A news report from Nebraska said that TransCanada, the developer of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, plans to start construction next year, after a US State Department review concluded that major environmental damage from a leak is “unlikely” and could quickly be mitigated.
The updated 338-page report was released a month after a federal judge in Montana ordered the US State Department to conduct a more thorough review of the pipeline's proposed pathway after Nebraska state regulators changed the route. TransCanada has reportedly already started preparing pipe yards, transporting pipe and mowing parts of the project's right-of-way in Montana and South Dakota.
The report issued Friday drew criticism from environmental groups, which say they will continue to fight the project they view as an environmental threat. However, the report is a draft that must still face public review and comments; federal officials say they expect to have the final draft ready by December.
The pipeline is expected to carry nearly 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Canada through Montana and South Dakota to Steele City, Nebraska, where it would connect with the original Keystone pipeline that runs down to Texas Gulf Coast refineries.