Commissioners Disappointed With Keystone Decision

The decision by President Joe Biden last week to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline isn’t a popular one for Roosevelt County’s commissioners.

“I’m really disappointed,” commissioner Duane Nygaard said. “It’s been part of everything we’ve talked about in the 10 years that I’ve been a commissioner.”

Although Roosevelt County wasn’t going to experience increased tax revenue directly from the pipeline, commissioners noted that 27 Montana counties spanning from Phillips County to Fallon County were going to see significant impacts.

The additional tax revenue was especially going to be beneficial in McCone and Prairie counties. Roosevelt County Commissioner Gordon Oelkers feels the added tax revenue was going to about double the tax revenue in those counties.

“We wouldn’t have got it directly, but it would had meant jobs,” Nygaard said of benefits in Roosevelt County.

Commissioner Gary Macdonald noted that Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., reported the pipeline was going to create 11,000 jobs in Montana.

As far as environmental concerns regarding using Alberta’s tar sands, Oelkers said, “The tar sands will still be used somewhere in the world.”

Macdonald added that research for renewable resources is important and should continue. “But there has to be a balance,” Macdonald said.

Nygaard felt confident that water was going to remain safe with the addition of the pipeline. “It had some technology checks on it,” Nygaard said. “It was going to be built with the newest technology.”