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• The department's acting inspector general found no conflict of interest or improper political influence but said the State Department could have done a better job of evaluating some concerns about the project and should improve its oversight of contractors.
• Jane Kleeb, executive director of Bold Nebraska, a group that opposes the pipeline, said the new route still goes through an aquifer that serves eight states and should not be approved.
• "The fundamental facts remain: Americans are being asked to put clean water at risk for an extreme form of energy that will add nothing to our energy security," Kleeb said.
• But Girling, the TransCanada CEO, said the company's proposal builds on more

than three years of environmental review already conducted for Keystone XL, "the most comprehensive process ever for a cross-border pipeline."
• The earlier work should allow the new proposal to be processed "expeditiously," Girling said, with a federal decision made after a final route through Nebraska is approved by state officials.
• TransCanada expects to begin construction of the pipeline next year.
• Canadian Natural Resources Minister

(Continued on page 41)