White House Supports U.S. State Dept. Decision to Delay Keystone XL Interstate Oil Pipeline
November 28, 2011 Kyriaki (Sandy) Venetis 
Environmental activists protesting at the White House against the Keystone XL pipeline. Photo courtesy of Bloomberg.com.
With controversy over the route that TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline will take through Nebraska, and fears over the potential threat to the state’s ecologically precious Sand Hills, the U.S. State Department has decided to postpone a presidential permit to the company for construction in the state.
President Barack Obama supports the measure to postpone the permit, saying in a statement, that there is a “need to seek additional information about the Keystone XL Pipeline proposal because this permit could affect the health and safety of the American people as well as the environment.”
The State Department said that it needs to take more time to review potential alternative routes through Nebraska.
The Sand Hills have a unique combination of characteristics, which include a high concentration of wetlands and an extensive area of very shallow groundwater.
Sand Hills Lake. Photo by Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
The Sand Hills sit atop the massive Ogallala Aquifer, creating both temporary and permanent shallow lakes in low-lying valleys between the prevalent dunes. The eastern and central sections of the region are drained by the tributaries of the Loup River and the Niobrara River, while the western section is largely composed of small interior drainage basins.
The World Wide Fund for Nature designated the Sand Hills as an eco-region, distinct from other grasslands of the Great Plains. According to their assessment, as much as 85% of the Sand Hills eco-region is intact natural habitat, the highest level in the Great Plains. This is chiefly due to the lack of crop production. Most of the Sand Hills land has never been plowed.