Rep. Schakowsky responds to State Department Keystone XL SEIS

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky released the following statement in response to the State Department’s Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement:

“The State Department’s Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement significantly underestimates the emissions and climate impacts of the pipeline, mistakenly assuming that without Keystone XL, the Alberta Tar Sands would be produced at the same rate.

“Without the pipeline, the amount of toxic tar sands refined in the United States would be significantly less, and much of the oil might stay in the ground. A little over a year ago, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce found that ‘Canada needs pipe – and lots of it – to avoid the opportunity cost of stranding over a million barrels a day of potential crude oil growth.’ The State Department seemingly ignored that determination – and many similar findings – in its analysis.

“We know the risk of Keystone XL approval. Less than a year ago, an Exxon pipeline spilled more than 5,000 barrels of oil into the streets of Mayflower Arkansas, and in 2010, almost 20,000 barrels of oil spilled into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan. In both cases, land and water resources were severely damaged and people were forced to leave their homes behind. A study by a University of Nebraska professor concluded that 91 major spills can be expected from the XL pipeline over the lifetime of the pipeline.

“The Alberta Tar Sands produce 17 percent more carbon emissions than conventional oil. The refineries that receive the oil would put more harmful toxins into the air, and low- and middle-income families that live near those facilities would suffer the most.

“I hope that President Obama will consider the facts the State Department disregarded before making his decision over Keystone XL. We cannot turn a blind eye to the immense environmental and public health consequences of moving forward with this pipeline.”

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