The Keystone XL pipleine project has been in the works since 2008, but it looked as if the last leg of it would never get built, after then-President Barack Obama rejected the permit application in 2015. However, the Trump administration reversed that decision in March, setting in motion again the process of local reviews.

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The “XL” would form the hypotenuse of a “Keystone” triangle (see map), running 1,179 miles from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Neb. There, it would connect with two existing Keystone lines that are already funneling crude to refineries in Illinois, Oklahoma, and Texas.

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“Sometimes, these cases can go on for several years,” says Deborah Ann Sivas, a Stanford professor of environmental law who has litigated high-profile challenges on behalf of environmentalists. “If they want to tie things up in litigation, it might be two to three years to get through an appeal.”