Future Builders

Pipeline bill gets 47-0 first-round approval

In just one week, a bill regulating petroleum pipelines went from deadlocked status in the Natural Resources Committee to sweeping 47-0, first-round passage in the Nebraska Legislature on Thursday.

The sudden turnabout might have been cause for rejoicing in the ranks of critics of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline through the Nebraska Sandhills.

But early feedback on the results of two hours of debate from those who had been calling for state action was not enthusiastic.

Stuart rancher Susan Luebbe called the contents of the Oil Pipeline Reclamation Act -- which sailed through without any attempt at amendment -- "asinine."

Randy Thompson of Martell, whose family owns land along the pipeline path in Merrick County, called the legislation "a token bill."

And Jane Kleeb of Bold Nebraska, one of the leading organizers of opposition to the Sandhills route and the threat posed to the Ogallala Aquifer, wasn't impressed either.

Kleeb's view was not swayed by all the senators rising to support a reclamation approach offered by Sen. Kate Sullivan of Cedar Rapids.

"I definitely got the sense that people were using this as an opportunity to have some political cover on this issue," said Kleeb, of Hastings.

TransCanada's $7 billion, 1,900-mile connection between oil-rich sand deposits in Alberta and refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast won't rise or fall on the basis of what state lawmakers do or don't do.

The bigger hurdle is pending permit approval from the U.S. State Department, widely expected to say yes or no by the end of 2011.

But state senators seemed to feel some sense of accomplishment in voting for language that Sullivan had to pare down substantially between the time she declared it her priority bill and the time of the first roll call.

Together, her original work and companion proposals offered by Annette Dubas of Fullerton and Ken Haar of Malcolm dealt with such formidable subjects as eminent domain and strict liability for spills.

The much less ambitious approach embraced en masse Thursday dealt only with reclamation from construction through the end of the useful life of the pipeline.

"We get some things we want and we don't get some things we want," Sullivan said between mostly supportive remarks by her peers.

Sullivan offered that response as Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery tried to make a distinction between "the best we can do" and "the most we're willing to do.

Power Sport Institute engages future builders with AMD World ...

“I truly am thrilled to have an educational institution such as the Ohio Technical College operating as the Power Sport Institute Affiliate themselves with the AMD World Championship. What a wonderful opportunity to expose future builders to a network of seasoned builders and promote the future of our industry at the same time,” said Robin Bradley, Publisher, Founder and Organizer of AMD Magazine and the Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building.

The Championship is a free-public-admission four-day event that opens on the first Sunday of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, culminating in an awards ceremony at 3:00 pm MST on the Wednesday of the Rally. The whole event, including the awards ceremony, is broadcast on the internet at www.amdchampionship.com .

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