Keystone XL pipeline opponents appeal Nebraska route approval

LINCOLN, Neb. (Reuters) - Opponents of TransCanada Corp’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline appealed a decision by Nebraska regulators to approve a path for the project through the state, a lawyer for the opponents said on Friday.

The legal challenge throws up another obstacle to the long-delayed project, which environmentalists have made a symbol of their fight against climate change but which President Donald Trump supports as a job creator.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission in November approved a route for Keystone XL, lifting what appeared to be the last big regulatory hurdle for the 1,179-mile (1,897-km) pipeline linking the oil fields of Canada’s Alberta province to U.S. refineries, initially proposed nearly a decade ago.

But the approval was not for TransCanada’s preferred path, and was instead for an alternative route that shifted it eastward to an existing pipeline right-of-way.

Lawyers for opponents of the pipeline - which include landowners along the route - have argued that the commission was not permitted to approve anything but the original route TransCanada had requested in its application.


More: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-pipeline-keystone/keystone-xl-pipeline-opponents-appeal-nebraska-route-approval-idUSKBN1EU275



FILE PHOTO: A depot used to store pipes for Transcanada Corp's planned Keystone XL oil pipeline is seen in Gascoyne, North Dakota, U.S. on January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester/File Photo