"The people of the states have to believe us, the Keystone XL pipeline will be safe." says Oil Inductry spoksman Alfred E. Newman of Greed Inc.











"After Oil Spill in Arkansas, Weighing Risks of Keystone Pipeline Extension" PBS Newshour 4/3/2013

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  An oil pipeline rupture caused the evacuation of more than 20 homes in Mayflower, Ark.  The accident raised questions about the safety of the proposed Keystone Pipeline extension.  Judy Woodruff hears debate from Anthony Swift of the Natural Resources Defense Council and Andrew Black of the Association of Oil Pipelines.

JUDY WOODRUFF (Newshour):  Next: how an oil spill near Little Rock, Ark., is casting a shadow over the proposed expansion of the Keystone pipeline.

MAN:  So that is a pipeline that has busted and has flooded the neighborhood.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  A local resident described the scene in the small town of Mayflower on Friday after Exxon's Pegasus pipeline ruptured close to his home.

MAN:  I mean, look. Incredible.  And that is oil.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  And not just any oil, a type of heavy crude called diluted bitumen, from the tar sands of Western Canada and similar to what the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline would carry.

Running from Patoka, Ill., to Nederland, Texas, the Pegasus pipeline is capable of transporting 96,000 barrels of oil a day.  It passes through this Little Rock suburb, and also through 13 miles of the close-by Lake Maumelle watershed, leaving many concerned with the risks posed to Arkansas' water supply.

Yesterday at a bird shelter in nearby Russellville, specialists cleaned ducks covered in the heavy crude.  Investigators are still trying to find out what caused the rupture.  According to Exxon's estimates, between 3,500 and 5,000 barrels of oil spilled. More than 20 homes were evacuated.

Last year in the U.S., 364 pipeline spills occurred, resulting in the dumping of 54,000 barrels of oil, according to the Department of Transportation.  This latest breach, while considered relatively small, raises new questions about the proposed Keystone XL pipeline extension and whether President Obama should approve it.

It would carry 800,000 barrels a day of diluted bitumen crude over 1,700 miles, from the tar sands of Western Canada to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas.  Environmentalists worry about potential spills, ruptures, and higher gaseous emissions from the use of tar sands oil. TransCanada Corporation and others have been awaiting approval for four years to move ahead with the project.  A final decision from the president is expected this summer.