Nebraska: Move Keystone XL and we'll agree

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LINCOLN, Neb., Nov. 8 (UPI) -- If pipeline company TransCanada reconsiders the route for Keystone XL, the controversy will end for Nebraskans, the state's governor said.

TransCanada wants to build a 1,700-mile pipeline to carry oil from tar sands projects in Alberta, Canada, to refineries along the southern U.S. coast.

Nebraska lawmakers are considering proposals that would divert the proposed path away from the Ogallala aquifer, a source of drinking water for some 1.5 million people.

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman told Bloomberg Television if TransCanada considers a different route, he'll support the project.

"TransCanada already has a route along the eastern side of our state," he said. "If they put this second pipeline right next to it, I'll stand up and be supportive, so will Nebraskans and this controversy will end."

A TransCanada spokesman said that reconsidering the route was detrimental to the $7 billion project.

"We disagree with the governor," a spokesman said. "The route that has been selected is the most environmentally responsible and has the least impact to the land the pipeline will go through."

U.S. President Barack Obama said, during an interview last week with Nebraskan media, he expected reports on Keystone XL "over the next several months."