State Department sets Feb. deadline for Keystone assessment

The State Department has asked eight federal agencies to wrap up their assessments of the Keystone XL pipeline by Feb. 2. 

The agency on Friday said the final reviews of the controversial pipeline, which would carry crude oil from Canada through the United States to refineries along the Gulf of Mexico, will be used to determine the Obama administration’s stance on the issue. 

{mosads}”Once we have received all of the information needed for completion of the review, that information has been analyzed, and the final documents have been prepared, a determination will be made,” a State Department official said according to a news report. 

Those agencies include the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior and Commerce departments.

The State Department has jurisdiction over the two-nation project,

Republicans, who say building the pipeline will create jobs, are aiming to push it through Congress amid a veto threat from President Obama. 

Legislation approving the pipeline’s construction is expected to pass the Senate after several weeks of debate. 

The House has already passed the bill.