL", "Judge keeps most Keystone XL pipeline work on hold", "TransCanada Corp to overhaul its business in US$13B acquisition of Columbia Pipeline Group", "Pipeline company TransCanada changes name to TC Energy", "TransCanada Can Change Its Name, Say Opponents, But Keystone XL Will Never See 'The Light of Day', "Court lifts injunction blocking Keystone XL oil pipeline", "Keystone XL Pipeline Plan Is Approved by Nebraska Supreme Court", "State Department Solicits Comments On Keystone XL Pipeline", "Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline; Public Meeting Announcement", "Canadian Energy Centre: Minister Savage Statement", "Alberta's energy war room now called Canadian Energy Centre", "Bill Status Report for the 30th Legislature 1st Session (2019)", "Alberta makes it official: Bill passed and proclaimed to kill carbon tax", "Keystone XL to proceed with $7B provincial commitment", "Investing US$8.0 billion in the North American economy", "Supreme Court Won't Block Ruling to Halt Work on Keystone XL Pipeline", Northern Plains Res. By Dennis Romero. [170] Until Canadian crude oil accesses international prices like LLS or Maya crude oil by "getting to tidewater" (south to the U.S. Gulf ports via Keystone XL for example, west to the BC Pacific coast via the proposed Northern Gateway line to ports at Kitimat, BC or north via the northern hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk, on the Beaufort Sea),[174] the Alberta government is losing from $430 billion in tax and royalty revenues as the primary product of the oil sands, Western Canadian Select (WCS), the bitumen crude oil basket, is discounted so heavily against West Texas Intermediate (WTI) while Maya crude oil, a similar product close to tidewater, is reaching peak prices. Leading climate scientist and former NASA researcher James Hansen has warned that fully exploiting Canadas tar sands reserves by moving forward with these projects would mean game over for our climate. While the project may produce some temporary jobs for unemployed people, this project will not be able to create clean energy jobs. The United States is the number one buyer of crude oil exported from Venezuela. [notes 1][25] Phase III was opened on January 22, 2014, completing the pipeline path from Hardisty, Alberta to Nederland, Texas. Dirty energy lobbyists claimed developing tar sands would protect our national energy security and bring U.S. fuel prices down. According to their website, "It's our responsibilityas a good company and under law. Opponents of this projectnow called the Gulf Coast Pipelinesay that TC Energy took advantage of legal loopholes to push the pipeline through, obtaining authorization under a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers nationwide permit and dodging the more rigorous vetting process for individual permits, which requires public input. [151], Proponents for the Keystone XL pipeline argue that it would allow the U.S. to increase its energy security and reduce its dependence on foreign oil. September 29, 2015 TransCanada dropped their lawsuit against Nebraska landowners who had refused permission allowing for pipeline easements on their properties, in order to exercise eminent domain over such use. The expected lack of volume combined with extensive construction cost overruns has prompted several petroleum refining companies to sue TransCanada. By that point, Keystone XL faced an unfriendly administration, numerous legal challenges, declining oil prices, worsening climate impacts, and a growing movement of climate organizersalong the pipelines route and around the worldunwilling to look the other way. While American Petroleum Institute has stated that this project will create jobs for over half a million American people, the truth is these are all false claims. The United States' decision to buy less oil from Venezuela is the key reason the. If enacted the Northern Route Approval Act would waive the requirement for permits for a foreign company and bypass the need for President Obama's approval, and the debate in the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate, concerned about serious environmental risks, that could result in the rejection of the pipeline.[170]. [A]pproval or denial of any one crude oil transport project, including the proposed Project, is unlikely to significantly impact the rate of extraction in the oil sands, or the continued demand for heavy crude oil. Organizer Bill McKibben said, "this has become not only the biggest environmental flash point in many, many years, but maybe the issue in recent times in the Obama administration when he's been most directly confronted by people in the street. On April 15, 2020, District Judge Brian Morris issued a suspension for the pipeline's construction after the plaintiffs, the Northern Plains Resource Council, alleged the project was improperly reauthorised back in 2017. [276], The Enbridge "Alberta Clipper" expansion of the existing cross-border Line 67 pipeline has been continuing since late 2013. Fact: Even though the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline will be buried nearly 20 feet underground, the risk of a spill is still there. When President Obama rejected and canceled the permits for Keystone XL, many labor/workers associations and organizations came forward in support of this decision. In July 2013, Obama said "The most realistic estimates are this might create maybe 2,000 jobs during the construction of the pipeline, which might take a year or two, and then after that we're talking about somewhere between 50 and 100 jobs in an economy of 150 million working people." The company says it's already helping the U.S. meet its energy needs. And the risk that Keystone XL would have spilled was heightened because of the extended time the pipe segments were left