President Obama has said for the first time he will make the final decision on whether to approve TransCanada’s controversial Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas. Up until now, Obama said the final decision rested with the State Department. Obama made the comment in an interview with a local TV station in Nebraska, where there has been fierce opposition to the pipeline.

President Barack Obama: “The State Department is in charge of analyzing this, because this is a pipeline coming in from Canada. They’ll be giving me a report over the next several months. And, you know, my general attitude is, what is best for the American people? What’s best for our economy, both short term and long term? But also, what’s best for the health of the American people? Because we don’t want, for example, aquifers that are adversely affected. Folks in Nebraska obviously would be directly impacted. And so, you know, we want to make sure that we’re taking the long view on these issues.”

On Sunday, environmentalists led by Tar Sands Action are planning a major protest in Washington, D.C., against the proposed pipeline. Organizers say they hope to have thousands of people encircle the White House.