On the Chain Gang of the Keystone XL Pipeline

Seven protesters, members of the Tar Sands Blockade group, were arrested in Livingston, Texas recently after 4 of their members chained themselves to a construction truck being used on the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline.  The pipeline will extend from the tar sands of northern Canada to the Texas Gulf coast refineries.

As reported by Brian Merchant, a contributing writer to the TreeHugger website, the group of protesters are just plain folks who are afraid that the construction of the pipeline by TransCanada will destroy neighborhoods and communities by using eminent domain to take over right of way along the 3,000 mile route of the pipeline.

The protestor’s website tells their story with updates including photos and videos.

The Fort Worth Weekly spells out the taking of a 50-foot swath through the Red d’Arc Ranch, owned by the Crawford family of Paris, Texas.  TransCanada used eminent domain to claim that land, paving the way for additional takings on the southern leg of the pipeline that extends from Cushing, Oklahoma to Port Arthur, Texas.

This will likely not be the end of the protests since this pipeline will take a number of years to construct and will create several thousand construction jobs along the way.

May by TransCanada of the existing and proposed Keystone pipelines.