Nebraska's environment agency has completed a much-anticipated review of
the Keystone XL oil pipeline in the state, finding that a new route
proposed by pipeline operator TransCanada Corp. (TRP, TRP.T) avoids
sensitive regions that have been a source of concern.
The final review, released Friday, triggers a 30-day deadline
for Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, a Republican, to make a final
recommendation on the pipeline to the U.S. government.
The U.S. State Department is conducting a separate review of
the pipeline because it would cross the U.S.-Canada border. The State
Department is expected to issue its own draft environmental review in
coming days.
TransCanada says it expects to receive a permit from the U.S. government by the end of the first quarter.
The Keystone XL pipeline has been controversial since it was
first proposed in 2008, but some of the fiercest opposition has come
from Nebraska. Environmental groups, landowners and lawmakers balked at
an earlier route proposed by TransCanada because it passed through the
state's ecologically sensitive Sand Hills region.
A new pipeline route curves east of the Sand Hills but would
still cross the Ogallala Aquifer, a source of drinking water and
irrigation supplies, Friday's report from the Nebraska Department of
Environmental Quality said. The new route also avoids many fragile soils
in northern Nebraska and shallow groundwater areas.
"I will now carefully review this report over the next several weeks," Mr. Heineman said in a statement.