Is Diamond honest?

We strive to live by the core values of safety, accountability, ethics and integrity, respect and fairness every day.

– Plains All American Pipelines

PAA, known in Arkansas as Diamond Pipeline LLC, doing business as DP Pipeline LLC, says “One of the ways we demonstrate our commitment to these values is to seek out opportunities to be a good neighbor by supporting the local first responder community.” PAA offers a First Responder Grant Program aimed at supporting the training and resource needs of responders.

Massive spills and local emergency response

PAA runs high-pressure pipelines until they leak. Underground pipe leaks are hard to spot. Diamond’s leak detection system is designed to alert remote control operators “Houston, we have a problem, Diamond sprung a leak.” More likely, someone in Arkansas will find crude flooding onto their land.

PAA’s grants for fire departments along the route shows that Diamond anticipates leaks and spills. Local communities will be responsible for cleanup efforts, PAA will not be liable. Case in point: The Okmulgee, Okla., Fire Department, got $9,000 for the purchase of two rough terrain trucks equipped to handle 600,000 gallons of water. Diamond crude flows at 350,000 gallons per hour, how are two trucks going to help? Diamond is a disaster waiting to happen.

Let’s cut to the chase

The pipeline is a 100-year false energy solution. Who will be driving gasoline cars in 30 years? No one, we can’t afford more GHG emissions.

China, India, France, England, and Norway, have announced plans to ditch gas and diesel cars in the coming years. China will offer subsidies of as much as half the retail price of electric and some hybrid vehicles to help buoy production. Chinese-owned Volvo (VOLAF) from 2019 onward will have an electric motor.

Last June, Nissan offered a $10,000 rebate on Nissan Leaf vehicles made in Smyrna, Tenn., sold to Oklahoma Gas & Electric customers. The $10,000 incentive is in addition to the $7,500 federal tax credit. Smart Oklahoma drivers got the all-electric, 2017 Leaf, for less than half the price (batteries included).

Chevy Bolt is the first, U.S. made, affordable, 238-mile range, fully electric SUV, and is the 2017 North American Car of the Year. The Joplin, Mo., Crossroads Chevrolet, has a great sales team. We went for a test drive and rode home in a white Burro.

Researchers at the University of Texas and University of Maryland and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory are leading the research on the new generation of lithium-ion batteries. The U.S. can create thousands of high paying manufacturing jobs.

Is Diamond Honest?

Honest companies are open to questions and clearly explain the good and the ugly. The Diamond petition for public support on their website, makes false, vague, and unsupported claims, and ignores the negative effects.

Negative climate impact. The GHG emissions from burning 200,000 barrels of shale crude oil per day are ignored. Energy conservation, energy efficiency, solar and wind energy solutions are dismissed.

Beauty of local communities and sacredness of private land. Bill Howley, a brilliant ecologist, wrote, “When I talk with my neighbors about deer hunting, they never refer to my land. They say, deer ran through you. If you live in Houston, you may not understand the worldview rural thinking reflects. It is, however, very real where I live. If you want to come across me, you must start by talking about the land. If you don’t understand that, you’re in for a fight.”

Social and political unrest. Taking private property without an approved route and repealing constitutional rights of freedom of speech and assembly, create division and anxiety. Diamond changes the rules at without consulting landowners. “The pipeline will be monitored with regular aerial and ground surveillance patrols,” newly added to Diamond’s website. Our elected representatives have sided with Diamond, choosing false economic gains over public harmony, health, and environmental justice.

Valero gets crude from the massive Capline pipeline, running from the Gulf to Patoka, Ill. PAA needs the Diamond pipeline to pay the cost of the project, and generate profits to build other pipelines.

Dr. Luis Contreras