The state of Nebraska in the USA is about to get a half-billion dollar boost from the oil industry. Work will begin shortly on the Nebraska section of the Keystone Pipeline – a 2,148 mile long conduit costing US $5.2 billion that will carry half a million barrels of crude oil a day from Canada to refineries in the USA.

The 215-mile section in Nebraska will cost US£490 million to build and will employ up to 900 construction workers within the state – half of them employed from the local workforce. Once the pipeline is completed, it will contribute to ensuring drilling jobs, oil rig jobs and oil careers in both Canada and the USA and be an integral part of the oil industry superstructure for years to come.

These pipelines, crossing state, county and even country borders, have been nicknamed ‘traveling stimulus packages’ because of the amount of revenue they bring to communities who play host to them. Not only do oil jobs benefit from their construction, but jobs on the edges of the industry as well, particularly in heavy engineering. Those working on the pipeline stay in local hotels, drink in local bars and generally spend a fair percentage of their paycheck in the local community.

The company in charge of the operation, TransCanada, has also addressed environmental concerns expressed by the residents who will have to live with the pipeline once it is completed. To build the Nebraska portion of the pipeline, TransCanada had to buy the rights to pass through the property of nearly 500 landowners, most of them farmers. Assurances that the pipeline is being built using state of the art equipment and materials including anti-corrosion polymer coatings and 24 hour monitoring from an operations center have gone some way to belaying the grievances of environmentalists and residents.

As construction is set to begin on this section of the pipeline, TransCanada are already in the planning stages for an even larger, US$7 billion pipeline that would cross the state farther to the west during 2011 and 2012, again assuring more jobs both in the construction and the oil industries. The pipeline is designed to tap into the plentiful reserve of Canadian tar sands oil which will reduce the demand for overseas oil from countries that America may have political ‘problems’ with. The US is determined to increase its home-produced supply of petroleum products, and the Keystone project, which is an integral part of that plan, has been years in the making. Development is continuous, with yet another project beginning in Nebraska next year to link a new branch of the pipeline beginning in southern Nebraska and connecting to a pipeline complex in Oklahoma.

Compensation to landowners who will be directly affected by the pipeline and its construction could run into millions of dollars, but the company feel that good relations with the people of Nebraska is an important part of the operation. Extensive environmental impact reports have given the company detailed knowledge on the exact impact of the pipeline and compensation packages have taken into account the needs and requirements of the landowners very carefully. The company is even willing to pay to fix fences or replace trees damaged by the construction phase.

With an army of workers about to descend on the state of Nebraska, the economic future looks a little brighter for this corner of the United States, and oil jobs in two countries will be secured by the completion of this ground breaking project.

A separating or divorced parent in Nebraska needs to know the information in Chapter 42 Section 364 of the Nebraska Revised Statutes. This is the section of law

that covers child custody, and it impacts every part of the custody proceeding. Here are some of the guidelines found in the Nebraska revised statutes that affect the

visitation schedule.

The first step to creating a custody schedule is to decide which parent the child will live with. This parent is often referred to as the custodial parent. Sometimes a

mother or father thinks they will get custody of the child merely because they are the mother or father. This is not the case in Nebraska. Section 364 Part 2 explains

clearly that the state does not give preference to either parent based on gender. Each parent has an equal right to custody of the child.

The standard that the state uses in determining custody decisions, including decisions about the visitation schedule, is what is best for the child. Thus, as parents try to

figure out the custodial parent, they should think about the needs of the child and how they can create a schedule to meet those needs. Part 3 of Section 364 says that

parents can agree to have joint legal custody, joint physical custody, or both if it is in the child’s best interest. So, a mother and father should look at the situation and

decide if joint custody is right for the child.

Some of the other factors that Section 364 lists that parents should consider when making the custody schedule are: the relationship of the child to each parent; the

desires and wishes of the child; the general health, welfare, and social behavior of the child; and if there has been any history of abuse in the family. The court will look

at these factors when determining if a schedule benefits the child.