Category Archives: Legislative Updates

Pipeline Legislative Update – Feb 17

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Ken Winston, Policy AdvocateKen Winston

By Ken Winston, Nebraska Sierra Club Advocate

There were three pipeline bills heard in the Legislature this week.

LB 1134, introduced by Senator Avery was heard on Wednesday by the Judiciary Committee. It would set out procedures that entities, including utilities, would have to go through before they could exercise eminent domain. This includes a requirement that the project be for a public purpose, that there be a public hearing and a majority vote about the use of eminent domain. It also contains a provision that makes it illegal to threaten to use eminent domain without authority. Continue reading →

Tar Sands Pipeline Update

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By Ken Winston, Chapter Policy Advocate
February 13, 2012

It is difficult to write a definitive article about the status of TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline because the situation keeps changing. When President Obama denied their permit application on January 18th, it would make sense to think that the project was dead, right? Wrong! Let’s review what has happened and is currently happening.
On November 10, 2011 the US State Department decided that they needed to do further review of issues related to the Nebraska Sandhills and Ogallala Aquifer. The Nebraska Sierra Club was heavily involved in helping support and develop citizen involvement and provide information that led to that decision. The State Department estimated that the review would not be completed until early 2013. Continue reading →

Legislative Update #2 – February 2012

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Ken Winston, Policy Advocate

Ken Winston

By Ken Winston, Chapter Policy Advocate
As usual I have been busy this time of year. In the last couple of weeks, I have been involved in several legislative activities. Following the hearing on Senator Haar’s LB 885, I participated in a meeting with interested parties to try to work out issues with the bill, primarily the unrealistically large fiscal note. LB 885 would require state buildings to have energy star ratings to determine their energy use ranking. The meeting went well, but it is my understanding that Governor Heineman’s administration will not permit DAS officials to continue to work on the bill. The fact that the Governor’s administration generated a fiscal note that was at least ten times larger than it should have been and their refusal to work with the introducer on the legislation creates an impression  that they do not support efforts to make state buildings more energy efficient. Continue reading →

Legislative Update #1

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January 28, 2012
By Ken Winston, Chapter Policy Advocate

The Legislature is back in session again. I have already appeared at committee hearings on four bills and participated in meetings regarding legislation based on our policies on these issues.

On January 18th I appeared before the Natural Resources Committee in support of Ken Haar’s LB 713, which would prohibit homeowner’s associations and similar  organizations from preventing homeowners from installing solar panels. Continue reading →

Nebraska Pipeline Routing Legislation is Success Story for Sandhills, Citizens

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 22, 2011

Contact: Ken Winston 402-212-3737 kwinston@inebraska.com
Nebraska Pipeline Routing Legislation is Success Story for Sandhills, Citizens

Lincoln, NE – The Governor today signed into law two bills today: LB 4, which provides a state Environmental Impact process for the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline project, and LB 1, which establishes a framework to determine the routing of future oil pipeline proposals. A vital element of the process was the agreement by TransCanada to re-route their proposed pipeline out of the Sandhills. The new state laws do not preempt the federal review, which was delayed by the Obama administration for a thorough reevaluation, but gives the state new authority to protect Nebraska’s resources from dangerous tar sands pipelines, including TransCanada’s Keystone XL proposal.

In response, Ken Winston, Nebraska Sierra Club Policy Advocate, issued the following statement: Continue reading →

Ne Sierra Club Letter to Secretary Clinton Opposing Keystone XL Pipeline

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XL Pipeline Bus Bench Sign

Anti XL Pipeline Bus Bench Sign

Ken Winston, Policy Advocate, Nebraska Sierra Club, sent the following letter to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.  On behalf of our Nebraska chapter, Ken makes the case, in detail, why it is not in the “national interest of the United States” for the Keystone XL Pipeline to be granted a permit to cross the Nebraska Sand Hills and Ogallala Aquifer.

Dear Secretary Clinton:

I am writing on behalf of the Nebraska Sierra Club to state our opposition to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. The proposed Keystone XL pipeline is not in the national interest of the United States of America for the following reasons: 1. It places America’s greatest natural resource, the vast and vulnerable Ogallala aquifer, at risk for short-term financial gain that will benefit few Americans. 2. Denying the permit is required by American fundamentals of representative democracy. 3. TransCanada, a foreign corporation, has violated fundamental principles of the democratic process. 4. TransCanada, a foreign corporation, has violated principles of the Constitution and laws of the United States and the State of Nebraska. 5. The Final Environmental Impact Statement is seriously flawed. Continue reading →

Final Environmental Impact Statement Flawed

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By Ken Winston Nebraska Sierra Club

The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) issued by the State Department on August 26th once again demonstrated their areas of strength and weakness. They are good at simple legal analysis, stating the following: “Individual states have the legal authority to approve petroleum pipeline construction in their states, including selecting the routes for such pipelines.” This is exactly what we have been saying since last December and is consistent with the consensus of legal authority on this subject. However, they once again displayed their lack of expertise at environmental analysis, and failed to get a passing grade on understanding the difference between representation and reality. Continue reading →

Tar Sands Pipeline Update – June 2011

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Windmills Not Oil Spills

Windmills Not Oil Spills

By Ken Winston, Public Policy Advocate
There has been a great deal of activity related to our efforts opposing the tar sands pipeline. On May 12th, we helped a group of citizens put together a hearing at the State Capitol. The hearing came out of frustrations from citizens about not being heard by state decision-makers. The hearing was well attended, with over 150 people in attendance. Mary Pipher presided over the event. Randy Thompson, Susan Luebbe, Jo Stec, Cindy Myers and Ben Gotschall were among the citizens who spoke eloquently and displayed common sense and understanding of this issue in a way that our most of our local elected officials have not. Continue reading →

Legislative Update – June 2011

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Ken Winston

Ken Winston

By Ken Winston, Policy Advocate
The 2011 session was marked by two big issues for the Nebraska Chapter, protecting the environmental trust and working to establish standards for the tar sands pipeline. In between we were surprised to see a non-controversial school energy efficiency bill vetoed by the Governor. The bills that dealt with these issues are LB 229, LB 629 and LB 283.
LB 229 represents a success story for the conservation community. As introduced, LB 229 would have taken $7 million per year for 11 years from the Nebraska Environmental Trust (NET). Although the supporters of the bill were talking about using the money for the Platte River Recovery Program, there was no guarantee the funds would be used for this purpose. $7 million per year represented about half of the funds available for distribution through the NET and would have crippled this critical funding source for worthwhile environmental projects. Worse, it would have set a precedent that would have allowed the Legislature to completely dismantle the Trust. Continue reading →

Nebraska Sierra Club Letter to Secretary Clinton on Keystone XL-Pipeline

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XL Pipeline Protest - Lincoln - May 2011

XL Pipeline Protest - Lincoln - May 2011

NEBRASKA CHAPTER SIERRA CLUB
P.O. BOX 4664
OMAHA, NE 68104

Monday, June 6, 2011

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Harry S Truman Building
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20520

RE: Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline

Dear Secretary Clinton:

I am writing on behalf of the Nebraska Sierra Club to request that the Department of State to keep the comment period open related to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline so that the following can take place: to allow DOT’s Office of Pipeline Safety to determine the actions necessary to ensure that the Keystone pipelines do not present hazards to public safety and to allow recognized experts in the fields of hydrology and grassland vegetation to conduct necessary studies. We also request additional time to allow the Nebraska Legislature time to take action on several issues vital to the interests of the State of Nebraska and the United States. Continue reading →