A proposed new route through Nebraska for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline will require six to nine months of review under the normal process conducted by state and federal officials , a Nebraska official said Thursday . Mike Linder , director of the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality , told CNN that the proposal from TransCanada will undergo a public comment period followed by final revisions by the company before his agency does its full assessment . Noting the delay in the project over the route alteration , Linder said : `` We 're still saying six to nine months . '' TransCanada , the company proposing the pipeline from Canada 's oil sands production in northern Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast , is seeking approval for a new route east of the initially proposed route , which went over an environmentally sensitive aquifer . A State Department official told CNN on Thursday that the Obama administration has not received a new permit application for the proposed alternate route for the northern portion of the pipeline . When the department receives an application , the next step would be to coordinate with Nebraska and other states along the route as they assess the proposal , the official said on background . Linder , a Republican who is a political appointee , said it is up to TransCanada to submit a permit application to the State Department . The 1,700-mile pipeline , intended to carry between 500,000 and 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day , has become a political lightning rod in the United States . 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 vital Ogallala Aquifer , which provides drinking water for much of Nebraska and is important for the state 's agricultural economy . Environmentalists fear a burst in the pipeline would allow oil to seep into the massive water table . Republicans accused President Barack Obama of putting off the issue until after the November election to avoid angering his environmental allies . They 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 . In February , the State Department -- which has authority over international pipeline projects -- rejected the proposal on grounds that there was no alternative route to examine . TransCanada said then it would submit a new proposal for the 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 . `` The stars are aligning for America 's energy future and President Obama should make the right choice now and approve the entire Keystone XL pipeline , '' said Jack Gerard , president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute , the main oil industry organization . `` The president 's concerns about the sensitive Sand Hills area of Nebraska have been addressed . There are no more excuses . Mr. President , let 's get this energy and job-creating project started now . '' 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 . Under the timeline provided by Linder , hearings for public comment will be held and TransCanada will then consider that feedback to determine the specifics of the proposed alternate route . `` We will have a significant amount of time for public comment , '' Linder said . `` ... They 'll refine the route they really want to focus on as a preferred route and then do a more in-depth analysis on the ground of the actual route . '' 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 , he said . Regarding the State Department 's role , Linder said the situation is unique because under normal circumstances , TransCanada would have an application pending . However , the initial application was rejected , so the company must file a new one . Republican leaders are pressuring Obama and Democrats to speed approval of the pipeline . `` With this new route submitted and the state of Nebraska acting to move forward , the president is running out of excuses for blocking the Keystone pipeline any longer , '' House Speaker John Boehner , R-Ohio , told CNN on Wednesday , noting that a `` veto-proof majority '' in the House of Representatives supports the project . The House on Wednesday approved a Republican bill that aims to fast-track the Keystone project as part of another 90-day extension of federal transportation funding . The 293-127 vote allows Boehner to begin negotiations with Senate Democrats over a longer-term funding measure for road , rail and bridge projects . 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 he 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 .
A Nebraska official says reviewing a pipeline route usually takes six to nine months . TransCanada submits an alternate route for the Keystone oil pipeline through Nebraska . The State Department has said it will review that alternative route and make its decision by Dec. 31. Republicans accuse President Obama of delaying the pipeline for political reasons .