The city was named after its founder, Harry Culver. Thanks to Trump, Keystone XL Is Back. The Anti-Pipeline Movement Is In fact, the treaties were created specifically for this sort of violation. It also endangers the Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies water for Native and non-Native users residential and agricultural needs on the High Plains in eight states. The reversal came as no surprise. Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer-based technology that combines geographic data and relevant information about specific locations. The Tribes are asking the court to declare the review process in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and to rescind the illegal issuance of the Keystone XL pipeline presidential permit. It's derived from a sludgy, sticky deposit found beneath the wilds of northern Albertas boreal forest. 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. The Native American Rights Fund represents the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and Fort Belknap Indian Community in this case. Yes, Trump has green-lighted the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. The Keystone XL Pipeline Is Dead, but TC Energy Still Owns Hundreds of Miles of Rights of Way Many landowners who opposed the pipeline have begun a new fight, trying to regain control of the land . Farm to Table: The Worlds Largest Protest in India, 2023 The University of Alabama at Birmingham. Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Rodney M. Bordeaux responded to the announcement, This is great news for the Tribes who have been fighting to protect our people and our lands. Therefore, the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Utiity Commission held public hearings on the proposed TransCanada KXL Pipeline on Tuesday, May 28, and Wednesday, May 29, 2019 at the St. Francis Indian School Gym, 502 Warrior Dr, St Francis, SD 57572. Heres everything you need to know about the historic KXL fightand why the pipelines cancellation has had no impact on current oil prices. Now, after the courts have told the United States it must follow the law, President Trump has attempted to circumvent the courts by issuing a new permit. on April 10, 2019, in Montana. At every turn, the Tar Sands Invasion would put people and the environment in harm's way. To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Over the years, the United States government willingly made very specific promises to tribal nations. Our land, water, and people are under direct threat from the KXL pipeline. Public documents about extractive projects are often difficult to find and hard to read. Even worse, building Keystone XL would have meant enduring those risks just to send the fuel to our overseas rivalsand the profits to Big Oil. Keystone XL- Myths and Facts - South Dakota Oil and Gas Association A two-week delay in the face of a pandemic would seem like the obvious course of action. 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. Elections turn control of the U.S. Congress over to Republicans, who pledge to move forward on Keystone XL. May: TransCanada files a new application with the State Department for the northern part of Keystone XL. Share. Our health and safety should take priority over companies profits. Among other things, the complaint describes: NARF Staff Attorney Matthew Campbell explained, Before we allow a foreign company to build another pipeline to haul dirty tar sands across any American soil, we should be taking a hard look at the possible impact on American land, water, health, and safety. A study published in early 2020, co-authored by TC Energys own scientists, found that the anti-corrosion coating on the projects pipes was damaged from being stored outside and exposed to the elements for the last decade, notes NRDC senior attorney Jaclyn Prange, who spent years working on KXL litigation. Keystone pipeline's path cuts across Native American land, history Thanks for signing up. The 1868 Treaty of Ft. Laramie and other federal laws requires Rosebud consent to cross Rosebud territory. Frighteningly, the KXL pipeline design would only detect 13,000 barrels (535,000 gallons) of tar sands crude leaked in a 24-hour period. The pipeline would cross less than 100 miles from the headquarters of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and run directly through sacred and historic sites as well as the ancestral lands of the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes. Five years ago, a pipeline spilled a million gallons of tar sands crude into a Michigan riverand were still cleaning it up. Its no small feat extracting oil from tar sands, and doing so comes with steep environmental and economic costs. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe and Fort Belknap Indian Community have government-to-government treaties with the United States that the President cannot violate. The revoked permit became the final nail in the pipelines coffin. In January, TransCanada reported that it would begin Keystone XL pipeline construction in April despite ongoing questions about the projects permitting. Until 2016,Canadaofficially objected to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 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 spill, more than 400,000 gallons of unprocessed crude, is the seventh largest on-shore spill since 2002. As you know, our natural resources are finite. The Keystone XL pipeline was proposed by the energy infrastructure company TC Energy. 