keystone xl pipeline map native land keystone xl pipeline map native land

Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this blog post are the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the official position of UAB or the Institute for Human Rights. A similar crude oil project, the Dakota Access Pipeline has received media attention in previous years due to the police and state reactions to the protests over its creation. Whats more, the whole process of getting the oil out and making it usable creates three to four times the carbon pollution of conventional crude extraction and processing. This pipeline transports 470,000 barrels of crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois, over 1,172 miles. That spill, not far from the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyates reservation, was the second Keystone spill in South Dakota in seven years. The biggest concern with the Keystone XL Pipeline would be a spill in an environmentally sensitive area, such as the . November: TransCanada says the costs of Keystone XL have grown to US$8 billion from US$5.4 billion. Its a threat to our climate, our drinking water, and our safety. In 2015, the U.S. State Department, under President Barack Obama, declined to grant the northern leg of the Keystone XL project the permit required to construct, maintain, and operate the pipeline across the U.S.Canada bordera permit that President Trump later granted and President Biden once again revoked. TransCanada's plan to dig a trench and bury part of its $7 billion, 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline right through this land has unearthed a host of Native opposition, resentments and ghosts of the . Upon entering office, President Trumpwith his pro-polluter cabinet of fossil fuel advocates, billionaires, and bankersquickly demonstrated that his priorities differed. For over a decade, Indigenous nations and communities have continuously denied consent to the KXL pipeline from crossing their territories, citing environmental concerns, the desecration of sacred sites, treaty rights violations, and the risks of sexual violence connected with man camps. This pipeline will benefit a Canadian company and its shareholders. Exactly how much was released will not be clear until it's all recovered, TC Energy said. According to a 2015 personal public financial disclosure report filed with the Federal Election Commission, then-candidate Trump held between $250,000 and $500,000 worth of stock in TransCanada Pipelines, Ltd. NARF Staff Attorney Natalie Landreth explains, President Trump permitted the Keystone XL pipeline because he wanted to. Our water sources are threatened by the dirty tar sand crude, our ancestral homelands are in the direct path of the pipeline, and our people already are suffering the effects of nearby construction worker man camps. Therefore, on Monday March 2, 2020, the Fort Belknap Indian Community and Rosebud Sioux Tribe filed a motion for preliminary injunction and asked the court to not allow TransCanada to begin construction of the pipeline while the case is under review. This map is a free and public tool designed to support impacted communities along the route about the risks of living in proximity to fossil fuel pipelines and development. Since its construction in 1977, the Trans Alaska Pipeline has transported almost 17 billion barrels of oil, and currently transports about 527,323 barrels a day. Fort Belknap has declared a state of emergency on the reservation because of the extremely dangerous COVID-19 pandemic and its threat to the health and well-being of the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine tribal members, said President Werk of the Fort Belknap Indian Community, We are very concerned about TransCanada bringing in outside construction workers from all over to build this pipeline within an hour from our reservation., Rosebud has issued a curfew, closed businesses, and asked all to shelter in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its a pipeline through America, and it threatens to be a disaster for us if it leaks poisons on the way. Leading scientists and economists came out in opposition to the project, in addition to unions and world leaders such as the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and former president Jimmy Carter (together, these and other Nobel laureates have written letters against the project). TC Energy has indicated it will be looking at a very ambitious 2020 construction season to make up for the lost time, as well. The mining depletes and pollutes freshwater resources, creates massive ponds of toxic waste, and threatens the health and livelihood of the First Nations people who live near them. All construction was stopped. Seated in a camping chair, Faith Spotted Eagle, 68, pulls a blanket around her to ward off the cold. In late 2018 and early 2019, the courts repeatedly blocked TransCanadas attempts to start construction on the Keystone XL pipeline. We cannot allow another pipeline to be constructed, dangerously close to yet another tribal community, for the benefit of a foreign energy company.. Rosebud Sioux Tribes President Rodney Bordeaux delivered the South Dakota State of the Tribes address in January. On November 17, 2020, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the Fort Belknap Indian Community, represented by the Native American Rights Fund and co-counsel, filed a federal lawsuit against the United States Department of Interior (DOI) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over their issuing of the KXL permit. In the United States, there live over 5.2 million indigenous peoples and among them, 573 federally recognized tribes, numerous unrecognized nations, and many communities scattered across the North American continent, displaced by a long history of western oppression and forced assimilation. Public documents about extractive projects are often difficult to find and hard to read. September: TransCanada