LINCOLN — State environmental officials released a map Thursday showing areas of Nebraska that will be off-limits for the new Keystone XL pipeline.
The map shows an outline of the Sand Hills, an area where sandy, fragile soils and high groundwater tables created special concern.
TransCanada, the company behind the Keystone XL, agreed to move the pipeline away from the Sand Hills as part of a compromise reached with state lawmakers in November.
“Obviously, the applicant cannot propose the route without knowing the area to be avoided,” said Mike Linder, director of the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality.
Release of the map is part of the state review process authorized by the Legislature during its November special session.
The process is being carried out in conjunction with the ongoing federal review of the $7 billion, 1,700-mile pipeline.
TransCanada officials were to receive the map Thursday morning. The next step will be for the company to unveil the proposed detour through the state.
Pat Rice, the department official in charge of the Keystone review, said he expects the company will stick with the same entry and exit points in Nebraska but will alter its route within the northeastern part of the state.
The new route could add as many as 100 miles to the length of the pipeline in Nebraska, meaning a fourth pumping station in the state may be needed, Rice said.
State officials settled on a map titled “Ecoregions of Nebraska and Kansas” that is the product of eight years of work by several state and federal agencies.
The map was completed in 2001. More recent studies confirm the accuracy of the map, Rice said.
The state agency has enough detail to tell landowners whether their farms, homes and ranches lie in or out of the designated Sand Hills region.
Linder said there will be several opportunities for public comment as part of the state's review.
The department plans a series of informational sessions in areas affected by the new route proposal, once TransCanada announces the detour. There will also be a formal comment period after the department releases a draft of its environmental impact statement, which will be a supplement to the federal review being conducted by the U.S. State Department.
Linder said his goal is to get a final document to Gov. Dave Heineman by Sept. 1.
Although Congress last week told the Obama administration to decide on the Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days, the Nebraska review process was exempt from the deadline.
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