Some Montanans Try to Reach President Biden on KXL

The word of the day was "disappointed" as community and business leaders from Northeast Montana sat down with Montana's newly minted governor, Greg Gianforte, to discuss the effects and emotions surrounding President Biden's decision to rescind a key permit needed to go forward with TC Energy's construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.

"Our first response to the president's action was disappointment and really a sadness over the work that has gone into trying to make this pipeline a reality over the last 10 years," said Valley County Commissioner, Mary Armstrong.

The pipeline has been slated for construction since before President Barack Obama took office in 2008 and its sister pipe-Keystone sans the XL-went forward as planned, running through North Dakota towards the Gulf Coast carrying oil destined for refinement and exportation. In fact, Keystone XL will only pump crude as far south as Nebraska before it joins with existing infrastructure in that state and continues down the line.

Under pressure from environmental groups at the time, President Obama denied the permit to build Keystone XL during his first term and the project sat vacant until 2017 when newly inaugurated President Donald Trump pushed the permit forward and expedited the project through a number of bureaucratic hoops.

The project continued to face setbacks though and lawsuits from environmental groups and Tribes held construction up in court. Key to their success was a decision by Federal Judge Brian Morris ruling TC Energy had not complied with the Clean Water Act when it conducted environmental impact statements of nearly every cut and fill water crossing along the pipe's path.

Morris' decision prevented construction just long enough for President Biden to take office and reverse President Trump's approval of the permit required to pump oil across the Canadian-United States border along the north edge of Phillips County. Environmentalists and Tribes chalked their wins in court up to a victory and moved on without a single protest or mass demonstration.

Biden's decision drew condemnation from many across Montana to include the entire congressional delegation-to include Democratic Senator Jon Tester-and the Governor. As a result, Gianforte made his trip to northeast Montana intent on seeing firsthand the effects of the pipeline's halt. He visited the pipe yard north of Saco, talked to Barnard Construction-the pipeline's construction contractor-and then met with the leaders mentioned above.

County governments and schools pointed to lost revenue potential. Armstrong said the project was projected in 2010 to increase the county's potential income by up to $7 million, much of which was slated for schools near the pipe's route in Hinsdale, Glasgow and Nashua. Armstrong said that upwards of $2 million would have gone straight into the county's coffers and be used, not only for administration, salaries, infrastructure and operations, but also to reduce property taxes countywide.

Glasgow's superintendent, Wade Sundby, said he was disappointed and worried that the loss of revenue to Glasgow schools could translate to a loss of funding and support from the public. "We run our schools through voted levies," he said. "And we were able to pass a levy a year ago, and I think that part of the reason is because the Keystone pipeline was coming in."

Sundby told the governor that with the loss of Keystone, he's uncertain whether the school district will pass another levy and the financial decisions become dire. Potential consequences include an inability to hire new teachers, a perennial problem for the district. Sundby also pointed to new legislation signed into law by the governor called the "Teach Act" which requires schools to start paying teachers more.

"I don't know if we'll be able to meet that this year," said Sundby. "Because we'll have to go back to the community that has supported us [but] I'm unsure of whether they will at this moment because of the situation that we're in. We have great teachers, we have great students, we have a great school system but that all takes funding, and it takes funding from our community members."

The group's key concern was lost investment. Aside from the millions poured into the project by TC Energy, other groups and businesses had invested time, money and resources into preparing for the pipeline. Primary in that group, is electrical cooperatives like NorVal Electric and Big Flat Electric based in Phillips County.

"Disappointment is a great word," said Gretchen Boardman, the General Manager of Big Flat Electric. "It's unfortunate that we have to use it." She said the biggest loss from the cancellation of KXL comes in the form of rate instability, load growth and lost investment in infrastructure. Boardman explained that the low load growth of the small cooperatives means the costs of maintaining the infrastructure is spread at a higher rate over fewer people. TC Energy's share from pump stations would have changed that by increasing load by a factor of four.

"You can imagine the revenue that would bring in," she said. "Four times what we're bringing in now." That revenue translates to reduced costs and improved infrastructure she explained, helping businesses, schools and people in the coverage area.

Other businesses expressed similar concerns. Brandon Brunelle pointed out that the Cottonwood Inn and Suites invested millions to build new rooms onto the hotel in anticipation of housing pipeline workers from the project. Glasgow Area Chamber of Commerce Director, Lisa Koski, highlighted the lost income potential for area businesses, hotels and restaurants calling it a big loss for the community.

"President Biden's decision to shut down the Keystone XL Pipeline project is devastating to Montana. Today, we heard from Montanans who invested millions in their businesses in anticipation of this project and the economic boost it would bring their communities," Gianforte said in a statement.

Accompanying Gianforte were broadcast journalists and camera crews invited by the governor. Their presence and his own words made clear that Gianforte wanted to send a message to President Biden about the impacts his refusal to allow the project was having on rural Montana.

"With the stroke of a pen, President Biden took all of that away," he said. "I join these Montanans in sending a loud and clear message to President Biden: your Keystone XL decision must be reversed."

Notably absent from Gianforte's roundtable were voices opposing the pipelines construction. The meeting-by invitation only-had no members form the Fort Peck Assiniboine Sioux Tribes or from environmental groups like the Northern Plains Resource Council, which consists of farmers and ranchers who oppose the pipeline's construction.

