LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An attorney for three landowners challenged the constitutionality of a law used to route the Keystone XL pipeline through Nebraska.
The Omaha World-Herald reports the lawyer argued at the hearing Friday in Lincoln that a 2012 law improperly gave Governor Dave Heineman the right to approve the pipeline route, rather than leaving it to the Nebraska Public Service Commission.
A state attorney told Lancaster County District Judge Stephanie Stacy the law was constitutional and should be allowed to remain in place.
The 1,700-mile pipeline from Canada to the Texas coast has drawn intense opposition by landowners and environmental groups in Nebraska.
After concerns about an initial route through the Sand Hills, Heineman approved a second route that largely skirted that region.
Stacy says she'd issue an opinion later.
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