Nebraska high court tosses suit over Keystone pipeline route

FILE - In this March 11, 2013, file photo, a sign reading "Stop the Transcanada Pipeline" stands in a field near Bradshaw, Neb. A bill to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline cleared a key Senate committee Thursday, setting up a fight next week pitting newly empowered Republicans against President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee moved the bill closer to the floor by a 13-9 vote. Sen Joe Manchin of West Virginia, one of six Democrats sponsoring the bill, was the only Democrat to support it in committee. The House will vote on its version of the bill Friday, and is expected to pass it easily. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File) FILE - In this March 11, 2013, file photo, a sign reading "Stop the Transcanada Pipeline" stands in a field near Bradshaw, Neb. A bill to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline cleared a key Senate committee Thursday, setting up a fight next week pitting newly empowered Republicans against President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee moved the bill closer to the floor by a 13-9 vote. Sen Joe Manchin of West Virginia, one of six Democrats sponsoring the bill, was the only Democrat to support it in committee. The House will vote on its version of the bill Friday, and is expected to pass it easily. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

By Associated Press January 9, 2015 3 min read

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska’s highest court tossed a lawsuit Friday challenging a proposed route for the Keystone XL oil pipeline, saying the landowners who sued didn’t have legal standing to do so.

The closely watched Nebraska Supreme Court decision could remove a major roadblock for the $7 billion cross-continental project that Republicans have vowed to make a key part of their 2015 agenda in Congress.

In a split-decision, the court ruled that the three landowners who sued the state failed to show they had legal standing to bring their case. Four judges on the seven-judge court agreed that they did have legal standing, but because the case raised a constitutional question, a super-majority of five judges was needed.

“The legislation must stand by default,” the court said in the opinion.

The lawsuit challenged a 2012 state law that allowed the governor to empower Calgary-based TransCanada to force eastern Nebraska landowners to sell their property for the project. A lower court had sided with the landowners, who said that power resided with the Nebraska Public Service Commission, which regulates pipelines and other utilities.