Wildlife Promise » Flanagan South

A Monster Rises: Enbridge’s Tar Sands Frankenstein

Peter LaFontaine — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 14:46:52 +0000

How can a repeat offender sneak a tar sands megaproject through the U.S. without raising an eyebrow? That’s the question being asked in light of Enbridge, Inc.’s ongoing attempts to construct a route from Canada to Texas, a “Keystone XL on steroids” that has only recently started attracting attention.

Success, according to Winston Churchill, “is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” By that definition the oil pipeline giant Enbridge, Inc. is surely among the most successful companies in the world today. Enbridge is still picking up the pieces from the one of the biggest industrial accidents in U.S. history, 2010′s million-gallon tar sands spill into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan, a debacle that led to record fines and the dubious honor of national name recognition (ask Exxon’s Valdez team how that feels). And now it’s becoming clear that the company is trying to expand its empire from the Midwest to Texas and the coast of Maine, with several projects in the works that could blow rival TransCanada Corp’s “Keystone XL” pipeline project out of the water by comparison.

Enbridge’s Tar Sands Frankenstein

We’ve already taken a look at Enbridge’s covert plans in New England and the Great Lakes region, but they’re jumping into the ring in the Midwest and Texas, too: Enbridge is trying to rig up a network of pipelines to send 35 million barrels per day (about the same amount as KXL) from Canada to the Gulf coast. When you factor in their proposed Northern Gateway pipeline (22 million gallons per day across sensitive habitat in western Canada), Enbridge could increase its tar sands capacity by over 100 million gallons per day, sending the toxic sludge East, South, West, and on around the world.

Map: US Department of State/Peter LaFontaine

Let’s check out the Texas plan for a minute. The company is welding together old pipelines and new ones, reversing the flow on some and pumping up the volume on others, building their very own Frankenstein pipeline down to the Gulf coast.

Lena Moffitt over at the Sierra Club sketched out Enbridge’s “connect-the-dots” approach, which makes it easier for the company to dodge regulators and avoid a knock-down, drag-out fight like the one TransCanada is in over Keystone.

First, Enbridge is trying to expand the “Alberta Clipper” pipeline, which brings tar sands oil from mines in Alberta across the U.S. border to Wisconsin. Second, they would connect the Alberta Clipper to “Line 61,” which runs from Wisconsin to Illinois. Line 61 would link up to the “Flanagan South” pipeline (which isn’t built yet, but Enbridge is working feverishly to get permitted) that runs from Illinois to Oklahoma. And last, the “Seaway” pipeline would carry that oil from Oklahoma to Houston, TX, where it could be refined and shipped overseas for billions in profits.

The zig-zag route cuts through North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, placing an enormous section of the United States at risk for a spill—including the Mississippi River and hundreds of other waterways.

Enbridge Expansion Vs. Keystone XL

How does this project stack up against the other monster tar sands pipeline? Both top out around 35 million barrels per day, but the Enbridge project has nearly 700 miles more pipe, all of which is prone to leaks and spills.

	Enbridge Expansion	Keystone XL
Company	Enbridge, Inc.	TransCanada Corp.
Length	2,609 miles	1,962 miles
Gallons per day (max capacity)	35,700,000	34,860,000
States crossed	8	6
Cost	unknown	$7 billion
Major waterways and aquifers crossed	Mississippi River, Missouri River, Arkansas River, Red River, Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer (TX)	Yellowstone River, Platte River, Ogallala aquifer, Arkansas River, Red River, Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer

Keeping the Monster At Bay

If Keystone XL is the “zombie pipeline” that won’t die, it’s pretty clear the Enbridge expansion is the “Frankenstein” of tar sands. The patchwork, 2,600 mile pipeline is right out of a mad scientist’s dream. (photo: Riccardo Cuppini/flickr)

If you’ve followed the fight over tar sands at all, you know that it’s one of the biggest threats to our global climate. You also know that tar sands pipelines pose an huge risk to people and wildlife, even more so because this company in particular treats disasters like just another day at the office: a recent NWF report found that Enbridge was responsible for over 800 spills in the last decade, totaling almost seven million gallons of crude oil. As if we needed the point underscored, a week after the report was released, an Enbridge pipeline in Wisconsin burst, sending 50,000 gallons onto farmland.

Fortunately, we can still prevent Enbridge from building its tar sands monster. National Wildlife Federation and other groups are working to prevent the Alberta Clipper expansion, which we believe needs a presidential permit from the U.S. State Department. And we also have a chance to shut down the Flanagan South pipeline before it starts, by building opposition in Kansas, Illinois, and Missouri, where the governors and state agencies can step in. This campaign is in the opening stages, so keep an eye out for news on how you can get involved.

We started off with a quote, so let’s end on one, too—this time from everyone’s favorite Midwestern billionaire, Warren Buffett:

Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.

The United States desperately needs to stop patching leaks.

Urge the U.S. State Department to thoroughly review the risks of tar sands pipeline projects.

Beyond the Zombie Pipeline – What’s Next For Dirty Tar Sands?

