With Keystone rejection, Bakken Pipeline Resistance Coalition calls for rejection of proposed Bakken Pipeline
Fight against pipeline proposals in the Midwest will continue with Dakota Access Pipeline and Upland Pipeline
The Bakken Pipeline Resistance Coalition (BPRC) and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI) celebrate the State Department and President Obama’s decision to reject the Keystone Pipeline. This decision demonstrates political courage and environmental wisdom by recognizing that fossil fuels need to stay in the ground. There is no safe way to transport these hazardous chemicals, whether it is by rail or by pipeline.
For this reason, it is time to reject similar pipelines proposed to transport oil from the region of North Dakota and Alberta Canada. The BPRC notes that Iowa Utilities Board hearings for a parallel crude oil pipeline begin in Iowa next week. The Dakota Access pipeline, or Bakken Pipeline, is slated to carry 570,000 barrels crude oil a day from North Dakota across Iowa into Illinois. Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline should be aware that the Dakota Access Pipeline is a bait and switch for the KXL.
“The Keystone XL pipeline is a disaster that’s part of the broader picture of what the fossil fuel industry is bringing upon the planet” said Ann Christenson, a 78 year old member of 100 Grannies from Iowa City. “I’ve been to protests with my husband, my daughter and my grandchildren to fight against these proposals. It’s heartening to see all the people that are realizing how bad fossil fuel energy is for the world. We must and we can get off fossil fuels.”
Keystone and all the other pipelines proposed from the Tar Sands of Canada and the Bakken Oil fields of North Dakota are a threat to groundwater and the well-being of our communities. Iowa farmers should not be forced to give up their land for the sake of an out of state company that has no interest in the future of our state. No benefits will be brought to Iowa by the Bakken Pipeline- the only outcome is tremendous risk shifted onto the shoulders of Iowans.
The Dakota Access Pipeline starts at the North Dakota border- a very short segment of a pipeline called the Upland Pipeline has already been proposed by TransCanada and is before the federal State Department now. When these two pieces of infrastructure are considered together, it appears that Big Oil is working on an alternate route for KXL just east of the original proposal.
In light of President Obama’s decision to reject the Keystone pipeline, the Bakken Pipeline Resistance Coalition calls on the President to follow through on strong climate leadership by setting a national energy plan that is not “all of the above” but that is based on renewables, that guarantees good, clean jobs and that protects future generations.
Clean drinking water, a stable climate, and local control over our energy infrastructure must be the priorities of this energy plan.
“We call upon not only Iowans but people around the country to stand up to this new threat and help us say NO to Bakken oil,” shared Rev. Barbara Schlachter of Iowa City. “The pipeline struggle continues, and we need the help of all those who so firmly and faithfully opposed the Keystone XL.”
Iowans are doing our part by expanding wind energy and other renewables. Now that the Keystone Pipeline has been rejected, the Bakken Pipeline Resistance Coalition and Iowa CCI demand that both the federal and state governments take the next step in implementing a renewable energy policy and reject the proposed Bakken Pipeline.