Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed his frustration with the U.S. State Department's recent announcement to delay a decision on TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline. The Canadian government wanted an answer as soon as possible as to whether or not the pipeline project could move forward, but on April 18, the U.S. said that it will delay action on TransCanada's border crossing permit in order to allow more time to hear the views of eight federal agencies.
Essentially, the KXL project is being delayed for an undetermined period until it is either approved or denied by President Obama.
The State Department needs more time. Federal agencies are simply not confident enough to make a recommendation to the President one way or another. Part of what is causing that uncertainty is the legal battle going on in Nebraska.
Nebraska landowners are hotly disputing the proposed route of the Keystone XL pipeline, which currently is still poised to cross the Ogallala aquifer. Dave Domina is representing these Nebraska landowners – the only landowners in TransCanada's path who have not yet signed easement agreements.
The Huffington Post reached out to Mr. Domina for comment regarding the timeline for the legal dispute surrounding the pipeline.
He said, "The district court has 90 days to transfer the documents related to its Feb. 19 decision to the state Supreme Court; the state government then has 30 days to submit a brief; [I] then [have] 30 days to submit the brief; the case then goes on the calendar for oral arguments and probably won't be heard until after the summer."
In his career, Domina says that he's seen these types of decisions take from as little as six weeks to 19 months.
Read the complete article as it appeared in the Huffington Post: New Keystone XL Pipeline Delay Disappoints PMO.