Nebraska landowners slam TransCanada in anti-Keystone ads

Nebraska landowners are hitting TransCanada with new anti-Keystone XL radio ads.

Bold Nebraska, a coalition of ranchers and landowners, is matching an ad blitz from pipeline developer TransCanada by airing its own ads directly after every TransCanada one for the next three weeks.

{mosads}The anti-Keystone ad plans to put a spotlight on the State Department’s final environmental analysis, which found that the pipeline’s route would threaten the Sandhills and Ogallala Aquifer, putting roughly 2,300 wells at risk.

The State Department analysis says toxic chemicals from a spill could travel miles in a few days, the coalition said in a statement.

On top of Bold Nebraska’s ad buy, other state landowners and residents will purchase ads of their own on the local Sandhills radio station to highlight concerns about Keystone XL, including environmental issues and water rights.

“Citizens and landowners from the beginning of this fight have stood our ground and pushed back on TransCanada’s misleading contracts and ads. They do not know our state. We do, and we won’t let a foreign corporation run roughshod over us,” said Jane Kleeb of Bold Nebraska.

Since the State Department dropped its final environmental review, green groups and the oil industry have renewed their efforts to influence President Obama’s decision.

Canadian officials and Keystone XL supporters in Congress want Obama to end the delay and set a hard deadline for a decision on the $5.4 billion project.

Currently, the State Department has started the 90-day national interest determination and 30-day public comment period. Obama has not set a timeline for when a decision would be made after those final review periods are finished.