THE KEYSTONE XL AND DAKOTA ACCESS SHOULD BE STOPPED AT ALL COST
The Keystone Pipeline XL and Dakota Access Pipelines should be shut down immediately and never started again. They are set to destroy and endanger our waterways and endandered species, fish and drinking water of communities.
President Obama stopped the Keystone Pipeline XL and Dakota Access Piplines and President Trump irresponsibly reversed his orders without waiting for further studies as requested. President Trump only cares about money and does not even believe in climate change. He is set on a course to destroy the world as we know it by nuclear weapons or the destruction on the rivers, streams, ocean, and waterways. President Trump is concerned only about money and not lives.
The Keystone XL will cross nearly 2,000 rivers, streams, reservoirs in Montana, South Dakoto and Nebraska. The route crosses Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers. These are critical water sources for communities. Yellowstone River has fossel fuel pipelines that cross it through lateral migration that is home to threatened and endangered livestock and is a popular designation for fishing and crafting. In January 17, 2017 a pipeline in the Yellowstone leaked 30,000 gallons of crude contaminating the drinking water for Glendive, Montana. The federal criteria has failed two time already.
Ruptures and leaks of pipelines are a daily occurrence. Eighty have died and 389 have been injured in the last five years. One of the largest spills in North Dakota occurred in 2013 when lightening struck a pipeline and 840,000 gallons of oil spilled in a wheat field. Aging pipelines have few inspections. In June 14, 2014 a pipeline ruptured and burst into flame in Cuera, Texas. Pipelines are exposed in Indiana due to flooding. For pipelines crossing rivers, the safety standards need to be drilled very deep under the bed of the river so they are not exposed to flooding.
There have been a litany of eruptions of pipelines in this country over a long period of time. For example, the Bridgewater Pipeline erupted 31/2 years after it was built. The pipeline broke apart. The Poplar erupted January, 2015. The Silver erupted 2011. Both of the eruptions occurred and affected the Yellowstone River. Additionally, more than 20 pipeline river crossings are dangerously close to exposure. Nearly 55 oil and gag pipelines that cross the Missouri River have deepened. Enterprise Product Partners L.L.P. was uncovered and ruptured 20 pipelines. More than 28, 350 gallons spilled in the Missouri River. June, 2012, a spill in Alberta Canada where a pipeline owned by Plains Midstream failed along the Deer River and released more than 122,000 gallons of light crude. A weld failed. Three Enbridge Corp Crude Pipelines Crossing Minnesota’s Tamarac River were exposed by floodwater–are still exposed since 2014. It is an accident waiting to happen because it is being propped by a steel leg.
The problem with pipeline spill and pipelines in general is that per federal rules, the pipeline company is in charge of identifying all threats that could cause a spill in populated or environmentally sensitive areas. Companies get wide latitude in deciding what to do about spills per Rebecca Craven, prog. mgr. at the Pipeline Safety Trust, a nonprofit group that tracks pipeline risks and regulations. Operators do not adequately assess the risk.
The problem with these pipelines is that President has invested his personal funds in these pipelines and bragged about how much money “we” are going to make on the pipeline. We do not know if or when he divested his interest in the pipelines. He clearly has a conflict of interest. Congress is impotent and is unable to follow any type of rules or the constitution. They cannot perform their role in forcing him to disclose when he divested his interest and to whom he divested that interest. The risks to the waterways outweigh any benefits that can be gained by the pipeline. Have we lost our minds? No amount of money can bring back the waterways if they are permanently destroyed by man’s interference. The damage to the fish, man, and drinking water of communities is too great for any benefits than can be gained from the pipeline. These pipelines should never be turned on. We need to write our senators and congressmen. Additionally, the Native Americans in North Dakoto must be supported. This pipeline was poorly thought out and is too dangerous to the environment to be turned on. We cannot trust Donald Trump. His judgement is impaired. He only cares about money. The people around him do not believe in climate change. They are clearly living in some type of altered reality where they do not see the increasing floods and damage to man made waterways . Look at California? It is only a matter of time before something drastic happens in California. Pruitt has almost destroyed the State of Oklahoma with his lack of protection of the environment. Earthquakes have quadrupled. We cannot trust these irresponsible people to protect the environment. We must march and call. We cannot be silent and allow this catastrophe to occur. The Keystone Pipeline and Dakota Access should be stopped. Trump reversed Obama with a gross lie. He stated that the Dakota Access was not controversial. He stopped the environmental studies requested by Obama. The risk to the environment is too great to take short cuts. Trump and his cronies must be stopped. They only care about money. They do not care about the environment and the lives involved. The Keystone Pipeline XL and Dakota Access should be stopped immediately.
