Neb. governor erases White House talking point by approving Keystone pipeline route
If President Obama wants to continue blocking construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, he’ll have to come up with a new justification, because the Nebraska governor has approved a new route for the project.
“I am writing today to inform you that the State of Nebraska has completed its evaluation of a process of a proposed reroute of TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline project through the State of Nebraska,” Gov. Dave Heineman, R-Neb., wrote to Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today. “I hereby, in accordance with [Nebraska law], approve the route reviewed in the Final Evaluation Report . . . I appreciate your attention to this matter.
Obama’s team pointed to Heineman when he put the kibosh on the pipeline last year. “Because of concerns expressed by numerous stakeholders, including the Republican governor of Nebraska, it was decided that an alternate route through Nebraska was necessary,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on January 18, 2012. “The choosing of that alternate route has not even been completed yet.”
The president’s environmentalist base, anticipating that Keystone would return as a second-term issue, said that Obama must block Keystone in order to keep yesterday’s inaugural speech pledge to fight global warming.
Neb. governor erases White House talking point by approving Keystone pipeline route | WashingtonExaminer.com