Peter LaFontaine — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:55:29 +0000

Keystone XL—the zombie pipeline—just won’t stay dead. Only two weeks ago, President Obama gave his official (and supposedly game-ending) thumbs down, but Big Oil’s friends in Congress are working overtime to push this nightmare onto the American people. While KXL has gotten the most attention from green groups and Oilies alike, there are other major projects in the works to pump dirty tar sands into the outrageously profitable global oil market. Here’s a roundup of the big ones:

Brains? Or dirty oil money? Seems like Big Oil lobbyists are hungry for both. (Photo: Daniel Hollister/flickr)

Keystone XL Gulf Coast Segment – TransCanada Corporation

No, you didn’t misread that. If KXL is the zombie pipeline, this project is the severed arm moving on its own accord. The Gulf Coast Segment would be a scaled-down section of the original KXL proposal that begins at Cushing, Oklahoma and ends at oil refineries in Port Arthur, Texas. Because it doesn’t cross an international border, TransCanada is likely to claim it doesn’t need a Presidential Permit, which would mean that Obama doesn’t get to make an executive decision on the merits of the case.

According to landowners in Texas, TransCanada is planning to start digging trenches for the pipeline through their land as early as next month, even though the company hasn’t secured the necessary state and federal permits. Considering how much heat the company has already caught for bullying landowners, you would think they learned their lesson. Apparently not.

Seaway Reversal – Enbridge Inc. and Enterprise Product Partners

Enbridge is another major North American pipeline company whose name you may have heard: they were responsible for last summer’s massive tar sands spill in Michigan’s Kalamazoo River. The Seaway pipeline is already built, and follows a path similar to the KXL Gulf Coast Segment. But right now, the oil flows north from Texas to storage tanks in Cushing, where it eventually reaches Midwestern consumers. Enbridge recently bought 50% of this pipeline and plans to reverse the flow to send oil south from Cushing to the Gulf Coast. News of the change sent a shockwave through the oil markets and increased the cost of West Texas Intermediate crude (which is the benchmark for US oil prices).

Flanagan South – Enbridge Inc.

The Flanagan South pipeline would link Cushing (and the Seaway pipeline) to Enbridge’s existing system near Chicago. The Chicago area is already home to several tar sands refineries and the industry is rolling along even in the face of public resistance.

In case you’re wondering why Cushing, Oklahoma, is so important: the town is a major oil hub supplied in part by the first Keystone tar sands pipeline, built in 2010. Oil reserves there have built up because there aren’t enough pipelines to get Cushing oil to the Gulf Coast for export, and TransCanada’s own documents make it clear why they want to build a link:

“Access to the [U.S. Gulf Coast] via the Keystone XL Pipeline is expected to strengthen Canadian crude oil pricing in PADD II [the Midwestern states] by removing this oversupply. This is expected to increase the price of heavy crude to the equivalent cost of imported crude.” (From TransCanada’s project application to the Canadian government)

Kinder Morgan--like TransCanada and Enbridge--has seen its share of disaster. This 2008 explosion at their terminal in Pasadena, TX was just one of many incidents over the last decade. (Photo: Christopher Ebdon/flickr)

This means consumers will pay more at the pump, all so Big Oil can pad its profits. Not a bad deal…for the oil companies.

Northern Gateway – Enbridge Inc.

The Northern Gateway project is Canada’s version of Keystone XL, a multi-billion dollar project that’s become a national controversy, due to Enbridge’s nasty track record and their insistence that the pipeline cut across native tribes’ land. In fact, united opposition by First Nations indigenous groups has effectively stalled out the pipeline, which would bring oil west from Alberta’s tar sands to the Pacific port of Kitimat, British Columbia. But Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is a major proponent of both the Northern Gateway and Keystone XL, and has made construction a priority for his administration.

Trans Mountain Pipeline – Kinder Morgan Energy Partners

Kinder Morgan is moving forward to significantly expand its Trans Mountain Pipeline, which runs from Edmonton to Vancouver. In addition to the many dangers of tar sands mining and transport, the expansion would also triple the amount of supertanker traffic in Puget Sound, requiring port expansion and dredging which will impact local communities and wildlife. Many Big Oil insiders consider this an easier project than the Northern Gateway pipeline, despite opposition from the public and regional mayors.

Trailbreaker – Enbridge, Inc.

Trailbreaker is the Northeast’s version of the Seaway project – it would reverse the flow of existing pipelines to send tar sands oil from Ontario to Portland, Maine, via Vermont and New Hampshire. Like Keystone XL, Trailbreaker crosses an international border and would therefore likely require a Presidential permit. While this project would face stiff opposition, the fact that it could transport a quarter million barrels annually makes it worth keeping a wary eye on.

Stay Tuned…

National Wildlife Federation is committed to fighting tar sands and other dirty fuels, and we scored a big win with President Obama’s rejection of the KXL permit. But it’s clear that Big Oil will keep lurching forward with efforts to get their product overseas, so don’t throw away your shovels and baseball bats just yet.

Urge President Obama to stand strong to protect wildlife against Big Oil.

For more info on tar sands impacts on wildlife and human health, visit www.NWF.org/tarsands