InfrastructureKeystone pipeline clears another hurdle as Nebraska governor approves project

On Tuesday, Nebraska governor Dave Heineman notified President Obama that he approved the controversial Keystone XL pipeline to go through the state. This marks a significant step forward in the project, which was delayed by the administration last year.

In late 2011, a group of Republican senators introduced legislation to force the Obama administration to make a decision on the pipeline within sixty days. Congress passed the legislation a month later, but in early 2012, Obama rejected the application, saying that the deadline prevented a full assessment of the pipeline’s impact

“This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline that prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people,” Obama said at the time. “I’m disappointed that Republicans in Congress forced this decision, but it does not change my administration’s commitment to American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on oil.”.

USA Todayreports that Heineman wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama saying he approved a revised route for the pipeline, which stretches from Canada to Texas, which would avoid the environmentally sensitive Sandhills region.

The decision puts the ball back in Obama’s court —  the project must be approved by the State Department to move forward —  to decide the fate of the pipeline.

According to Heineman, the project would pump $418 million into the state’s economy.

“Impacts on acquifers … should be localized, and Keystone would be responsible for any cleanup,” Heineman wrote.

Business leaders and Republicans have said that the pipeline will create thousands of jobs and lessen U.S. dependence on foreign oil, but Environmentalists contend that the project is too risky for the environment and public health and is the opposite of Obama’s pledge during his first campaign run that the White House will work to end “the tyranny of oil.”

USA Todaynotes that the issues could resurface later this week at a nomination hearing for Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts), who was named by Obama to replace Clinton  as the next Secretary of State.

The pipeline runs from Alberta, Canada through North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and into Texas. Another section of the pipeline runs from Kansas through Missouri and into Illinois.