The developer of the Keystone XL oil pipeline says it plans to review a Nebraska regulator’s decision to approve a different route through the state than what the company had preferred.

TransCanada CEO Russ Girling said Monday that the company will assess how the ruling would affect the project’s schedule and cost. He offered no further comment.

The alternative route follows the same path as the company’s preferred route through northern Nebraska then veers southeast, away from the diagonal path of the preferred route, until it meets up with the original Keystone pipeline in southern Stanton County, Nebraska.

The alternative route would then run alongside the existing pipeline until it connects with that pipeline in Steele City, Nebraska.

Opponents of the Keystone XL oil pipeline say a Nebraska commission’s decision to approve an alternative route will enable them to take actions that could indefinitely block the project.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission on Monday approved a route for the proposed pipeline, but it veers away from a route preferred by developer TransCanada and approved by the federal government.

Pipeline opponents already had planned to appeal the commission’s decision in court. They say the panel’s decision on Monday brings up new issues that could be challenged in court.

Ken Winston is an attorney representing environmental groups. He says the vote, “opens up a whole new bag of issues that we can raise.”

Jane Kleeb, heads the pipeline opposition group Bold Alliance. She says her group believes TransCanada will have to seek another federal review of the route in a process that could take years.