A TransCanada Keystone Pipeline official says one of the biggest challenges in building a crude oil pipeline in western South Dakota is that it goes through remote areas with sparse populations.

The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission began a formal hearing Monday in TransCanada's application for a construction permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline through western South Dakota. It would run 313 miles through western South Dakota as part of a project to deliver crude oil from Alberta tar sands to Gulf Coast terminals and refineries in Texas. 

A lawyer representing landowners along the route says he will not present witnesses because landowners are mostly interested in safety issues that will be handled by federal agencies, not the state commission.