TransCanada,  the company that wants to build the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to  refineries along the Gulf Coast of Texas, has reapplied to the State  Department for approval of the plan.

The  company has come up with a new route through Nebraska which was the  source of controversary and had led to the disapproval of the plan  earlier this year with a veto of the request by President Barack Obama.  The new course through the Cornhusker State is now working its way  through the approval process on the state level.

TransCanada  had proposed a new route last month that would veer east around the  groundwater-rich Sandhills region before looping back to the original  route.

State Department approval is needed because the $7 billion  pipeline would cross a U.S. border. The department confirmed Friday the  application for the new route had been received.

The pipeline  filing came on the same day as a disappointing report on U.S. job  growth. The Labor Department said employers pulled back on hiring in  April for the second straight month, evidence of an economy still  growing only sluggishly, though the overall jobless rate slipped to 8.1  percent as more people gave up looking for work.

Obama is under  pressure to support the pipeline from Republicans and business and labor  leaders who argue it would create jobs; the State Department estimates  it could result in up to 6,000 new jobs.

"The multi-billion  dollar Keystone XL pipeline project will reduce the United States'  dependence on foreign oil and support job growth by putting thousands of  Americans to work," said Russ Girling, TransCanada's president and  chief executive officer. "Keystone XL will transport U.S. crude oil from  the very large Bakken supply basin in Montana and North Dakota, along  with Canadian oil, to U.S. refineries."

The pipeline's opponents,  including Democrats and environmental groups, say it would transport  "dirty oil" from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, that would require huge  amounts of energy to extract. They also worry about a possible spill.  The pipeline would travel through Montana, South Dakota, Kansas and  Oklahoma, in addition to Nebraska.

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman  signed a bill last month that allows the state to proceed with its  review of the proposed pipeline through his state, regardless of what  happens at the federal level.

A senior State Department official  said U.S. officials would conduct a thorough review of the new  application, with a final decision not expected until early next year —  well after the presidential election.

http://startribune.com/nation/150149245.html

From the Cornfield, something that should not be a political issue has become a political football.