Agricultural News
Pipeline Facing Hurdles Including NFU
Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:00:02 CDT
Hurdles remain before TransCanada Corporation can begin building a pipeline from Canada, through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. The pipeline would carry crude oil from the tar sands of Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries. The diluted bitumen, a thick, heavy, corrosive and toxic form of crude oil is associated with pipeline ruptures at 16 times the rate of conventional crude. TransCanada reports the pipeline would raise the price Midwestern refineries would pay for crude oil by as much as 5-billion dollars, increasing the price of gasoline up to 20 cents per gallon.
One of the Hurdles TransCanada faces is the National Farmers Union. NFU recently adopted strong policies opposing any project that threatens water supplies and condemning the use of unfair tactics to secure right-of-way from farmers and other landowners. The resolution comes in response to farmers' concerns and was adopted at NFU's recent national convention.
The new policy sates, in part, "We oppose any infrastructure or resource development that jeopardizes the health, safety and quality of the Ogallala Aquifer and other freshwater resources. It opposes the use of eminent domain without the developer putting into place environmental safeguards and assuming liability for damages, and calls for transparency, public input, fair compensation to landowners, and a process to deal with landowner and public complaints and conflicts."
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