Washington ( CNN ) -- A Canadian company has reapplied for a permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline that would connect the tar sands oil development in northern Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast , the State Department announced Friday . TransCanada Corp. wants a permit for a section of the pipeline that would run from the Canadian border to connect to an existing pipeline in Steele City , Nebraska , according to a State Department statement . The issue has become a political football in the United States , with Republicans accusing the Obama administration of delaying the project in an election year to placate the environmental lobby . Top Republicans , including presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney , say the issue shows that Obama 's energy policies are harming economic growth . The administration says Republicans are trying to force approval of the pipeline project before necessary review has been completed . Earlier this year , the State Department , which has authority over permits for international pipelines , rejected TransCanada 's first application because it lacked an alternate route to avoid a vital aquifer in Nebraska . Last month , TransCanada proposed an alternate route through Nebraska , and state officials say it will take six to nine months to fully review it . In its statement Friday , the State Department said it was `` committed to conducting a rigorous , transparent and thorough review . '' `` We will begin by hiring an independent third-party contractor to assist the department , including reviewing the existing Environmental Impact Statement ( EIS ) from the prior Keystone XL pipeline review process , as well as identifying and assisting with new analysis , '' the State Department 's statement said . It said that previous estimates for a final decision on the 1,700-mile pipeline -- intended to carry between 500,000 and 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day -- targeted the first quarter of 2013 . Last year , the Obama administration postponed a decision on the pipeline until 2013 , citing concerns raised by Nebraska officials and environmental groups about the original route near the Ogallala Aquifer , which provides drinking water for much of Nebraska and is important for the state 's agricultural economy . Republicans accused Obama of putting off the issue until after the November election , then forced the addition of a provision to speed up approval of the project in the December debt ceiling agreement despite warnings by Obama that the 60-day timeline for a decision would guarantee rejection . The State Department turned down the application in February , and TransCanada then proposed a new route through Nebraska . Supporters , including the oil industry , say the pipeline would create jobs and reduce the country 's dependence on oil imported from volatile regions . Republican leaders have continued pressuring Obama and Democrats to speed approval of the pipeline , saying the project has already undergone several years of review . The American Petroleum Institute , which advocates for the oil industry , called Friday for the government to approve the new permit application without further review . `` The earth has n't moved , the geology has n't changed , the information remains the same , so there should be no reason for a re-review , '' said API Executive Vice President Marty Durbin . `` The pipeline will be state of the art and has already been thoroughly examined for more than three years , including three environmental assessments . '' Opponents , including environmentalists , say that the pipeline might leak and that it would lock the United States into a particularly dirty form of crude oil that might ultimately end up being exported anyway . Anthony Swift of the Natural Resources Defense Council called Friday for a thorough review of the new application that examines the proposed pipeline as well as the merits of tar sands oil development . `` The world of oil and our understanding of the dangers of tar sands have changed since the first time TransCanada applied for a permit for Keystone XL back in 2008 , '' Swift wrote on the group 's website . `` The process for evaluating this permit request needs to be thorough , rigorous , transparent and free from conflicts of interest . '' Obama announced in March that he would approve the southern portion of the pipeline , which runs from Cushing , Oklahoma -- a key repository of U.S. oil -- to the Gulf . He had said he was always in favor of permitting that portion , even when the administration blocked the full project . Currently , there are not enough pipelines to take the oil being produced in Canada and North Dakota to refineries and terminals on the Gulf . That means Midwest refineries can pay lower prices to get it . Giving the Canadian oil easier access to the Gulf means the glut in the Midwest goes away , making it more expensive for the region , but it would increase the amount of that oil available to global markets . Mike Linder , director of the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality , told CNN last month that it will take at least six months for the state to fully review the alternate route proposed by TransCanada . Linder , a Republican who is a political appointee , said the first step would be public hearings . TransCanada will then consider that feedback to determine the specifics of the proposed alternate route , he said . Once TransCanada submits that final proposal to his department , it should take 30 to 60 days for the review to be completed and a draft supplemental impact statement prepared , Linder said . CNN 's Jamie Crawford contributed to this report .
NEW : Environmentalists and the oil lobby differ on the need for further review of the project . The pipeline has become a political football in a U.S. election year . Republicans accuse the Obama administration of stalling the project . Federal and state officials say it will take months to decide on the new permit request .