Transcript Slide 1

Plains Justice
Environmental Justice for the Great Plains
Keystone XL:
Local Concerns
Paul Blackburn, J.D.
Staff Attorney, Plains Justice
100 East Main Street
Vermillion, SD 57069
Tel. 605-675-9268
[email protected]
Landowner Background
Client: Dakota Rural Action
• Members are mostly
farmers and ranchers
• Primarily concerned
about agricultural issues
• Members run cow calf,
row crop, other
• Members generally not
philosophically opposed to
oil development
• They do not run pipeline
companies or regulate
pipelines
State Regulatory Setting
• South Dakota Public Utility Commission
(SDPUC)
• Does not have routing authority
• No delegation to state of liquid pipelines
safety regulation
Pipeline Safety
Concerns
• Setbacks
• Special Permit
• Impacts on groundwater
• Routing
• Reclamation after
construction and
abandonment
• Right of way
maintenance
• Identification of HCAs
• Pressure study
• Notification of incidents
and safety conditions
• Pipeline construction
standards / use of
substandard materials
• Training/coordination
with first responders
• Participation in ERP
development
• Distribution of asconstructed maps to
landowners
By the Way, Other Concerns
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Road issues
Liability for damages
Perpetual easements
Confidentiality clauses
Future easement use
Survey access
Easement payments
Devaluation of
property
• Need for pipeline
• Impacts on soils
• Paleontological
resources
• Appropriate
replanting
• Environmental review
• Review of tax
estimates
• Use of American steel
• Impact on local
electrical power costs
An Enormous Burden
for Everyday People
• Complex regulatory structure
• Complex public/private hearing rights and
opportunities
• Large number of impacts and issues
• Tremendous learning curve
• Diverse and complex technical issues
• Distant agencies
• Impossible time requirements
• Significant financial impacts
State Action on
Pipeline Safety Issues
• Due to federal preemption the SDPUC cannot grant any
safety-related relief
• Regardless, the SDPUC took evidence on compliance with
federal law, but refused to allow discovery
• The result is that landowners see state review of federal
pipeline safety issues, but are upset when the state
refuses to take action on pipeline safety
• In addition, some landowner concerns can be addressed
through easement negotiations
Department of State NEPA Lead?
• EO 13337: national interest determination is
limited to foreign affair issues, such as
importation capacity and border crossing
location
• DOS has NO special capacity or authority to
regulate pipelines other than the location and
capacity of the border crossing
PHMSA Role
• PHMSA has more authority to regulate
pipelines than any federal or state agency
• PHMSA had no formal role in the Keystone 1
NEPA process
• Now that TransCanada has withdrawn its
special permit application, the DEIS does not
identify any PHMSA action subject to NEPA
• PHMSA has NO public hearing process for any
of its pipeline safety actions, other than
special permits
Routing
• PHMSA does not have routing authority
• DOS does not have routing authority (except
for location of border crossing)
• No other federal agency has routing authority
• Many states do not have routing authority;
Montana does
• No counties have routing authority
• AND YET, the DOS DEIS considers alternative
interstate routes
Nearly Unlimited Waiver Discretion
• Limited only be the phrase “not inconsistent
with pipeline safety”
• Remarkably broad waiver authority to waive
safety standards
No Formal Public Participation
in PHMSA Project Actions
• PHMSA regulations provide no formal public
hearing opportunities , except special permits
(for now), even though there is no legal bar
• Informal conversations (not trusted)
• After the fact review is difficult and may come
too late
• PHMSA’s project-specific regulatory actions
are secret while they are happening
TRUST
• Complex regulatory process that only an industry
lawyer could love
• Very broad agency discretion
• No formal public participation on agency projectspecific work, except for special permits
• Close working relationship between PHMSA and
regulated community
And you have to ask
why the public doesn’t trust you?
Plains Justice
Paul Blackburn
100 First Street Southwest
Cedar Rapids, IA 52406
Tel. 319-362-2120
http://www.plainsjustice.org
[email protected]