Obama Rejects XL Super Pipeline

This afternoon, the state department of Nebraska is expected to announce news that the Obama administration has officially rejected TransCanada Corp.'s super pipeline project.

The project under scrutiny involves a pipeline that would extend across 1,600 miles in the United States and Canada, including six U.S. states.

Several nearby environmental groups are full of praise for canceled plans against moving forth with the $7 billion Keystone pipeline project.

Worried environmental group members fear that the pipeline could contaminate “a major aquifer on its route.”

From Bloomberg:

Wendy Abrams, who raised from $50,000 to $100,000 for Obama in 2008, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, had said rallying her friends around the president would be hard if he approved the pipeline. She said Obama has since shown that he’s not “in the pocket of Big Oil.”

She said if Obama rejects the pipeline, it’s going to be tough on him “either way because the energy folks that have money to be made, will spend a ton of money on ads and it’s a one-way street because the environmental groups don’t have the billions to spend on ads defending their position.”

On the other hand, Canada and Republicans stay strong in their support for the project, arguing that it would create thousands of jobs and help cure America's oil dependency issues. 

Depending on the source, the pipeline project would have created between 6,000 and 20,000 jobs here in the States.

According to BBC:

The White House had tried to postpone a final decision on the project until after the 2012 presidential election.

But during a congressional impasse on payroll tax in December, Republicans forced the Obama administration to agree to make a decision on the pipeline within two months.

The US state department, however, said this would not be enough time to carry out the legally required environmental studies needed to approve the project.

UPDATE: At 3:52 PM ET, CNNMoney confirmed that Obama has formally rejected the bid to extend the Keystone oil pipeline project:

Obama made this statment in regards to the matter:

"The rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by Congressional Republicans prevented a full assessment of the pipeline's impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment."