The public comment period on the Keystone XL SEIS expires on April 22, Earth Day.
Comments can be sent to: keystonecomments@state.gov
The only State Dept public hearing on the XL pipeline that would bisect America was held in Nebraska yesterday:
http://ens-newswire.com/2013/04/19/keystone-xl-pipeline-all-risk-no-reward-state-dept-told/
Keystone XL Pipeline Protest at White House
Alberta-based TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, LP has applied for a Presidential Permit authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline to cross the U.S.-Canada border carrying 830,000 barrels of diluted bitumen per day from the tar sands of northern Alberta to an existing pipeline in Steele City, Nebraska.
The proposed pipeline would run 1,204 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipe, with 329 miles in Canada and 875 miles in the United States. It would cross the international border between Saskatchewan and Montana.
This June 11, 2010 link has additional links at bottom of the page re the conventional oil pipeline rupture in wisconsin and the bitumen ruptures in Kalamazoo Michigan July 2010 and Mayflower Arkansas March 29, 2013:
http://ens-newswire.com/2010/06/11/dangers-of-third-canadian-tar-sands-pipeline-exposed/
More information:
http://ecowatch.com/2013/voice-your-concerns-keystone-xl/
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-18/state-department-said-to-post-all-keystone-comments.html
The public comment period is scheduled to end on April 22, a day already important to the environmentalists who oppose Keystone because it is Earth Day and the day that the BP Plc (BP) rig Deepwater Horizon sank in 2010 after an explosion set off the world’s largest accidental marine oil spill.
A second department official said the agency has received formal requests to extend the public comment period to 120 days from the current 45 days. The State Department is considering that request now. It has already received more than 800,000 comments responding to the review, Jones said.
Further information:
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/keystone-xl-contractor-ties-transcanada-state-department
Not Just a Climate Threat
In the summer of 2010 Enbridge was responsible for the largest and costliest inland oil spill in U.S. history, when a pipeline rupture sending over a million gallons of tar sands into the Kalamazoo River system poisoning people and wildlife for miles around. This disaster underscored the weakness of our state and federal safety regulations, but also showed how unprepared the industry is to respond to a toxic spill: almost three years later the river remains polluted despite Enbridge spending nearly $1 billion on the cleanup.
Many photos of what tarsands bitumen does to environment:
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/Stop-Keystone-XL-Pipeline/
March, 29 – Lake Conoway, Arkansas – 156,000 gallons of tar sands crude oil spilled
In an incident that should make anyone question the “safety and efficiency” of oil pipelines, Exxon’s Pegasus Pipeline spilled 157,000 gallons of tar sands crude into Lake Conway and surrounding neighborhoods in Arkansas.
I emailed this comment to keystonecomments@state.gov
subj: REJECT Presidential Permit authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline
Friday, 19 April 2013
my name
address
Dear State Department Employee,
I firmly object to and OPPOSE the keystone XL bitumen pipeline expansion across the U.S. – Canadian border.
Based on the rupture of the Enbridge bitumen pipeline that occurred July 2010 in Kalamazoo Michigan and Exxon-Mobil’s March 29, 2013 bitumen pipeline rupture in Mayflower Arkansas, it is confirmed that:
There is no effective cleanup process for bitumen; and conventional oil cleanup does not work as evidenced by the ongoing process in Kalamazoo Michigan more than 2 1/2 years later and the ongoing process in Mayflower Arkansas.
Bitumen is not biodegradeable and is mixed with unknown toxic solvents to make it flow through pipes that are proving incapable of handling the high pressure required to “pump” the highly corrosive bitumen through them.
The corrosive solvents exposed by the bitumen rupture in Mayflower Arkansas rendered the air toxic to the residents requiring evacuations. The effects of the poisons on the land, wildlife and water will be ongoing for an unknown period of time.
Currently bitumen is not subject to contributions to the conventional oil cleanup fund; and, in addition, we will be relying on the goodwill of foreign corporations to cleanup bitumen ruptures forevermore.
Bisecting the United States across farmlands, rivers and streams as well as towns like Mayflower and Kalamazoo to reach TX refineries for global export is detrimental to the people of America and the air, land and water on which they depend.
Reject the bitumen pipeline expansion and address the existing problems caused by the ongoing bitumen pipeline ruptures.
Sincerely,
my name
confirmed:
From: Mailbox, KeyStoneComments
Subject: Comment Received
Date: 04/19/2013 05:30 PM
To: karenjj2Thank you for your comment. The US Department of State will review all of the comments received on this site. Your participation in this process is appreciated.
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