Citizens flout Diamond Pipeline project

By Becky Gillette – An event at Caribé Jan. 26 attracted people in Arkansas raising money for direct action and non-violent civil disobedience to stop the $900-million Diamond Pipeline, which is proposed to carry crude oil 440 miles from Cushing, Okla. through Arkansas to the Valero Refinery in Memphis, Tenn.

“It was a great turnout,” organizer Kearia Perry of Eureka Springs said. “It was awesome to see how far people came from. We raised about $2,400 to build up our bank account so we have money to do more direct action.”

“Fundraisers are great,” said Frank Klein. “They get us out of jail.”

Klein, 61, and Amber Stolebarger, 24, of Jonesboro spoke about participating in a lockdown in St. Francis County on Dec. 12 when they chained themselves to a trackhoe being used to install supply pipe with a directional drilling machine. They were chained together with a lockdown device, and OSHA rules required a shutdown of the site until they could be removed. Klein and Stolebarger were arrested and charged with criminal trespassing.  

Klein said that while work only stopped for two hours, it made an impression and helped to build public awareness of the project.

“We wanted to defend our environment and bring attention to what is going on,” Stolebarger said. “It makes no sense to put in another pipeline in this area when we already have so many pipelines. I don’t know a lot of the legal terminology about the permitting, but I just know it is not right.”

“My intention in doing this is to make sure there is a future for my children and grandchildren,” Klein said. “Now, with all the science behind global warming and climate change, they are telling us it is coming, we have to do something. Eventually, it will start feeding off itself and we won’t be able to stop it. No one knows when that tipping point is going to be.”

Klein, who operates a canoe rental and campground business near Mt. Ida, said this pipeline is nothing more than a way for a multi-billion-dollar multinational corporation to make another billion dollars without regard to the impact for future generations.

“All they see is dollars,” Klein said. “From the beginning of this, it was all done pretty much in secret. The pipeline was approved in a fifteen-minute meeting with no public input. That is basically where we stand as a state. The pipeline route goes under the White River, Arkansas River, Illinois Bayou, St. Francis River and the Mississippi River. They have no intentions of doing any environmental impact studies on those major water crossings.”

Klein disputes the contention of the pipeline company that the project will benefit Arkansas.

“All it does it put Arkansas’s waterways and drinking water at risk with no benefit to the state or the citizens of Arkansas,” Klein said. “The Diamond Pipeline website says 1,500 employees will be hired for the project. But when you go on the job site, the majority of license plates are from out of state.”

Klein also contends the Valero Refinery doesn’t even need the oil, and is already served by three pipelines including one alone which can transport 1.2 million barrels of oil per day while the Valero refinery can only refine 195,000 barrels per day.

So what is the purpose of the new pipeline?

“It is so they can divert crude oil to China,” Klein said. “There is no benefit to Arkansas. Basically, we get all the risk of oil spills or any explosion. The oil they are shipping is Balkan crude, the most explosive crude oil produced. The reason it is so explosive is it contains a lot of butane and propane that has not been refined out. This is the same type of crude oil that killed 47 people in a train wreck explosion in Canada in 2013. That is the same oil that is going to be buried four feet under our feet.”

Diamond Pipeline says on its website that the project “will enhance the refinery’s long-term viability for the production of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for the greater Memphis and eastern Arkansas area and provide economic benefits to the areas along the route. Diamond Pipeline LLC is committed to designing, constructing, operating and maintaining the Diamond Pipeline in a safe and reliable manner, and in many cases, will exceed required safety, design, construction and operating standard.”

Klein disagrees about the safety of the pipeline.

“We take all the risk in order for a billionaire to make another billion,” Klein said. “A lot of property was taken under threat of eminent domain. Eminent domain was meant for public projects like streets and hospitals. But it has been twisted now so they can take private property and you have absolutely no say. There is a bill being introduced this year in the Arkansas Legislature to address reforms to eminent domain, and we will be working to get that passed.”

Another speaker at Caribé was Katherine Hanson.

“I’m done with pipelines,” she said. “I’m here to end the oppression of the people. I’m doing it for the future. I’m doing it for Mother Earth.”

Simon Cummings, a local resident who participated in the camp-in protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota, said he thinks it’s important for people to write the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asking for an Environmental Impact Study on the Diamond Pipeline. The Dakota Access Pipeline has been temporarily stalled while an EIS is conducted. However, one of President Trump’s first actions was issuing an executive order telling federal agencies to quickly approve of the Dakota Access Pipeline, the Keystone Pipeline and similar projects.

Letters asking for an EIS for the Diamond Pipeline can be mailed to Colonel Robert G. Dixon, Commander and District Engineer, Department of the Army, Little Rock District, Corps of Engineers, P.O. Box 867, Little Rock, AR 72203-0867.

Perry said the group plans some kind of action every week.

“The Diamond pipeline is being stretched out all over Arkansas and we have members of Arkansas Rising stretched out all over the state,” Perry said. “We are going to try to have some direct action going on every week to stall the pipeline as much as possible. There are also legal remedies being considered.”

Arkansas Rising also suggests citizens contact their state representatives and senators to voice opposition to the project. For more information, go to ArkansasRising.net. Another local fundraiser is scheduled for Feb. 16 at Chelsea’s with Mountain Sprout and other groups scheduled to perform.