Nebraska provides TransCanada with map of region to avoid with new pipeline
23.02.12
TransCanada Corp. says Nebraska’s newly issued map of environmentally sensitive areas is “extremely helpful” and will help the Canadian energy giant pin down alternative routes through the state for its controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline.
“We needed to see that definitive map that is defined by the State of Nebraska and by the DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) to tell us . . . this is where we define the sensitive areas to be,” said James Millar, TransCanada’s manager of communications.
“This is something that will be very helpful and positive as we move forward to determine alternate routes for Keystone XL through the Sandhills.”
The U.S. State department surprised the pipeline’s supporters in November by ordering Calgary-based TransCanada to re-route the $7-billion pipeline, which is intended to connect Canada’s oilsands to the Gulf of Mexico region.
While the proposed pipeline will create 20,000 jobs and help find new refinery markets for Alberta’s growing oilsands production, it has come under fire from environmentalists and other critics about the influx of more so-called dirty oil into the United States.
Source: Toronto Star