Unlike Kristi Noem, the Public Utilities Commission really is seeking public input on the Keystone XL oil pipeline. The PUC is hosting a public input session on Monday, July 6 at the State Capitol to hear public opinions on the pipeline TransCanada wants to build to ship Alberta tar sands oil across West River. The PUC is even holding the session from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. CDT to allow working folks to make the meeting. That’s darned hospitable of you, Commissioners Hanson, Nelson, and Fiegen!
Ah, but there are rules:
- A commenter must state his/her name, address and organization, if any.
- In order to provide equal speaking opportunity, a five-minute time limit will be allowed for each commenter. A commenter may not yield remaining time he/she may have to another speaker.
- Commenters should not read published documents, such as reports or newsletter articles, as part of their verbal comments but rather submit those items to the commission to become part of the public record for this docket [South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, press release, 2015.06.22].
Five minutes—keep it tight!
And remember, this meeting isn’t the big enchilada. The PUC will hold its evidentiary hearing on TransCanada’s application to renew its pipeline construction permit July 27 through August 4 in Pierre.
Related Reading:Alberta’s new premier Rachel Notley says shipping unprocessed bitumen via Keystone XL to create jobs in Texas doesn’t make much sense to her.
- West Texas Intermediate crude is at $60.93 this morning.
- Canadian oil producers are predicting a decade of slower growth in production and a third less investment in the oil sands.
- TransCanada is cutting jobs, due to low oil prices.
- If Rachel Notley and the New Democrats running Alberta don’t doom Keystone XL, maybe Pope Francis will. Rick Weiland reads the Pope’s stirring encyclical Laudato Si’ and concludes that the Pope’s acknowledgement of manmade climate change affirms Weiland’s longstanding call to stop Keystone XL.
The Japanese, the Chinese, the Indians, and even the Saudis are investing big in solar power. Morgan Stanley says demand for solar power will grow 47 gigawatts per year through 2020. That’s enough juice to power 32.5 million more homes each year without carbon emissions.
Unfortunately for SoDak,you won’t be dealing with competent,un-corruptible, upright citizen legislators. Nosiree.
Looks like your best hope is the Canadian lawmakers and then you got to hope Jackley doesn’t sue them in federal court for something to do.
That near top ‘o the blog advertiser on Mr. Power’s blog “AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY” isn’t really promoting an end to the death tax which affects less than 2% of USA farmers. AFP (a subsidiary of KOCH BROTHERS, the largest foreign investor in Alberta petro sludge) is just paying the blogster to promote Keystone XL. i.e. (The Kochs inherited a big pile of money and interests in coal and carbon based pollution producers. They DID have a choice when it became evident that their products were losing favor with the USA. Like tobacco investors they could have diversified and within a decade or two been positioned to remain at the top of the wealth food chain. HOWEVER, they chose not to diversify out of the carbon-killers and instead buy politicians and pundits with campaign donations and advertising deals in order to fight pollution regulations (Keytone XL, EPA’s new water regulations, climate change scientists etc.) and keep their outdated and poisonous products on the market albeit “hanging by their fingernails”. No sympathy for the Kochs from me. They chose this road and now they need to feel the bumps and monetary losses of progress.
This PUC comment hearing is an opportunity for people to bring up issues that won’t be allowed during the actual permit hearings. You want to talk climate change related to the Keystone XL, then you have five minutes to talk about it whereas during the permit hearings you are not allowed to talk about that subject. Do you want to talk about the Keystone XL crossing 1868 Laramie treaty land? Then here’s your chance. Hopefully the news media will be there to pick up on some of these important issues.
With a little careful work beforehand you can fit a lot of important thoughts into five minutes of testimony. Everyone is eligible to speak at this meeting.
I heard that Bakken oil production in ND is currently shut down. Can anyone confirm that this is true?
Tripp County commissioners minutes in today’s weekly paper indicated they were sending a letter of support to the PUC for the XL pipeline. When one of the commissioners was asked why, he responded, “Because the PUC requested a letter of support.”
If that is true, it raises several questions. Why is PUC requesting such a letter? And, why are our commissioners giving them what they want when those same commissioners regularly turn down reasonable, logical requests from their own local constituents?
The PUC requested the letter of support? I’d like to make sure the commissioner is explaining that communication correctly. Douglas, can you shoot a picture of that quote in your paper and publish it on your blog?
Union Co, CNBC reports today that Bakken production is definitely slowing, but not stopping. 77 oil rigs were active in North Dakota this month, down from 145 in June 2014.
KXL keeps looking stupider and stupider. The Alberta woman who is leading her province sounds smarter than the conservative types who preceded her. Evidently Albertans themselves got smarter too, because they elected her.
TransCanada’s flunkies have been going to county commissioners meetings across the state attempting to get them to send a letter of support to the PUC. I don’t think a lot of people realize that only counties along the Keystone XL will receive any of the property tax revenues from the pipeline, and then only a small portion that TransCanada so blatantly promises. Counties along Keystone 1 are receiving a third of the promised $9 million. And because of the way that state aid to education is structured the counties will forgo much of that new tax revenue from TransCanada because they will now have higher local effort and will give back dollar for dollar until the state aid is zeroed out.
It was a verbal comment from a commissioner via telephone. It is possible the speaker or the hearer got it wrong. They also said Montana was getting the same treatment and giving support to XL. This may have to be rumor until I can confirm it myself for sure.