State Dept: No Major Objections To Canada Pipeline

WASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department says Canadian tar sands are likely to be developed, regardless of whether the U.S. approves a plan to pipe oil from western Canada to refineries in Texas. A draft environmental report acknowledges that development of tar sands in Alberta would create greenhouse gases but makes clear that other methods to transport the oil also pose a risk to the environment.

The State Department was required to conduct a new environmental analysis after the pipeline's operator, Calgary-based TransCanada, changed the project's route though Nebraska. The Obama administration blocked the project last year because of concerns that the original route would have jeopardized environmentally sensitive land in the Sand Hills region. The report does not make a recommendation for or against the project but does not raise major objections.