Lancaster County judge Stephanie Stacy has issued a ruling that blocks TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline from running through Nebraska.
The ruling invalidates Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman’s prior approval of the route for the pipeline.
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Stacy agreed with arguments that the decision to allow access to the pipeline should have been made by pipelines and utilities regulator Nebraska Public Service Commission.
Three Nebraska landowners filed the lawsuit opposing the pipeline, saying that Keystone XL would carry ‘dirty oil’ that contributes to global warming.
The ruling is expected to cause more delays in finishing the construction of the pipeline, which aims to carry 830,000 barrels of oil daily from Canada to refineries in Texas.
Supporters for the pipeline have said that it will create jobs, and enable a move towards North American energy independence. The pipeline is also seen as critical to efforts to export Canada’s growing oil sands production.
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By GlobalDataThe pipeline would also support the significant growth of crude oil production in the US by allowing American oil producers more access to the large refining markets found in the American Midwest and along the US Gulf Coast.
The proposed 1,179-mile 36in-diameter crude oil Keystone XL pipeline begins in Hardisty, Alberta, and extends south to Steele City, Nebraska.
President Barack Obama rejected the application in January 2012 amid protests about the pipeline’s impact on Nebraska’s environmentally sensitive Sand Hills region.
Image: The Keystone pipeline system’s operational and proposed route. Photo: courtesy of Meclee.
