Nebraskans Testify Against Keystone XL Pipeline

York, NE -- Today, the Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC) is holding its lone public comment meeting along the proposed path of the Keystone XL pipeline. The meeting is offering Nebraskans the opportunity to debate whether it should grant TransCanada the permit necessary to construct the pipeline. While hundreds showed up to the meeting today, the Public Service Commission is only allowing fewer than 150 Nebraskans to speak.

TransCanada has secured most other necessary state and federal permits to construct the tar sands pipeline, but does not have a clear path through Nebraska, and will use eminent domain to seize landowner’s property. The pipeline’s proposed path will cut through Nebraska’s sandhills and the Ogallala Aquifer, which is one of the country's largest sources of freshwater.

In response, Sierra Club Nebraska Chair Candy Bless released the following statement:

“Nebraskans know what’s best for our state -- not foreign oil companies -- and we don’t want a tar sands pipeline threatening our properties, our sandhills, or our aquifers. We’ve seen pipelines across the country be labeled as the safest one yet, but ultimately, they almost all spill. TransCanada, a company whose Keystone I pipeline spilled 12 times in its first 12 months in operation, cannot be taken for its word that our land and our water will be spared. The Public Service Commission must listen to Nebraskans and reject this dirty and dangerous proposal.”

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