Obama Rejects Keystone Pipeline Proposal

President Barack Obama denied a permit to a Canadian oil company, stopping the Keystone XL Pipeline.

The pipeline would have passed through South Dakota.

President Barack Obama declined TransCanada's request for a permit to build and operate the Keystone XL pipeline Wednesday afternoon.

The project would have stretched across the country from Canada's oil fields to refineries in Texas.

Obama said the decision wasn't striking down the merits of pipeline, but that the February 21st deadline didn't allow enough time for environmental impact studies.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Republicans tried to force a quick decision and it backfired on them.

"If the Republicans care so much about the Keystone Pipeline they would not have narrowed the president's options by putting it on the time frame that they did. They left him very little choice," Pelosi said.

Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner fired back saying the President has cost the nation thousands of jobs.

"President Obama is destroying tens of thousand of American jobs and shipping American energy security to the Chinese. There's really just no other way to put it. Now, the president is selling out American jobs for politics," Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner said.

Today's announcement leaves room for TransCanada to reapply for the permit if it offers an alternative route, avoiding the Nebraska Sandhills.

South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard says he's disappointed with the decision, adding its costing the state construction jobs.

TransCanada's CEO says the company will reapply for the permit.