The U.S. Department of State has released the final version of the Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline project, and now public meetings on the proposed project will begin across the country. NET News will carry live coverage of the Nebraska meeting on Sept. 27, at Pershing Auditorium in Lincoln. Coverage will be broadcast on NET2 in two sessions, one from noon to 3:30 p.m., and another from 4 to 8 p.m., Central.
Live coverage of the public meeting at Pershing Auditorium will also be streamed live on the NET website at netNebraska.org.
According to the State Department, the final EIS does not represent a decision on TransCanada’s permit application to build a 1,700-mile oil pipeline from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf Coast. Rather, the final EIS is an environmental and safety analysis of the proposed project, developed to inform the decision. The data in the EIS will be used along with additional input to determine whether the Keystone XL project is in the national interest.
The Keystone XL pipeline would run through the Nebraska Sandhills and across southeast Nebraska, and would be an expansion of Calgary-based TransCanada Corp.’s existing Keystone pipeline system.
As part of a 90-day consultation period, the U.S. Department of State will host public meetings in the six states the proposed project would traverse and in Washington, D.C., during late September and early
October. The meetings give individuals an opportunity to voice their views on whether granting or denying a Presidential Permit for the pipeline would be in the national interest.
The Executive Summary of the final EIS, the final EIS, and additional details about each of the public meetings are available on the department’s website at http://keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov.
In conjunction with these public meetings, public comments will be accepted now through midnight on Oct. 9. Details about how to submit comments are also provided on the State Department’s website.
More details at: http://www.netnebraska.org