© NH, APA sign in a field near Bradshaw, Neb., on March 11, 2015, says "Stop the Transcanada Pipeline".
TransCanada Corporation asked for a pause in the review process while the Nebraska Public Service Commission approves the pipeline route through that state, something the company resisted in the past.
"We are asking State to pause its review of Keystone XL based on the fact that we have applied to the Nebraska Public Service Commission for approval of its preferred route in the state," said Russ Girling, TransCanada's president and CEO, in a company statement.
President Obama in February vetoed a Congressional bill that would have approved the 1,179-mile pipeline. Environmentalists opposed the project, arguing that transporting 800,000 barrels a day from the oil sands of Alberta, Canada, to ports and refineries in the Gulf of Mexico would result in putting more climate-changing carbon into the atmosphere.
Supporters — eight Democrats voted with 54 Republicans to override the veto and failed — said the pipeline would create thousands of good-paying jobs and support American businesses.
The State Department did not have an immediate response to TransCanada's announcement.
Comment: Of course they're asking for a halt in the review process. If the finished report is even moderately objective, the TransCanada Corporation wouldn't get the approval to build anywhere.