The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission will take up TransCanada’s application to renew its permit to build Keystone XL across West River in two weeks. The hearing begins on Tuesday, May 5, and proceeds through Friday, May 8, in Pierre.
No KXL Dakota, Dakota Rural Action and the Indigenous Environmental Network* are organizing some horsepower to rally opposition to Keystone XL as the hearing beings:
On May 3-4, horse riders from the Four Directions will be riding into Fort Pierre in preparation for the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission hearings on Keystone XL. We are asking Pipeline Fighters from across South Dakota and across the country and world to join with the horse riders in Fort Pierre (exact location TBA) at 3:00pm Mountain Time/4:00pm Central Time on Monday, May 4th, to march with the riders across the Missouri River into Pierre, bringing our prayers, thoughts, energy, and PEOPLE POWER to stop Keystone XL in South Dakota! We will finish the march with a water ceremony and rally at the Steamboat Park Amphitheater.
The PUC hearings start at 9amCT in Pierre, SD and will go all week. We encourage people to say overnight Monday night, and we will update the event as we find our more information about when the time for public input will be held. JOIN US to show our power and STOP Keystone XL! [Four Directions River Ride and March Against Keystone XL, Facebook post, downloaded 2015.04.20]
Get on your horse and ride… for a safer environment for South Dakota and smarter investment in clean, sustainable energy for America!
*Correction 11:30 CDT: The original version of this post incorrectly cited Four Directions as the organizer of this event. I regret the error and have revised the headline and third sentence to name the organizing groups.
Related Reading:
- Reverse-NIMBY: the Washington Post reports that the closer one gets to the pipeline, the less partisan the debate becomes, and the more the exaggerated promises of jobs and economic benefits are beating environmental concerns.
- Canadian companies are responding to the transportation bottleneck by building more storage for their tar sands. (Note: this source reminds us that building Keystone XL is about “getting the crude to the highest priced market.”)
- The Keystone XL delay and oil price drop haven’t stopped TransCanada from increasing its dividend for fifteen straight years and planning to raise the dividend 8% more through 2017.
- In 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was inclined to sign off on Keystone XL. In 2015, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton won’t say where she stands on Keystone XL.
- The global oil price plunge pushed Canada’s oil sands to shed 20,000 jobs from September 2014 to February 2015, but Canada’s oilers say they’ll ride it out and keep increasing production.
- Canada realizes that selling nearly all of its oil and natural gas to the United States makes for a restricted portfolio; officials say they want to diversify their export market (again, code for Keystone XL moves oil overseas).
- Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper clarifies his position: he doesn’t oppose Keystone XL; he thinks pipelines are the safest way to transport oil; but he thinks Alberta should impose a “green tax” to pay for the environmental externalities of dirtier tar sands oil.
More information about the ride/march can be found on the Four Directions… Facebook page. Bicyclists also welcome in the event. This is an opportunity for all people that realize the need to protect our water to attend an event to show solidarity. Mni Wiconi, Lakota for “water is life”.
So Hill was for it before she was not sure of her position. Brilliant.