Judge: Nebraska governor exceeded authority in approving Keystone pipeline

Judge: Nebraska governor exceeded authority in approving Keystone pipeline.(RT).

Lancaster County Judge Stephanie Stacy struck down Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman’s approval of the pipeline route on Wednesday. Stacy said that jurisdiction over such a decision belongs to the pertinent state regulator, the Nebraska Public Service Commission.

Gov. Heineman said later Wednesday he would appeal the state court ruling, Reuters reported.
Three Nebraska landowners opposed to the pipeline filed the lawsuit.

"Under the Court's ruling, [pipeline owner] TransCanada has no approved route in Nebraska,"

Dave Domina, the landowners' attorney, said in a statement, according to AP. "TransCanada is not authorized to condemn the property against Nebraska landowners. The pipeline project is at standstill in this state."

AP reported that TransCanada could not be reached for comment.

In January 2013, Heineman sent a letter to President Barack Obama confirming that he would allow the controversial pipeline through the state. The decision came amid much opposition from landowners and others warning that the pipeline could contaminate the Ogallala aquifer, a major groundwater supply.

Opponents said the governor did not have the authority to approve the route.

Heineman had opposed the pipeline running through the state’s Sandhills region, which is full of grassy sand dunes that are at high risk for erosion. Yet he said in the letter to Obama that the 195-mile route through Nebraska would avoid the area. He said any spills of the crude tar sands would be localized, and that TranCanada would fulfill cleanup responsibilities.

The ruling will likely cause further delays in completing the 1,179-mile, $7 billion pipeline.

Obama is expected to make a final decision on the pipeline by mid-2014. The southern leg of the pipeline began operations last month.

 Late last month, the US State Department issued a report – prepared by a research company with ties to TransCanada – on the environmental impact of Keystone XL, raising few objections to the prospective ecological damage and harm to human health caused by the pipeline and its functions.

While not taking a stance on the pipeline, the State Department said in the report that negating it would not impact the movement of oil from Alberta to Texas. It also suggested that it would be safer to transport 830,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude by pipeline than by rail.Read a full story here.