Trump administration expected to approve the Keystone XL pipeline today

Trans Canada Keystone Oil Pipeline. (Photo by shannonpatrick17/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

WASHINGTON—The much debated Keystone XL pipeline project is expected to be approved by the U.S. government today.

The White House isn’t elaborating on today’s announcement, but the Trump administration has repeatedly said it supports the project.

Former president Barack Obama rejected the previous Keystone proposal saying it wasn’t in the U.

S. national interest, but shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump invited TransCanada Corp to resubmit an application it first put in more than eight years ago.

However, it may not be smooth sailing for the project as TransCanada still does not have deals with all the landowners in Nebraska on the proposed route.

The company also lacks a permit in that state and protesters promise they will try to stop the project.

There were many vocal demonstrations in Washington during the time that Obama weighed the merits of Keystone.