Today, the the Department of State released a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the new Presidential Permit application for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
The Draft SEIS is available at: http://keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov/draftseis/index.htm.
The SEIS acknowledges that the construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline would create “numerous” and “substantial” impacts on the environment, but they are claiming that the project is a better than any of the alternatives, essentially clearing the project to go ahead.
The report concluded that the tarsands diluted bitumen (dilbit) that the pipeline will transport into and across the U.S. produces 17 percent more greenhouse gases than heavy crude oil refined on the Texas Gulf Coast. In addition, it said the construction phase of the project would result in carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to about 626,000 passenger vehicles operating for a full year.
The Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, once published by the EPA, starts the clock on the public comment period. At this time, we expect the SEIS to be published sometime next week. Our best guess is Wednesday. From that point, the public will have 45 days to comment on the document, so let’s dust off our legal pads and pens and start drafting our comments. Having spent three days on a bus and marching around the mall in Washington DC in freezing weather with many of you, I know you have a lot to say.
On February 17th, environmental activists gathered in front of the Whole Foods headquarters in Austin, TX to show their support for the Tar Sands Blockade and to raise climate change awareness, adding their voices to the over 40,000 that gathered on the Mall in Washington, DC that same day.
The Keystone XL Pipeline would carry oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast. Around 200 people in attendance at the Austin rally, from many organizations, said the pipeline is environmentally toxic. The protestors chose Whole Foods as the best location for their action because CEO John Mackey recently said “Climate change is not that big a deal.” Chris Wilson with S.T.O.P. (Stop Tar Sands Oil Pipelines) said the oil that will come out from the pipeline will be exported overseas and none will stay in the United States.
Click here to watch the local CBS news affiliate’s coverage.
Texans who rode on a bus for 36 hours to Washington, DC to participate in the Climate Forward rally in 30 degree weather with 6 degree wind chill.
Submit a comment to the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on how risky the Keystone XL pipeline route is for the Nebraska Sandhills and the Ogallala Aquifer. Help us get over 1,000 comments submitted. Click here to send a comment to the Nebraska DEQ. If you are not from Nebraska, change the comment and let them know how this affects you.
The Ogallala Aquifer is part of the High Plains Aquifer System. It is a vast, yet shallow, underground water table aquifer located beneath the Great Plains in the United States. One of the world’s largest aquifers, it covers an area of approximately 174,000 square miles in portions of eight states. These include South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas.