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Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman's approval of a revised route for the Keystone XL oil pipeline puts the long-delayed project back in the hands of the federal government.
But don't look for a quick decision on the $7 billion project, which would carry oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast if allowed to move forward.
State Department officials said they do not expect to complete a review of the project before the end of March.
The 1,700-mile pipeline, which Calgary-based TransCanada first proposed in late 2008, has been thwarted since environmental groups and others raised concerns about a possible route through environmentally sensitive land in Nebraska.
Heineman says he believes that any spills along the new route would be localized and that cleanup responsibilities would fall to TransCanada.
