WV Senators Neglect Environment & Promote Eminent Domain for Private Gain

WV Senators’ votes not even subject to debate

EDITORIAL – Morgantown Dominion Post, January 8, 2015, Page 4-A

Capito, Manchin putting Keystone pipeline at the center of nation’s energy policy

It’s apparent the new majority in “the world’s greatest deliberative body” has already made up its mind.  As for our state’s two members of the U. S. Senate, the one is simply toeing the line, while the other’s opportunism knows no bounds.

Sen. Shelly Moore Capito, who was recently named to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has said she will work to keep natural gas and coal at the center of energy policy. We’re curious how her unequivocal support for the Keystone XL pipeline keeps natural gas and coal at the center of energy policy.

Sen. Joe Manchin, who is the Democratic sponsor of this measure, refers to it as a “common sense bill.”  Never mind, his arguments for passage of this legislation don’t even make sense.  For instance, he said it will create thousands of jobs right here at home and would limit our future dependence on foreign oil.

First, though he owes his constituents an explanation, he never specifies where these thousands of jobs will emerge.  By all accounts, this project would generate about 2,000 temporary jobs in Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas during a two-year construction period.  Then would generate about 50 jobs once in operation.

As for the dependence on foreign oil, imported oil does account for about 30 percent of our total – 9.9 million barrels per day in 2013.  But almost two-thirds of that imported oil comes from the Western Hemisphere, most of which comes from Canada. Not to mention, at the very same time our nation exported more than 3.6 million barrels daily in 2013.

But, the predictable posturing, nebulous jobs and iffy dependence aside, the environmental threats that surround tar sands oil are a clear and present danger. They range from the extraction and separation process to produce tar sand oil to spills and leaks, its corrosive effects and the carbon emissions released from burning this unconventional oil are far greater than conventional oil.

We beg to differ with Capito’s assessment that this is a “win-win all around the country.” If anything, it’s “high risk-low reward all around the country.” Holding the line in the “war on coal” or facilitating the production of natural gas we at least understand. However, rallying around a project to build and expand an 875 mile-long pipeline across America’s heartland to the Gulf of Mexico for exporting Canadian tar sands oil is quite another.

We’re disappointed that Capito and Manchin are so willing to sacrifice the environment and promote eminent domain for private gain.  But on second thought, their votes were never actually subject to debate, anyhow.