Washington (Platts)--22Jan2013/1231 pm EST/1731 GMT
Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman on Tuesday approved TransCanada's latest route for the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, agreeing with state regulators that it avoids environmentally sensitive areas in his state. In a letter to President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Heineman signed off on recent findings by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. He asked the White House to take them into consideration when deciding whether to grant TransCanada a presidential permit needed to build the pipeline. Heineman said TransCanada has assured the state that it would take a number of mitigation measures, including developing an emergency response plan for spills, providing fast access to the carried product's "Material Safety Data Sheet" in the event of a release and providing baseline water testing before construction for wells within 300 feet of the route. Article continues below... Request a free trial of: Oilgram News Oilgram News brings fast-breaking global petroleum and gas news to your desktop every day. Our extensive global network of correspondents report on supply and demand trends, corporate news, government actions, exploration, technology, and much more.
Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman on Tuesday approved TransCanada's latest route for the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, agreeing with state regulators that it avoids environmentally sensitive areas in his state. In a letter to President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Heineman signed off on recent findings by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. He asked the White House to take them into consideration when deciding whether to grant TransCanada a presidential permit needed to build the pipeline. Heineman said TransCanada has assured the state that it would take a number of mitigation measures, including developing an emergency response plan for spills, providing fast access to the carried product's "Material Safety Data Sheet" in the event of a release and providing baseline water testing before construction for wells within 300 feet of the route.
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Opposition from Nebraska officials and citizen groups became a major sticking point in the State Department's review of the project in 2011. The White House ultimately rejected TransCanada's first pipeline application in January 2012, blaming Congress for imposing an impossible-to-meet 60-day deadline for a decision. TransCanada's original application envisioned a nearly 1,700-mile system from Alberta's oil sands to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast, but TransCanada has since split it in two. The $5.3 billion northern segment will run 850 miles from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Nebraska, carrying up to 700,000 b/d initially and up to 830,000 b/d after planned pumping upgrades. Separately, TransCanada has started construction on the $2.3 billion southern segment, calling it the Gulf Coast Project, which will run from Cushing, Oklahoma, to Nederland, Texas. That section has faced its own delays, including regular demonstrations by pipeline opponents locking themselves to logging machines and trees along the route.--Meghan Gordon, meghan_gordon@platts.com --Edited by Katharine Fraser, katharine_fraser@platts.com
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