Pipeline Resistance
Nell Carpenter, MPH Candidate
What is pipeline resistance?
Pipeline resistance refers to the grassroots activism directed towards the construction of oil and gas pipelines due to its harmful environmental and human impacts. Anti-pipeline activism is one example of the power that grassroots environmental activism can have in the face of environmental threats. Activist efforts, largely led by Indigenous Land Defenders and Water Protectors, have led to the cancellation, stalling, or amendment of many pipeline projects.
“Advocacy and direct action by Indigenous Peoples in opposition to threats to lands, waters, air, and future generations are not optional measures by those that adhere and live by traditional Indigenous knowledge. They are obligations.”
Indigenous Resistance Against Carbon (Goldtooth et al., 2021)
Defining the problems with pipelines
Pipelines that carry fossil fuels, including crude oil and natural gas, have become widespread since the discovery of large oil deposits in the 19th Century (Epstein et al., 2002). Pipelines are currently considered the safest way to transport oil, as compared to train and truck transport, for example. However, the US currently leads the world with the longest cumulative length of pipelines, at over 2.7 million miles (Epstein et al., 2002, Kelso, 2018, Senouci et al., 2014). Pipelines are a significant source of wealth for the companies who own the pipelines and other stakeholders involved, which drives the demand to find and transport significant quantities of oil.
While pipelines are considered a safer alternative to other forms of oil transport, there are many ways in which they can, and inevitably do, fail (Biezma et al., 2020, Senouci et al., 2014). There are hundreds of known “failures” each year just in the U.S. (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, 2021). These cause damage to human and environmental health and wellbeing through explosions, air pollution, water pollution impacting food systems and drinking water, and ecosystem disruption, all of which cost billions of dollars per year to address (Groeger, 2012, Kelso, 2018, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, 2021). While Environmental Impact Assessments are required for these projects, they are often not completed, inadequately completed, or only done symbolically with no follow-up of findings (Epstein et al., 2002). In addition to the impact on environmental health, pipelines are an environmental justice issue. Many pipelines in the US and Canada violate Indigenous Treaties and significantly impact the health and sovereignty of Indigenous communities who rely heavily on the land for wellbeing; an outcome that is under-investigated (Datta and Hurlbert, 2019, Estes, 2017, Goldtooth et al., 2021, Taylor, 2020). Further, the construction of pipelines is more likely to be routed through low-income areas, as in the case of the North Brooklyn Pipeline (Datta and Hurlbert, 2019, Goldtooth et al., 2021). Lastly, jobs in pipeline construction and maintenance lead to high rates of injury and fatality (Juhasz, 2018).
Pipelines cause frequent fatal fires and explosions (Kelso, 2018)
Entire bodies of water and watersheds can be polluted by pipeline failures (Epstein et al., 2002)
Pipeline construction harms human and animal habitat and sovereignty (Epstein et al., 2002)
Pipelines compared to other forms of oil transport
Pipelines are considered the safest, and most energy and fuel-efficient form of oil and gas transport as compared to truck, rail, and maritime transport (Strogen et al., 2016). Each transportation option has advantages and disadvantages related to factors such as the quantity of substance it can transport, the greenhouse gas emissions associated with transport, and the safety issues they present to workers (Strogen et al., 2016). However, it is challenging to establish a 'best option' because of other complexities, including how a locality produces electricity (i.e. coal, hydro) and the type of truck or trailer (Pootakham and Kumar, 2009). There is a growing body of research seeking to address and reduce the frequency of pipeline failures.
While pipelines might have a relative advantage over other forms of transport, it does not erase the existing problems with pipelines:
Pipelines inevitably fail
Many proposed or currently operated pipelines in the US and Canada violate Indigenous treaty rights
Continued investment in pipelines results in less money invested in renewable forms of energy
While they experience relative safety, oil and gas pipeline workers are still at high risk of injury or death (Juhasz, 2018)
Pipeline failures can result in extremely high amounts of pollution because of the large quantities they transport
Pipeline construction permanently damages the land, including ecosystems and human habitat
Keystone XL Pipeline Protest. Photo from BBC
Distribution of causes of pipeline incidents from 2009-2018
There are many reasons why a pipeline incident or failure may occur. Additionally, climate change is likely to increase weather events and other factors that commonly lead to failures. Pipeline incidents can lead to human fatalities and injuries, as well as vast environmental damage. (Biezma et al., 2020)
Figure from Biezma et al., 2020
Examples of pipeline failures
Location: Kalamazoo River, MI
Cause: Cracks and corrosion
In 2010, cracks and corrosion in a pipeline led to an 840,000-gallon crude oil spill in the Kalamazoo River in Michigan. Hundreds of Michigan residents reported health impacts from exposure to toxins. It took 17 hours for Enbridge, the company that owns the pipeline, to respond to alarms following the spill and the cleanup costs were around $800 million.
