South Dakota Gives up Property and Sovereignty to TransCanada

I'm with you, Sibby: we just screwed ourselves good.

Well, what's left for a task force to do when the lawyers say they don't have the authority to do anything? That's what state lawyer John Smith told all the governor's men on the South Dakota Underground Pipeline Task Force yesterday. We have no authority at the state level to regulate the construction or operation of the TransCanada Keystone pipeline or any other interstate pipeline running through our state. TransCanada could renege on all the requirements the PUC negotiated with the company as conditions for approval of the pipeline, and we would be powerless to seek any redress. TransCanada could announce cost-cutting measures to build thinner pipeline, eliminate safety inspections, and staff the monitoring stations with trained chimps, and South Dakota would have no power to act to protect its own interests.

So not only have our courts allowed TransCanada to use eminent domain to take our land against our will, but we have given up our state sovereignty over our territory. South Dakota now has a 220-mile by 150-foot strip of Canada slicing right through it. And we're still dependent on foreign oil.