and ConocoPhillips file an application for the Keystone XL Phase 4 extension. (That effort failed.) On the same day the Trump Administration announced that up to 240,000 people may succumb to the COVID-19 virus, TransCanada announced it is proceeding with KXL pipeline construction. Meanwhile, major new tar sands projects stopped moving forward, despite investments from the government of Alberta, Canada. The federal court denied the United States federal governments and the TransCanadas (TC Energy) efforts to dismiss the Tribes case against the KXL Pipeline. We are ensuring that TC Energy (TransCanada) follows and respects our law. The Keystone XL pipeline was proposed by the energy infrastructure company TC Energy. In 2017, the Trump administration reversed Obamas veto, signing an executive order to advance the Keystone pipeline as well as a similar crude oil project, the Dakota Access Pipeline despite the many valid arguments made against the two pipelines. July: The State Department extends its review of Keystone, saying they need more time for review before a final environmental impact assessment can be released. In addition to extensive violations of law outlined in the original complaint, the new complaint raises the following issues: Maps released by TransCanada show the pipeline corridor and access roads crossing Rosebud territory, some of which is held in trust, as well as Rosebuds Mni Wiconi Water system. Leading climate scientist and former NASA researcher James Hansen has warned that fully exploiting Canadas tar sands reserves by moving forward with these projects would mean game over for our climate. One was Nebraskas Ogallala Aquifer, which provides drinking water for millions as well as 30 percent of Americas irrigation water. January: Trump signs a presidential memorandum inviting TransCanada to resubmit their application for a Presidential Permit and directing the Secretary of State, Department of the Interior, and Department of the Army to fast-track the decision. We look forward to holding the Trump Administration and TransCanada accountable to the Tribes and the applicable laws that must be followed., NARF Staff Attorney Matthew Campbell also reacted to the news, Of course, the treaties were agreed to by the president of the United States and ratified by the Senate, so the treaties clearly apply. There are countless historical, cultural, and religious sites in the planned path of the pipeline that are at risk of destruction, both by the pipelines construction and by the threat of inevitable ruptures and spills if the pipeline becomes operational. March: The Trump White House exempts the Keystone Pipeline from the requirement to use U.S. steel. A timeline of the Keystone Pipeline project is below. They contain a form of petroleum called bitumen, a relatively sludgy substance that can be turned into fuel. In South Dakota, the pipeline would cross through Tripp County, just miles from the boundaries of the Rosebud Indian Reservation and within yards of Rosebuds trust lands and tribal members allotments. 6210 Bristol Pkwy Culver City CA 90230-6924. They begin by displaying a map of the proposed pipeline that shows that the pipeline will not cross Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, and in fact, it is located entirely on privately owned land except for a 1,094 ft portion . Phase 1 of the Keystone Pipeline was permitted in March 2008. In their permit application, TransCanada agreed to abide by tribal laws and regulation, which they have failed to do. U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House on March 18, 2021 in Washington, DC. Farmers, ranchers, tribes, and conservation groups helped keep the project stalled for Trumps full four years in office, despite his best efforts to expedite its approval. All information was gathered from public documents. We must ensure our people are safe, and that the economic security, health, welfare, and general well-being of Rosebud and our members are protected. That leak was nothing compared to the 2017 Keystone spill in South Dakota. The decision echoed a seven-year State Department review process with EPA input that concluded the pipeline would fail to serve national interests. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares . Last month, the Keystone base pipeline spilled in Missouri; while the spill was caught early and a small amount of crude was lost, the fact that it spilled speaks volumes to the safety of such projects going forward. President Trump tried to go around the courts, the laws, and the will of the American people, in order to put a foreign-owned pipeline on tribal lands, said NARF Staff Attorney Natalie Landreth. On March 28, 2017, his State Department illegally approved a cross-border permit for the pipeline, reversing the Obama administrations prior determination that KXL would not serve the national interest. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the Fort Belknap Indian Community intend to move ahead with their claims against the United States and to demand that the United States honor its legal obligations. 9 Result (s) Found. According to NARF Staff Attorney Natalie Landreth, What we have seen in these recent filings is that TransCanadas Keystone XL pipeline route crosses Rosebud-controlled lands. In that case, brought by a coalition of environmental organizations, the District Court had decided that the federal government did not follow the law when it issued its 2017 permit for the pipeline. Historic flooding recently inundated parts of the Cornhusker State where the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would pass through. After more than 10 years of tenacious protests, drawn-out legal battles, and flip-flopping executive orders spanning three presidential administrations, the Keystone XL pipeline is now gone for good. Frighteningly, the KXL pipeline design would only detect 13,000 barrels (535,000 gallons) of tar sands crude leaked in a 24-hour period. Revoking the illegally issued pipeline permit is a start, but we call on the Biden administration to do more, to go further, to respect the rights of Native peoples and improve the relationships between tribes and the federal government.. