"The company planning the disputed Keystone XL oil pipeline has proposed a new route through Nebraska that avoids the state's environmentally sensitive Sandhills region."

"Calgary-based TransCanada submitted a series of proposed routes -- including a preferred alternative -- late Wednesday to Nebraska environmental officials.

The state has become a focus of concern for the 1,700-mile pipeline, which would carry oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast. President Barack Obama blocked the pipeline earlier this year, citing uncertainty over the Nebraska route, which would travel above an aquifer that provides water to eight states.

Details of the preferred route were not immediately available. A spokesman for the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality said officials hope to post the full proposal on the Internet as soon as Thursday."

Matthew Daly reports for the Associated Press April 18, 2012. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"House Passes Transportation Extension Bill Including Keystone XL Pipeline Provision" (AP/Huffington Post) [3]

"House Gears Up for Keystone Rodeo" (Reuters) [4]