Location: Allentown, PA
Cause: Aging
In 2011, a gas pipeline that had been installed in the 1920s exploded underneath a residential street. The explosion killed five people and over 50 houses and buildings were damaged. The pipeline had not been properly monitored, despite its age and existing signs of damage.
Location: Yellowstone River, MT
Cause: Rupture
In 2011, 63,000 gallons of crude oil were released into the Yellowstone River after a gas pipeline ruptured. It was estimated that the crude oil could have spread up to 240 miles downstream. Residents of a nearby town were evacuated after the spill for fear of explosion. Crude oil is particularly toxic to people and wildlife, causing significant concern for the vast populations that could have come in contact with it.
Examples from ProPublica's Safety Tracker (2012). Visit the site for an interactive map and graph of incidents of pipeline failure from 1986-2012.
Photo from Jennifer Skjod from NPR.
In 2016, the Belle Fourche pipeline leaked an estimated 176,000 gallons into the Ash Coulee Creek in Western North Dakota. The leak was triggered by changes in the hillside the pipeline is nested in causing the pipeline to crack. The cleanup from this spill took over a year.
Explore other examples of pipeline failures below.
Characterizing the resistance.
Grassroots activists, largely place-based activists, employ various methods to resist the construction of pipelines and their subsequent impacts. Indigenous activists, often referred to as Water Protectors or Land Defenders, are often leaders in these efforts (Estes, 2017, Dutte and Hulbert, 2019, Gooldtooth et al., 2021). One recent report documents 14 Indigenous-led “frontline fights” against pipelines across the US and Canada (Goldtooth et al., 2021), and a Google search demonstrates that there are many other local-scale fights happening across the world at any given moment. Tactics such as civil disobedience, occupation of land, legal action, marches, and more are leveraged to put pressure on those in power to cease pipeline projects and operations (Estes, 2017, Goldtooth et al., 2021). Read about examples below.
"#NoDAPL was not the brainchild of big green NGOs. It did not arise from the large UN summits or the closed-door policy meetings that typically characterize mainstream Indigenous and environmental organizing. Like its people, it grew from the earth and was a direct response to the specific material conditions confronting Indigenous life" (Estes, 2017).
It is important to name that anti-pipeline activists are frequently met with arrest and brutalization by military and police forces (Estes, 2017, Goldtooth et al., 2021, Temper et al., 2020). Further, this violence cannot be considered separate from the violence Indigenous communities have endured at the hands of colonizers for centuries (Estes, 2017). This struggle, like many others, disrupts the capitalist, white supremacist status quo and is thus met by vehement opposition by those who stand to gain from upholding it. Click the logos at the bottom of the page to learn more about how to support ongoing efforts.
Examples of activist efforts
Project: Line 3 Expansion Oil Pipeline (300 miles) - Anishinaabe land (Northern Minnesota)
Current status: construction is active
Activists, including Indigenous leaders from the Mississippi River Band of Ojibwe, have been fighting the Line 3 pipeline on the grounds that it violates Treaty rights and has vast implications for surrounding bodies of water. One primary tactic has included erecting encampments near various proposed pipeline sites where communities plan direct action protests, hold space for Ceremonies and community building, and directly confront construction. (Goldtooth 2021)
Project: North Brooklyn Pipeline (7 miles) - Brooklyn, New York City
Current status: partially completed, partially on pause
Community members, primarily community members of color, have been fighting against the North Brooklyn Pipeline which stretches through New York City. Activists have employed many direct action tactics, including bike demonstrations and organizing a gas bill strike, and now they are taking their case to the court. The proposed final section of the pipeline (which has been put on pause due to activist efforts) would disproportionately impact communities of color that are already over-burdened with environmental toxins. (Winters 2021)
Project: Keystone XL Pipeline (1200 miles) - Alberta, Canada to Steele City, Nebraska
Current status: canceled
The successful struggle to shut down the Keystone XL (KXL) Pipeline lasted decades. Activists, including Indigenous communities, environmentalists, environmental organizations, and local community members, fought relentlessly in direct action demonstrations and legal battles, for this outcome. The KXL was expected to be particularly consequential due to the volume of tar sands oil (800,000 barrels/day) and the fact that tar sands oil is significantly dirtier than other forms of oil (Goldtooth 2021).
