As of June 29th, TransCanada has a permit they can’t build with.

While their permit may not be expiring, the need to certify the permit opens up the door for all South Dakotans to come together to protect our land, water, farms and ranches, and our way of life – as well as standing up for those all up and down the pipeline route from Alberta to Texas who have to deal with tarsands in its various forms.

South Dakota Codified Law 49-41B-27 requires that if construction has not commenced within four years after a permit has been issued, the utility (in this case, TransCanada) must certify to the Commission that the pipeline continues to meet the conditions upon which the permit was granted. So, if TransCanada wishes to go forward, the company will need to make a filing for certification.

Due to the immense opposition in Nebraska and across the country, TransCanada has not been able to break ground in South Dakota since their permit was granted in 2010. So we now have an opportunity to go back to the PUC, with all the information we have now that we didn’t have back then, and make the case that South Dakota doesn’t need this pipeline.

We don’t intend to ask for a re-route; that simply takes the burden off one rancher and puts it on another. We don’t want any farms or ranches to be put at risk of a spill, and there is a lot to protect here in South Dakota, including the Sandhills, the Mni Wiconi Rural Water System, and the Missouri River.

Will will continue celebrating our growing alliances within South Dakota, and we will be ready when TransCanada files for certification. We hope you will be right there with us.

dakotarural.org/join