Nebraska regulators approved an alternative route Monday for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. It was the last major regulatory hurdle facing project operator TransCanada Corp., though opponents say another round of federal approval may now be needed.
The Nebraska Public Service Commission's ruling was on the Nebraska route TransCanada has proposed to complete the $8 billion, 1,179-mile (1,897-kilometer) pipeline to deliver oil from Alberta, Canada, to Texas Gulf Coast refineries. The proposed Keystone XL route would cross parts of Montana, South Dakota and most of Nebraska to Steele City, Nebraska.
The long-delayed project was rejected by President Barack Obama in 2015, citing concerns about carbon pollution. President Donald Trump revived it in March, approving a permit.
[...] The five-member Nebraska Public Service Commission was forbidden by law from factoring pipeline safety or the risk of spills into its decision because pipeline safety is a federal responsibility. So, it couldn't take into account a spill of 210,000 gallons (790,000 liters) of oil on the existing Keystone pipeline in South Dakota announced on Thursday.
Also at Alternative Keystone XL route gets approved in Nebraska
(Score: 4, Informative) by MostCynical on Tuesday November 21 2017, @04:34AM
turns out, there is no safe way to transport oil.
as with comments from second amendment 'supporters' here on SN and elsewhere, apparently there is an amount of damage (health, envronment, direct deaths) that is considered 'reasonable' and 'acceptable' in the name of capitalism/progress/first-world superiority/whatever.
It all comes down to cost vs risk (financial, reputational, getting-locked up).
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/peter-goelz/oil-by-rail-vs-pipelines-safety-records_b_4262327.html [huffingtonpost.ca]
https://thinkprogress.org/data-oil-trains-spill-more-often-but-pipelines-spill-bigger-9533009d4aba/ [thinkprogress.org]
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/are-pipelines-safer-than-railroads-for-carrying-oil/ [scientificamerican.com]
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2014/04/26/pick-your-poison-for-crude-pipeline-rail-truck-or-boat/ [forbes.com]
:-)
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex