Just what is that stuff that TransCanada wants to pump across our stolen land in the Keystone XL pipeline? It's not crude oil, says one cranky ex-Marine who had gotten a Texas judge to halt construction of the southern leg of the pipeline:
Texas landowner Michael Bishop, who is representing himself in legal action against the oil giant, filed his lawsuit in the Nacogdoches County courthouse, arguing that TransCanada lied to Texans when it said it would be using the Keystone XL pipeline to transport crude oil.
Tar sands oil — or diluted bitumen — does not meet the definition as outlined in Texas and federal statutory codes, which define crude oil as "liquid hydrocarbons extracted from the earth at atmospheric temperatures," Bishop said. When tar sands are extracted in Alberta, Canada, the material is almost a solid and "has to be heated and diluted in order to even be transmitted," he said.
"They lied to the American people," Bishop said.
Texas County Court at Law Judge Jack Sinz signed a temporary restraining order and injunction Friday, saying there was sufficient cause to halt work until a hearing Dec. 19. The two-week injunction went into effect Tuesday after Bishop posted bond ["Texas Judge Halts Keystone XL Pipeline Work," AP via Lincoln Journal-Star, 2012.12.11].
Bishop, a Vietnam veteran and retired chemist who's now in medical school, started studying law on his own after the potential cost of hiring a lawyer to fight TransCanada's condemnation of his land forced him to settle with the company. But now, he's ready to make TransCanada's life as hard as he can:
"Bring 'em on. I'm a United States Marine. I'm not afraid of anyone. I'm not afraid of them," he said. "When I'm done with them, they will know that they've been in a fight. I may not win, but I'm going to hurt them" [AP 2012.12.11].
That's my kind of Marine. Hey, Stace, when are we going to see you start shelling TransCanada on behalf of South Dakota landowners?
As much as I might like to agree with this gentleman about the export pipeline threatening our land and water, the pipeline does appear to be transporting liquid hydrocarbons, and he's not claiming that they fail to have been extracted at atmospheric temperature. By what is posted here, the quoted definition of crude oil does not appear to state when it must be liquid.
So assuming for the sake of argument that it's not liquid coming out of the tar sands, it is in fact liquid when it is transported. So if whatever comes out of the tar sands comes out at atmospheric temperature, it matters not relevant when it becomes liquid as long as it is transported as liquid. Nice try by Mr. Bishop though.
Well Rorschach, another question is " Is it crude oil when it is in a liquid state and if not what is it?" But since the ingredients added to make it flow are a closely guarded secret I guess we will never know.
Well bret, next time the pipeline pops a geyser some landowner can take a sample and have it tested. I'm all for that.
I've heard that whatever it is, it's a whole heck of a lot harder to clean up if the pipes fail. And they probably will because the slurry is so gritty, it'll constantly be wearing the pipeline out. Yes? No?
All XL subcontractor public relations and law wanted to talk about here in Winner with regard to leaks in aquifers and rivers was how thick the "crude" was and how it would not disperse more than a few feet from the pipeline. They did not want to talk about additives when asked if the "crude" had to be heated to flow in the pipes. Yesterday, I found the transcripts of the Winner hearing in 2009 Nearly two hundred pages, but it is indexed.
http://www.npr.org/2012/08/16/158025375/when-this-oil-spills-its-a-whole-new-monster
Excerpt:
Tar sands oil has to be diluted to make it liquid enough to flow through a pipeline. But once it's back out in the environment, the chemicals that liquefied it evaporate. That leaves the heavy stuff behind.
Cleanup crews didn't know what they were dealing with. They expected it to act like oil usually does and float on water. So they focused on vacuuming oil and skimming it from the surface.
But about a month into the cleanup, some fish researchers got a surprise. One of them jumped from a boat into the river. With each step he took, little globs of black oil popped up.
That kicked off a search for sunken oil.
"And everywhere they looked, they found it," Hamilton recalls.
EPA's Midwestern chief Susan Hedman says they had to develop new techniques to remove all of this submerged oil.
"The EPA staff that worked on this, that have responded to oil spills over many, many years, had never encountered a spill of this type of material, in this unprecedented volume, under these kinds of conditions," Hedman says.
Scientists say they're only beginning to study how tar sands behave after a spill, or even whether it might wear out a pipeline.
Bishop himself appears to recognize that he won't win this challenge. But I would love to see this legal challenge force TransCanada to make public the full recipe of chemicals moving through that pipeline.
He will slow them down. That might make all the difference.
I agree with Bree. Slowing them down may be effective. Bill McKibben: "Tough terrain aids the insurgent; it slows the powerful." (the Guardian, June 3, 2011)
There may or may not be other issues. "Bishop also claims that TransCanada defrauded the landowners by stating all of their permits were in order and that TransCanada, a private, foreign coproation (sic), had the right to eminent domain as a common carrier. Bishop states that the Texas Constitution and case law do not allow eminent domain unless the project is one in which the public has an interest... “After I prevail in these suits, I am going to make sure that real eminent domain reform is passed in Texas so that future generations do not have to suffer as we have”, he said." http://www.texassharon.com/2012/12/11/breaking-news-texas-landowner-granted-temporary-restraining-order-against-keystone-xl-on-basis-of-fraud/
Meanwhile, the first US tar sands mine (owned by a Canadian company based in Calgary) is scheduled to start production in Utah in 2013. http://www.albertaoilmagazine.com/2012/12/for-cameron-todd-and-us-oil-sands-inc-there-is-black-gold-in-the-arid-hills-in-americas-midwest/
"If U.S. Oils Sands had tried to lease federal land, its application would have triggered a National Environmental Policy Act study, a comprehensive report that assesses a multitude of environmental issues and impacts, including climate change, air and water quality, water availability, wilderness protection and economic impacts.
In Utah, however, mining companies submit their own environmental analysis—"a general narrative description identifying potential surface and/or subsurface impacts,"
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20120816/utah-oil-tar-sands-mining-bitumen-water-pr-spring-limonene-alberta-oil-sands-groundwater-pollution-drought?page=5
Every delay helps. Every delay is one more chance for opponents to win before TransCanada digs up more ground.
I could be wrong but I don't believe it is carrying sand. I do believe the corrosiveness of the material being transported is problematic.
.
A larger problem is the pipe thickness being specified and allowing XL to eventually run double the pressure carrying roughly twice as much product. A leak the size of pencil lead can release tanker load quantities in few hours.
.
I would also think if TC is carrying something other than what they've applied to carry, such as extremely volatile solvents to make it flow, they could indeed be in violation.
.
Judge lifts order; well blowout near Missouri River:
http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_268748/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=QsJhEL1M
"Ritter says the oil well is on confidential status so she could not disclose the cause of the blowout or the amount of oil spilled. She says the Lake Sakakawea Spill Response Team has been notified."
If the pipe is camo, and the oil going through it is camo and you can't find out how much oil was leaked, was there really an oil leak? 'Cause it's all confidential and such.
Alas, a short victory indeed... but Bishop still sounds like a fighter. I wish him well, as ought all citizens interested in property rights.
Les, as I understand it, the tar sands really do carry a significant amount of sand, which adds serious physical abrasiveness to the chemical corrosiveness of the secret solvent mix. Recall the video I posted last month: it's gritty stuff, sure to wear away steel pipe of any thickness faster than pipelines carrying conventional crude.
Montana reviewing KXL easements:
http://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/montana-reviews-oil-pipeline-easement-request/article_01267ba6-46e6-11e2-81cd-0019bb2963f4.html