Heineman has endorsed a revised Keystone plan. Gov. Heineman OKs Keystone route

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman has approved a revised route for the Keystone XL pipeline, one that supporters say will avoid the most ecologically sensitive regions of his state.

The action is part of a chain of events that will lead to an eventual decision by President Barack Obama, which has emerged as a crucial test of the president’s pledges to tackle climate change versus his embrace of “all of the above” energy. Heineman sent a letter Tuesday to Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noting his approval of the new route.


( Also on POLITICO: Obama’s own words may haunt Keystone decision)

Among other assurances, the letter says pipeline company TransCanada has promised to carry $200 million in third-party liability insurance to cover cleanup costs for any incidents that occur in Nebraska.

The governor’s decision drew expressions of dismay from anti-Keystone activist Jane Kleeb of the group BOLD Nebraska, who noted that Heineman had previously expressed concern about the old pipeline route’s risk to the Ogallala Aquifer. Heineman’s letter says the new route would cross the related High Plains Aquifer, although he said the effects of any spill should be “localized.”

“President Obama is our only hope now,” Kleeb said.

But the American Petroleum Institute praised the action and said it should clear the way for Obama to approve the pipeline.

“With the approval from Nebraska in hand, the president can be confident that the remaining environmental concerns have been addressed,” API Executive Vice President Marty Durbin said.

Even after the sign-off from Heineman, the project still needs a new draft supplemental environmental impact statement from the State Department, which will trigger a comment period and then a final environmental statement before the decision lands in Obama’s lap. That has raised questions about the State Department’s public estimates that it will make a recommendation by March 31.

The pipeline would bring Canadian crude oil to refineries in Texas, an action that supporters say would aid North American energy independence. But opponents say the resulting rise in carbon dioxide emissions from tapping the Canadian oil sands would be a disaster for the Earth’s climate.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 12:25 p.m. on January 22, 2013.

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