Nebraska’s Sandhills vs.

Trans-Canada’s Keystone XL Pipeline

By

Barbara Fann

GEY 135-500Environmental Geology

Professor Bradley WakoffFront Range Community College

April 23, 2012

Nebraska’s Sand Hills vs.

Trans-Canada’s Keystone XL Pipeline

Issues of Controversy:

Threat of Environmental Contamination and Disruption of Ecosystem vs. Rising Fuel Costs and High U.S. Unemployment

Rate

What is Trans-Canada’s Keystone XL Pipeline?

• A project intended to carry crude oil from Alberta Canada east into Manitoba, then through the U.S. down to Texas oil refineries. The pipeline is intended to run through the

states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Okalahoma, and Texas. Parts of the pipeline are already in place.

What are the Nebraska Sandhills?As reported by http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/pfw/ne/ne4.htm:

• “ Native grasslands which cover 19,600 square miles of wind-deposited sand dunes ”

• “ Largest sand dune formation in America ”

• “ 95% grassland ”

• “ 1 billion acre-feet of groundwater ” - The Ogallala Aquifer

• “ 2.4 million acre-feet of spring-fed stream flow discharged annually ”

• “ 1.3 million acres of wetlands ”

Maps of Proposed Oil PipelinesMaps of Proposed Oil Pipelines

Map of Keystone Pipeline atop Map of Keystone Pipeline atop Ogallala AquiferOgallala Aquifer

Map of Keystone Pipeline atop Map of Keystone Pipeline atop Nebraska’s Ecologically Sensitive Nebraska’s Ecologically Sensitive

Sand Dunes and proposed new routeSand Dunes and proposed new route

The Real Heartbeat of

America

“ Positive ” Effects of Keystone XL Pipeline on Nebraska’s Economy

• “ Over 20 billion dollars to US Energy Security with continued economic benefit ”

• “ Excess of 465 million dollars for new spending in Nebraska ”

• “ At least 7,500 “ person years” of employment ”

• “ Additional state and local tax revenues of more than $11 million ”

• “ $390 million in increased Gross State Product ”

Positive Effects of Keystone XL Pipeline on U.S. Economy

• “ Will supply one half of oil imported from other countries and reduce dependence on oil from middle-eastern countries ”

(http://www.keystonexlnebraska.com)

Negative Effects of 1st Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline Route

Disrupting the Nebraska Sandhills

Begin by Understanding the Sensitive Ecology and What is at Stake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5FDpl6CzVs&feature=related

NE Hwy. 2E en Route to Valentine National Wildlife Refuge

Begin “Sandhills Journey”

Sights Familiar to Sandhills Region

US 83N US 20E

Valentine National Wildlife Range – Valentine, NE

Watt’s Lake Hackberry Lake Willow LakeVisited Areas:

Formation of Sand Dunes

• 10,000 years ago

• Wind blown stream deposits…

Created sand hills which may have

looked something like this:

Niobrara River East of Valentine, NE

Man-made sand hills by excavation - US 83S

Due to limited rainfall, a very unusual prairie formed and only certain types of vegetation could survive. This vegetation holds the sand dunes in place.

Valentine National Wildlife Refuge is the largest (72,000 acres) and last remaining area in the US which is home to mid and tall prairie grass. The area is untilled and basically

untouched.

What we see in the photograph below is the Ogallala Aquifer (water table) intersecting with the land. Prairie grass has found its home on the sand as well as in the water.

Willow Lake

Hackberry Lake

Why are people so “sensitive” about the Sandhills?

Answer: Because the Sandhills are sensitive

• The Sandhills protect the Ogallala Aquifer with their “sensitive” covering

(We must keep in mind that this is sand)

• Rain percolates down through the porous sand and goes straight into the this massive groundwater system

• This is the water we drink, the water our livestock drinks, and the water that irrigates the “Breadbasket of the United States”.

• Home to 270 species of birds, white-tailed deer, mule deer, coyotes, mink, raccoons, skunks, weasels, reptiles, amphibians, fish, prairie grasses, etc.

When we take a few steps into what we may think is the “great nothing” in Nebraska, this is what can be found…

Lake after lake after lake…of clean, clear, blue water(Link to my short video taken at Watt’s Lake: ) http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=plxnM0AHROo&feature=youtu.be)

Is this what we want leaking through there?

Keystone XL Pipeline Through Existing Through Eastern Nebraska

Discussion/Report on Oil Spills

The crude oil spill into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan, is one example of what happens when an oil pipeline leaks. The Enbridge Energy Pipeline spilled more than 840,000 gallons of tar sands oil, just as the XL Pipeline would carry, into the Talmadge Creek and Kalamazoo River. Marine toxicologist Riki Ott states in the article, “Health concerns lingering after Kalamazoo oil spill” on the http://michiganradio.org website, that people are experiencing headaches, dizziness, nausea, and skin irritation much like people did who lived near the Exxon Valdez oil spill and BP spill the Gulf of Mexico. This report did not include people who may have suffered health problems due to chemicals being spilled into the river.

