[JURIST] The Nebraska Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion PDF] Friday that the Keystone XL pipeline route may be approved by Governor Dave Heineman without review by the Nebraska Public Service Commission (NPSC) [official website]. This decision came through an appeal “from the district court’s judgment that determined L.B. 1161, which the Legislature passed in 2012, was unconstitutional.” LB 1161 allows “major oil pipeline” carriers to “bypass the regulatory procedures” of the NPSC, and in doing so, pipeline carriers are thus able to obtain approval from the governor to exercise powers of eminent domain for the building of a pipeline in Nebraska. Four judges opined that the legislation is unconstitutional, and three were of the opinion that the landowners “lacked standing,” and declined to “exercise their option to address the constitutional issues.” However, because there were not five judges of the court voting for the unconstitutionality of LB 1161, “the legislation must stand by default.”

The proposed Keystone XL pipeline has generated significant controversy [JURIST report]. The proposed expansion [WP report] of the existing Keystone pipeline would carry 830,000 barrels of heavy crude oil daily from the tar sand producing regions of Alberta, Canada to refining facilities on the Gulf of Mexico. The planned $5.4 billion pipeline would extend from Alberta to Steele City, Kansas, where the XL would tap into the existing pipeline system. Last January the US Department of State [official website] concluded in its final environmental assessment [text] of the Keystone XL pipeline that construction and operation of the pipeline would be unlikely to alter global greenhouse gas emissions. Under US law TransCanada [official website], the company seeking to build the pipeline, must receive a permit from the US Department of State because the project crosses the US-Canada border. According to the State Department, Executive Order 13337 [text; PDF] grants the Secretary of State “the power to decide whether a project serves the national interest before granting a Presidential Permit.” If a Presidential Permit is granted construction of the project can commence.