sitting outside in stockpiles. [113] On June 9, 2021, the project was abandoned by TC Energy. Cushing is a major crude oil marketing/refining and pipeline hub. From here, it will be sent to different overseas markets. Pipeline leak near Washington County, Kansas, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, "Investigators, cleanup crews begin scouring oil pipeline spill in Kansas", "Keystone pipeline leaks 14,000 barrels of oil into creek in biggest spill yet", "Kansas oil spill is Keystone pipeline's biggest ever, according to federal data", Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Keystone XL Project Applicant for Presidential Permit: TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, LP (SEIS), "Keystone Pipeline shuts down after oil leak, halting flow of 600,000 barrels a day", "Oil spill into a rural Kansas creek shuts down the Keystone pipeline", "An Oil Spill in Kansas Has Shut Down the Keystone Pipeline", "Oil Spill in Kansas Prompts Shutdown of Keystone Pipeline System", "Keystone Pipeline Is Shut Down After Oil Spills Into Creek in Kansas", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2022_Keystone_Pipeline_oil_spill&oldid=1138480588, December 2022 events in the United States, Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 9 February 2023, at 22:48. What some pipeline advocates think is the "Keystone Pipeline" is a 1,700-mile "shortcut" called Keystone XL, or KXL. In various independent studies based on the future economics of the KXL project, it has been found that these claims of generating millions of dollars by TransCanada are a plot to get support for this project. [174] By May 2012, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had spent $9 million and $16.5 million by May 2013 to promote Keystone XL. [6] The Environmental Protection Agency dispatched two coordinators, who determined there was no impact to drinking water in the Washington County area. With relation to the Estes article, there is concern by indigenous people that the Keystone Pipeline can lead to a similar type of destruction. [31] : 147 The Alberta government placed a $30,000 ad entitled "Keystone XL: The Choice of Reason" in. [122] After Donald Trump's victory in that election, he released a presidential memorandum on January 24, 2017 announcing revival of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. On January 9, 2015, the Nebraska Supreme Court cleared the way for construction, after Republican Governor Dave Heineman had approved of it in 2013. On February 24, 2015, the bill was vetoed and returned for congressional action. The Keystone Pipeline System, stretching 4,324 km (2,687-miles) in length, plays a key role in delivering Canadian and U.S. crude oil supplies to markets around North America. [3], The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration began an investigation into the leak. 398 arrests were made of people tying themselves to the White House fence with zip-ties and lying on a black tarp in front of the fence. Suncor Energy hoped to recoup significant construction-related tolls, though the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission did not rule in their favor. [144] An investigation by the magazine Mother Jones revealed that the State Department had redacted the biographies of the study's authors to hide their previous contract work for TransCanada and other oil companies with an economic interest in the project. The suit alleges that, contrary to the federal Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. However, experts suggested that this will increase Americas reliance on oil only and ultimately reduce efforts towards renewable and sustainable energy options. Additionally, the review process for the KXL pipeline project was outsourced by the US government to a company that has close ties with TransCanada. However, the volume of oil imported into the US from Venezuela dropped in half from 2007 to 2014, as overall Venezuelan exports have dropped, and also as Venezuela seeks to become less dependent on US purchases of its crude oil. [39] The pipeline, from Hardisty, Alberta, Canada, to Patoka, Illinois, United States, became operational in June 2010. [155] The large trade relationship between the US and Venezuela has persisted despite political tensions between the two countries. [236][237], In April 2018, Reuters reviewed documents that showed that Keystone had "leaked substantially more oil, and more often, in the United States than the company indicated to regulators in risk assessments before operations began in 2010. of State concerning Keystone XL pipeline, "Keystone XL Pipeline: About the project", "Senate Fails to Override Obama's Keystone Pipeline Veto", "GOP Threatens to Subpoena State Department", "TransCanada Requests Suspension of U.S. Authorizing Keystone XL is an act of war against our people. [219] The review by the State Department is ongoing. "[211] In response to the Department of State's report, which recommended neither acceptance nor rejection, an editor of The New York Times recommended that Obama should reject the project, which "even by the State Department's most cautious calculationscan only add to the [climate change] problem". Over the years, they have invested more money in promoting this project than any other state or environmental organization. TC Energy is the Canadian pipeline company that planned to build the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have spanned from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Nebraska. [30], The original Keystone Pipeline cost US$5.2billion. In addition, When the State Department released the original proposal ERM had submitted to secure the SEIS contract, portions of the work histories of key personnel were redacted. 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