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. The court also noted that the Tribes could file a new suit against the Bureau of Land Management given it has approved the pipeline in the remainder of the United States. The founder of Bold Nebraska has led the Cornhusker States years-long rallying cry against TransCanadas tar sands pipeline. See our request for intervention. Dirty energy lobbyists claimed developing tar sands would protect our national energy security and bring U.S. fuel prices down. Many had hoped that the disastrous project was finally done for in November 2015, when the Obama administration vetoed the pipelineacknowledging its pervasive threats to climate, ecosystems, drinking water sources, and public health. See our original complaint filed. In granting the right-of-way, the BLM failed to analyze and uphold the United States treaty obligations to protect the Tribes lands and natural resources. The federal court denied the United States federal governments and the TransCanadas (TC Energy) efforts to dismiss the Tribes case against the KXL Pipeline. And the President and TC Energy would like to run a pipeline of highly toxic, cancer-causing sludge called tar sands right through it. Like the US Constitution, treaties are the law of the land, and no one is above that law, said NARF Staff Attorney Matthew Campbell. Upon entering office, President Trumpwith his pro-polluter cabinet of fossil fuel advocates, billionaires, and bankersquickly demonstrated that his priorities differed. Maps issued by TransCanada (TC Energy) clearly show the proposed KXL pipeline crossing tribal lands. 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. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. This interactive tool is a powerful visual for Indigenous communities and our allies along the KXL route. In an unprecedented action, President Trump has attempted to circumvent the law by issuing TransCanada yet another presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. It was expected to transport 830,000 barrels of Alberta tar sands oil per day to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas. If the Presidents goal was to avoid complying with the District Courts decision in that case, it worked. When TC Energy said the pipeline would create nearly 119,000 jobs, a State Department report instead concluded the project would require fewer than 2,000 two-year construction jobs and that the number of full-time, permanent jobs would hover around 35 after construction. 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. November: TransCanada says the costs of Keystone XL have grown to US$8 billion from US$5.4 billion. 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. 5855 Green Valley Cir, Culver City, CA - MapQuest March: Canadas National Energy Board approves the Canadian section of the Keystone XL. President Trump also issued a cross-border permit to the pipeline developer, a permit that had been long sought after for the developers. See the open letter from President Kindle for more information on the Rosebud Sioux Tribes position. The briefest look at American and Canadian history clearly shows that the pipeline situations are most certainly not the first instance of the government refusing to respect the lands, waters, and even peoples of indigenous groups. But the path to victory wasnt always clear. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. This pipeline will benefit a Canadian company and its shareholders. Although TC Energy had twice been denied a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, on January 24, 2017, President Trump invited TC Energy to resubmit its application. 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. In addition to the intervention, a hearing has been scheduled in Rosebud Sioux Tribe et al v. United States Department of State et al. ), It would also have led to greater greenhouse gas emissionswhich, the latest scientific reports makes clear, we simply cant afford if were to avoid the most catastrophic climate impacts. The Keystone XL Pipeline: Everything You Need To Know | NRDC 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. Paramount Network just released a new mini-documentary entitled Take Action: Protect Our Land. The documentary explores the potential impact of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline on our client, the Fort Belknap Indian Community in Montana. It also traverses land that Native. sued the Trump Administration in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, Great Falls Division, for numerous violations of the law in the Keystone XL pipeline permitting process. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe and Fort Belknap Indian Community successfully stood strong for years to protect their people, water, and sacred lands from the threat of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Some of the current concerns are rooted in our responsibility to take care of Unci Maka, which is grandmother earth. The governments analysis does not meaningfully address how an influx of out-of-state construction workers will affect the health, welfare, and safety of tribal members, and in particular Native women and children. So this is a complete win for the tribes on the motions to dismiss. "The Keystone XL Pipeline is an environmental crime in progress." "It's also been called the most destructive project on the planet." The major issues with the Keystone XL Pipeline are "the dirty tar sands oil, the water waste, indigenous populations, refining tar sands oil and don't forget the inevitable; pipeline spills." However, for the Tribes, the KXL fight is just beginning. While the tar sands industry was once seen as an unbeatable opponent in a David-and-Goliath fight, the victory against Keystone XL shows that the tables have begun to turnand that more power now lies with the advocates for climate justice than ever before. One was Nebraskas Ogallala Aquifer, which provides drinking water for millions as well as 30 percent of Americas irrigation water. 