The XL Pipeline would carry Bitumen oil, which is a very heavy oil and does not flow like crude oil. In order to pump this heavy “oil” it has to be treated with chemicals that will dilute it. Bitumen oil has more carbon and less hydrogen than crude oil. The website, http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com states that, “In its natural state, bitumen is suitable only for paving roads”. The article also states that this oil contains “5% sulphur by weight, small amounts of oxygen, and heavy metal and other contaminates”.

Discussion/Report on Oil Spills cont.

The website, http://www.nwf.org describes the “annual congregation of Sandhill cranes, one of the most beautiful phenomena in the U.S.”. Over 500,000 cranes congregate in this area each March as they migrate north. The article states that “a spill near the Platte River or surrounding fields would not only contaminate the water and its banks, but also contaminate the cranes’ food supply for decades”. (p.18 p.9) There is a multitude of wildlife that would be affected by this. We have seen news clips on television of wildlife dying from the BP oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico. It is heartbreaking to see them suffer a such a slow, painful death due to being covered in oil. Oil spills contaminate the air, water, wildlife, soil, food supply, and just about anything it touches in one way or another.

TransCanada’s existing Keystone I Pipeline which runs through N.D., S.D., Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois has experienced twelve spills in the last year. The pipeline was shut down in 2011 pending investigation after spewing 21,000 gallons of oil into the air in North Dakota. The appearance of this “spill” was likened unto a geyser shooting up six stories high. There is a lot of documentation to confirm this so I’ll paste a link here to start with: http://michiganmessenger.com/48887/keystone-i-pipeline-has-12th-leak-in-first-yearThere is absolutely no reason to think that the Keystone XL Pipeline will be any different. TransCanada claimed that it would meed “world-class safety standards with only 1.4 leaks per decade”. (http://switchboard.nrdc.org) The company’s track record thus far, shows no intention of health and safety concerns, whatsoever. Twelve leaks per year is vastly different than 1.4 leaks per decade. This is insanity.

Discussion/Report on Oil Spills cont.

The Ogallala aquifer is a major source of groundwater in the U.S. It irrigates the farmland above it and supplies drinking water to the people of this entire region. The mid-west is a major source of agriculture to the U.S. Thousands of cattle graze on the grasslands of Nebraska, alone. If we allow the cattle, fish, and foul to starve due to the pollution of our soil, water, and vegetation, we will also starve. To contaminate the aquifer would be to commit slow suicide. The situation with the Ogallala aquifer is bad enough already, considering the threat of its current rate of discharge, alone. It is predicted to run dry at this rate in 25 years. The threat presented to it by the installation of a leaking, dirty oil pipeline is absolutely staggering to one’s imagination. Especially when considering that this oil is intended for export.

If the Sandhills are destabilized the sand will no longer remain fixed in place. It will degenerate and become lost within the Earth system. The reason why the Sandhills remain fixed in place now, is because of the vegetation that grows on them. It took 10,000 years to form this stabilization. It will only take a few years to destroy it and take ourselves along with it. There is no profit or luxury worth this price.

Power Point CitationPower Point Citation

Daily Yonder. 2012. Thursday Roundup: New Keystone Route. Retrieved April 19, 2012 from http://www.dailyyonder.com/wednesday-roundup-food-deserts-and-obesity/2012/04/18/3912 /

Fann, R. 2012. Big alkalai. Retrieved April 23, 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plxnM0AHROo&feature=youtu.be

Farrar, J. 2010. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Valentine National Wildlife Refuge. Valentine.

Marsh, T. 2011. Property Prof Blog. Cattle Ranchers, Environmentalists, and the Keystone XL Pipeline. Retrieved April 19, 2012 from

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/property/natural_resources

Timjbd. 2012. Oil Pipeline Across Sand Hills of Nebraska. Retrieved April 20, 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5FDpl6CzVs&feature=related

TransCanada PipeLines Limited. 2012. Our Business. Pipelines. Retrieved April 20, 2012 from http://www.transcanada.com/100.html

TransCanada. 2012. The Facts. Jobs and Economic Impact. Retrieved April 20, 2012 from http://www.keystonexlnebraska.com/the-facts/jobs-and-economic-impact

US Fish and Wildlife Service. 2011. Nebraska Partners for Fish and Wildlife. Retrieved April 20, 2012 from http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/pfw/ne/ne4.htm

Discussion/Report Citation

http://michiganradio.org/post/health-concerns-lingering-after-kalamazoo-river-oil-spillhttp://www.nwf.org/~/media/PDFs/Global-Warming/Reports/NWF_TarSands_final.ashxhttp://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/plehner/obama_rejects_keystone_xl_pipe.htmlhttp://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/bitumenhttp://michiganmessenger.com/48887/keystone-i-pipeline-has-12th-leak-in-first-year