Most discussion of TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline involve the northern section that would cross the US-Canada border… and thus requires State Department and Presidential approval. While activists, politicians, and oil industry representatives have continued to argue over this portion of the pipeline, its southern section – which exists completely within the US – has been built, and is now open for business.

Yesterday, the oil from from Alberta’s tar sands operations began to flow through Keystone XL South. To mark the occasion, and show that the controversy surrounding this project has not yet  died, DesmogBlog published a collection of responses from activists, whistle blowers, and landowners affected by the pipeline on Tuesday. We’ve republished this post below.

We’re still waiting on a decision about the rest of the pipeline: the Obama administration has played this one very close to the vest, as the political implications are enormous. We hope the President remembers the profound environmental consequences this project will likely produce: not just potential spills (though we’ve seen plenty of evidence of that lately), but also the increase of CO2 emissions from this oil, and the grave (and documented) health risks to people in Alberta. We can do better than this.

Today, January 22, the southern portion of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline is set to become operational, although environmentalists and Texas homeowners are continuing to fight against it.

TransCanada is surely celebrating now that it has a pipeline system in place connecting the tar sands in Alberta, Canada to the Gulf Coast refineries and export terminals — via the combination of the original Keystone pipeline running from Alberta to Cushing, Oklahoma and the pipeline it connects to, Keystone XL's southern half (now rebranded the Gulf Coast Pipeline Project) which President Obama fast-tracked via executive order nearly two years ago.

But nobody except the pipeline's owners knows exactly what will be transported through the Gulf Coast pipeline. TransCanada declined to reveal this important information, citing the confidentiality of their commercial contracts. Jeannie Shiffer, a spokesperson for the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA), part of the Department of Transportation, confirmed that, "PHMSA doesn't require pipeline operators to report crude oil types."

For the complete article, please see sustainablog.