Senators Call For Additional Safety Review of Keystone XL Pipeline

by Jess Leber · 2011-07-17 09:30:00 UTC
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In the wake of Exxon Mobil's recent oil spill in Montana, it's now crystal clear (if it wasn't already) what a mistake the U.S. State Department would be making in approving the Keystone XL pipeline—a conduit that would carry Alberta's corrosive, carbon-heavy tar sands oil under the Yellowstone River and through America's heartland, in what remains today a poorly-regulated pipeline system.

Tens of thousands of Change.org members who took action to stop Keystone, through both the Sierra Club's and No Tar Sands Oil Coalition's actions, agree.

So do several Senators who sent a letter to the State Department on Friday. The letter, signed by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D- OR), Robert Menenedez (D-NJ), Frank Lautenberg (D NJ), and Ben Cardin (D-MD), called on the State Department to conduct additional environmental reviews. The EPA has already called the review thus far "insufficient," according to the Hill.  For example, the letter states that there was no consideration of an alternative route for the pipeline, one that would avoid a vast underground aquifer that supplies water to much of the Midwest.

The letter said:

“These spills are troubling, as the Keystone XL pipeline will have similar characteristics, and underscore the need for careful assessment of both the spill risks and route of Keystone XL. We believe that the Department of State (DOS) should work with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to more thoroughly review the safety of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline and put in place sufficient safety measures,” the letter says.“We write to express our continuing concerns regarding TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline,” the Senate Democrats say in the letter. “One need look no further than the ongoing impacts on the Yellowstone River in Montana from a leak in ExxonMobil’ s Silvertip pipeline to recognize that such risks are very real.”

Hopefully the State Department will take these concerns seriously. If you would like to support this call to action, please continue to sign the petition to stop the Keystone Project.

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Photo Credit: David Dodge, The Pembina Institute

Jess Leber is a Change.org editor. She most recently covered climate and energy issues as a reporter in Washington, D.C

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