Northwest tribes are fighting the proposed expansion of the TransMountian Pipeline, which would stretch from the Alberta tar sands to Puget Sound. (Stop Carbon Pollution/Flickr)
SEATTLE – The mother of all pipelines could be coming to the Northwest, and Native Americans in the region want their voices heard on the proposal.
The Houston-based company, Kinder Morgan’s expanded TransMountain Pipeline would stretch from the Alberta tar sands to Puget Sound and could transport nearly 900,000 barrels of crude each day. That’s more than both the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines.
It also could increase the number of oil tankers in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, sevenfold.
Jewell James, with the Sovereignty and Treaty Protection Office for the Lummi Nation, said his and other U.S. tribes tried to intervene when Canada’s National Energy Board approved permits for this pipeline.
“We felt that our voice was basically ignored, our concerns were ignored, and we think the energy board pretty much has sold out not only our people, but their people,” he said.
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