Keystone XL likely getting built

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- A spokesman for TransCanada, the company planning the Keystone XL pipeline, said plans are moving forward despite political wrangling in Washington.

U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said, during the weekend address for the Republican Party, that there were few projects that were more in the interest of the United States than Keystone XL.

Canadian pipeline company TransCanada wants to build Keystone XL to supplement its existing pipeline carrying tar sands oil from Alberta. Keystone XL would send roughly 15 million barrels of oil to the United States every month.

Under a payroll tax deal, the White House has until Feb. 21 to decide whether to approve the project.

Critics cite the number of spills on the existing Keystone oil pipeline and the potential environmental impact of heavy crude oil from tar sands projects in Alberta. Supporters claim the project would bring in countless jobs and solid benefits to the U.S. economy.

Susan Casey-Leftowitz, program director for the National Resource Defense Council told the Los Angeles Times that TransCanada would have to start at square one should it's proposal get rejected.

But James Millar, a spokesman for the Canadian pipeline company, said it didn't matter.

"We will continue to move forward in a positive way as we have done since the review process began in 2008," he told the newspaper.