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. With this construction, workers will descend on the communities along the pipelines proposed path. WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump greenlighted the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline on Friday, declaring it a "great day for American jobs" and siding with energy advocates over environmental groups in a heated debate over climate change. Heres why thats a disaster in the making. Together with the Fort Belknap Indian Community, we brought a lawsuit to stop the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline through our territories. Refining the sticky black gunk produces piles of petroleum coke, a hazardous, coal-like by-product. The Tribes asked the court to rescind the illegal issuance of the Keystone XL pipeline presidential permit. For tribal lands, the treaties absolutely require this sort of review. UAB is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer committed to fostering a diverse, equitable and family-friendly environment in which all faculty and staff can excel and achieve work/life balance irrespective of race, national origin, age, genetic or family medical history, gender, faith, gender identity and expression as well as sexual orientation. Keystone XL would have crossed agriculturally important and environmentally sensitive areas, including hundreds of rivers, streams, aquifers, and water bodies. Pipelines like the Keystone XL and Dakota pipelines as well as other fossil fuel projects actively pollute native land and water resources as well as consistently contribute to global warming due to their high greenhouse gas emissions. Farm to Table: The Worlds Largest Protest in India, 2023 The University of Alabama at Birmingham. Between the threat of sexual violence and contraction of the coronoavirus, arrival of KXL construction workers in our homelands poses deadlier risks than ever before and must be stopped. TransCanada must comply with Rosebud law. the desecration and destruction of cultural, historic, and sacred sites; the endangerment of tribal members, especially women and children; damage to hunting and fishing resources, as well as the tribal health and economies associated with these activities; the impairment of federally reserved tribal water rights and resources; harm to tribal territory and natural resources in the inevitable event of Pipeline ruptures and spills; and. The people and the planet can claim more than a few victoriesand 2019 is looking better already. Keystone XL will need permission from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, so this is not over.. February: A Nebraska judge rules that the law that allowed the governor to approve Keystone XL over the objections of landowners was unconstitutional. The presidential permit comes nearly a decade after Calgary-based TransCanada applied to . You may remember the Keystone XL pipeline from 2015, when a movement galvanized by the growing threat of climate change successfully pushed President Obama to reject the project. Additionally, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe operates its own water delivery system, which is part of the Mni Wiconi Rural Water Supply Project. Opposition emerges in Nebraska. filed a federal lawsuit against the United States Department of Interior (DOI) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over their issuing of the KXL permit, asked the court to grant a temporary restraining order on pipeline construction, the memo in support of preliminary injunction, a response to TransCanadas motion for summary judgment, a memorandum in support of their own motion for partial summary judgment, federal court denied the United States federal governments and the TransCanadas (TC Energy) efforts to dismiss the Tribes case, poured 407, 000 gallonsalmost 3,000,000 poundsof crude oil, much more frequent than TransCanada predicted. Keystone XL Pipeline Map The proposed Keystone XL extension actually comprised two segments. In these filings, the Tribes highlight that TransCanada admitted that the Keystone XL pipeline would cross Rosebud mineral estates held in trust by the United States. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Phase 3b is added later, connecting the pipeline from Port Arthur to Houston, Texas. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe and Fort Belknap Indian Community have government-to-government treaties with the United States that the President cannot violate. But environmental reviews by both the Obama and Trump administrations concluded that the Keystone XL pipeline would not have lowered gasoline prices. This story was originally published on April 7, 2017, and has been updated with new information and links. The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. TransCanada's plan to dig a trench and bury part of its $7 billion, 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline right through this land has unearthed a host of Native American opposition, resentments. Today, as in the past, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the Fort Belknap Indian Community drink the water that comes from the rivers and the ground sources to provide for their communities. (For evidence, note the 2010 tar sands oil spill in Kalamazoo River, Michigan, a disaster that cost Enbridge more than a billion dollars in cleanup fees and took six years to settle in court.) A two-week delay in the face of a pandemic would seem like the obvious course of action. The dire climate change findings in the SEIS support the argument against the XL pipeline. The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC EnergyAs of March 2020, the Government of Alberta. But the case against . NARF stands with our