“I appreciate the feedback that we have received from citizens, and the hard work of the Department of Environmental Quality in addressing this issue in a thoughtful and deliberate manner,” Gov. Heineman said. “I will now carefully review this report over the next several weeks.”
Gov. Heineman called the Unicameral into Special Session in 2011 to address pipeline issues. In the 2011 Special Session, the Nebraska Legislature passed LB 4, which authorized the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) to review the rerouted portion of the proposed pipeline in Nebraska. LB 4 was approved by the Governor on November 22, 2011. However, President Obama denied the Presidential Permit in January 2012 and subsequently NDEQ halted active review of the pipeline.
In April 2012, the Nebraska Legislature passed LB 1161, which clarified direction to NDEQ to evaluate a pipeline in Nebraska, and was signed into law on April 17 by the Governor. On April 18, 2012, TransCanada proposed a new alignment in Nebraska with the goal of avoiding Nebraska’s environmentally sensitive Sand Hills.
On July 17, 2012, NDEQ provided TransCanada with public and agency feedback on its proposed route. In response, TransCanada proposed several modifications to the route in its Supplemental Environmental Report, submitted on September 5, 2012. NDEQ has held public meetings and a public hearing on this issue prior to submitting the final report to the Governor.
An Executive Summary of the report is available at pipeline.nebraska.gov
Source: Nebraska Governor's Office
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