Nebraska Farmers Union Commends U.S.
Senators Nelson and Johanns, Representative Fortenberry, and U.S. State
Department for Additional Pipeline Environmental Study
For Immediate Release March
21, 2011
Lincoln, NE. Nebraska Farmers Union (NEFU) commends U.S. Senators
Ben Nelson and Mike Johanns and Representative Jeff Fortenberry for their
efforts in requesting the U.S. State Department to require an additional
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to better assess environmental risks from
the potential construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. NEFU also praised the State Department’s
willingness to respond positively to the Congressional requests for an additional
EIS study.
“Senators Nelson and Johanns
and Representative Fortenberry listened to our Nebraska farmers and ranchers’ concerns
about the pipeline project and requested the State Department do a Supplemental
EIS,” said John Hansen, NEFU President.
“Their leadership and responsiveness on this issue of major concern to Nebraska landowners,
farmers, ranchers, and citizens is deeply appreciated.”
Nebraska sent twelve people, including four Nebraska Farmers Union members back to Washington, D.C.
recently to share their various and diverse concerns regarding the proposed
Keystone XL Pipeline that would cross through the vast Sandhills region and the
Ogallala Aquifer. Nebraska
Farmers Union members included NEFU Public Affairs Director Graham Christensen, Rock/Holt County Farmers Union
President Lynda Buoy, Rock/Holt County Farmers Union Secretary Susan Luebbe,
and Holt County family rancher Ben Gotschall.
The delegation also included members from South
Dakota and Texas.
The delegation shared their
wide range of concerns with the proposed pipeline, including the misrepresentations
of fact and high pressure bullying tactics used by TransCanada representatives
including threats of eminent domain with landowners along the proposed
route. They also shared their concerns
about contaminating the Ogallala Aquifer with the toxic tar sands moved in the
high pressure pipes along with the potential damage to the fragile Sandhills
vegetation during the construction stages.
“Landowners, farmers and ranchers deserve to be treated fairly,
honestly, and in a professional manner. TransCanada
has fallen short,” said John Hansen.
For many of the Nebraska pipeline delegation this was their first ever
trip to Washington, D.C.
Landowner Susan Luebbe from Bassett was one of these individuals. She said she made the trip to “give a voice
for the people back home from the harassment from the TransCanada land agents.”
Lynda Buoy, President of
Rock/Holt County Farmers Union said, “I made the trip to represent my friends
and neighbors all along the pipeline route who are calving hundreds of cows
right now, for the man who is calving 400 head of cattle on his own and has
received condemnation letters from TransCanada, and for the three little 90
year-old ladies that told me last summer they will never sign their leases.”
The next steps of the
Supplemental EIS process will be to open a comment session for the public to
weigh in on the issue which should be announced in the near future. Announcement of comment session dates are
anticipated in April.
Nebraska Farmers Union
is a general farm organization with 5,288 farm and ranch family members
dedicated to protecting and enhancing the economic well-being and quality of
life for family farmers and ranchers, and their rural communities.
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