Nebraska’s hearings on the new proposed

route for TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline from Canada are

drawing big crowds.

More than 160 people attended

Wednesday’s meeting in Albion, Nebraska.

Pipeline opponents objected to the original route through the

Sandhills and the Ogallala (oh-guh-LAH’-lah) aquifer, a massive

groundwater supply. TransCanada proposed a new route that avoids

the Sandhills.

Some landowners offered praise for the project. Nick Gasper says

he thinks project opponents have used scare tactics, and he thinks

the pipeline offers more benefits than drawbacks.

Pipeline opponents also attended the hearing. Ken Winston, with

the Nebraska Sierra Club, says his group still worries about the

pipeline possibly contaminating the aquifer.

These hearings are one of the first steps in the state’s review

of TransCanada’s new proposed route that will pass through Kansas

en route to Texas refineries.