Skip to Content

RESOURCES

Activist Tools

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is the U.S. agency that permits and regulates fracked gas pipelines and export terminals.

(For oil and tarsands pipelines, permitting and regulation are managed by state-based agencies (often times the “Public Utilities Commission”) and other federal agencies, including the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Dept. of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA) within the Dept. of Transportation.)

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Public Testimony: Videos

  • 350.org: U.S. State Dept. hearing on the Keystone XL pipeline in Grand Island, Nebraska (April 18, 2013)
  • Jane Kleeb of Bold Nebraska testifies at U.S. State Dept. hearing on the Keystone XL pipeline in Grand Island, Nebraska (April 18, 2013).
  • Faith Spotted Eagle of Ihanktonwan Dakota U.S. State Dept. hearing on the Keystone XL pipeline in Grand Island, Nebraska (April 18, 2013)
  • Ben Gotschall testifies U.S. State Dept. hearing on the Keystone XL pipeline in Grand Island, Nebraska (April 18, 2013)

  • Public hearing on proposed fracking wastewater injection well before Nebraska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission in Sioux County, NE (2015)
  • Nebraska rancher Randy Thompson testifies at a hearing on Keystone XL in Washington, D.C. (2011)
  • Jeanne Crumly (landowner on Keystone XL pipeline route) testifies on proposed changes to National Environmental Policy Act at U.S. EPA hearing (2020)

Citizen Reports

“Citizen Report” on U.S. State Department Environmental Impact Statement for Keystone XL Pipeline
173432403-Submission-by-Bold-Nebraska-and-N-E-A-T-to-State-Dept-on-Keystone-XL

County Board Meetings: Steps for Citizen Leaders
(Bold Nebraska, May 2013)
County Board Meetings: Steps for Citizen Leaders (Bold Nebraska, May 2013)

Pipeline Safety Trust: Local Government Guide to Pipelines (2014)
Pipeline Safety Trust: Local Government Guide to Pipelines (2014)

Sample Letter to Local Leaders: Background on State and County Role and the TransCanada Pipeline
May 2011
background_letter to county leaders

Sample Questions to Ask of Pipeline Companies’ Proposal for New or Expanding Pipeline Project for Your Community
(Stop the Pipelines / Delaware Riverkeeper / Sierra Club / Pipeline Safety Coalition, 2018)
Sample Questions to Ask of Pipeline Companies' Proposal for New or Expanding Pipeline Project for Your Community

How-To: Write a Letter to the Editor

Tips for Writing NoKXL Letters to the Editor

How-To: Activist House Party Toolkit

NoKXL House Party Toolkit

Writing & Publishing Op-Eds

Sample Op-Ed: The Hill: Eminent domain fine and dandy for Keystone-obsessed GOP
By Jane Kleeb, Jan. 14, 2015
Eminent domain fine and dandy for Keystone-obsessed GOP _ TheHill

Newspaper Ads

Sample Newspaper Ad: Keystone XL: The Riskiest Pipeline Ever Built
York News-Times (Nebraska), 2015
Keystone XL: The Riskiest Pipeline Ever Built York News Times 2015

Sample Newspaper Ad: Thank You President Biden for Rejecting Keystone XL, Keep Being Bold
New York Times, 2021
Thank You President Biden for Rejecting Keystone XL, Keep Being Bold New York Times, 2021

How-To: FOIA: File a Freedom of Information Act Request

The Freedom of Information Act is the federal law, enacted in 1966, that makes government information accessible to the people. The law is based on the presumption that individuals have a right to know what their government is up to and that government agencies have a duty to provide full disclosure of all records that are not specifically and reasonably exempt. FOIA applies to all 15 departments (Education, Homeland Security, etc.) and 73 other federal agencies (Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Reserve System) in the executive branch of the U.S. government. It does not apply to the president, Congress or the courts. It does not apply to state governments (though each of the 50 states has its own freedom-of-information laws, as do many cities). The act lays out what kinds of information agencies must publish as a matter of course — both in print and, thanks to a 1996 amendment, the Electronic Freedom of Information Act (EFOIA), electronically on their Web sites. It also grants individuals the right to request copies of records not normally prepared for public distribution, and sets standards for determining which records must be made available.

The process is different for filing a FOIA request to various agencies of the federal government, and in each state to its respective state-based agencies.

FOIA Machine (powered by MuckRock)

  • Online tool that allows anyone to generate a public records request with all the necessary legal boilerplate, all for free.

Bold Nebraska has filed multiple FOIA requests related to our work with landowners and citizens opposing the Keystone XL pipelinewith the Nebraska State Patrol and offices of the Governor of Nebraska — including in 2013, when our request returned some alarming results:

Public Records Request Letter (2013) to Nebraska State Patrol and Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning

TransCanada Presentation on Security to Local Law Enforcement (Part 1 of 3)

TransCanada Presentation on Security to Local Law Enforcement (Part 2 of 3)

TransCanada Presentation on Security to Local Law Enforcement (Part 3 of 3)

TransCanada presentation to FBI on pipeline projects

TransCanada Potential Penal Code Charges for Illegal Protest Action Presentation

Nebraska Information Analysis Center meeting on Keystone XL pipeline

Pipeline Fighters Hub