Month: December 2022

Keystone Pipeline shut down after leak into Kansas stream on Wednesday

by Paul Hammel, Kansas Reflector

Lincoln, Nebraska — Canadian pipeline company TC Energy shut down its Keystone Pipeline on Wednesday after an oil leak was detected about 8 p.m.

The leak released oil into a creek in Washington County, Kansas, about 20 miles south of a pipeline terminal at Steele City, Nebraska.

The company, in a statement, said an emergency shutdown was done after a pressure drop was detected in the pipeline, which traverses eastern Nebraska and delivers oil from Alberta’s tar sands region to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast and in southern Illinois.

There was no immediate word on how much oil was leaked. TC Energy said containment booms were deployed to control downstream migration of the release.

As of Thursday morning, the system remained shut down as crews worked to contain and recover the oil.

“We are proceeding to make appropriate notifications, including to our customers and regulators and will work cooperatively with third parties to effectively respond to this incident,” the company said.

The Keystone pipeline segment across Nebraska has been operating since 2010.

The proposed Keystone XL pipeline, a larger, 36-inch pipeline project by TC Energy, sparked a controversy pitting environmentalists, who argued that the tar sand oil would increase climate warming, against energy interests, who maintained it made sense to get energy from a friendly neighbor.

Then President Barack Obama denied a permit for the XL project in 2015, but it was resurrected by President Donald Trump when he took over in the White House in 2017.

President Joe Biden, shortly after he took office in 2021, reversed course, and TC Energy eventually abandoned the project after approximately 8% of the project, from Alberta to Steele City, had been built.

This story was produced by Nebraska Examiner, an affiliate of States Newsroom. Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.

Kansas Reflector stories, kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/briefs/keystone-pipeline-shut-down-after-leak-into-kansas-stream-on-wednesday/

Davids celebrates passage of same-sex marriage law

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, right, was at the signing of the bipartisan Respect for Marriage Act. (Photo from Rep. Davids’ office)

U.S> Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., applauded bipartisan passage of legislation she introduced to enshrine marriage equality in federal law.

The Respect for Marriage Act passed both the U.S. House and Senate with bipartisan support and now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

Davids joined her colleagues to introduce the Respect for Marriage Act in July following Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion in Dobbs v Jackson, in which he stated that the Supreme Court “should reconsider” previous rulings codifying same-sex marriage protections. The Respect for Marriage Act repeals the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and provides additional legal protections from attempts to undermine marriage equality at the state level.

“After the Dobbs decision, people across Kansas and the entire country felt fear and anxiety as many of our individual freedoms were called into question or outright stripped away,” Rep. Davids said. “That includes marriage equality for same-sex couples, which was explicitly threatened by Justice Thomas. I’m proud to have introduced legislation that will help lessen that fear and provide stability to so many families, and I applaud the bipartisan group of lawmakers who joined me to stand up for our rights.”

The Respect for Marriage Act will:

• Repeal DOMA. The Supreme Court effectively rendered DOMA inactive with its landmark decisions in United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges, but it did not repeal it, meaning the unconstitutional and discriminatory law still officially remains on the books. With passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, DOMA will finally be repealed.

• Enshrine Marriage Equality for Federal Law Purposes. The Respect for Marriage Act requires, for federal law purposes, that an individual be considered married if the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed, even if that state is not where the individual lives permanently. This gives same sex and interracial couples additional certainty that they will enjoy their Constitutional right to equal treatment under federal law—regardless of where they live.

• Provide Additional Legal Protections from Individuals Seeking to Undermine Marriage Equality While Acting Under Color of State Law. The bill prohibits any person acting under color of state law from denying full faith and credit to an out-of-state marriage based on the sex, race, ethnicity or national origin of the individuals in the marriage, provides the Attorney General with the authority to pursue enforcement actions, and creates a private right of action for any individual harmed by a violation of this provision.

The Respect for Marriage Act is strongly supported by leading national organizations including: ACLU, Center for American Progress, Equality Federation, Family Equality, Freedom for All Americans, GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, National Black Justice Coalition, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Center for Transgender Equality, National LGBTQ Task Force, National Women’s Law Center, and PFLAG National.

  • Information from Rep. Davids’ office

Holiday carol sing-along to be Saturday at Alcott Arts

Alcott Arts Center, 180 S. 18th, Kansas City, Kansas, is planning a holiday carol sing-along from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10.

Hot chocolate and refreshments will be shared, according to Chris Parker Green of the Alcott Center.

The music will get people in the holiday spirit, she said.

Everyone attending should dress warmly, since there is no heat in the building, she added.

Some gifts will be available to purchase from local artists and students for cash only.

The Alcott is not ADA accessible and the restrooms will not be available.

For more information, call 913-233-2787.