clients, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the Fort Belknap Indian Community, in their staunch opposition to the completion of the Keystone XL arm of the pipeline system. amended complaint in what will now be known as, an amended complaint against TransCanada and President Trump. Frontline Indigenous youth, who have been standing up against destructive oil pipelines for years, are imploring President Biden to join them in protecting their water, lands, and cultures. The one filed by Rosebud Sioux last week cites the fact that the Trump Administration has not undertaken any analysis of: trust obligations, the potential impact on tribal hunting and fishing rights, the potential impacts on the Rosebud Sioux Tribes unique water system, the potential impact of spills on tribal citizens, or the potential impact on cultural sites in the path of the pipeline. The reversal came as no surprise. Natural Resources Defense Council 2023 Privacy Policy The spill, more than 400,000 gallons of unprocessed crude, is the seventh largest on-shore spill since 2002. Its no small feat extracting oil from tar sands, and doing so comes with steep environmental and economic costs. A spill would have been devastating to the farms, ranches, and communities that depend on these crucial ecosystems. Revoking the Trump administrations illegal permit is a necessary first step towards fixing this situation, Fort Belknap Indian Community President Andrew Werk Jr. explained. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions. The most recent leak, large enough to partially fill a swimming pool, was not big enough to trigger the leak detection system. In January, TransCanada reported that it would begin Keystone XL pipeline construction in April despite ongoing questions about the projects permitting. Last month, a Keystone Pipeline spill released more than 383,000 gallons of oilhalf of an Olympic swimming pool. The XL stands for export limited. If completed, KXL would add another 510,000 barrels of capacity. Despite a court order to reassess the Dakota Access Pipelines environmental impact, the agency wont share the results of its new study. TransCanada agreed to abide by tribal law. The 2019 supplemental environmental impact statement has numerous issues and shortcomings. We will The judge found that the US State Department had not fulfilled its duties to the American people when it issued TransCanada a 2017 permit for the Keystone XL pipeline without the required environmental and safety review. Rosebud has land use, environmental, and utilities codes that apply, and TransCanada must comply with Rosebud law on Rosebud land. The authority to permit the pipeline falls within Congresss exclusive and plenary power to regulate foreign commerce. Share. The new complaint in Rosebud Sioux Tribe v. Trump responds to President Trumps March 29 presidential permit. Importantly, the new complaint also calls on President Trump to protect Native American people. Winning support in Indian country is one of the last hurdles for the project, which is touted as a key to North American energy . Thats up nearly threefold from a decade ago, and an amount equal to 42 percent of our consumption. The mineral estates qualify as Indian lands and the Tribe has jurisdiction over them. We were not willing to sacrifice our water or safety for the financial benefit of a trans-national corporation. Several indigenous leaders, including Dallas Goldtooth of the Mdewakanton Dakota and Dine nations and Faith Spotted Eagle of the Ihanktonwan Dakota nation, have seen Bidens executive order as a sign of the administration keeping its campaign promise to work against climate change and work with indigenous communities. NARF will help the Tribe make sure it has considered all of its options for ensuring the safety of the Tribes citizens, territory, and resources., This is their land, their water, said NARF Staff Attorney Natalie Landreth. The cost is too high. Indeed, moving crude by rail to the Gulf costs substantially more than moving it by pipe. September: Canadas National Energy Board approves the Canadian section. In creating this version of the map, we were grateful to build on the substantial efforts of the Keystone Mapping Project to determine an accurate pipeline route. Federal agencies have a duty to prevent mineral trespass and protect Indian lands and tribal mineral estates. Canada is considered one of the most water-rich countries in the world and yet many indigenous communities continue to be provided with inadequate access to safe drinking water which provides a large public health concern for these communities. And the risk that Keystone XL would have spilled was heightened because of the extended time the pipe segments were left sitting outside in stockpiles. Good Luck Persuading These Nebraskans, The Dirty Fight Over Canadian Tar Sands Oil, 10 Threats from the Canadian Tar Sands Industry, The Dakota Access Pipeline Fight Fuels Battles Across the Country, Still No Approved Route for KXL in Nebraska, Meet Jane Kleeb: One of Nebraskas First and Fiercest KXL Opponents, Why We Must Stop the Flow of Tar Sands Oil, Win! But, the President must comply with the Treaties, and TC Energy must comply with Rosebud law. In addition to the intervention, a hearing has been scheduled in Rosebud Sioux Tribe et al v. United States Department of State et al. In exchange for measures like safe passage of emigrants and peaceful construction of the railroads, the US government and tribal nations signed treaties to prevent intrusion on or destruction of tribal nations lands and natural resources. TransCanada's plan to dig a trench and bury part of its $7 billion, 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline right through this land has unearthed a host of Native American opposition, resentments and ghosts of the past. NARF Staff Attorney Natalie Landreth said, We believe its imperative for the voices of our tribal clients to be heard regarding the impacts of the proposed pipeline.