Citizens play second fiddle to big oil, even in South Dakota

Guess who gets to pay for this mess? You guessed it – not big oil

A letter writer from Rapid City points out the hypocrisy of our legislators and protecting big oil from taking responsibility for an oil spill;

This year, SB171 was proposed to provide for a fee of two cents per barrel to be levied on oil pumped through pipelines crossing South Dakota. A fund was to be created by the proceeds of the fee to be used for cleanup in the event of an oil spill or some contamination emanating from the pipeline. A cap on this participating fund would be established at $30 million.

 

Similar legislation in another state requires a higher per-barrel fee. The bill was killed in the Senate State Affairs Committee by a one-vote margin. The current South Dakota pipeline regulations and the testimonies by the pipeline supporters relating to pipeline spills and safety are mostly reassuring.

 

However, there appears to be a deficiency with regard to who will pay for a cleanup in the event that the pipeline company becomes insolvent or is no longer in business. This missing financial recourse is an important consideration, especially when considering the state’s experience with specific gold mining and solid waste operations in the Black Hills area.

Why wouldn’t we want this limited, alternative protection?

Because our legislators protect business first and make the citizens pickup the tab if something goes wrong.