Keystone pipeline is bad for Nebraska

To those who have been keeping up with Nebraska news, they are probably familiar with a proposed oil pipeline that will traverse from the oil sands of Canada down to refineries in Texas. As it stands now, the pipeline will pass straight through Nebraska, right over the underground Ogallala Aquifer, which is the main source of freshwater for the region.

TransCanada, the oil business behind the proposed line, claims that the proposed route is the most efficient and sensible route to transport the oil to Texas. The company already has some pipelines passing through the state, but they are diverted around the aquifer.  Since it is a foreign company, it must gain approval from the State Department to build.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently came out with a study that said, considering the risks, the proposed route should be redirected to go around the aquifer.

According to the Lincoln Journal-Star, TransCanada spokesman Terry Cuhna avoided answering questions concerning risks to the Sandhills and Ogallala. “I couldn’t speculate as to why the public’s opinion has changed over the years. I think you could look at what’s happened recently with the spill along the Gulf Coast,” said Cuhna.

Opposition is not exclusively coming from expected liberal groups and environmentalists. Governor Dave Heinemen, a staunch conservative, said, “I am opposed to the proposed route of this pipeline … 254 miles of the pipeline would come through Nebraska and be situated directly over the Ogallala Aquifer.”

Both of Nebraska’s U.S. Senators, Mike Johanns (R) and Ben Nelson (D) oppose it too. “I support Governor Heineman’s request that President Obama and Secretary Clinton deny the … pipeline along a route crossing Nebraska’s Sand Hills and the center of the Ogallala Aquifer,” said Johanns. Nelson added, “I clearly would prefer to have it away from the pristine and very fragile part of the state’s geography.”

It is true that the pipeline may have benefits for the country, but as the nation learned from the BP oil spill, we cannot risk having the same type of problem with such a vital aspect of our living. People from both sides of the political spectrum can agree that this pipeline route is no good, and must oppose it.