Obama team faces new Keystone pipeline bid

Obama team faces new Keystone pipeline bid

The Keystone XL oil pipeline issue is back.

The Canadian company that wants to build the disputed pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast of Texas applied for a new permit today, ratcheting up political pressure on the Obama administration.

Obama's team rejected the part of the pipeline earlier this year, bringing objections from congressional Republicans; they have pushed legislation seeking to force Obama to approve the project, citing high gas prices and the need for construction jobs.

The administration has cited environmental concerns in Nebraska when it comes to the full route.

Officials did sign off on the southern end of the pipeline, running from Oklahoma to Texas; Obama spoke at the site of the Oklahoma end of the project earlier this year.

The application for the full Keystone pipeline goes to the State Department, which must sign off on multinational projects.

According to the Associated Press, "a senior State Department official said U.S. officials would conduct a thorough review of the new application, with a final decision not expected until early next year -- well after the presidential election."

Also from the AP:

TransCanada said it applied again to the U.S. government for permission to build the pipeline to carry oil from so-called tar sands in western Canada to a company hub in Steele City, Neb. From there the project would link up with other pipelines operated by the company to carry oil to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.

President Barack Obama blocked the pipeline earlier this year, citing uncertainty over the Nebraska route -- a decision that drew fire from Republicans. TransCanada initially proposed a new route last month that would veer east around the groundwater-rich Sandhills region before looping back to the original route.

State Department approval is needed because the $ 7 billion pipeline would cross a U.S. border. ...

In blocking the pipeline in January, Obama said there was not enough time for a fair review before a looming deadline forced on him by congressional Republicans. The action did not kill the project but put off a tough choice on the once-obscure pipeline, which has become a flashpoint in a bitter partisan political fight over jobs and the environment and a focus of the presidential campaign.