Hearing on pipeline's (Keystone XL) future [View all]

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20120123/NEWS01/120129855#hearing-on-pipeline-s-future

By Joseph Morton
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

WASHINGTON — The future of the Keystone XL pipeline could become a little clearer Wednesday when key officials testify on Capitol Hill about the controversial project and pending legislation aimed at forcing its approval.

Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee had hoped Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton would testify, but she was not included on the list of three witnesses the panel released Monday.

Instead, the committee will hear from Mike Linder, director of the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality; Kerri-Ann Jones, assistant U.S. secretary of state; and Jeffrey Wright, director of the office of energy projects for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The hearing will examine the decision-making process that led to last week's formal rejection of the pipeline, the schedule for reviewing a new permit application by TransCanada and the merits of Nebraska's environmental review of a new pipeline route compared with additional reviews by the State Department.

FULL story at link.