Lincoln, NE — Today, the Nebraska Public Service Commission approved a permit to build the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline but rejected TransCanada’s preferred route through the state of Nebraska.
In response, Greenpeace Tar Sands Campaigner Rachel Rye Butler released the following statement:
“Today’s decision complicates TransCanada’s plans for the Keystone XL pipeline. Nebraska did issue a permit, but it wasn’t the one that TransCanada wanted. While it isn’t clear what this ultimately means for TransCanada’s ability to build, one thing is certain– people who oppose the new pipeline will throw everything they have got at stopping it.
“The movement that has stood up for nearly a decade to resist Keystone XL will not back down. Greenpeace isn’t throwing in the towel. The climate can’t handle another tar sands pipeline.
“Why should TransCanada be allowed to build a new pipeline when one of their existing pipelines had a massive spill just last week? It’s not a question of if there will be an oil spill from Keystone XL but when. The Keystone XL pipeline endangers the drinking water for many communities along its path. Greenpeace recently issued a report on the frequency of spills from existing pipelines.
“Significant hurdles remain to Keystone XL being built, including the growing economic uncertainty around tar sands, and the wave of resistance against dangerous fossil fuel pipeline projects. More and more banks are pulling their funding from tar sands pipelines.
“There is major opposition to not only Keystone XL, but other problematic pipelines, including Kinder Morgan’s TransMountain pipeline, Enbridge’s Line 3, and the Dakota Access pipeline. We know that pipeline companies will attempt to silence the growing opposition to these projects. Already Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the Dakota Access pipeline, has tried to stifle dissent and rewrite the story of Indigenous-led resistance at Standing Rock by suing Greenpeace and others.
“As more people recognize the threats these tar sands projects pose to clean drinking water and a safe climate, resistance to tar sands pipelines is only getting stronger.”
“TransCanada didn’t get a green light to build the Keystone XL pipeline along its preferred route in Nebraska. TransCanada and the other companies trying to build new tar sands pipelines will continue to face a wall of resistance until each and every one of these projects is cancelled.”
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Contact: Valerie Holford, 202-365-5336 (cell) or [email protected]