Identifying the environmental outcomes
Fewer pipelines mean:
Less upstream water pollution impacting entire bodies of water or watersheds
Less harm on human, terrestrial or aquatic life within the territory of the pipeline
Saved greenhouse gas emissions from pipeline construction and maintenance
Fewer toxins in air, drinking water and food
Increased ability of Indigenous communities and other communities to continue stewarding the land
More attention and money spent on alternative forms of power (i.e. solar, wind)
"Indigenous resistance has also contributed an outsized political impact, helping shift public debate around fossil fuels and Indigenous Rights and avoid lock-in of carbon-intensive projects."
Indigenous Resistance Against Carbon (Goldtooth et al., 2021)
Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash
Photo from Toronto Star
Dakota Access Pipeline protest
Activist efforts towards pipelines have been successful in curbing pipeline construction efforts and increasing adherence to environmental impact assessment procedures. The Keystone pipeline is a high-profile example, but evidence also shows other projects around the world resulting in new Environmental Impact Reports, project cancellation, withdrawal of investment, and project suspension (Temper et al. 2020). While it is hard to quantify, a recent report estimates that if all current pipeline resistance efforts are successful, the US and Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 24% (Goldtooth et al. 2021). Considering the widespread impacts of oil and gas pipelines, air and water quality, terrestrial and aquatic species, and human health all stand to benefit from their cancellation (Epstein et al. 2002).
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References
Biezma, M., Andrés, M., Agudo, D., & Briz, E. (2020). Most fatal oil & gas pipeline accidents through history: A lessons learned approach. Engineering failure analysis, 110, 104446.
Epstein, P. R., Selber, J., Borasin, S., Foster, S., Jobarteh, K., Link, N., . . . Reyes, D. (2002). A life cycle analysis of its health and environmental impacts. The Center for Health and the Global Environment. Harvard Medial School, EUA, Marzo.
Estes, N. (2017). Our History Is the Future: Mni Wiconi and the Struggle for Native Liberation.
Datta, R., & Hurlbert, M. A. (2020). Pipeline Spills and Indigenous Energy Justice. Sustainability, 12(1), 47.
Goldtooth, D., Saldamando, A., & Gracey, K. (2021). Indigenous resistance against carbon. Retrieved from https://www.ienearth.org/indigenous-resistance-against-carbon/
Groeger, L. (2012). Pipeline Safety Tracker. Retrieved from https://projects.propublica.org/pipelines/
Juhasz, A. (2018). Death on the Dakota Access: An investigation into the deadly business of building oil and gas pipelines. Pacific Standard. Retrieved from https://psmag.com/magazine/death-on-the-dakota-access
Kelso, M. (2018). Pipeline incidents continue to impact residents. Retrieved from https://www.fractracker.org/2018/12/pipeline-incidents-impact-residents/
Senouci, A., Elabbasy, M., Elwakil, E., Abdrabou, B., & Zayed, T. (2014). A model for predicting failure of oil pipelines. Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, 10(3), 375-387. doi:10.1080/15732479.2012.756918
Strogen, B., Bell, K., Breunig, H., & Zilberman, D. (2016). Environmental, public health, and safety assessment of fuel pipelines and other freight transportation modes. Applied energy, 171, 266-276.
Taylor, S. (Writer). (2020). LN3: 7 Teachings of the Anishinaabe Resistance. In.
Temper, L., Avila, S., Del Bene, D., Gobby, J., Kosoy, N., Le Billon, P., . . . Scheidel, A. (2020). Movements shaping climate futures: A systematic mapping of protests against fossil fuel and low-carbon energy projects. Environmental Research Letters, 15(12), 123004.
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. (2021). Pipeline Incident 20 Year Trends. Retrieved from https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/data-and-statistics/pipeline/pipeline-incident-20-year-trends. from Pipeline Data and Statistics U.S. Department of Transportation https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/data-and-statistics/pipeline/pipeline-incident-20-year-trends
Pootakham, T., & Kumar, A. (2010). A comparison of pipeline versus truck transport of bio-oil. Bioresource technology, 101(1), 414-421.
Winters, J. (2021). Brooklyn pipeline disproportionately harms communities of color, complaint alleges. Grist. Retrieved from https://grist.org/accountability/complaint-brooklyn-pipeline-civil-rights-act/