Keystone XL Foes Break Ground On Barn In Pipeline's Path

LINCOLN, Neb. (CBS4) - Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline in Nebraska are making good on their promise to build a barn in the project's path.

Volunteers gathered over the weekend at the Hammond family's farm at a groundbreaking ceremony for the solar- and wind-powered barn. The barn will sit on land directly on the pipeline's route, about 15 miles northwest of York.

Organizers say the barn will serve as a gathering place to learn about sustainable energy alternatives that would benefit agriculture. If President Barack Obama approves a federal permit for the oil pipeline, opponents say the barn's location would force pipeline developer TransCanada to either reroute the Keystone XL or destroy the barn.

"We thought it was a brilliant idea. It represents how our family is thinking -- that we believe in green energy and that we can do better," Meghan Hammond said.

Opponents also plan to build picnic tables and paint billboards that will be placed with landowners along the pipeline route.

Supporters of the pipeline say the Hammonds' plan is just a publicity stunt. They say the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil from Canada to Texas refineries, would be built with strict environmental guidelines and it would create jobs.

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