BOLD Nebraska

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 18, 2026

“It’s never being built”: Bold Founder Jane Kleeb Responds to Trump Statement on Keystone XL Pipeline

Hastings, NE — Jane Kleeb, the founder and executive director of Bold Nebraska, the grassroots organization that organized landowner opposition to defeat the Keystone XL pipeline project, responded on Tuesday to a statement from President Trump announcing a “deal” with Canada that the project “may be awoken from the grave!”:

“It’s never being built. Americans don’t want a foreign export pipeline using eminent domain on farmers and ranchers. We’ve killed Keystone XL three times. We will do it again. Trump should focus on infrastructure that will actually bring costs down,” said Jane Kleeb, Founder and Executive Director at Bold Alliance.

Kleeb also spoke out back in April, when developers South Bow and Bridger jointly announced plans to revive parts of the defunct Keystone XL pipeline route with a new proposal:

“You can rename it, rebrand it, repackage it — Keystone XL will never be built. For 13 years, a foreign oil corporation used the power of eminent domain to bully American landowners to take their land, all for Big Oil’s private gain. We refused to back down. We took them to court and fought to return those easements to farmers and ranchers. Keystone XL has no route, no easements, and no support in Nebraska,” said Jane Kleeb, Bold Alliance Founder and Executive Director.

An op-ed co-authored by Bold Alliance attorney and energy policy advisor Paul Blackburn, and longtime pipeline fighter and advocate Kenny Bruno published in April further lays out the reasons why this project will never be built: “Keystone XL By Any Other Name Will Be Just As Crudely Sour.”

About Bold’s Easement Action Teams:
The Easement Action Teams are a project of the Bold Education Fund. The EATs work with local communities to provide immediate legal representation to landowners facing pipelines and other fossil fuel infrastructure. Our first priority is to protect landowners’ property rights and water. We believe landowners should have the ultimate right of what does and does not happen on their land. We stand against the use of eminent domain for private gain. (https://easementteams.org) The first landowners legal co-op formed was the Nebraska Easement Action Team, which successfully organized landowners to fight the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, and currently works with landowners fighting carbon pipelines in the state. (https://neeasement.org)

About Bold Pipeline Fighters Hub:
The Bold Pipeline Fighters Hub, a project of the Bold Education Fund, provides technical, legal, story telling and organizing assistance to any community fighting pipelines and other fossil fuel infrastructure, with the goal of protecting the land and water. (https://pipelinefighters.org)

About Bold:
The Bold Alliance and Bold Education Fund are coordinating state-based groups with our Pipeline Fighters Hub and landowner legal groups called the Easement Action Teams to stop pipelines from using eminent domain for private gain. (https://boldalliance.org)

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Nebraskans deserve to know where the legislative candidates who are asking for their votes stand on the issue of risky carbon capture projects and the abuse of eminent domain by private carbon pipeline corporations.

We need to get each candidate on the record – but we need your help.

Below is a sample message, contact info for candidates, and a link to a form to report back their responses. If you can contact just 3 candidates, it will greatly help us reach our goal!

If you have any questions, please reach out to Shelli Meyer at shelli@boldalliance.org or Tom Genung at tom@boldnebraska.org.

P.S. While we are focused on legislative candidates, it doesn’t hurt to ask candidates running for other offices about this issue, too!

Sample phone/email conversation with candidate:

“Hello, I am reaching out as a Nebraska voter. I am concerned about risky carbon capture and storage (CCS) schemes taking place across our state and the undermining of our property rights by privately-owned corporations abusing eminent domain. If elected, will you protect landowners and communities by supporting legislation that prohibits the use of eminent domain for CCS projects?

Thank you for your time,”

Click here for a list of candidates and contact info, and a form to report-back your results.