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 lines up with an industry trend: Oil and gas companies are exporting 8.4 million barrels of crude oil and refined fuels every single day. TC Energy Says $15B Keystone Claim Can Proceed - Law360 It was a political step, having nothing to do with what the law actually requires. The Native American Rights Fund is prepared to fight to ensure those treaties are honored and the water is protected.. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. In addition, the possibility of damaging community water supplies, valuable agricultural lands, and wildlife habitats is not a cost our clients are willing to bear on behalf of a foreign extractive company propping up a dying energy industry. Read the memo in support of preliminary injunction. For tribal lands, the treaties absolutely require this sort of review. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe will take any and all necessary steps, up to and including litigation, to protect our people, our land and water, and our cultural and historic resources., As we have seen, spills from such projects can be catastrophic, said NARF Staff Attorney Matt Campbell. Opposition to Keystone XL centered on the devastating environmental consequences of the project. It runs from Hardisty, Alberta, to Patoka, Illinois. However, despite youth and elderly leaders being in the front during the inevitable standoffs with police, Mace, tasers, and rubber bullets were used against the protestors. Biden shut down the Keystone XL pipeline. Here's what that means for 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. So, in March he withdrew the State Departments permit and issued his own presidential permit as an attempt to avoid any environmental or regulatory oversight and to circumvent the court decisions. Our Land Use, Environmental Protection, and Public Utilities Codes directly apply, and TC Energy has failed to comply with them. 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. In the two years leading up to the November 2014 midterm elections, the fossil fuel industry spent more than $721 million to court allies in Congress. It celebrated its 40th Anniversary last year, and, even after all this time, is still facing controversy. Those leaks will be undetected unless/until they are huge. Last month, a Keystone Pipeline spill released more than 383,000 gallons of oilhalf of an Olympic swimming pool. Pros And Cons Of The Dakota Access Pipeline Conflict | ipl.org Some people, seeing a map of the pipeline's proposed 875-mile route through the Great Plains, may picture the region in the terms of 19th-century explorers who called it the "great American desert . The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. Nevertheless, in the mid-2000s, with gas prices on the rise, oil companies ramped up production and sought additional ways to move their product from Canadas remote tar sands fields to midwestern and Gulf Coast refineries. Washington, DC (202) 785-4166. On October 16, 2020, the judge ruled against the Tribes on some claims, finding that the Presidents permit only applied to the border and not the entire pipeline. If the Keystone XL pipeline is built, about 830,000 barrels of heavy crude oil per day will flow from Alberta, Canada, to the refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast, which are built to handle. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) initially stated that, on a wells-to-wheels basis, tar sands oil emits 17 percent more carbon than other types of crude, but several years later, the State Department revised this number upward, stating that the emissions could be 5 percent to 20 percent higher than previously indicated. That means burdening the planet with an extra 178.3 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, the same impact as 38.5 million passenger vehicles or 45.8 coal-fired power plants. TransCanada estimated South Dakota spills at no more than once every 41 years. Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Rodney M. Bordeaux spoke to the KXL issue, In approving the Keystone XL pipeline, the federal government repeatedly ignored treaty rights, tribal sovereignty, and widespread opposition to push forward the interests of a foreign oil and gas company. It was a blatant attempt to prioritize corporate interests over the health and well-being of the regions citizens and tribes authority to govern their lands and protect their citizens. For those of you that will not be able to attend, I ask that you submit a letter about your concerns and in support of our lawsuit. 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. Rather than honoring these legal obligations, the United States has chosen to blatantly violate them. On Friday, December 20, 2019, NARF and their clients, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the Fort Belknap Indian Community (the Tribes) received some great news from a Montana court. They were bargained for with the blood of our ancestors. Once they are gone and depleted, they are gone. What is missing is an appreciation of the long-term effects of an oil pipeline going through our sacred land. 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. Watch on Keystone XL 329 miles (529 km) in Canada (Hardisty, Alta., to Monchy, Sask.) At the hearings, the US government argued that the treaties that the United States signed with tribal nations are not relevant to the Keystone pipeline. And these exports are more than 10 times the capacity of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Early in his presidency, President Trump made it a priority to issue permits for the questionable KXL project without the required tribal consultation, environmental review, or consideration for treaty rights. The pipeline threat is gone, but the damage to their property and lives is already done. The case is now up to the Tribes, and they will not allow a foreign company to break American law, take land that does not belong to them, ignore the voices and laws of the tribal citizens, and destroy an aquifer that feeds millions of Americans.