Oil Spills Are Keystone XL’s Greatest Threat to Environment, Limited US State Department Report Concludes

The US State Department environmental assessment identified an oil spill as the most likely threat the Keystone XL Pipeline presents to the environment. The report relies upon a Canadian Government study for its analysis of environmental impacts North of the border.  The US segment of the pipeline is expected to have CO2 emissions – from “fuel use in construction vehicles and equipment, as well as, land clearing activities including open burning, and indirectly from electricity usage” – that will be the equivalent of 300,000 cars.  “Climate changes are anticipated to occur regardless of any potential effects from the proposed Project,” the report states, but it also showed there is a substantial risk of a major oil spill. There were 1,692 pipeline “incidents” in the US during the six month period they studied. (1,027 of these were from the equipment used on pipelines and 321 were directly connected to pipelines.)  There have been mixed reactions to this report.

Oil Spills Are Keystone XL’s Greatest Threat to Environment, Limited US State Department Report Concludes