By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press

The Trump administration is approving a right-of-way allowing the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline to be built across U.S. land.

Federal officials told The Associated Press that Interior Secretary David Bernhardt would sign the approval for about 45 miles of the line's route Wednesday.

It pushes the controversial $8 billion project closer to construction, but it still faces court challenges.

A lawsuit challenging the pipeline is pending before a federal judge in Montana who has previously ruled against the project.

The 1,200-mile pipeline would transport up to 830,000 barrels of crude oil daily from western Canada to U.S. refineries.

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