21 November 2017•Update: 21 November 2017
By Barry Eitel
SAN FRANCISCO
Nebraska on Monday approved a proposal from energy company TransCanada to build a section of the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline through the state.
The decision by the Public Service Commission (PSC) comes just days after a section of the pipeline in nearby South Dakota leaked 210,000 gallons of oil.
The PSC said it would not take that recent oil spill, the largest in the state’s history, into account.
The 3-2 decision was the final regulatory hurdle for TransCanada’s proposed 1,179-mile (1,897-kilometer) pipeline that would connect oil sands in Canada to refineries in Texas and elsewhere. The proposed pipeline would run from Alberta down through the U.S. states of Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska before linking to other sections of the pipeline already in operation.
TransCanada’s reaction to the PSC decision was muted, with the company saying it is “evaluating” the finding.
"As a result of today's decision, we will conduct a careful review of the Public Service Commission's ruling while assessing how the decision would impact the cost and schedule of the project," CEO Russ Girling said in a statement.
The PSC voted to approve an alternative route for the pipeline that is further east than TransCanada’s preferred route. The lone Democrat on the commission, Crystal Rhoades, said in dissent there was “no evidence” the pipeline’s construction would actually create jobs in Nebraska.
She was joined in voting against the proposal by Mary Ridder, one of the four Republicans on the commission.
The Keystone pipeline has been a flashpoint for environmentalists for several years. Supporters of the pipeline say it provides crucial jobs wherever it stretches, while critics have charged that extending the pipeline increases the risk of environmental disasters like the oil spill on Nov. 16.
After six years of review, former President Barack Obama rejected TransCanada’s proposal in 2015 for the route the PSC approved.
President Donald Trump revived the project in January and signed a memoranda expediting the environmental review process for the project.
To build the $8 billion project, TransCanada now needs approval from the White House, although there will likely be legal challenges against the company.
Environmental groups have already vowed to halt the pipeline’s expansion.
“Whatever the route, shipping more dirty tar sands through America’s heartland at the expense of our climate and communities remains unacceptable,” Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune said in a statement.
“Regardless of the Public Service Commission’s decision today, millions of people across the country will continue to speak out and demand that the Keystone XL project never gets built. It is disappointing that the Public Service Commission sided with a foreign oil company over the interests of American communities who would be threatened by this pipeline, but we remain confident that Keystone XL will never be built,” he added.
