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KXL pipeline no longer newsworthy?

Does it seem to you, because it does to me, that the national media can’t walk and chew gum at the same time? Unquestionably, the story of our moment is the COVID-19 pandemic and, without question, that story deserves the majority of news space and time. Endless stories, endless facts, endless rumors, endless experts, endless partisanship, all wrapped up in the 24-7 news cycle. It is, without doubt, a tragedy unfolding day-by-day and deserving of coverage.

But what of the other news? What would have been front-page stories don’t see the light of day. One story I have been particularly close to for the past 11 years is the Keystone XL pipeline. It has been a major story for the past decade and the reason why is because it is an unjust attempt by a foreign corporation to take control of private property held by farmers and ranchers across several midwestern states.

TransCanada, now called TC Energy, wants to build a 36-inch pipeline from Alberta, Canada to get their filthy tar sand oil to Port Arthur, Texas. That isn’t your conventional crude oil, as it is strip-mined from arboreal forests. The gooey mixture, with consistence of peanut butter, is diluted with lighter hydrocarbons, which contain massive quantities of benzene, a known cancer-causing chemical, then pumped into a pipeline at nearly 1,000 pounds of pressure to a refinery not in Canada but nearly 2,000 miles away in Texas.

It is an insane idea, which is why it has faced so many obstacles.

Like what, you might say? First, it would lay above and in some cases directly in the Ogallala Aquifer that supplies fresh water for eight Midwestern states. And pipelines leak, evident by the Enbridge Inc. spill in 2010 that dumped over 1 million gallons of that toxic tar sand into the Kalamazoo River near Marshall, Michigan. TC Energy’s Keystone I pipeline, put into service in 2009, has leaked 21 times in just nine years, and there is little doubt the KXL pipeline, larger than the Keystone I, would do the same.

Even our own government doesn’t believe tar sand is oil. Oil companies must pay 9 cents per barrel into the Pipeline Spill Liability Trust Fund to cover the massive expense of those spills, but not tar sand, as the Ways and Means Committee declared years ago that tar sand was neither oil nor petroleum, therefore not subject to the tax.

And what of personal property rights? TC Energy threatens to sue private landowners by using eminent domain laws to take a permanent easement of their land, an easement that lasts forever. Since when is it OK for a foreign corporation to use eminent domain laws for personal gain?

It isn’t. It’s unjustifiable.

Back when this started, TC Energy told us the pipeline was so we could be energy-independent, but now we are energy-independent and no longer need or want the tar sand toxic brew. Michigan realized that way back in 2010, after our tar sand spill, and banned it from coming into our state. It sinks in water, unlike conventional crude, which generally floats and can be skimmed off. It took five years and over $1 billion dollars to clean up the Kalamazoo spill.

Despite the overwhelming objection to the KXL pipeline and many court rulings calling for the immediate halt of construction, TC Energy continues to carry on, seemingly disregarding those legal rulings. Just a week ago, trainloads of 36-inch pipeline were offloaded in David City, Nebraska. After watching video of those trains unloading, I looked for a news account of the story. Crickets! I can’t find anything.

This is more than just a writer expressing an opinion. I have lived this for 11 years. I have attended State Department hearings and seen grown men on the verge of tears. I have interviewed TC Energy officials that lied to me, called out politicians who have been caught in their own lies and flip-flopped after heavy lobbying campaigns. I know families personally touched by the bullying tactics of TC Energy, and have seen the power of big money versus the struggle of the individual, and it is past time for this lunacy to stop once and for all.

I have seen coalitions of farmers, ranchers and Native Americans formed based on their belief of right versus wrong, not right versus left. It is an American David and Goliath story that cries out to the news media to listen to their concerns, so, call me crazy, but when the news media ignores a story that has been front and center for a decade, a story interwoven with dirty politics, lies and deceit, courtrooms, hearings, countless protests, and personal sacrifice, I say to them, spit out the gum and try to do two things at once.

As always, feel free to share your opinion with me at gregawtry@awtry.com.

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