Pipeline protest group backs off

KEYSTONE XL • TransCanada Corp. has reached an agreement with some protesters to end months of blockades and demonstrations aimed at disrupting construction of the Keystone XL Canadian pipeline in Texas and Oklahoma.

The protesters agreed not to trespass on pipeline easements or at TransCanada offices along the southern leg of the pipeline, which stretches from Cushing, Okla., to the U.S. Gulf coast, according to an agreed court judgment and permanent injunction signed Jan. 25.

The agreement — negotiated by lawyers for TransCanada and Tar Sands Blockade — covers several environmental groups and 20 individual protesters, David Dodson, a spokesman for Calgary-based TransCanada, said in a statement.

Ron Seifert, an activist with Tar Sands Blockade, said the agreement doesn’t bind anyone unaffiliated with the parties to the deal. He said the activists were threatened with a $5 million lawsuit for delaying construction.

“TransCanada is just wrong if they think that limiting the rights of a few Texans will squash the grassroots resistance to this project,” Seifert said Monday.

Tar Sands Blockade supported protesters who occupied treetop encampments and chained themselves to equipment along the pipeline route through East Texas since last year.

“We hope this will allow our construction activities to move forward without harassment and the safety concerns that these protesters and organizations have created,” Dodson said.