Dakota Rural Action calls on state PUC to investigate Keystone

Dakota Rural Action has called on the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and the state congressional delegation to take strong action to insure the safety of people living along the existing Keystone pipeline in Eastern South Dakota. This pipeline travels through 10 counties in eastern South Dakota.

The letter to the PUC asked for a hearing to examine concerns about steel pipe from India’s Welspun, a supplier with a record for supplying substandard steel pipe to other pipelines, and recent concerns about the ability of the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to adequately protect the public from pipeline spills and disasters.

Letters were also sent to the offices of Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, and Sens. Tim Johnson and John Thune, asking them to ensure that PHMSA conducts further testing and analysis to affirm the safety of the Keystone Pipeline.

The PUC responded with a letter saying, “the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is charged with the role of rule promulgation and enforcement [concerning] safety and construction jurisdiction… of interstate pipelines.”