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Nebraska governor signs bills aimed at rerouting oil pipeline
Nebraska Gov. Dave Heinemen (R) signed two bills Tuesday aimed at rerouting TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline around environmentally sensitive areas in the state’s Sand Hills region, The Associated Press reported.
The bills permit state officials to conduct an additional environmental review of the Keystone XL pipeline with an eye toward altering the route and ensuring that future pipelines are subject to additional scrutiny, AP noted.
The legislation codifies the state’s plan to reroute the pipeline, an effort that won the endorsement of TransCanada earlier this month. Nebraska officials had raised concerns about the route because it crosses a vital aquifer in the state.
The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would carry oil sands crude from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas.
The project has set off a firestorm in Washington, with Republicans and industry groups arguing the pipeline will create jobs and boost the economy and activists raising environmental concerns.
Proponents of the Keystone XL project cheered the effort to reroute the pipeline.
“While we remain disappointed that the Presidential Permit necessary for construction of this vital pipeline has been delayed, we appreciate the work that has been done by Speaker [Mike] Flood, [Natural Resources Committee] Chairman Chris Langemeier and the other members of the Nebraska Legislature to set forth a rational process for changing the route of the project through Nebraska as expeditiously as possible,” said Michael Whatley, vice president of the Consumer Energy Alliance, a group that has advocated for speedy approval of the pipeline.
But environmental groups have vowed to continue their opposition campaign to the pipeline despite plans to alter the route, raising concerns about the greenhouse gas emissions associated with oil sands production and the possibility of oil spills.
