Reporter Tweets: Obama to Deny KeyStone XL Pipeline

Washington Post reporter Juliet Eilperin tweeted that, according to her sources, Obama was going to deny the Keystone XL pipeline via the U.S. State Department.

Obama will deny the Keystone XL pipeline but allow TransCanada to reapply with an alternate route through Nebraska, according to sources.

The denial is not the final nail in the pipeline’s coffin as Transcanada will be allowed to re-submit the pipeline with a new route through Nebraska.

The pipeline has been at the center of controversy for the last year as Republicans and union leaders have been pushing for its approval and environmentalists have been fighting against it.

The Obama administration is denying the project saying that they haven’t had enough time to study the pipelines route in order to make a decision. Many argue that the pipeline project has been going since June of 2010 and 18 months should be plenty of time for the State department to evaluate the project.

If the pipeline is not approved, it is widely expected that TransCanada will offload the oil to Asian consumers such as India and China.