"Nebraska Legislature Plans Special Session on Keystone XL Project"

"Nebraska Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman has called the Legislature into special session next week to address growing concerns over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeline would carry tar sands oil across one of the Midwest's most important aquifers.

The action throws a potentially significant new stumbling block into a Canadian company's hope of winning approval before the end of the year for the 1,700-mile pipeline, which would move diluted bitumen -- often heavy in sulfur, nickel and lead -- from Alberta to the Texas coast.

"The key decision for current pipeline discussions is the permitting decision that will be made by the Obama administration, which is why I have urged President Obama and Secretary of State [Hilary] Clinton to deny the permit," the governor, a Republican, said in a statement Monday."

Kim Murphy reports for the Los Angeles Times October 24, 2011.