State Dept. Has No Major Objections to Keystone Pipeline

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline continues. The State Department raised no major objections to the oil pipeline and said other options to get the oil from Canada to Gulf Coast refineries are worse for climate change. The latest environmental review stops short of recommending whether the project should be approved. The report makes it clear that other methods to transport the oil, including rail, trucks and barges, also pose a risk to the environment. The pipeline’s route carries it through eastern Smith County.