After weeks of deliberation, the U.S. Senate voted Thursday to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline despite the threat of a presidential veto.
The bill, passed 62-36, authorizes the construction of a 1,179 mile pipeline intended to transport oil from Canada to Nebraska, where existing pipelines would bring the oil to Gulf Coast refineries.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest reaffirmed President Barack Obama’s opposition to the pipeline in a press briefing last Thursday, promising a veto if the bill passes Congress.
“The pipeline is part of ensuring that the private sector’s success in finding new sources of energy in North America will continue,” U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who voted for the bill, said in a press release.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., voted against authorizing the construction of the pipeline.
Meanwhile Wisconsin has yet to fully approve an expansion of another pipeline’s capacity. That pipeline, built by Enbridge, Inc., would connect to the Keystone pipeline but its expansion has been stalled thanks to efforts within the Dane County Board of Supervisors.
Enbridge already pumps hundreds of gallons of oil through Dane County, but is seeking permission to increase pumping capacity to over one million gallons per day, county officials said in a press release Wednesday.
Dane County Supervisor Patrick Miles, chair of the county’s zoning committee, said in the release the supervisors need more time to discuss whether the company’s proposed $100 million spill insurance policy is enough to go forward with the proposal.
