Keystone XL Decision to be Made Monday by Nebraska

If there will ever be a Keystone XL pipeline across Nebraska, a decision will be made Nov. 20 that could either close the door on the project or allow it to move forward.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission will meet on that date at 10 a.m. and decide whether to approve the pipeline’s route through the state.

But the Omaha World-Herald reports even if the route is approved, it might be months before construction begins because of anticipated lawsuits over the $8 billion project.

If the project is constructed, it would allow the flow of oil eventually to reach the Cushing tank farm or be transported across the earlier-completed Keystone line extending from Oklahoma to the port refineries in Texas.

In Nebraska, the 36-inch line would stretch for 275 miles after first being proposed in 2008.

The meeting in Nebraska will be live-streamed but the five elected commissioners will not comment on their decision.

As the World-Herald explained, opponents Bold Nebraska and the Sierra Club have promised to file lawsuits challenging the use of eminent domain by a foreign corporation to obtain right of way for the pipeline.