TransCanada President and Chief Executive Officer Russ Girling said “This outcome is one of the scenarios we anticipated. While we are disappointed, TransCanada remains fully committed to the construction of Keystone XL.

“Plans are already underway on a number of fronts to largely maintain the construction schedule of the project. We will re-apply for a Presidential Permit and expect a new application would be processed in an expedited manner to allow for an in-service date of late 2014."

Original plans for the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline involved a 2,673 km, 36 inch diameter crude oil pipeline starting from Hardisty, Alberta, and running southeast through Saskatchewan, Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska.

It was originally intended to link up with a portion of the Keystone Pipeline that would be built through Kansas to Cushing, Oklahoma. The pipeline was then to continue on through Oklahoma to a delivery point near existing terminals in Nederland, Texas, to serve the Port Arthur marketplace.

Article continues below…

TransCanada has said it will continue to work collaboratively with Nebraska's Department of Environmental Quality on determining the safest route for Keystone XL that avoids the Sandhills. This process is expected to be complete in September or October of this year.