Feds want to review Keystone XL route

The U.S. State Department announced Thursday that it wants TransCanada to consider a new route for its proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline.

The decision by the feds is likely to delay the $7 billion project for a year or more, and may even kill the proposal.

“The department has determined it needs to undertake an in-depth assessment of potential alternative routes in Nebraska,” federal officials said in a release Thursday, adding that the review could be complete “as early as the first quarter of 2013,” which is several months after the 2012 general election.

The proposed pipeline would carry oil for a week, transporting it from Alberta, Canada through six U.S. states to refineries along the Gulf of Mexico. The current proposed route cuts through the Sand Hills of Nebraska, which is the location of the Ogallala aquifer, a crucial source of drinking water and coveted resource by the agricultural community. In late August, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman came out in opposition to the proposed pipeline route, and there have been several heated public forums throughout the Great Plains region.

President Obama said in a statement that he supports the State Department’s decision for additional review.

“Because this permit decision could affect the health and safety of the American people as well as the environment, and because a number of concerns have been raised through a public process, we should take the time to ensure that all questions are properly addressed and that all the potential impacts are properly understood,” Obama said. “The final decision should be guided by the open, transparent process that is informed by the best available science and the voices of the American people.

“At the same time, my administration will build on the unprecedented progress we’ve made towards strengthening our nation’s energy security, from responsibly expanding domestic oil and gas production to nearly doubling the fuel efficiency of our cars and trucks, to continued progress in the development of a clean energy economy.”

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, speaking through his spokesman, expressed disappointment with the U.S. decision and pledged to continue to promote his country’s oilsands as an energy source.

The decision was also blasted by U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, who indicated the White House was playing politics.

“More than 20,000 new American jobs have just been sacrificed in the name of political expediency,” he said. “By punting on this project, the president has made clear that campaign politics are driving U.S. policy decisions — at the expense of American jobs. The current project has already been deemed environmentally sound, and calling for a new route is nothing but a thinly veiled attempt to avoid upsetting the president’s political base before the election.”