NE Gov. Heineman calls special legislative pipeline session; TransCanada's most shameless puppets

TransCanada Senator Mike Flood of North Platte

The Lincoln Journal Star reports on an increasingly nervous TransCanada here. The Los Angeles Times' story is here. The Omaha-World Herald's article is here. Reactions to the governor's call (from Nebraska Radio Network) are here. Oil&Gas Journal here.

In an incisive "Know The Foe" blog post, Kyle Michaelis at the New Nebraska Network lists TransCanada's most dangerous minions in the Nebraska legislature and explains why, five days after TransCanada pet Mike Flood tried to convince everyone that pipeline legislation wouldn't stand up to legal challenges and that there was therefore no reason for a special session, Gov. Heineman called one anyway and left him holding the bag.

BTW, here's Jane Kleeb's statement via BoldNebraska:

At an afternoon press conference today, Governor Heineman announced tht he is calling the Nebraska legislature into a special session to debate oil pipeline regulations. This reversal from the Governor is welcome news to citizens and groups fighting the pipeline.

Jane Kleeb, the Executive Director of Bold Nebraska, said, "I will take the Governor at his word that he is calling a special session to deal with the route of the pipeline. Bold Nebraska will continue to stand with landowners like Randy and citizens from across our state to ensure regulations get passed in this special session that have real meaning. Now that Governor Heineman has called a special session, we look forward to seeing his bill to protect our land and water that specifically gets the pipeline out of the Sandhills and out of the heart of the Ogallala Aquifer."

Kleeb continued, "Nebraska has the authority to route oil pipelines. We have the authority to require bond for road repairs. We have the authority to make sure landowners are not liable for oil spills. The list is long on what our state can do to ensure our land and water are safe. Because right now, in our state, my hair dresser has more regulations to follow than oil pipelines."