Crucial Keystone ruling could come Friday

The Nebraska Supreme Court could rule as early as Friday on whether the governor had authority to approve a route for the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline through the state. The court heard arguments in the case in September after a lower court ruled against against a 2012 law that allowed Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman (R) to greenlight Keystone’s route. The lower court said that law was unconstitutional, siding with landowners who challenged it. Now both sides are anxiously awaiting the Nebraska Supreme Court's decision, which could come Friday morning. The decision is key to the larger debate over the oil sands pipeline. Depending on which way the court rules, the State Department could resume its national determination review of the pipeline early next year. The Obama administration froze its review of the pipeline in April to let the Nebraska court fight play out, enraging Republicans, the oil industry and pipeline developer TransCanada. If the court doesn’t hand down a decision by Friday, the ruling will likely come early next year...more