Environmentalists Make Another Run At The Keystone Pipeline
After President Trump’s inauguration one of his first actions as president was to approve the Keystone Pipeline.
Once again the environmentalists are pulling out all the legal stops they can think of to block the construction.
For the benefit of those who may not be aware the Keystone Pipeline already exists. It was approved by George W. Bush and build in 2008 over ten years ago.
Keystone Pipeline Refresher Course
The 2008 Keystone Pipeline started in Canada and passes through North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and part of Illinois.
The proposed new expansion of the Keystone Pipeline that Trump approved will include the northeast corner of Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska and end at the Kansas border.
The southern leg goes from Cushing, Oklahoma, across Texas ending in a split between Port Arthur and Houston, Texas. The southern leg has been completed.
What’s The Problem With This Pipeline Addition?
Compared to the existing Keystone Pipeline, that runs from inside Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, with a spur running into refineries in Illinois, — the one Trump approved will be much shorter.
For environmentalists the most common tactics used are that there’s some endangered species it will affect, or it passes too close to some underground aquifer.
The other tactic is that there will be plenty of jobs while the pipeline is being built but few after it’s completed.
This is true — few jobs will be needed to maintain it once the pipeline is in operation.
Construction of the original 2008 Keystone pipeline contributed about $3.4 billion to the US GDP while being built.
How Would $63 Million A Year Sound To You Montana?
While a completed Keystone pipeline would produce few jobs after completion that doesn’t mean that Montana won’t see big bucks.
TransCanada, the company that will put in the pipeline, will pay an estimated $63 million dollars in property taxes to some of the poorest counties in Montana for every year the pipeline is in existence for the use of that property.
Some Final Thoughts
Each year the safety systems of pipelines are improved. There are almost as many liquid pipelines below ground as there are Interstate highways above ground.
They’re everywhere.
To sum up — you have a foreign company, TransCanada, paying for the pipeline construction that will benefit American workers, and that same company will fork over $63 million each year in property taxes to Montana counties, plus the cost of any environmental damage or clean up is on them, not US taxpayers .
Sure sounds like a win-win for the people of Montana. I think it’s time we stood up to environmentalists that don’t live here — yet want to deny us the benefits of this project for their own selfish ideologies. I say build it as quickly as possible.
What say you? Comments below.