Keystone XL Fallout: Energy advocates and politicians rally against Biden Energy policy

Aug. 28—SCRANTON, N.D. — Energy industry leaders, politicians and advocacy groups convened in an industrial yard amidst towering pipes, asserting their concerns over what they perceive as President Joe Biden's approach towards energy policies. The focus of their critique was the Keystone XL Pipeline, a project that intended to transport oil from Alberta to American refineries in the Gulf of Mexico, which proponents argued would have been a more efficient and safer mode of oil transportation.

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer attended and spoke at the gathering, organized as part of a nationwide tour by Americans For Prosperity, a political advocacy group promoting conservative and libertarian economic policies. The event drew attention to the economic and environmental implications of the pipeline's cancellation. Cramer noted he was heavily involved in early negotiations on the path of the pipeline as a member of North Dakota's Public Service Commission in the late 2000s. He explained that even though at that time virtually all of the oil was poised to come from Canada, North Dakotans were eager to help move it south. The original path only moved through the eastern half of the state.

Cramer's speech took a critical tone, suggesting that opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline was not solely about environmental concerns but also rooted in broader ideologies.

"Not one inch (of land for) that pipeline had to be condemned. All 600 landowners signed willingly. And again, no North Dakota oil, not anywhere near the Bakken. In other words, agribusiness people who understand the value of moving a valuable product, a valuable commodity (and wanted to be) part of the solution for energy independence" Cramer said. "The real issue with the Keystone XL Pipeline was more about 'we hate oil,' whether you're an environmental extremist or anti American, anti Canadian, they were going to stop it... This was going to be their Waterloo."

Environmentalists and other experts have argued that pipelines pose risks to the environment and local communities, and they have concerns about the extraction and transportation of fossil fuels.

Cramer also discussed the concentration of power within the executive branch, highlighting its consequences under the current administration's policies. He attributed rising costs of various goods to these policies, specifically mentioning the increases in gasoline and electricity prices.

"The thing about crossing an international border with an oil pipeline is that it requires a presidential permit. That gives an awful lot of power to the hands of one person," he said. "The cost of gasoline today is 62% higher than it was the day Joe Biden became the President of the United States. That's the consequence of bad public policy. The price of electricity is 24% higher."

Cramer said that as a Congressman in 2015 he introduced a bill to grant TC Energy the permit despite Obama's rejection, which passed both Houses of Congress but was five votes short of overriding Obama's veto in the Senate.

"The veto override, interestingly, got 62 votes in the Senate. So it wasn't like it was overwhelmingly opposed. But it was opposed enough that we couldn't override a presidential veto," he said. "I always say the same God who created that beauty above the ground, put the minerals underneath. He put them there for our benefit and his glory. And to squander it seems unethical."

The three primary phases of the broader pipeline have long been completed. This fourth phase, Keystone XL, would've run from Hardisty, Alberta, through Baker, MT, to Steele City, NE — the terminus of two existing pipelines in the TC Energy system. The XL project was delayed in late 2015 when then President Obama

refused

to grant a permit. Just over one year later President Trump

signed

executive orders to expedite permit approvals for the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines. Then four years later President Biden signed another executive order reinforcing the rejection of the permit for Keystone XL. TC Energy formally

abandoned

the XL project in June 2021.

Cramer continued to discuss the immense possibilities of the pipeline, the construction jobs it was bringing and the lost reduction in energy prices.

"Instead we have scrap metal," he said.

Bill Pladson is landowner of the Scranton site and cofounder of Gascoyne Material Handling and Recycling (GMHR). He said the pipe is now being sold off and its value has diminished because of the rust that's accumulated, and that approximately 15,000 of 105,000 tons have been sold off and hauled

"We brought in almost 1100 (rail) cars of pipe in 2010. And of that, there's about 11,000 pieces of pipe here totaling approximately 188 miles. Throughout the whole time, of course, there's been transformation of the land. As you can see, there's roads out here," Pladson said.

Sen. Ken Bogner, R-19, is President pro-tempore of the Montana Senate. Bogner said when this project was shut down, he took it as a personal affront.

"Part of this project was scheduled to go through my district. And when President Biden put a stop to this project on the first day of his administration it was one of his first acts. And because it was one of those first acts, that really made it feel personal. It felt like an attack on rural Montana, rural North Dakota, rural America," Bogner said. "We have an opportunity here coming up next year. So I appreciate you joining me here in that optimism that prosperity is possible. And we've got a chance to really... enjoy that prosperity again."

Cramer added that killing this project will result in a net increase in carbon emissions, which the anti-pipeline environmentalists were purportedly concerned about. That same oil will continue to be moved by trucks, barges and trains, he said, which are considerably less safe and less efficient.

"The oil that's been produced in Alberta is going to go to the market, it's just not going to go in the lowest priced, most economical, most environmentally friendly way," Cramer said. "They're just transferring their environmental guilt to much, much less environmentally friendly ways of moving the very same oil and in other cases, literally transferring it to places like Venezuela, because that's where heavy sour crude comes from, to the Gulf Coast when it doesn't come from the United States of America or Saudi Arabia... There's no question that pipelines are the safest way to move liquids."

Ron Ness, President of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, echoed those sentiments.

"I think it's an American tragedy that we've got these North American resources, yet they're choosing to just outsource our guilt and get oil from unfriendly nations across the world rather than getting it here," Ness said.