The US State Department announced Thursday that President Barack Obama's administration plans to review the proposed route of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline that will begin in Canada's tar sands and travel to a refinery in Houston, Texas. The Administration will look into alternative routes so the pipeline does not pass through Nebraska. The proposed pipeline would pass though Nebraska's Sand Hills which is an environmentally sensitive location because of the pipeline's proximity to Nebraska's water supply. As a result, a final decision on whether or not construction of the pipeline can proceed will not be made until after the 2012 election next November, and likely not until 2013.
Proponents of the Keystone XL pipeline tout it will generate thousands of jobs, reduce the US' dependence on foreign oil and will be a boon to the steel producers in the oil and gas industry. But the pipeline is receiving stiff opposition from environmentalists that maintain that the pipeline will increase pollution and destabilize the climate. Some environmental groups that oppose the pipeline have vowed to cut off any funding to Obama's campaign if his administration approves it, while TransCanada says that delaying a decision will cost the company a huge amount of money.