Via ThinkProgress:
In a stunning conflict of interest, public hearings on federal approval for a proposed tar sands pipeline are being run by a contractor for the pipeline company itself. The U.S. Department of State’s public hearings along the proposed route of the TransCanada Keystone XL tar sands pipeline this week are under the purview of Cardno Entrix, a “professional environmental consulting company” that specializes in “permitting and compliance.”
Cardno Entrix, which works for TransCanada, also wrote the draft environmental impact statement ("EIS") and is responsible for the DoS website re: the pipeline. Sooooo, perhaps it is just me, but methinks everything coming out of the State Department on this issue is utterly contaminated and perhaps should be discarded.
The Environmental Protection Agency already had a problem -- well, many problems with the State Department's, I mean, TransCanada's initial EIS and deemed it "insufficient," aka utter bullshite. Among the concerns were:
The potential impacts to groundwater resources from spills.
The effects on emission levels at refineries in the Gulf Coast and the corresponding health impacts for these Americans.
The levels of climate disrupting pollution associated with the proposed Project, and whether appropriate mitigation measures to reduce this carbon pollution are being considered.
The impacts on ecologically important wetlands in Texas and Nebraska.
The potential impacts to already-vulnerable species of migratory birds.
Sierra Club
But wait! The June 2011 EPA negative response was not their first. A year before they reviewed the draft EIS:
At that time, EPA rated the DEIS as "Inadequate-3" because potentially significant impacts were not evaluated and additional information and analyses were necessary to ensure that the EIS fully informed decision makers and the public about potential consequences of the Keystone XL Project.
Warning -- pdf (9 pages) EPA letter to TransCanada's Other Contractor, the Department of State
Much more intelligent material on the Keystone XL project can be found in the multiple posts by Bill McKibben, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, and many others here. This latest, contemptible, unethical and possibly illegal twist needs to be broadcast far and wide. EPA's own report depends on utilizing DoS's EIS. We already know that lobbyists write a good portion of our legislation, especially that which exempts oil and gas from most enviro laws and regs. Time to put the breaks on this project right now.