Nebraska lawmakers could challenge pipeline route

By Grant Schulte

Associated Press

Published: Monday, Oct. 24 2011 2:50 p.m. MDT

FILE- This Aug. 4, 2011, file photo, shows Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman at a news conference in Lincoln, Neb. Gov. Heineman said Monday, Oct. 24, 2011, that he is calling a special session of the legislature on Nov. 1, 2011, to discuss ways to influence the planned route of the Keystone XL pipeline through the Nebraska sandhills.

Nati Harnik, File, Associated Press

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Summary

Nebraska's governor is calling lawmakers into a special session that could allow them to challenge the route of a transnational oil pipeline that would cut through six states.

LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska's governor is calling lawmakers into a special session that could allow them to challenge the route of a transnational oil pipeline that would cut through six states.

Republican Gov. Dave Heineman said Monday he wants to find a legal solution for state oversight of oil pipelines, including the hotly contested Keystone XL project.

The U.S. State Department has authority over the Keystone project because it would cross the national border. It's scheduled to approve or deny a permit by year's end.

Heineman says he'll call the lawmakers into session Nov. 1. He acknowledges they'll face steep challenges with any proposal that might affect the Keystone project that has been in the planning and review stage for years. Any state law that derails the proposal faces an all-but-certain legal challenge.

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