UPDATE 1-TransCanada changes tack in seeking Nebraska Keystone approval

(Adds TransCanada and analyst quotes, background)
By Nia Williams
Sept 30 (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp TRP.TO said on
Wednesday it will seek approval from the Nebraska Public Service
Commission to build its long-delayed and controversial Keystone
XL crude oil pipeline route through the state.
The company is also withdrawing eminent domain actions,
which would force some reluctant Nebraska landowners to let
TransCanada lay the pipeline across their land in exchange for
payment, and terminating constitutional court proceedings
relating to those actions.
TransCanada spokesman Mark Cooper said applying through the
Nebraska Public Service Commission would likely be quicker than
going through the courts.
"This process will likely be seven to 12 months for a
decision, as opposed to one where we do not have an estimated
timeline," Cooper said.
"Despite having route authority to construct Keystone XL,
uncertainty in the courts around the constitutionality of how
the route was approved was very likely to carry on once again to
the Nebraska Supreme Court."
Opposition in Nebraska has been one of several major hurdles
facing the Keystone XL project, which has been waiting more than
six years for U.S. presidential approval.
The 830,000 barrel per day pipeline will help carry crude
from Alberta to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast and has run
into fierce resistance from landowners and environmental groups
opposed to oil sands development.
The proposed route for the pipeline was evaluated by the
Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and approved by the
Nebraska Governor in 2013. ID:nWNAB08H76
A Nebraska Supreme Court decision in January this year ruled
in support of the pipeline, but a number of Nebraskan landowners
filed suits against TransCanada alleging the project violated
the state's constitution. ID:nL1N0UW089
The U.S. State Department is yet to grant approval for the
pipeline and many industry analysts expect President Barack
Obama to veto the project, after he questioned how beneficial it
will be for the United States.
CIBC equity analyst David Noseworthy said the move by
TransCanada to seek approval from the Public Service Commission
was a sign the company is preparing for whoever is elected as
the new U.S. President next year.
"They know they are getting a negative decision from the
president. What they are really doing is trying to set things up
for after the election," Noseworthy said.