Psst! Kristi! Mike! Keystone XL is long dead. Its defeated Canadian builder, TCEnergy/TransCanada says so:
“The Keystone XL pipeline project was terminated in June 2021 and will not proceed,” TC Energy said in an email.
“TC Energy has now disposed of almost all of its project-related assets in South Dakota,” the Canadian company said in a new report that lists the steps it’s taken to exit the state [Arielle Zionts, “Republicans Want Keystone XL Pipeline But Company Says the Project ‘Will Not Proceed’,” SDPB, 2022.03.10].
All that’s left to completely shutter Keystone XL in South Dakota is for us to give TC Energy back its road bond:
The company is also asking the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission for permission to terminate its $15.6 million road bond.
Canceling this bond would be TC Energy’s “final step in front of the PUC,” according to staff attorney Kristen Edwards [Zionts, 2022.03.10].
So I guess if Governor Noem wants to make it look like she’s keeping Keystone XL alive, she should hurry up to the PUC meeting room and tell Commissioners Nelson, Hanson, and Fiegen that they should withhold that road bond. I’m sure TC Energy will appreciate that gesture of support.
When the right-a-ways through South Dakota are erased from property titles, the ghost of XL will be gone forever. Or, kept in place for the next nut job to gain the presidency. Nothing is ever over until all evidence of presence is eliminated, and not allowed to linger.
RST is correct. It may be lying in its pile of its own vomit and excrement with a barely perceptible heartbeat, but it is still possible for someone to resurrect XL, or something similar. That’s the lesson of multiple South Dakota projects that should have died a quick death but, because of corruption of the political and economic elites, limped along for far longer than they should have.
Someone needs to remind Republicans that the train can’t go any faster than 10 MPH between Fort Pierre and Wall because the geology destroys the rail bed every year.
Donald says” It may be lying in its pile of its own vomit and excrement “. That is exactly where
SD repubs do their best work. Probably establish a committee to study to wallow in it for scent to carry it forward.
Why do they want to help the socialist Canadians?
Keep hope alive: keep the road bond!
They can keep the road bond, but they have to have a legally justifiable reason. If the PUC wants to contest the adequacy of the reclamation, they can, or they can stall a bit by saying they need time over a growing season to see if reclamation is adequate. That is justifiable. They might be able to put off giving the bond back,or some part thereof, until any corrective actions are taken. If they find anything that has violated the permit or state law or regulation, they are in better shape to withhold the bond.
iirc, the original Keystone pipeline has a wide enough easement to co-locate at least one more pipeline.
We must together. Work together. To see where we are. Where we are headed, where we are going and our vision for where we should be. But also see it was a moment to, yes. Together, address the challenges and to work on the opportunities that are presented by this moment.