Eco-advocates plan opposition to Nebraska Gov. Heineman's okay of new Keystone XL pipeline route

In July of 2010, an Enbridge-owned pipeline spilled diluted bitumen from Canadian tar sands into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan. The scientists shown here were assessing those impacts. The Environmental Protection Agency has said that the clean-up is still incomplete. Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman switched gears Tuesday and urged President Obama to approve a proposed new route for the Keystone XL pipeline even though it will still pose risks to the Ogallala Aquifer. That huge flow of underground fossil water provides drinking and agricultural irrigation supplies to eight states. Some foes of the pipeline in Nebraska organized by Bold Nebraska are planning a protest in Lincoln against Heineman's decision on Jan. 29.

Anthony Smith at the Natural Resources Defense Council noted:

The Governor's rubber stamp decision stems from a flawed process that is well-documented by the folks at BOLD Nebraska. This decision will not ease the concerns of Nebraskans worried about the impacts a spill could inflict the sensitive environments the pipeline would pass through. Moreover, Governor Heineman's decision has no bearing on the fact that an approval of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline would be fundamentally inconsistent with the plan to address climate change that the President outlined in his inaugural address.

A year ago, the Obama administration rejected an application from TransCanada to build the pipeline, citing problems with the route then proposed across Nebraska because it would cross vulnerable wetlands. The White House doesn't normally get directly involved with approval of pipelines, but because it would cross an international boundary it is an issue for State Department review and ultimately the president's decision.

A State Department spokeswoman announced Tuesday that the department expects to complete its environmental impact statement on the new route by the end of March. Because of mandated time allowed for responses to the EIS, that means no decision before sometime in May at the earliest.

The proposed pipeline, a 36-inch conduit from the extensive tar sands of Alberta to the refineries of the Texas Gulf Coast, would transport as much as 830,000 barrels of diluted bitumen daily across the heart of the United States. Dilbut, as it is called in industry jargon, can be refined into oil. However, from extraction to refining, the  fundamental nature of the bitumen in the tar sands makes it an especially dirty source of oil.

In his letter, Heineman notes that TransCanada will adhere to 57 safety conditions and that it has taken out $200 million in third-party insurance coverage in case there are any leaks.

This is a monstrous joke.

Dilbut was spilled from the 30-inch Entbridge pipeline into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan two-and-a-half years ago. The cost of that clean-up, which remains incomplete, was at last count more than $800 million.

(Read below the fold for how environmental advocates may respond if the Keystone XL pipeline's new route is approved by the White House ...)