WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Regulators in the U.S. state of Nebraska on Monday approved a route for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline through the state, removing a major regulatory hurdle for the long-delayed project.
By a vote of 3-2, the Nebraska Public Service Commission approved an order giving TransCanada Corporation the go ahead to build the Keystone XL pipeline with the "Mainline Alternative Route", which was one of three proposed routes included in the application filed by TransCanada to go through the state, the commission said in a statement.
The decision follows a more than nine-month long legal process highlighted by a nearly weeklong hearing in August, according to the commission.
TransCanada, the developer of the pipeline, said Monday in a statement that the company is evaluating the commission's decision.
"As a result of today's decision, we will conduct a careful review of the Public Service Commission's ruling while assessing how the decision would impact the cost and schedule of the project," said Russ Girling, TransCanada's president and chief executive officer.
The Keystone XL project, first proposed in 2008, was to run from Canada's Alberta oil sands through the U.S. states of Montana and South Dakota to Nebraska, where it would connect with existing pipelines to carry more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day to refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The project was rejected by the Obama administration in November 2015, because Democrats and environmental groups said it could worsen climate change by enabling further growth from the oil sands, which create higher greenhouse gas emissions than some other forms of production.
The Trump administration reversed the decision and granted a presidential permit to TransCanada for building the pipeline in March, claiming it would create a lot of jobs.
