Photo credit: Pax Ahimsa Gethen [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

Last month, a Keystone Pipeline spill released more than 383,000 gallons of oil—half of an Olympic swimming pool. The spill affected 22,500 square feet of wetlands, which could take years to recover—if it ever does.

Earlier this year, the Keystone pipeline leaked 1,800 gallons of oil less than half a mile from the Mississippi River. Workers had to excavate sections of the affected pipeline to find and repair the leak.

That leak was nothing compared to the 2017 Keystone spill in South Dakota. It poured 407, 000 gallons—almost 3,000,000 pounds—of crude oil into the ground. That spill, not far from the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate’s reservation, was the second Keystone spill in South Dakota in seven years. This rate of toxic spills is much more frequent than TransCanada predicted and reported to the federal government. TransCanada estimated South Dakota spills at no more than once every 41 years.

Now TransCanada (TC Energy) wants to add more miles to their leaky Keystone Pipeline. The proposed Keystone XL (KXL) Pipeline would cross Nebraska, Montana, and South Dakota, including tribal lands. Of course, TransCanada claims that KXL will be safe, that it will be state of the art. Frighteningly, the state-of-the-art KXL design would only detect leaks bigger than 535,000 gallons in a 24-hour period. The most recent leak, large enough to partially fill a swimming pool, would not be enough to trigger the leak detection system. This is one of the reasons for the lawsuit. The pipeline is certain to leak (it already has). Those leaks will be undetected unless/until they are huge.

Right now, you can comment on the KXL Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS).

This is your last chance to comment on the KXL pipeline, the deadline is November 18.

This pipeline will benefit a Canadian company and its shareholders. It’s a threat to our climate, our drinking water, and our safety. The project has ignored the pipeline’s impacts on tribal communities.

Our health and safety should take priority over companies’ profits. Do not allow TC Energy and the Trump Administration to ignore their legal and corporate responsibilities to the American people. Take action today.

#HonorTheTreaties

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