Rerouted Keystone Pipeline Path Back for Another Round
Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman (R) must decide by early February whether to allow TransCanda Corp. to build the Keystone XL pipeline through his state. But a final federal decision on the cross-border oil sands pipeline is still several months off. A recent report on a 2011 pipeline rupture that inundated the Yellowstone River in Montana with 1,500 barrels of oil is unlikely to provide any new ammunition to opponents seeking to stop the Keystone pipeline.
Heineman received a 2,000-page report on Keystone from Nebraska's Dept. of Environmental Quality on Jan. 2. He has 30 days to make a decision on the line. DEQ concludes that the newest route avoids the pristine Sand Hills region and shallow groundwater areas. The pipeline would still cross portions of the sensitive Ogallala Aquifer, but DEQ concluded that the new route would have minimal impact. Heineman, who opposed the previous route because it crossed the Ogallala, is widely expected to approve the new route.