Bike billboards are circulating in DC to show that over 1 million comments were generated against Keystone XL. Photo: League of Conservation Voters

KXL Opponents Make Voices Heard

Following the close of the 45-day public comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) of the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline, more than one million comments—including  nearly 100,000 from National Wildlife Federation supporters—were delivered to the U.S. State Department. These messages came from Americans from all across the country and all walks of life, but they carried one common message: that this risky and unnecessary project puts our wildlife, water, land, and communities in jeopardy, and President Obama and Secretary Kerry should reject it.

This impressive total follows hundreds of opponents that testified—including ranchers, farmers and landowners who would be directly impacted by the pipeline—at the State Department’s lone public hearing last week in Grand Island, Nebraska, despite a spring storm that brought sleet and snow. And earlier this year, more than 40,000 people descended on our nation’s capital to call for bold action by President Obama to tackle the climate crisis and reject Keystone XL.

The EPA Weighs In

Echoing these same serious concerns, yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its own comments on the DEIS, giving the project a score of 2—meaning “insufficient” – and rating the environmental impact of Keystone XL as “environmentally objectionable.” In a letter to the State Department, the EPA urged State to conduct a more thorough analysis of oil spill risks and alternative pipeline routes, as well as greenhouse gas emissions that will result from increased tar sands production.

Oiled duck from Mayflower Ark. oil spill. Photo by Lauren Ray.

Just earlier this month, the pipeline rupture in Arkansas that spilled at least 210,000 gallons of tar sands oil—forcing evacuations, and leaving wildlife coated in toxic oil and struggling to survive—raised new concerns about pipeline safety and the risks associated with transporting corrosive tar sands oil. The Keystone XL tar sands pipeline would carry almost nine times as much tar sands oil per day as the pipeline that burst in Arkansas.

What’s Next

Now, the State Department will incorporate comments from the public and federal agencies and release their final environmental report this summer, at which point President Obama will have 90 days to determine whether or not Keystone XL is in the national interest.

While momentum is on our side, the fight doesn’t stop here. Keep an eye out for upcoming opportunities to speak up against the Keystone XL pipeline this summer, as well as more ways you can take action to protect wildlife from dangerous tar sands oil.

Tweet it! 45 days, 1 million comments, 1 movement. The message #NoKXL couldn’t be clearer to @barackobama: Reject #KeystoneXL!

Now, it’s up to us to send a signal to the Obama administration they can’t ignore. The 45 day public comment period starts TODAY, and your voice is needed to keep up the fight for caribou and many more wildlife at risk from this catastrophic project.

Protect caribou by telling the Obama administration to address Keystone XL’s impacts on wildlife, habitat and climate change.

Photo: Flickr/peupleloup

State Department Analysis is Fatally Flawed

The State Department’s review ignores the massive impacts to wildlife from the Keystone XL pipeline by failing to:

• examine the effects on the boreal forest and its wildlife by enabling further tar sands development in Canada. If development continues unchecked, some caribou herds in the tar sands region could disappear in as little as 30 years.

• consider the enormous contributions to climate change. The expansion of tar sands extraction in Canada is exacerbating the climate crisis, which is fueling extreme weather events and putting wildlife in danger.

• adequately address the threats from pumping 800,000 barrels of tar sands oil per day along its route through America’s heartland. The pipeline would pass through the same migratory corridor that endangered whooping cranes use each spring–putting the rivers and wetlands on which they rely at risk of toxic oil spills.

Keystone XL Decision Looming

The fight to stop Keystone XL has been more than three years in the making. From emails, to hearings and rallies, to phone calls, and letters in your local newspapers–the efforts of dedicated people like you have been critical in halting this dangerous project thus far, and now we must see it to the end.

We’re expecting a final decision on Keystone XL by President Obama this year. Fortunately, we have a critical opportunity right now to make sure the effects on wildlife, habitat, and climate change are included in the final review. Our wildlife and future generations are depending on it.

Over 440,000 people submitted comments to the State Department last month asking them to include the project’s impact on climate when assessing the new route. The climate impacts of a project this dirty should be included in what is called a supplement environmental impact statement (SEIS) that is required by the state department in a situation where a project has had major changes.

In KXL’s case, they have had to reroute the northern segment to avoid Nebraska’s Sandhills.  Incredibly, last time TransCanada applied there was no assessment on potential climate impacts. Accordingto the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the Keystone XL pipeline has the potential to increase carbon pollution by 27 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of 6.2 million cars on the road for 50 years. Let’s do it right this time.

Protesting the KXL Pipeline in DC Photo: Marine Jaouen)

Speaking Out

Millions of people have been voicing their concerns about this project and what it means for future generations. The United States needs to weigh the climate impacts of energy projects before moving forward on them. We know climate change is happening now, and we cannot continue to ignore the impacts we are already enduring. Climate scientist, James Hansen, has warned that developing tar sands would be “game over for the climate.” The Obama Administration has made a commitment to mitigate climate change in his famous speech where he said, “this was the moment when … the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.” So what legacy do we want to leave for our kids?

The development of tar sands means investing in one of the dirtiest forms of energy on the planet.  That is why millions of people have joined together in the fight against the Keystone XL pipeline–a project that would drive a massive expansion of habitat-destroying tar sands operations.

Speak up to protect our climate and wildlife!

Round Goby (Ohio Sea Grant)

 The EPA’s proposed permit comes on the heels of a long legal battle by NWF and others to force the agency to effectively regulate ballast water under the Clean Water Act.  The new proposal is a marginal improvement over previous regulations, but still allows the discharge of invasive species into the Great Lakes at significant levels.

 EPA will entertain public comments on its proposal from now until February 21, 2012.  NWF will submit written comments to EPA and the states urging them to strengthen the permit.  Watch this space for a summary of NWF’s comments that you can use as a basis for submitting your own.