On Monday the Nebraska Public Service Commission voted to approve TransCanada Corporation's Keystone XL pipeline in a 3-2 decision, clearing the way for the $8 billion project. The five-member regulatory commission rejected TransCanada's preferred route, opting for one of the alternative routes that moves the proposed 1,179-mile pipeline farther east. The landowners who are in the way of the approved pipeline now need to be contacted in order for the project to move forward. The decision follows a week which saw part of the controversial existing pipeline spill more than 200,000 gallons of oil in South Dakota. In a statement released on Friday, TransCanada Corp. said that the incident was "controlled" and that there was no risk to public safety.
