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to be adjudicated in court. Stacy also said public money time already was being spent by DEQ in implementing the legislation, LB1161.
• A spokeswoman for Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning said his office is reviewing the judge's ruling.
• Environmentalists and other opponents have said the $7 billion project could contaminate groundwater reserves and threaten ecologically sensitive areas in Nebraska and other states along its 1,700-mile path. TransCanada has altered the pipeline's path through Nebraska to avoid the environmentally sensitive Sandhills region and a couple towns' water wells.
• Those favoring the Keystone XL project, including such organizations as Americans for Prosperity, the Consumer Energy Alliance and Nebraskans for Jobs and Energy Independence, have cited the nation's need for more oil and praised its potential economic impact.
• TransCanada first proposed the project in 2008. President Barack Obama in January rejected TransCanada's original application for a federal permit to build the pipeline. Since then, TransCanada has split the project into two pieces.
• The company began construction in August on the southern section of the pipeline between Oklahoma and the Gulf Coast. The southern section of the pipeline didn't need presidential approval because it won't cross an international border.
• After Nebraska officials finish their process, the U.S. State Department will review the project again before Obama has the final say.
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Despite deal, taxes to rise for most Americans
STEPHEN OHLEMACHER,Associated Press
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- While the tax package that Congress passed New Year's Day will protect 99 percent of Americans from an income tax increase, most of them will still end up paying more federal taxes in 2013.
• That's because the legislation did nothing to prevent a temporary reduction in the Social Security payroll tax from expiring. In 2012, that 2-percentage-point cut in the payroll tax was worth about $1,000 to a worker making $50,000 a year.
• The Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan Washington research group, estimates that 77 percent of American households will face higher federal taxes in 2013 under the agreement negotiated between President Barack Obama and Senate Republicans. High-income families will feel the biggest tax increases, but many middle- and low-income families will pay higher taxes too.
• Households making between $40,000 and $50,000 will face an average tax in (Continued on page 15)
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