Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blamed the Keystone XL pipeline for leaking about 5,000 barrels of oil in rural South Dakota about two years ago.
There’s just one problem: The Keystone XL pipeline has not been built yet.
During a House hearing Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez claimed that “Keystone XL, in particular, had one leak that leaked 210,000 gallons across South Dakota” while she questioned Wells Fargo President and CEO Timothy Sloan.
.@RepAOC: "Mr. Sloan, why was the bank involved in the caging of children?" @AOC to #WellsFargo CEO pic.twitter.com/Pvfuv2wfXe
— Alexis Goldstein (@alexisgoldstein) March 12, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez probably confused the Keystone XL pipeline with the Keystone pipeline, which has been operating since 2010. Keystone XL is still under construction, but would also bring oil sands from Canada to Nebraska where it would connect to existing pipeline.
Newsom rips Noem as ‘Kosplay Barbie’ over $220M ad campaign, demands DHS release $500M for LA wildfires
In an Unexpected SCOTUS Moment, Justice Gorsuch Educated the Court on How Much Founding Fathers Drank – It Was Apparently a Lot
Teens inspired by ‘Scream’ recorded ‘first kill’ plot before stabbing classmate to death
White Cops in Philadelphia Sue City Over Alleged Racial Discrimination
Vocal anti-Trump Dem reveals which industry is trying to oust him from House seat: ‘I was a target’
Driver accused of attempting to mow down cop during street takeover strolls free hours later on $3K bond
Revealed: The Epic 3-Word Message That Popped Up on Potentially Millions of Israeli-Hacked Iranian Phones Just Before the Bombs Dropped
Minnesota Fraud Probe Could End with Criminal Referrals, Says House Oversight Chairman
Nancy Pelosi doubles down on defending Obama’s strikes on Libya while attacking Trump: ‘Read the law’
Noem reveals Trump will have ‘big agreement’ to announce at major summit with world leaders
Pelosi and Newsom may need to put an end to California’s ‘circular firing squad’ to avoid a midterm shock
Video captures chaos erupting at NYC vigil for slain Ayatollah Khamenei as punches fly
Judge to allow sex offender to question witnesses in Virginia locker room case
California Rep. Darrell Issa to retire, endorses Jim Desmond to succeed him
Trump says US ‘doing very well’ in Iran nearly 1 week into joint action against Tehran
Environmentalists spent years opposing the Keystone XL pipeline, filing court challenges and successfully lobbying former President Barack Obama to personally reject the project in late 2015. President Donald Trump reversed that decision in early 2017, but Keystone XL’s progress has since been delayed by activist lawsuits.
The existing Keystone pipeline, however, was responsible for leaking up to 9,700 barrels in South Dakota in 2017. The initial estimate for the spill was about 5,000 barrels, or 210,000 gallons of oil. Both Keystone and the planned XL line are operated by Canadian pipeline giant TransCanada.
TransCanada said it repaired the pipeline and cleaned up the spill, Reuters reported in 2018, though the event has been used by environmental activists to gin up opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline.
Ocasio-Cortez, who recently introduced the Green New Deal resolution, also took aim at Wells Fargo’s financing of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which sparked violent protests along the project’s planned route throughout 2016.
Like Keystone XL, the Trump administration reversed the Obama administration’s blocking of the project. Dakota Access went into service in 2017. TransCanada had plans to begin building the Keystone XL pipeline later this year, but a February federal court ruling could delay construction until 2020.
Ocasio-Cortez also grilled Wells Fargo’s Sloan over their financing of the Dakota Access Pipeline, asking the bank CEO if his company should be responsible for cleaning up any oil spills. The freshman Democrat also claimed the Dakota Access Pipeline has leaked five times since it began operating two years ago.
“So, hypothetically, if there was a leak from the Dakota Access Pipeline, why shouldn’t Wells Fargo pay for the cleanup of it, since it paid for the construction of the pipeline itself?” Ocasio-Cortez asked in Tuesday’s hearing.
“We don’t operate the pipeline, we provide financing to the company that’s operating the pipeline,” Sloan said, also noting Wells Fargo had an environmental oversight group.
Story cited here.
