LINCOLN, Neb. — With another obstacle removed for the Keystone XL pipeline, opponents were pressing forward with a lawsuit to challenge the project, with public protests and an effort to inject the issue into the November elections.
Supporters and opponents both were quick to claim victories with the U.S. State Department report released Friday, which raised no major objections to the pipeline.
The oil industry, some union groups and congressional Republicans called on the Obama administration to move forward with the project, while a coalition of landowners and environmentalists say there is still cause for denying a federal permit. The project would ship 830,000 barrels of oil a day from Canada to Texas Gulf Coast refineries.
Farmers and ranchers in Nebraska who oppose the pipeline are planning to run for seats on a state board that regulates power stations that are needed along the project route.
And national activists say they have recruited more than 75,000 volunteers willing to participate in civil disobedience in the event that President Barack Obama approves the project.
The project now goes to a 30-day comment period and a review by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and other agencies. Obama has 90 days to make the decision on the pipeline, but the White House on Friday disputed the notion that the report is headed to a fast approval.
Opponents were planning to host vigils throughout the nation Monday and “pipeline meet-ups” throughout February to encourage people to raise the issue with candidates in the 2014 election.
They also were waiting for a Nebraska judge to rule on a lawsuit challenging a state law that allowed the project to proceed. A ruling is expected by late March. Whatever the outcome, an appeal to the Nebraska Supreme Court is a near certainty.
