North American-Made Energy Security Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. WELCH. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Chair, this amendment inserts an environmental finding that highlights the very significant environmental and health risks that are proposed that will occur as a result of this proposed pipeline. This pipeline is going to carry up to 900,000 barrels of tar sands oil every day, and it's going to carry them a distance of 2,000 miles. And whatever assurances are given about the safety of any mechanical and engineering system, we have too much regular experience that the best of intentions oftentimes fail.

So there is risk, and we want that to be known as part of the findings.

A University of Nebraska professor recently released the first independent assessment of the spills that could come from the Keystone XL pipeline. That study found that TransCanada has in fact greatly understated the risks of the pipeline. That study established that the pipeline could spill over 5 million gallon of tar sands oil into a major river, making water undrinkable for hundreds of miles. Also, the Keystone real-time leak detection system doesn't register spills that are less than 700,000 gallons per day.

Cynthia Quarterman, the administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, has noted that the U.S. pipeline system was not designed with raw tar sands crude in mind.

My amendment is very simple: if we're going to rush through--and that's what we're doing--the environmental permitting process for a project that has questionable benefits to our Nation, let's at least recognize the risks.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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