O’NEILL, Neb. (AP) – A judge has scheduled an October 19 trial date on a Holt County lawsuit aimed at keeping TransCanada Corp. from seizing land to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
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The hearing process started Monday.
The Keystone XL would carry crude from Canada to Gulf Coast refineries, passing through several states. Judges in both counties later barred TransCanada from proceeding with any eminent domain actions until the legal challenges have been completed. Ricketts said the pipeline will “be the safest and most modern pipeline built in the United States”, saying this mode of transportation will be more environmentally friendly than other modes.
Native American tribes, some landowners and environmental groups are opposing the pipeline because critics fear it could contaminate groundwater and contribute to pollution.
The pipeline, first proposed in 2008, still requires presidential approval because it crosses an global border.
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President Obama vetoed a Congressional vote to approve the pipeline back in January. Ricketts, who has long supported the pipeline, said then that it was time for Obama to approve the project.
