KEYSTONE/OIL/PIPELINES: “Nebraska regulators will hear final arguments for and against TransCanada Corp’s (TRP.TO) proposed Keystone XL pipeline this week before deciding whether to approve its route later this year, the last big hurdle for the long-delayed project after President Donald Trump gave it federal approval.
The proposed 1,179-mile (1,897-km) pipeline linking Canada’s Alberta oil sands to U.S. refineries has been a lightning rod of controversy for nearly a decade, pitting environmentalists worried about spills and global warming against business advocates who say the project will lower fuel prices, shore up national security, and bring jobs.
Trump’s administration handed TransCanada a federal permit for the pipeline in March, reversing a decision by former President Barack Obama to reject the project on environmental grounds. But the line still needs a nod from regulators in Nebraska – the last of three states to approve its proposed path into the heartland.
Nebraska’s Public Service Commission is meant to weigh whether the project is in the state’s public interest, and will announce a decision by November.
Proponents will argue the project will bring in hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in revenues, while opponents – including scores of landowners on the proposed route – will argue the jobs are temporary and the risks from spills to local industries like cattle ranching too great.
If the commission approves the line, TransCanada could seek to seize property using eminent domain law – a politically unpalatable option in the conservative state.”
-Kevin O’Hanlon, “Keystone XL pipeline fate in balance as Nebraska opens hearings,” Reuters, Aug. 7, 2017 04:04am