You could be forgiven if you missed this eye-popping report, aptly named "Gas Pipeline Giant Inflated Politicians With $2.7 Million" that was published in the post-election haze of 2016. The good folks over at Texans for Public Justice did some digging into just how much money Dakota Access pipeline billionaire Kelcy Warren and his company, Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), have given to Texas politicians since 2010.
According to the report, "the huge pipeline company sparking land-grab protests in Texas and the Dakotas has given Texas politicians $2.7 million in recent years, while spending up to $1.7 million to lobby Texas officials. Before the recent protests, Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) was not well known to consumers, even though Energy Transfer owns Sunoco and Stripes, which operate thousands of gas stations." That has changed quickly and with each new revelation, the question of whether our systems of governance belong to the people or to the people with massive wealth and lobbying power becomes ever more poignant.
The Dakota Access Pipeline has been a flash point for those in the fight to protect the future of planet. Peaceful, prayerful protests sustained by the Sioux Nation swelled to the thousands, as millions of people watched private secuirty and police use violent tactics to break through protest lines. At the same time the Sioux were fighting for the safety of their water supply, Energy Transfer Partners, working with Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helú, was building two other pipelines, the Comanche Trail and Trans-Pecos pipelines, across West Texas. These pipelines, similar to the the Dakota Access Pipeline, have been met with fierce opposition from Native groups, landowners, and environmentalists. The company has been accused of destroying Native artifacts, shortchanging landowners on the value of their land, and jeopordizing the environmental safety of the region. Despite all of the opposition, the pipelines continue to be built and, to add salt to the proverbial wound, Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Kelcy Warren to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission; a Commission specifically tasked with protecting some of Texas's most precious natural treasures.
"From 2010 through October 2016, ETP’s PAC, ETP’s billionaire CEO Kelcy Warren, and COO Mackie McCrea spent $2.7 million on Texas state politicians. Thirty three cents of each of these ETP dollars went to Gov. Greg Abbott ($899,803). That governor appointed ETP’s Kelcy Warren to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission and spouse Amy Warren to the board of Humanities Texas."
Is it a coincidence that Governor Greg Abbott appointed Warren to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission after recieving almost $900,000 in campaign conributions from him and Energy Transfer Partners? Is the man behind the Dakota Access, Trans-Pecos, and Comanche Trail pipelines, which threaten the water of so many people, really fit to serve on a commission tasked with protecting and preserving treasured natural areas? We think the answer is clear.
The report also noted that while public servants cannot legally use campaign funds for personal use, "soon after Gov. Rick Perry left office, ETP appointed him to two of its corporate boards, which paid Perry a total of $365,000 in cash and stock in 2015." (Since the publishing of TPJ's report, Rick Perry has been nominated by President Trump to head the Department of Energy and left ETP's Board.)
The governors were not the only state officials to benefit from Energy Transfer Partners deep pockets. "Since 2010, ETP’s PAC and two executives have given a total of $684,677 to eight candidates for the Railroad Commission, which oversees pipelines. This included $287,615 to the then three commissioners, and another $10,800 to newly-elected Commissioner Wayne Christian.
Other top ETP recipients include Rep. Myra Crownover ($5,874) and Sen. Chuy Hinojosa ($5,000), who both have former chiefs of staff now lobbying for Energy Transfer Partners or its Sunoco subsidiary. In the past five years ETP and Sunoco have spent between $915,000 and $1.7 million on 36 lobby contracts (exact dollar values are not known because lobbyists report their income in ranges). This lobby effort peaked [in 2016], when nine lobbyists have reported that ETP and Sunoco are paying them up to $460,000 to lobby state officials."
You can find the full text of their report here.