Glendive-based farmer, Dena Hoff, told the Courier in a 2018 interview, "It's not worth the risk. Why would somebody want to endanger the Missouri and Yellowstone [rivers], two of the most historic, iconic and economically important rivers in our country to benefit the shareholders of a foreign corporation?"

Hoff had suffered hardship and damage to her farmlands after an oil pipeline ruptured on the Yellowstone River and contaminated her irrigation source. That disaster spilled 40,000 barrels of crude into the river system. Hoff commented, "I've already seen what a 12-inch pipe spill can do, I can't imagine what a 36-inch pipe will do."

In a demonstration of the pipelines path under the Missouri River, engineers working for TC Energy said the pipe would have a double-wrapped and corrosion-resistant coating that would add strength and durability at river crossings. It would also contain remote-controlled shut off valves on both sides of the crossing that could be triggered if a loss in pressure is detected.

But as TC Energy's community relations specialist, Taya Snapp, pointed out at the Two Rivers Economic Growth annual meeting in 2020 spills are a risk. In response to a question about spills on the original Keystone pipeline-that was less than 15 years old-she stated, "That's a risk that comes with having pipelines in the community."

Governor Gianforte is not alone in reiterating his support for the project. In a press call with rural journalists on Feb. 25, Montana's senior senator, Jon Tester, emphasized his support for the pipeline.

"From the beginning, I've said that I support the responsible development of this pipeline as long as it's built with American steel, built to the highest safety standards, respects private property rights and includes consultation with Tribes that are impacted by this," Tester told members of the press although he acknowledged that the Fort Peck Tribes told him that no one from TC Energy had reached out to discuss with them the risks the project poses to the Missouri River or how those risks are mitigated.

"I have told President Biden directly that his decision to cancel the permit on this was wrong," Tester said, "and I have pushed him to reconsider his position." Tester met with President Biden to discuss a number of topics early on in Biden's fledgling administration.

Tester did acknowledge climate change and he affirmed his belief in the science surrounding global warming, but he added that energy consumption is a reality and that flipping a switch from oil-based fuels to something else would bankrupt businesses-to include his own farming operation outside Big Sandy, Mont.

"Energy independence is critical, particularly for people who work in businesses that require a lot of energy like agriculture, which is what I'm involved in," he explained. "On my farm, I have seen firsthand what climate change has done, it is a serious issue, but we can't pretend that we don't need fuel to power our farm equipment or raise the food that feeds the country."

In response to a question from the Northern Plains Independent on how to get the "Tribal communities to embrace the pipeline more", Tester put the onus of a conversation on TC Energy as an entity citing a lack of communication.

"Communication's really important," he said. "I think if [TC energy] were willing to reach out to the Tribe-they have some concerns; I'll tell you what the concerns are. They are legitimate concerns. The pipeline's going to go right under the Missouri River, right above their water intake-by the way that effects everybody in northeast Montana... [The Tribes] just want to know, 'what are you going to do if you have a leak? How are you going to make sure we have water?' That's an important question to answer."

Absent from discussions were solutions about how to move forward. Both Gianforte and Tester pointed to a discussion from both sides about moving forward "responsibly". At present, as with past administrations, no such discussion appears to be happening.

With that in mind, the Courier asked both Gianforte and Tester what they could do to bring other infrastructure development to the region in light of the likely death of the pipeline.

Gianforte responded by talking about deregulating certain aspects of utility installation and spurring investment in the region. He pointed to a lack of broadband internet access and said he would look to make it easier to bury broadband cable and open up high-speed internet in the region. The hope would be that remote work capabilities and solid internet access could lead to rural investments by business.

"Broadband's important for the economy, for remote work jobs. It's important for telehealth-so we can get specialists into communities like Glasgow and let them serve other folks. And it's important for our schools, for education, we've learned that especially this last year when there was more remote learning going on. So, we've been a sponsor of legislation that would make it easier to bury fiber to bring broadband into rural communities."

Gianforte said the second investment he would make in rural Montana is scholarships in trade education. He pointed out that rural businesses have pointed to a lack of skilled workforce in rural America that, in Gianforte's view, impedes economic growth.

Tester took a different tack. He said, he did not believe the KXL project was dead in the water. He cited conversations with the Premier of Saskatchewan and a consistent push by rural America and Canada to move the project forward.

"Look, I don't want to give anybody any false hope," said Tester, "but I don't think this project is dead yet." Following a conversation with the Premier he said, "We're working to try and get the leadership of Saskatchewan in contact with folks in the Biden Administration, so they can talk about what they're doing from a climate change standpoint." Tester expressed hope that talks could change minds and move the needle on KXL.

"As far as infrastructure in general, I would just say this, Saint Mary's is top of mind. The two drops that failed last year, [meant] It [was] critically important that we get the dollars for them, we did, and they got rebuilt," Tester said. "But that project is critical to northcentral Montana and northeastern Montana from a municipal standpoint and from an agricultural standpoint."

Tester said water projects were his highest priority for any infrastructure bills that come down the pipe in the Senate. He then reiterated that the project was not dead and that he would continue to push Biden to change his mind.