President Barack Obama announced that his administration will reject the current bid to expand the proposed Keystone Oil Sands Pipeline which was meant to run from Canada to the US Gulf Coast. The statement said that the deadline which had been imposed on the decision by Congress gave insufficient time to review the various studies and reviews that would help determine the risks that the pipeline project would potentially raise in regard to the American people's health and safety as well as the environment. One section of the pipeline's proposed route was being strongly protested by Nebraskans, saying that it passed over a sensitive aquifer. The State Department was quick to point out that such a denial did not mean that other applications for the pipeline could not be made.

Russ Girling, the Chief Executive Officer of TransCanada, the company that would be responsible for the pipeline says that his company is committed to the project despite this development. His plans are to remain on schedule as much as possible.

The Keystone Pipeline was intended to be over 1700 miles long, meant to carry crude oil from Canada's oil sands to refineries in the US Gulf Coast. The oil that is in question in the region is oil which has sand mixed in it. Since it is mined in much the same way as coal, environmentalists are concerned that the process would increase the risk of water pollution and deforestation in the areas where the oil is being mined. In addition, the sands require extra processing than other crude, accounting for an increase in greenhouse gases that could be as high as 30%.

Opponents of the pipeline are calling the announcement a victory for the environment saying that there were just too many concerns with this pipeline to make it worth it. Worries that the expansive project could cause leaking and increased pollutions were just a few of the reasons that many were asking that it be blocked from going through. Others are worried that the oil sand is too dirty to be worth it in the long run and will likely be exported instead of used in the US.

But, supporters in the oil industry, many unions and the Republican party are saying that thousands of jobs are going to be lost if the pipeline is not allowed to be built. The Republicans have been using the pipeline as a major tool to hammer President Obama with. Mitt Romney called the decision "confusion" over national interests and Obama's personal interests to appease the environmentalists.