Gunfight at the O.K. Corral -- Hopefully, Not Quite That Violent, But I Bet the Sparks Fly -- Keystone XL 2.0 Town Meeting Tonight

Updates

December 4, 2012: they came, they spoke, they left. 


Later, 10:26 pm: Rigzone.com picks up the story.

"This will conclude the longest pipeline application deliberation in history, which, with Nebraska's expected support we believe, will result in final approval for the project to commence," Kerekes said.

"This pipeline application application has been the most studied in history. It is now time to wrap this study up, hold this final hearing, issue a report to the Governor, then let the Governor communicate to the federal government the decision on behalf of the State of Nebraska. Then, let's get the pipeline approved in Washington."

Later, 7:29 pm: lots of noise, little opposition to the pipeline -- oil and gas industry. Link at Oil & Gas Journal.

Opposition to the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline project has become more noisy than widespread, American Petroleum Institute officials said on Dec. 4 as Nebraska’s Department of Environmental Quality prepared to hold a public hearing on the project’s proposed new route later that day.

Support for the 1,500-mile project to transport bitumen from Alberta’s oil sands to US Gulf Coast refineries remains strong, Cindy Schild, API’s downstream operations manager for refining and oil sands, and John Kerekes, API’s Central US region director, told reporters during a teleconference.

Original Post

A "big thank you" to the reader who sent us this: the BIG MEETING is tonight.

I was going to do a poll: one's thoughts on how the meeting will end.

But after reading the article, it appears the ending is foreordained, as can be seen in the third and fourth paragraphs below:

A tiny town in rural Nebraska is expected to draw a big crowd on Tuesday for a public hearing into TransCanada's new Keystone XL pipeline route.

Both Nebraska officials and the Calgary-based energy giant say the new route skirts the environmentally sensitive Sandhills region of the state, a critical sticking point in the approval process that resulted in U.S. President Barack Obama rejecting TransCanada's original application earlier this year.

Environmentalists, meantime, charge the new route does no such thing and insist a crucial state aquifer remains at risk, setting the stage for what's sure to be a contentious hearing on the fairgrounds of the town of Albion.

The new route still goes over the Ogallala aquifer, follows the highly endangered whooping crane's migratory path and poses risks to native tribal artifacts, Jane Kleeb, head of Bold Nebraska, said in an interview on Monday.

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Frankie Laine