Obscure Nebraska panel may hold sway over pipeline
Source: AP-EXCITE
By GRANT SCHULTE
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) Congress is suddenly scrambling to vote on the Keystone XL oil pipeline, but the fate of the oft-delayed $5.4 billion project could still wind up in the hands of an obscure commission in Nebraska that regulates telephones, taxi cabs and grain bins.
The Nebraska Supreme Court is expected to rule within weeks on whether the Nebraska Public Service Commission must review the pipeline before it can cross the state, one of six on the pipeline's route. Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman gave the green light in January 2013 without the panel's involvement.
The commission's possible role is part of the tangled legal and political history of the pipeline and raises questions about whether it will continue to be snagged even if the Senate votes to approve it next week as expected. The House voted 252-161 Friday to move forward with the project. President Barack Obama, who has delayed a decision pending the resolution of the Nebraska issue, has not said whether he would sign the legislation.
The proposed crude-oil pipeline, which would run 1,179 miles from the Canadian tar sands to Gulf coast refineries, has been the subject of a fierce struggle between environmentalists and energy advocates ever since Calgary-based TransCanada proposed it in 2008.
FULL story at link.
In this March 11, 2013 photo, a sign reading "Stop the Transcanada Pipeline" stands in a field near Bradshaw, Neb., along the Keystone XL pipeline route through the state. Congress is scrambling to vote on the Keystone XL oil pipeline, but the project could still end up before an obscure commission in Nebraska that regulates telephones, taxi cabs and grain bins. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)
Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20141116/us--oil_pipeline-nebraska-41a0d23165.html
BumRushDaShow
(129,096 posts)By Juan Carlos Rodriguez
Law360, New York (October 28, 2014, 7:16 PM ET) -- South Dakota utility regulators on Tuesday allowed 40 groups and individuals to intervene in TransCanada Corp.s bid to obtain recertification of a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, which expired in June, a decision that will likely postpone the already long-delayed project.
In a unanimous vote, the three-member South Dakota Public Utilities Commission granted all the applications for party status in the recertification process. Many applicants indicated in their paperwork that they oppose the pipeline, which would carry tar sands oil from from Alberta, Canada, to southern Texas. TransCanada had opposed some of the applications on various grounds, but didnt contest others.
PUC staff attorney Kristen Edwards said the commission must next set a procedural schedule for written testimony and discovery, which would be followed by an evidentiary hearing. Edwards said there is no statutory time limit by which the commission must schedule these events, and theres no comment deadline, either.
The debate will center on how much conditions have changed since 2010 when the permit was issued.
http://www.law360.com/articles/591027/sd-allows-more-debate-on-keystone-xl-pipeline-permit
greiner3
(5,214 posts)truthisfreedom
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