Roma Amundson: Keystone XL is gift to Nebraskans

April 3, 2017

The writer, a retired brigadier general in the Nebraska National Guard, is a Lancaster County commissioner and the state volunteer chairwoman for Vets4Energy.

President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order to revive the Keystone XL project, which ground to a halt under the former administration.

This is good news for Nebraska, as the oil pipeline promises to bring much-needed jobs and tax revenue to the Cornhusker State.

Spanning 1,179 miles, the Keystone XL pipeline will carry 830,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta, Canada, to an already-constructed pipeline in Steele City, Nebraska. The project is expected to produce 42,000 jobs nationally, boost local government revenue and generate private-sector investment in the communities along its route.

Those benefits have already begun to materialize. For instance, the completed section of the Keystone XL pipeline has generated almost 5,000 new jobs and $5.7 billion in economic activity in Texas and Oklahoma.

Our state can expect to reap similar rewards when construction on the new section of the pipeline gets underway in cities such as Mills, O’Neill, Albion and York.

Construction alone will support more than 5,000 jobs a year in Nebraska and contribute over $800 million to the state’s economic activity. And once the oil begins flowing, Nebraska can expect an additional $1.8 billion economic boost over 15 years, resulting in more than $120 million in new tax revenue for the state...

Read entire article at Omaha World-Herald.