KEYSTONE/PIPELINES: “The Keystone XL pipeline could face more delays after Nebraska regulators denied a request by TransCanada Corp. to refile its application for the project.
The Nebraska Public Service Commission said Tuesday [12-19-17] that TransCanada couldn’t amend its application to formally request an alternative route for the pipeline through the state.
TransCanada had filed the paperwork to gird against future legal challenges. Opponents of the long-delayed project immediately claimed the commission’s decision as a victory.
At issue is a procedural quirk concerning the route that the oil pipeline would take on its 1,700-mile journal from the oil sands region of Alberta in western Canada to Steele City, Neb. Last month Nebraska regulators approved a new route before TransCanada had officially requested it. Pipeline opponents immediately seized on the move as a procedural misstep and said they planned to make a new case against the Keystone XL pipeline in state court.
TransCanada had sought to amend its application with the new route in an attempt to reduce the possibility that the commission’s approval of the pipeline could be overturned. Spokesman Terry Cunha said the company would take time to review Tuesday’s decision and determine the appropriate next steps.”
-Christopher M. Matthews, “Nebraska Refuses to Amend Keystone XL Application,” The Wall Street Journal online, Dec. 19, 2017 03:29pm