By Brad AllenA controversial proposed pipeline that would carry up to a million barrels a day of tar sands oil from Canada would come no closer to Minnesota than central South Dakota on its 1,700-mile route to the Gulf of Mexico.But even so, the Keystone XL pipeline found its way into the Gopher State Wednesday in the form of a media conference call orchestrated by the Institute for 21st Century Energy, the energy policy advocacy arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.Because the proposed $7 billion pipeline project crosses an international boundary, the State Department has final authority to approve or deny a permit to the pipeline builder, Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. The State Department last month released its final Environmental Impact Statement, which did not block the project. Its release starts a 90-day comment period before final rules are issued, likely sometime in December.Even though the proposed route of the pipeline would not touch Minnesota or neighboring North Dakota, the Chamber advocacy group launched an effort to generate public awareness and support for the pipeline by touting its economic benefits to neighboring states. The public relations effort coincides with public hearings being held in the six states along the proposed route (Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas).Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the energy institute, estimated that the pipeline expansion would generate 20,000 manufacturing and construction jobs over the next year, including in nearby states such as Minnesota that would be suppliers and manufacturers servicing the construction.The institute also estimates that an additional $20 billion would be spent on food, lodging, fuel, vehicles, equipment, construction supplies and services during construction. Also, the institute says, $138 million in annual property taxes would accrue to communities along the route; and up to 600,000 jobs related to the pipeline, suppliers and oil field would be created over the lifetime of the pipeline through 2035.Nearly doubling the capacity of the existing Keystone system will enable refiners to transport about 1.1 million barrels of crude oil daily, non-stop from Alberta, Canada, to market hubs in the Midwest and Texas, Harbert said.Read more here.