Johanns: Take Current Keystone XL Route Off the Table

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) issued the following statement regarding the State Department's announcement to delay its decision on the Keystone pipeline:
"If this is a sincere effort to identify a more appropriate route through Nebraska, I applaud it. The State Department should make clear right now the current proposed route is off the table because it's the wrong route.
"I will note the timing looks suspiciously political. Why would this review require eighteen months? The State Department spent many months examining multiple routes through Nebraska, one of which is adjacent to the Keystone pipeline operating today.
"The State Department needs to provide a clear explanation as to why it would take an additional year and a half to analyze alternative routes, and to eliminate the current proposed route."