The Nebraska Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a new proposed route for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project that has been locked in a push-and-pull debate for more than a decade.
The 1,179-mile, 36-inch-diameter pipeline would transport crude oil from Alberta, Canada, to Steele City, Neb. It will have the capacity to transport 830,000 barrels per day to Gulf Coast and Midwest refineries, at an estimated cost of $8 billion, according to North American Oil and Gas Pipelines.
The Supreme Court unanimously approved the “mainline alternative” proposed by TC Energy; however, the project still faces several lawsuits to block the pipeline’s federal permit, according to NPR.
The controversial project has been embroiled in multiple lawsuits and garnered nationally-publicized protests since 2008 due to environmental concerns by environmental groups and local Native American tribes, according to the New York Times. It was blocked by the Obama administration, before being reinstated by President Trump in 2017 after altering the original route.