Comment from John Schafer
John SchaferOpposeIndividual
Summary: The commenter opposes the pipeline project, arguing that it is not a realistic alternative to other transportation methods and will have significant negative impacts on greenhouse gas emissions and local environments. They also request a more thorough analysis of the long-term risks of oil spills and the potential impacts on human health and wildlife.
<br/><br/>Thank you for the opportunity to comment regarding this pipeline. <br/>I have grave concerns of the scope of this pipeline & the impact that this line would cause, it does not constitute a realistic alternative.<br/><br/>Our environment & our future generations may be greatly impacted. The EA itself points out on page 5 that truck transportation is not realistic, and goes on to state that rail transportation would require massive infrastructure investments, far larger than any currently existing in the United States. For these reasons, the no-action alternative should assume that the oil is not extracted, as there will be no realistic way to transport it to the intended markets.<br/><br/>Additionally, the Council on Environmental Quality has directed federal agencies to evaluate projects' direct and indirect, long- and short-term, and broad-scale greenhouse gas and climate change impacts. Approving this pipeline would complete the project, allowing a flow of oil that, when all is accounted for, would have the same annual CO2 emissions as 29 coal-fired power plants. These emissions would have a significant impact on air quality, water quality, human health, and wildlife, and would not occur if this pipeline crossing was denied. Please evaluate these impacts as part of your review, in accordance with the guidance provided by CEQ.<br/><br/>Finally, I feel you need to include a thorough analysis of the effects of an oil spill and the people of the immediate area. Even the strictest precautions today will wear with age, as we have seen with other projects where poor maintenance led to disastrous results. The impacts of a spill on the local population and environment cannot be discounteda spill 30 years from now would be just as impactful as a spill on day one, and should be treated as a near-certainty in the requestor's preferred alternative.<br/><br/>Thank you again, and I look forward to your inclusion of the project's full impacts, as well as a no-action alternative that takes into account the infeasibility of other forms of oil transportation.<br/><br/>