Indian Country 52 #2 – No KXL

Articles

“An association representing 16 American Indian tribes in three states along the Keystone XL pipeline route sent a letter to President Barack Obama this week urging him to reject the pipeline permit application.

The association represents tribes in South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska, and is also seeking a meeting with Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to discuss their concerns about the pipeline.

Steele writes that four tribes have signed on as interveners in the South Dakota proceedings: the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the Yankton Sioux Tribe. “The pipeline is planned to traverse through our homelands that still possess substantial treaty obligations, cultural and natural resources and water rights for all the Great Plains tribes,” wrote Steele.”

– Huffington Post, Tribes In Three States Ask Obama Administration To Reject Keystone XL.

“The potential impact on western South Dakota’s grasslands is an issue that concerns Paul Seamans, a Dakota Rural Action board member who lives in Draper along the pipeline’s proposed path.

When Keystone XL’s construction permit was initially approved in 2010, a list of 50 conditions included restoring and replanting land disrupted by the project. Seamans says it will take years for the land to bounce back, however.

“Native grass doesn’t just come back,” Seamans said. “It takes a lot of love and tender care to bring it back to where it was before.”

The larger question of climate change has become a more serious focus in the state since 2008, Seamans said. Oil from Alberta’s tar sands is more difficult to extract and dirtier than other options, he said.

The potential environmental impact of the fuel played into President Barack Obama’s refusal last year to approve the pipeline’s construction.

With the U.S. Senate in the hands of Republicans thanks to November’s mid-term elections, Keystone’s supporters are anxious to bring the pipeline back into public focus, as well.

South Dakota Sen. John Thune told Fox News Sunday that the President ought to approve the pipeline, and that he hopes the Senate can force his hand through legislation. Incoming Sen. Mike Rounds, elected by South Dakotans to replace retiring Sen. Tim Johnson, said he plans to sponsor legislation calling for a permit as one of his first acts in national office.”

– Argus Leader, Keystone XL pipeline is back in eye in S.D.