Tribes press judge to halt Keystone XL work to protect communities from virus
By Associated Press -April 18, 2020 10:00 AM
Tribal leaders and some residents of rural communities along the pipeline's route worry thousands of workers needed for the project could spread the virus in small communities that are unprepared.
Native American tribes and environmental groups pressured a federal judge on Thursday to shut down work on the disputed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to Nebraska, citing fears that workers could spread the coronavirus and construction could damage land.
After years of delays, the company is rushing ahead amid the pandemic to get part of the line built so it will be harder to stop, attorneys for the project's opponents argued in a teleconference to decide if the construction should be halted.
They warned that plans to build construction camps housing up to 1,000 workers each pose a risk to tribes and rural communities that already struggle to provide basic health care services and would face challenges responding to coronavirus outbreaks.
The first U.S. segment of the 1,200-mile oil sands pipeline was installed by TC Energy this week across the Canada border in northern Montana. The fight over the line stretches back more than a decade after it became a lightning rod in the debate over fossil fuels' contribution to climate change.
https://americanindependent.com/keystone-pipeline-coronavirus-federal-court-tribal-leaders-construction-environment-covid-19/