Individuals Make Voices Heard During Only Public Meeting on Keystone's SEIS

As court cases continue to be heard and moved through the judicial system regarding the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, a public meeting, hosted by the U.S. Department of State, was held at the Billings Convention Center on Oct. 29. The meeting’s purpose was to gather comments on the federal government’s Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the pipeline project. The meeting itself did not include a public hearing however did provide for individuals to give comments directly to computers for submission or speak in a private room with State Department stenographers. The meeting was the only one in the state that requested comments for the SEIS.

In the open house-style meeting, some of those in attendance expressed their concerns openly, detailing how the meeting could have been better organized and how it would have been more beneficial to have a presentation of the information and an open dialogue between the two sides. Discussions also revolved around the concerns on how landowners were approached by TC Energy, previously known as TransCanada, the company that owns the pipeline, while others praised the company.

In addition to providing comments inside, a rally was hosted by Northern Plains Resource Council and the Western Organization of Resource Council in an enclosed free speech zone in the Convention Center’s parking lot. The rally provided the opportunity for bystanders and members of the media to hear comments directly in an open format. Representatives from the Fort Peck Reservation were vocal regarding their opposition to the pipeline and the execution of the public meeting. “We weren’t even considered or given a hearing about this dangerous project,” stated state legislative senator Frank Smith, D-Poplar, who represents Fort Peck Reservation. “I had to drive almost five hours and 300 miles to be here today.”

“As Chairman, I can tell you without a doubt that the Keystone XL Pipeline poses a direct threat to our water system,” said Northern Plains member and Chairman of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water Supply System on the Fort Peck Reservation. “The site where the KXL pipeline would cross the Missouri River is directly upstream from the intake for our drinking water. This provides water not only to all of Fort Peck, but also to communities further east of us. As many as 30,000 people could have their drinking water affected by a pipeline spill.”

The recently released Draft SEIS will be utilized for future permitting decisions from the Bureau of Land Management and the Army Corps of Engineers. The proposed pipeline is slated to cross the Missouri River directly downriver of the spillway of the Fort Peck Dam and upstream of the drinking water intake of the Fort Peck Reservation.

The Draft SEIS results from a Nov. 2018 federal ruling that found a prior EIS was both inadequate and outdated, as a result of a lawsuit filed by Northern Plains and other conservation organizations. According to James Dewey, the public affairs officer for the U.S Department of State, the new SEIS incorporates changes in the project since the State Department’s 2014 Keystone XL final SEIS, such as market viability of the proposed project, information on potential accidental leaks, and further analysis of the recently approved Mainline Alternative Route that crosses Nebraska.

A 45-day public comment period is set to end on Monday, Nov. 18. Those who want to send a comment regarding the revised SEIS during this period can visit http://www.regulations.gov or mail their comments. More information can be found at http://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Keystone-XL-Instructional-Handout-20191004.pdf. The U.S. Department of the State will share these comments with agencies involved in the project to seek permit approval in order to issue a final SEIS for the project.

TC Energy’s Community Relations Specialist Tayla Snapp made a stop in Glasgow on Nov. 5 as the keynote speaker during Two Rivers Economic Growth’s annual meeting. During her presentation, she stated in response to questions about an oil spill in North Dakota, “That’s a risk that comes with having pipelines in the community.”

Her comments were on the heels of the Keystone pipeline oil spill on Oct. 29 near Edinburg in northeastern North Dakota which affected about 22,500 square feet and an estimated 383,000 gallons of oil, marking the second significant spill in two years along the line. North Dakota Water Quality Division Director Karl Rockeman stated some wetlands were affected but not any sources of drinking water. On Nov. 11, TC Energy stated the pipeline returned to service after approval of a repair and restart plan by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Safety Administration.

Snapp discussed with the members of Two Rivers the economic benefits of the pipeline for the county. At one point she stated, “We pay a lot of taxes and we do it proudly.” She also updated the crowd on the state of construction and the permitting process in Nebraska. She said the company was beginning the process of condemning properties to acquire them through eminent domain (the process by which the government determines that a property is condemned so as to be put to better use for the public).

Snapp pushed back on the idea that fossil fuels would be replaced in the future arguing that fossil fuel reserves afford for centuries worth of energy consumption and will probably make up the largest portion of energy production in the world for the foreseeable future. Therefore, she stated, “It is important that we recover these assets [fossil fuels] that we have in the ground.”

In October, state Attorney General Tim Fox asked Federal District Judge Brian Morris to allow Montana to join the U.S. government and TC Energy in defending the Keystone XL project. The lawsuit was filed in July by the Northern Plains Resource Council, the Sierra Club, the National Resources Defense Council, the Bold Alliance and the Center for Biological Diversity. The plaintiffs stated the Army Corps did not consider the risks like oil spills and other environmentally harmful consequences from the Keystone XL.

Fox’s request states that Keystone XL Pipeline would generate about $63 million a year in property taxes for Montana and the six counties along the Keystone XL, which includes the Hi-Line, would see their annual property tax revenues increase 151 percent. “We’ve gotten to a point where the environmental review, the scientific review, the technical and engineering review of the Keystone pipeline is the most extensive that’s ever been conducted on a pipeline, probably in the history of the nation., I would guess,” Fox said. “And remembering that there are literally hundreds of pipelines that go across the Canadian border into the United States, and of those this one will be the most technologically and engineeringly advanced of anything we’ve ever seen. So the timing is right.”

On Sept. 20, TC Energy filed a status report with a federal court that is handling one of the ongoing lawsuits regarding the project. The status report notes that since the federal appeals court lifted the Montana court’s injunction against the project, they have returned to planning so construction could begin next year. The report also states some pre-construction activities on privately owned land would start as well as bringing modular housing to four planned work-camp sites in Montana and South Dakota. In addition, the installation of underground utilities and power at all sites will be started. It also states TC Energy has plans to eradicate weeds along the pipeline right-of-way in South Dakota and Montana by dispatching workers to hand-spray herbicides.

However, litigations concerning the project remain pending and opponents have pledged to keep fighting.

In September, attorneys for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre tribes of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation filed a lawsuit against the federal government and TC Energy. The tribes argue that President Trump didn’t consider the potential damage to cultural sites. However the other side asked for the case to be dismissed, stating the permit isn’t applicable to tribal lands, but instead to a 1.2 mile segment of land crossing the border. The attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice Luther Hajeck stated that NEPA applies to federal agencies and that the “tribe’s lands are nowhere close” to where the pipeline would cross the border.

This case is one of a handful that impact whether or not TC Energy will be able to continue construction as planned in 2020.