The Keystone XL pipeline continues to be a flashpoint in our Unicameral. Up with a hearing today is State Senator Jim Smith's LB 1161 which sets up another loophole for TransCanada. You can join us to testify on the bill in the Capitol Room 1525 at 1:30pm or watch online (choose Room 1525).
The background on this comes from the Special Session. The legislature passed LB 1 which sets up a siting process for oil pipelines that goes through the Public Service Commission. The legislature also passed LB 4 which set up a special route review process for Keystone XL through the Department of Environmental Quality and that would be paid for by Nebraska taxpayers.
TransCanada's Keystone XL got special treatment because they believed they were under a tight deadline with the Obama Administration's decision on a permit. After Congressional Republicans laid down an arbitrary, 60-day deadline on a permit decision, President Obama denied the permit in mid-January.
If TransCanada plans to resubmit to the federal government for a new permit, they are now subject to the PSC permit process our Unicameral put in place. TransCanada has not yet done so but has signaled their pipeline would not be built until 2015. TransCanada has plenty of time to wait for the Nebraska PSC to write their regulations and to go through that siting process.
TransCanada keeps trying to skirt the rules and get special treatment. We think it's shameful that Senator Smith is trying to help them. As citizens, we say, "No more free passes, no more loopholes. It's time for TransCanada to play by the rules."
