KXL pipeline project scrapped

After nearly 13 years of debate, impact studies, hearings and executive orders, a proposed pipeline route criss-crossing Holt and Antelope counties will not be constructed.

In one of his first actions as president, Joe Biden revoked the Keystone XL pipeline permit, Jan. 20.

The pipeline would have stretched from Alberta, Canada, across the U.S. border and through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, pushing approximately 800,000 barrels of tar sands oil a day.

Per section six of the executive order, Biden said, “The Keystone XL pipeline disserves the U.S. national interest ... Leaving the Keystone XL pipeline permit in place would not be consistent with my administration’s economic and climate imperatives.”

Originally proposed in 2008, the pipeline met strong opposition in Nebraska, especially in rural areas where farmers and ranchers expressed concerns about environmental damage from a potential spill into the Ogallala Aquifer.

In 2015, President Obama denied the permit after a Department of State review determined “the proposed KXL pipeline would not serve the U.S. national interest.”

ncluded 11 volumes of testimony. While the report found the pipeline would not contribute to carbon pollution, environmental experts argued tar sands oil posed a threat to Alberta’s waterways.

President Trump approved the route in March 2019.

Construction began in April 2020. A 1.2-mile stretch, in Montana, was completed.

Later that month, a U.S. federal court ordered a full endangered species review.

TC Energy appealed the decision, but in July, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ruling.

Area landowners, who have been fighting the foreign-owned TC Energy for nearly a decade, applauded the president’s order.

Art Tanderup, an Antelope County farmer on the route, whose land is part of the Ponca Trail of Tears, said he and his wife, Helen, are excited about the decision.

He said, “President Biden knew he made a promise and he came through. He was involved in the project as vice president, so he has a lot of background. He understands why it’s not in the best interest of the country.”

According to Tanderup, the product which would have been pushed through the pipeline is refined into number 4 diesel, and exported overseas.

“No farmer in the area would run number four diesel. It’s illegal,” he said.

The decision will allow an opportunity to increase ethanol production.

“Ethanol is a renewable fuel, with a significant demand,” he said.

TC Energy officials said they were “disappointed” about the revocation.

According to a company press release, “TC Energy will review the decision, assess its implications, and consider its options. However, as a result of the expected revocation of the Presidential Permit, advancement of the project will be suspended.”

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts said the KXL project “is a critical part of putting together an all-of-the-above strategy for North American energy independence.”

“Failure to construct the pipeline would mean more dependence on overseas energy sources as well as fewer jobs and less property tax relief for Nebraskans. This is a project that would greatly benefit not just Nebraska but also our whole country, and it is our hope that TC Energy presses forward.”

The push for the pipeline running across Nebraska boils down to one thing, according to Tanderup.

Water.

“They know we have the most valueable resource on earth,” he said. “It’s the gold of the future.”