
Pipeline spills 176,000 gallons of crude into creek about 150 miles from Dakota - gosainnn
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/12/pipeline-spills-176000-gallons-of-crude-into-creek-about-150-miles-from-dakota-access-protest-camp.html
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katkattac
Everything is relative. Can someone say, if that pipeline didn't exist, how
much more or less theoretical damage would have happened had it been shipped
by truck on highway instead?

The Dakota Access line is running a few miles from my workplace here in Iowa.
I'm not opposed to the pipeline, per say, but the politics behind it are crap.
It's approved by our utility board, which is composed of persons selected by
our Governor, who has personal financial interest in the pipeline company.
What's worse, the pipeline doesn't start or end in Iowa, so it just runs
through here and is a total loss for us. No new jobs created. Needless to say,
the utility board approved it along with eminent domain. (Shouldn't eminent
domain be illegal when the land is going to a private company and not public
use? The constitution is kind of clear on that, not sure how they get around
it.)

The pipeline workers here are causing lots of trouble too. They're trespassing
and tearing up land well outside of their easements. They're littering. They
bury the scrap pipe and trash instead of hauling it out. They tear up the
roads and hold up traffic.

Honestly, it's just such a net loss for us. And this is before the inevitable
leaks. It's a racket.

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planteen
> Shouldn't eminent domain be illegal when the land is going to a private
> company and not public use? The constitution is kind of clear on that, not
> sure how they get around it

There was a controversial 5-4 Supreme Court decision on this in 2005, Kelo v.
New London.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelo_v._City_of_New_London](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelo_v._City_of_New_London)

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pcardh0
Way to stand up for the little guy liberals, you are truly an inspiration to
us all.

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keville
> North Dakota officials estimate more than 176,000 gallons of crude oil
> leaked from the Belle Fourche Pipeline into the Ash Coulee Creek.

> Since 2006, [operators Wyoming-based True Cos.] have reported 36 spills
> totaling 320,000 gallons of petroleum products...

According to this article's cited numbers, this single spill is larger than
all of the previous decade's 35 reported spills ... COMBINED.

These protests could not be more timely. I can only imagine how many spilled
gallons have gone unreported: this spill was discovered by a landowner, not
the intended automated monitoring equipment.

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commentzorro
Trump will realize this and will take swiftnand decisive action to fix things
once he gets in office.

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yread
/s missing?

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nextweek2
What is sad is the lack of an image. A picture tells a thousand words and I
would imagine a photo of the problem would evoke a strong reaction in the
readers.

I am also always disappointed in the low quality images news sites use. I
understand the need for a responsive page design but a click to enlarge would
help out a lot.

